On the surface Baba and Amir depict completely contrasting personalities. Amir is a timid, insecure child. Baba is a generous, respected over-achiever. Despite outward appearances however they share some startling similarities. They both hide a terrible secret from everyone they hold dear, and they both spend a significant part of their lives trying to atone for their respective sins. It's only when they deal with these issues that their true colors really show. In reality Baba and Amir's few similarities far outweigh their many differences.
Amir and Baba appear to the outside world, and even to each other to be completely different people. Amir perceives Baba as perfect. Amir sees his father as a wealthy, and powerful man; everything anyone could aspire to be. In contrast Baba sees Amir as a weakling and a coward for the most part. He seems almost disgusted by Amir's weak stomach and cowardly tendencies.
The Kite Runner (film)
English: Amir Hassan Cheheltan (* 1956), writer fr...
English: Hamza Baba born as Amir Hamza ShinwariBaba loves Amir, but he finds his inability to relate to him a difficult hurdle to get over. Baba was athletic as a young man, a competitor who was used to winning. He used what he knew and tried to relate to Amir through sports, but despite Amir's best attempts to feign interest Baba saw through his charade, which only discouraged him further. Amir made his own attempts to bridge the gap between them with his stories, but Baba simply dismissed them as being childish. Baba would not encourage Amir to pursue writing because he didn't see it as a masculine thing to do. Perhaps one of the most prevalent differences between Baba and Amir is the way they see Hassan. In many ways Baba sees him as the son Amir should have been. Hassan is athletic, hard working, and exceptionally loyal. Amir treats Hassan like an underling, someone who...