Charlie Brown. I'm having trouble thinking of a kinder, more thoughtful, well-intentioned person. The emphasis on "well-intentioned" is due to his ability to botch all attempts of being helpful. He coaches the baseball team, kicks the football, loves the "little red haired girl," and tries to remain cheerful. He loses, misses, yearns, and fails, respectively. But it's hard not to like him.
Similarly, Amir wants only the best for Sohrab when attempting his adoption. But was bringing the boy to America the best for Hassan's son?
Obviously, living conditions in America are infinitely better than those in Afghanistan, so chances are Sohrab will live a much longer life after the move. Soraya also benefits from Sohrab, as she finally has the son that had evaded her all these years. By the time her husband had returned home, she had ever so generously created a bedroom for Sohrab, complete with toys, puzzles, games, and more. She was clearly thrilled by the prospect of a child. Lastly, and ostensibly the most important to this memoir, taking Sohrab home, along with rescuing him from Assef, clears Amir's conscience. Years after wronging Hassan, Amir seems to have forgiven himself for past actions, which is the purpose of Kite Runner.
On the other hand, although Sohrab is living longer in America, I don't think he is living better. In America, he is mopey, miserable, and mute. Afghanistan wasn't much better for him, but the happiest we ever saw the boy was while living in Afghanistan with Amir; before the suicide attempt at least. As for filling the hole in Soraya's heart, it must be very painful for her to watch her child suffer, undoubtedly blaming herself at least a little. If you believe the saying "It is better to have loved and (figuratively) lost, than to never have loved at all," then this might not be considered as much of a harmful aspect after all. As for Amir, one could argue he is adopting Sohrab out of his own selfish needs to eliminate his guilt. He didn't even want to pick him up and transfer him to another orphanage! It is a very weak and flawed argument since he came to love Sohrab, but it is there none the less.
The final aspect of the adoption process was its execution. Regardless of whether you think bringing Sohrab to America was a good idea, I think we can all agree the execution of the plan was not perfect. If Amir had only waited a few hours to tell Sohrab he was going back to an orphanage, he would've known of the alternative plan. But because he didn't, Sohrab only heard he was going back to the orphanage and proceeded to attempt suicide. This twist could not have come at a more terrible time, as Sohrab was finally beginning to warm up to his step-uncle. This ordeal makes the reader wonder what could have been, if only he had waited.
Revisiting the connection, Charlie Brown can't seem to get anything right , so why is he still a loved character? The answer is simple. It is human nature to forgive someone for their miscues, as long as they are trying their hardest. It is evident that Amir thinks he is doing the best he can for Sohrab. If you extend the metaphor, you realize that you can't blame Amir, even for the Sohrab's attempted suicide, because he's making an effort.
You propose an interesting thought. Even through all of his negative-resulting actions, Amir is stilled liked. I remember that in the beginning of the book, Amir was hated for his actions. "I have never hated a character more than I do now." said Chris A. And we were all disgusted with what he had not done. But now we do. What changed? Amir. Amir grew and changed in the story. Like we had discussed a little in class, Amir has began to stand up for himself and for others, act with courage, and essentially grow up to the man he had been shying away from. And with this growing came his attempts to do the best he could in the best way he could do it. He does fail and become unsuccessful but at least he tried. And its always the effort, the thought, that counts.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up several unique and original thoughts and angles about Amir. I like how you choose one topic, and a very finite topic as well, and dissect it until you provoke thought and question to the reader. Another thing I appreciated was the fact that you carried over other things we talked about in class over to your blog entry. I could hear your voice in the writing and nothing sounded forced or awkward. Also, vocabulary recently learned was applied, but not forced.
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