A father's affection and ideals are the bedrock upon which their children's ideas are constructed. This idea is especially prevalent for Baba and Rahim Khan throughout Khaled Hosseini's novel, "The Kite Runner," where they demonstrate their vastly different approaches to raising Amir. First, Rahim and Baba differ in how they empathize with Amir's requirements and desires. Baba tends to have a harsher outlook while Rahim possesses the ability to relate to Amir. In addition, a good father has the innate ability to make his child feel appreciated and instill them with unequivocal confidence. Rahim is the person Amir relies on for this and Baba finds it difficult to express sufficient support for his son. Rahim appears to have a higher tolerance level when dealing with Amir in comparison to Baba who has a short temper and is easily irritated by seemingly innocuous things. Despite Baba being Amir's biological father, and the one Amir is supposed to love categorically, it is Rahim Khan who ultimately emerges as the superior father figure to Amir.
Over the course of the novel, Amir faces a continuous struggle for his father's love and respect. It is made clear that every decision Amir makes is geared towards earning Baba's approval, but Rahim Khan naturally provides his. Amir gradually develops a strong passion for the art of writing and is eager to impress Baba by offering it to him to read. Baba expresses nothing more than pretend interest and it is Rahim who salvages him from Baba's cold gaze. "As always, it was Rahim Khan who rescued me. He held out his hand and favored me with a smile that had nothing feigned about it" (Hosseini 31). Amir is waiting anxiously for Baba to show his admiration but it is Rahim who recognizes this and steps in to fill Baba's shoes. Rahim understands Amir in a unique way that Baba has never even attempted. He buoys Amir's spirit by asking to read it.
I have read the book The kite runner written by Kahled Hosseini. ... Hassan was the best kite runner in Kabul, and seemed to know exactly where a kite will land before it came down. ... Amir continued to search and eventually found Hassan in an alley. ... This time Amir is not the kite flyer but the kite runner. ... It was Hassan who developed Amir to become a brave Kite Runner....