Peter 1 Laura Peter Professor Carlson English 104 17 March 2014 The Kite Runner The apple doesnt

fall far from the tree is a common expression often used to compare someone to the rest of their family, most commonly to their parents. Khaled Hosseini makes this an apparent topic in his novel The Kite Runner. In the novel this clich does not revolve solely on characters that are related, but depends more on who a child was raised around. He proves to the reader that no matter what we may believe, we are more similar to someone close to us than we may let ourselves believe. In The Kite Runner Amir and Baba fit this clich the best although it may not appear this way at first. The two men seem to be completely deceived by each other for most of the story. They seem to be complete opposites of each other and Baba sometimes doubts Amir is even his son. If I hadnt seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, Id never believe hes my son (23). Amir is continually letting Baba down, either with his lack of interest in the game of soccer or his poor career choice of becoming a writer. Consequently, Amir turns into the kind of person Baba did not want him to be when Amir sacrificed Hassan for a kite for his own selfish reason which proves to be a common trait in these two men. Amir learns how similar to his father he is when he learns that Hassan is his half-brother. In the conversation between Rahim Khan and Amir it is clear that Baba had kept the truth from others to benefit himself. Please think, Amir jan. It was a shameful situation.

Peter 2 People would talk. All that a man had back then, all that he was, was his honor, his name, and if people talked. . . We couldnt tell anyone, surely you can see that (223). Amir and Baba are much more similar than they know, both committing tragic sins, but they are also similar in the way they deal with their guilt of these mistakes. Both characters let their mistakes lead to better decisions in the future. In this passage it is clear that Baba felt bad for his decision and spent his life trying to make up for it. And that is what I want you to understand, that good, real good, was born out of your fathers remorse. Sometimes, I think everything he did, feeding the poor on the streets, building orphanages, giving money to friends in need, it was all his way of redeeming himself. And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good (302). Similarly, Amir attempts to repay Hassan for his sins by saving Sohrab in an attempt to give him a better life. Amir and Baba are not the only characters that are alike in the story. Although not related by blood, Hassan and Ali are also much alike. Hassan grew up believing Ali was his father, so even though they were not related by blood Hassan followed in his footsteps by watching Alis actions growing up. Both of these characters took pride in caring for Babas house. It was difficult for Ali to quit being Babas servant, but he left in order to protect Hassan. In this passage we also see how important the upkeep of this house meant to Hassan as well. Hassan tended to the flowers in the garden, soaked the roots, picked off yellowing leaves, and planted rosebushes. He painted the walls. In the house, he swept rooms no one had slept in for years, and cleaned bathrooms no one had bathed in. Like he was preparing the house for someones return (208). The commonalities between Hassan and Ali prove that two people do

Peter 3 not need to be related by blood to be similar, but by just spending enough time together certain traits are shared. Although we never see these two characters together, it is easy to pick out similarities between Hassan and his son Sohrab. The most common similarity is their separate encounters with Amir and Assef which are nearly exactly the same. Both characters end up standing up to Assef with their slingshot in Amirs defense. They both have a common fate in Afghanistan being Hazaras. When Hassan writes to Amir, I wish you could see Sohrab. He is a good boy. Rahim Khan sahib and I have taught him to read and write so he does not grow up stupid like his father (216-17), the reader can see that Hassan is hoping to overcome the common clich, the apples doesnt fall far from the tree in hopes of giving his son a brighter future than his own. Although a common clich, the phrase an apple doesnt fall far from a tree does have a lot of truth to it. Growing up we learn those close to us, normally being our family or people we are around most of the time. It is impossible not to pick up on others behaviors that we are so used to seeing and eventually turning these into our own actions. The Kite Runner shows its reader that sometimes you just need to dig a little deeper to uncover just how far your apple fell from the tree.

Peter 4 Works Cited Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead, 2003. Print