How do Baba and Amir react to news of Baba's cancer? What do their reactions teach us about these characters? Focus on pages 153-157
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Anonymous
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LaTausha: Baba is silently frightened and Amir is verbally frightened. Baba has to be the strong man like he was taught to be in his life time, and because Amir is so much different than Baba, he reacts differently. "It turned out that, like Satan, cancer had many names" (page 155), is something that struck me in the heart. Amir compares cancer to Satan because, like Satan, cancer was causing death and "stealing" his father from him. Baba refuses to take the doctor's offer of Kemo treatments because that will show weakness. Baba does not want to die weak he wants to die strong. Although, for Amir it is different, he wept, Amir expressed his pain with tears the fact of losing his father was very traumatic. But for Baba, it was part of life.
The news of Baba's cancer affects Amir more than Baba. Baba takes the news lightly and doesn't want to show his fear of it taking his life. I think that he wants to show that he is manly enough to overcome this cancer or he just wants people to remember the person that he was and not the person that he became or who he could have become if he would have let the cancer overcome him. Baba doesn't change who he is just because of this news. Baba says "no chemo medication for me" and Amir says "But Baba-" and gets snapped at for challenging him in public. Amir takes this news heavily and cries as soon as he hears it which is not surprising because, after all, his first word was "Baba." Baba has been the most influential person in Amir's life. The reaction of Baba and Amir reveals that, even though time has gone and they have become closer as a family, they are still opposites of each other.
Carole Surfus... Baba doesn't let it phase him. He refused treatment and he left with "the same resolved look on his face as the day he'd dropped the stack of food stamps on Mrs. Dobbins' desk." Amir, though, reacts completely differently. He attempts to get baba to change his mind but is shot down immediately by Baba's rebuttal "Don't you challenge me in public, Amir. Ever. Who do you think you are?" Also Baba again shows his true self by saying "And one more thing. No one finds out about this, you hear me? No one. I don't want anybody's sympathy."
4 comments:
LaTausha:
Baba is silently frightened and Amir is verbally frightened. Baba has to be the strong man like he was taught to be in his life time, and because Amir is so much different than Baba, he reacts differently. "It turned out that, like Satan, cancer had many names" (page 155), is something that struck me in the heart. Amir compares cancer to Satan because, like Satan, cancer was causing death and "stealing" his father from him. Baba refuses to take the doctor's offer of Kemo treatments because that will show weakness. Baba does not want to die weak he wants to die strong. Although, for Amir it is different, he wept, Amir expressed his pain with tears the fact of losing his father was very traumatic. But for Baba, it was part of life.
The news of Baba's cancer affects Amir more than Baba. Baba takes the news lightly and doesn't want to show his fear of it taking his life. I think that he wants to show that he is manly enough to overcome this cancer or he just wants people to remember the person that he was and not the person that he became or who he could have become if he would have let the cancer overcome him. Baba doesn't change who he is just because of this news. Baba says "no chemo medication for me" and Amir says "But Baba-" and gets snapped at for challenging him in public. Amir takes this news heavily and cries as soon as he hears it which is not surprising because, after all, his first word was "Baba." Baba has been the most influential person in Amir's life. The reaction of Baba and Amir reveals that, even though time has gone and they have become closer as a family, they are still opposites of each other.
Last one was from Allie Bulick... sorry
Carole Surfus...
Baba doesn't let it phase him. He refused treatment and he left with "the same resolved look on his face as the day he'd dropped the stack of food stamps on Mrs. Dobbins' desk." Amir, though, reacts completely differently. He attempts to get baba to change his mind but is shot down immediately by Baba's rebuttal "Don't you challenge me in public, Amir. Ever. Who do you think you are?" Also Baba again shows his true self by saying "And one more thing. No one finds out about this, you hear me? No one. I don't want anybody's sympathy."
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