Close Reading 2/8

"'Children aren't coloring books. You don't get to fill them with your favorite colors'"(21).

The beginning of The Kite Runner shows how different Amir and his father are. They have different interest and ways of thinking. They have two very different personalities as well. This quote is said by a friend of the family. He realizes just how different the two of them are. And yet, he also sees how much Baba wants his son to be exactly like him. He wishes that Amir became interested in soccer like he is. He would much rather see an active, and aggressive son than the person that he does see. He sees his son as a reader, a person who does not engage in violence. Because of this, there seems to be resentment toward Amir. The family friend notices that when he says this quote.

You can fill the pages of a coloring book any way you want. There is no specific formula to them. A person can make the sky orange if they want and the grass blue. There is no limit on how to fill a coloring book. There are millions of combinations and many times, children especially, tend to fill the pages with their favorite colors. The family friend uses this analogy to show a couple of things. He is trying to explain to Baba that Amir has to be his own person. Baba cannot try and shape him into being exactly like himself. Baba has to allow for Amir to have his own interests, his own passions, even if they are distinctly different from his own. He uses it to show him that these characteristics are what make Amir who he is. He is a coloring book with all his own colors. He makes his own unique coloring book that is different from everyone else's including his fathers. He also uses the analogy to show that you cannot chose the characteristics of yourself that you want in your children. Everything is up to chance and it should be that way. It is impossible to make an exact replica of yourself and the traits that you like most about yourself may not show up in your child. Baba does not see that even though Amir is not athletic, that he is an excellent writer. He has plenty of other amazing characteristics that Baba does not have, and cannot see either.

In a way, the family friend is pointing out Baba's blindness. Baba is able to help other people and love other people, but he does not see how he is hurting his son and not loving him in the same way just because he is different. He is not the coloring page that Baba wishes he was. He is not the strong son that Baba hoped for and that is a way makes Baba resent his own son. You cannot pick out what colors you want to be displayed by your child, you can only love them for the colors that they decide to show.