After reading about Baba and Amir's relationship, I noticed that they're estranged because Baba blames Amir for killing his wife, during his birth, and their differences make them very distant from each other. Baba is used to winning at everything that he sets his mind to, he used to play soccer, and he was very athletic, but Amir isn't athletic, he doesn't like soccer, he rarely wins, instead he likes to write poetry and short stories. They aren't very close even though the mother died, which should've brought them together as a family. Their relationship is so unhealthy that when Amir was reading the Shahnamah to Hassan, about a father accidentally killing his son, he thought, "[don't] all fathers in their secret hearts harbor a desire to kill their sons?" (Hosseini 32). Amir thinking that it is normal for a father to want to kill his own son shows how unloved he feels at home and how distant his relationship is with Baba.
Ali and Hassan's father and son relationship is close and loving, unlike Baba and Amir's relationship, even though Ali has trouble expressing his emotions. For instance, Ali held Hassan's hand and supported him after the plastic surgery on his face, and when Hassan was scared, when there was gunfire, Ali hugged Hassan and comforted him during the frightening time. That is how a father should act towards his son, he should care about his safety and wellbeing, which shows how much Ali loves Hassan. Unlike Baba, Ali's wife leaving brought him and his son closer together, so they could be a close family and not a distant one. Their relationship is very healthy and close even though both Ali and Hassan have been through a lot.
After analysing these two father and son relationships, the saying "money doesn't buy happiness" comes to mind. Baba and Amir live in a mansion, yet they have many family problems, they have an unhealthy relationship, whereas Ali and Hassan live in a mud shack and have a healthy, loving relationship.
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