moftakhir

"Then a smile played on my father's lips...I his arms, I forgot what I had done. And that was good." (page 79--in reference to Amir winning the kite competition) & "His eyes gleamed when he said that and I liked being on the receiving end of that look" (page 131--in reference to Amir's high school graduation)

There were only a few events in Amir's life that Baba was "moftakhir" (proud) of him. This always made me question whether or not he really loved his son. In Amir's childhood, he craved Baba's attention. But the only two times received that acceptance was when he became the Kite Runner champion and at his high school graduation. (Baba's other proud moments came later in Amir's life).

I think this is a result of the stark difference in cultures between what we perceive as normal and what an Afghani would perceive as normal. Baba sometimes cared more about status or class more than he tried to care about his family. And when Amir failed to do anything "impressive" for him to brag about, it could have been misconstrued as disappointment.

Throughout the entire novel (so far), the relationship between Baba and Amir has been so confusing. The man ended up spending his life savings on a nice wedding for Amir, but was that out of love or out of a desire to impress? Even as he died, he accepted no sympathy. He wanted to leave a proud man. How sincere could his love for Amir have really been?