A Chance To Change

Within the middle chapters of the novel the plot begins to thicken as Baba and Amir leave everything they own except a few pictures and the mere clothes on their back. They venture off and risk their lives in various ways. Through this journey I believe the real character of Baba is revealed, his weaknesses seep through. Baba’s once applauded courage turns to anger and gets the best of him as he tries to choke Kamal. Baba is not able to deal with the changes that take place, his temper flairs out of control and leaves Amir picking up after his pieces. He has become a mad man who was once all put together and is now frayed around the edges and unable to pick himself up and succeed. Success was something that had come so easy for Baba and now is only a memory, through Baba’s weaknesses we see Amir shine and come to his father’s assistance, he was once the one who always relied on his father and now he has evolved and is taking care of himself, becoming an adult with responsibilities.
Baba is resistant to change and unable to forget his “old life” he mourns even a year and a half after the move, as for Amir he uses the move as a way to escape Hassan and the horrible sight of him being sexually abused and doing absolutely nothing about it, being a coward. Since within Amir’s “old life” he was a coward I believe he feels now that he will not make that same mistake and take his burdens with him when he moved to America, he now wants to start fresh and have a new reputation one that he creates for himself not one that was made by his fathers accomplishments. These chapters are very pivotal and important to the story as they show a change in pace and a change within each characters personality. The setting not only changes but moods that are placed in the setting also sway and change, the most important thing about these middle chapters is that it allows the reading to see different shades and depths about each character and to learn more about how they react in situations they are not familiar with. This change portrays each character in a different and new light.