In these chapters Amir and his Baba undergo two major changes. The first being the adjustment to living in America and the second being his Baba's lung cancer. The very first statement of chapter eleven is "Baba loved the idea of America." which is then followed by "It was living in America that gave him an ulcer." page 125. The fact that "idea" is italicized is very revealing, it shows that in theory America sounded good to Baba, but in actuality it was not what he expected. This idea is strengthened by the the follow-up statement that life in America gave Baba a ulcer. The incident concerning the Nguyen's provides even more evidence that Amir's Baba is not adjusting well to his life in America. Baba writes a check to pay for his purchases and they ask to see his ID and Baba is highly offended by this. He believes that after two years of service the Nguyen's should trust him and not have asked to see his ID. Amir ends up having to apologize for his father and smooth over the situation. The following quote sums up Baba's attitude toward his current situation "Baba was like the widower who remarries but can't let go of his dead wife. He missed the sugarcane fields of Jalalabad and the gardens of Paghman...." page 129. Everything Amir's Baba had worked so hard for, everything he had done to prove people wrong about him is now gone and he is mourning that lose.
When Amir graduates in the summer of 1983 at the age of twenty, his Baba tells him "I am moftakhir, Amir." page 131. This means that he is proud of Amir and he gives Amir a look. Amir comments on how he "liked being on the receiving end of that look." page 131. To celebrate Amir's Baba takes him to an Afghan kabob house and then to a bar. While at the bar his Baba makes friends with everyone buying rounds and whatnot and for that night a spark of his old personality comes back. For Amir's present his Baba buys him a Ford Grand Torino and while they sat together in the car his Baba remarks that he wished Hassan could have been with them on that day. Amir says that "A pair of steel hands closed around my windpipe at the sound of Hassan's name." page 134. This shows that he still feels an tremendous amount of guilt concerning the situation with Hassan. However, it is seen that Amir is maturing somewhat when he refuses to sacrifice anything else for his Baba's approval and insists on majoring in English. Amir goes on to tell of the practice him and his father have of going to yard sales on Saturdays and then reselling all of the stuff on Sunday's at the flea market to make a profit. It was at the flea market that Amir met Soraya, the daughter of General Taheri.
At the beginning of chapter twelve Amir begins to build a relationship with Soraya. Mostly he talks with her in the company of her mother so that rumors will not start. However, there are instances when he gets to talk with her alone as well. It is also in this chapter that Amir learns that his Baba has lung cancer, Oat Cell Carinoma and it was advanced and inoperable. Amir's Baba refuses to do chemotherapy and forbids Amir to tell anyone about the cancer. Even Amir marvels at his father's resistance and comments that "For a while, even cancer couldn't keep Baba from the flea market." page 157. However, his health began to quickly deteriorate until his collapsed one day at the flea market and had to be hospitalized. When is his released after yet again refusing treatment, Amir ask him to ask General Taheri if he can marry Soraya. General Taheri agrees but Soraya first wants to tell him her secret. Which is that at age of eighteen she ran off with a boy and they lived together for about a month. The boy was into drugs and her father had to come find her and make her come back home. Amir says that does not matter and that he still wants to marry her. However, it is hard to ignore that fact that Amir misses this opportunity to also reveal his secret about the situation with Hassan so that he and Soraya will not have any secrets in their relationship.
I like the book.
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