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Historical and Social Change Affecting Personal Lives (BABA (Before moving…
Historical and Social Change Affecting Personal Lives
AMIR
A few years after Ali and Hassan left, Amir and Baba left Afghanistan to live in America. The war began and Afghanistan was starting to change. The Afghanistan of Amir's youth is gone and will never return.
"Standing on the shoulder of the road, I thought of the way we'd left the house where I'd lived my entire life, as if we were going out for a bite: dishes sweared with kofta piled in the kitchen sink; laundry in the wicker basket in the foyer; beds unmade; Baba's business suits hanging in the closet. Tapestries still hung on the walls of the living room and my mother's books still crowded the shelves in Baba's study." (Chapter 10, Page 118)
The change of Afghanistan forced Amir and Baba, along with many others, out of the country. They were all forced to start a new life in a new country. They left everything behind, their belongings, their reputations, their home. Amir's life was completely flipped upside down.
In America, Amir did a lot of growing up. He started going to college and took care of Baba. He matured a lot from his youth and became a very independent and successful young man. He also met Soraya, and got married. He learned about relationships and grew up to be a much better person than he was before.
Amir became a new person in America. We as readers watched him grow and the majority of his growth would not have happened if he had not moved. If he had not been put into a different environment, he would not have grown as much as he did. If he had stayed in the old Afghanistan, he would have continued living the life he had been living, with the same issues and flaws. After moving, Amir was forced to adapt to the new place and grow to lead a new successful life. He was given different motives for his work and became more aware of the world around him.
HASSAN
Hassan grew up in the same Afghanistan that Amir grew up in. He was free to be the kid he was and he had a great child hood. However, he faced bullies due to his race. He always was pleasant to be around was always a good friend to Amir.
After he left Amir, he continued to grow up and then Afghanistan changed completely. He got married and seemed to live a good life. He had a happy family and he was always loyal. When the Taliban came, he did not flee. He stood up for his family, proving his loyalty.
BABA
Before moving to America, Baba was a very important and respected figure. He worked very hard and was very successful. He created a very good place for both Amir and Hassan to grow up. He opened an orphanage and did other great acts throughout his lifetime. He was a good role model for Amir and influenced his a lot during his childhood.
"But despite Baba's successes, people were always doubting him. They told Baba that running a business wasn't in his blood and he should study law like his father. So Baba proved them all wrong by not only running his own business but becoming one of the richest merchants in Kabul. Baba and Rahim Khan built a wildly successfully carpet-exporting business, two pharmacies, and a restaurant." (Chapter 3, Page16)
After moving to America, Baba no longer had his reputation. He went from the well known, respected man to someone who not many people knew or even cared about. He began to not hold himself to such high standards and became more reckless. Amir had to become more and more caring for Baba after the move.
There were aspects of America that Baba had grown to dislike in Afghanistan and it became more prominent when he moved there. He refused to adapt like Amir, which led him to a less successful lifestyle.
In Afghanistan, Amir was always looking up to Baba because he was the one who would always guide him. He taught him all of his life lessons. After moving to America, Amir and Baba seemed to switch roles. Amir gained more and more knowledge as he adapted to life in America and he was the one who had to guide Baba to a successful life in America. As stubborn as Baba had been, in ways he listened and did well because of Amir.
SOHRAB
Sohrab grew up in the Afghanistan Amir left. The life he lived was surrounded by prejudice and war. We know that growing up Hassan faced bullies because of his race, therefore we can assume that Sohrab faced the same treatment growing up as well.
When Sohrab and his family were discovered by the Taliban, both of his parents were killed because of their race. This was common now for Afghanistan, but it is very different than the past. This change took both parents away from Sohrab, where he was put into an orphanage.
However, due to the social change in Afghanistan, Hassan and his wife were killed. They were killed for being Hazaras, which was not even their fault. It was just who they were. Thee change in society took away the lives of Hassan and his wife and robbed them of their happy family. The Taliban broke apart their family.
"Because---" he said, gasping and hitching between sobs, "because I don't want them to see men... I'm so dirty." He sucked in his breath and let it out in a. long, wheezy cry. "I'm so dirty and full of sin". (Chapter 23, Page 335)
After he was taken from the orphanage, Sohrab was abused and it had a very big impact on his mental and physical health. This leads him to a suicide attempt. He has felt very guilty for what has been done to him and he does not wish to deal with it anymore. Thankfully, because of Amir's mature choices, he is sent to the hospital and resuscitated. Even though he survived, he still deals with all of the trauma from the horrible state of Afghanistan.
When he arrives in America, he is exposed to a different culture. The new culture is much more accepting and will not put him in positions like his past. He joins Amir and Soraya at the market and seems to have a new beginning. Even though he is still changed from Afghanistan, he is going to be given the opportunities to improve in America. Readers are able to infer that this will happen at the end of the book because of Amir and Sohrab at the market. They seem to be enjoying their time together, which could have been something Sohrab had missed from his youth.