Metaphor

"...Baba had wrestled bears his whole life. Losing his young wife. Raising a son by himself. Leaving his beloved homeland, his watan. Poverty. Indignity. In the end, a bear had come that he couldn't beat. But even then, he had lost on his own terms" (pg 174).

The narrator, Amir, frequently provides the audience with metaphors to draw comparisons between people and other figures. At times, he even makes references to Afghanistan as a person itself. One of the metaphors that really stuck out to me was the comparison between "bears" and the difficulties that Baba has faced throughout life. First, Amir refers to his father losing his wife, which he often felt was his fault because of the way Baba treated him. The second metaphor was comparing the beast to raising Amir by himself. Although towards the middle of the novel their relationships has seemed to improve, the relationship between Amir and Baba was shaky towards the beginning of the novel. Their relationship has progressed, and they act more like friends toward the middle of the novel before Baba's death. Then, Amir refers to the bear being poverty and indignity. The move from their rich and easy life to a life of nearly nothing had to be difficult for Baba, who is used to having everything that he needs in a country he loves. However, Baba's strength allowed him to overcome those difficult times until the new "bear" arrived: cancer. According to Amir, this was the only beast that Baba could not defeat.