Baba and Amir, while both stem from the same sense of guilt, have different preferences towards their aims for redemption. Baba and Amir’s regrets and remorse both stem from the same trunk of the tree. Showing how they have made similar mistakes and both suffer from the sins they have committed. It’s not until they choose different paths for redemption, as represented by the split in the tree, that we really see the difference between these two characters. As the tree splits into two solid branches, we see how Baba chooses a redemption through charity and selflessness, while Amir chooses to punish himself and suffer alone. It is not until Amir goes back to Afghanistan and fights Assef for Sohrab that he truly feels redeemed for what he did to Hassan, Sohrab’s father. As these two paths are formed we can see how the branches of the tree grow apart farther as they grow, showing how the relationship between Baba and Amir is distanced as well. As each individual grows and goes farther onto their own path they grow farther apart as well.
Great insight! I like how you connected Baba and Amir's different paths by relating it to a tree. They both have different ways to deal with their guilt and take different paths to try to find redemption.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you compared the split in the tree to the distance of Baba and Amir's relationship. However, at the end of the book, Amir begins doing volunteer work and supports a hospital in Afghanistan, similar to how Baba built the orphanage.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you used this image to represent different developments in characters over the course of the novel rather than simply using it to show a few aspects of a character. I think that the twigs and leaves intertwining and growing out of both tree branches could also show how as Amir developed further once he traveled back to Afghanistan and actually began to work towards redemption in ways more similar to his father and that their similarities once again intertwine.
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