Immigration

Starting anew in America proved to have many challenges that Amir and Baba had to over come such as the loss of social status, riches, people, and also the challenge of adapting to a new culture. Baba and Amir's life had been one of luxury in Kabul, filled with wealth and the respected position in society that comes with it. To other immigrants from Kabul, the immigration might not have been as hard as it was on Baba and Amir, but because they went from a high social status to a very low one, Amir and Baba had that much farther to fall. Baba and Amir lost many friends and other relationships in moving to America, and again, going from an abundant amount of friends to almost none definitely would have made life harder to adapt to in America.

America was entirely different from Kabul in other perspectives as well, “the fruit was never sweet enough, the water never clean enough, and where were all the trees and open fields?” (Hosseini, 11, 133). The way America was set up and run, the difference in population, and the frequent use of technology was also something Baba and Amir had trouble grasping in their new life in America. The new culture was also something they had to adapt to, "He'd carve notches on our stick with his knife, one notch for each loaf of naan he'd pull for us from the tandoor's roaring flames. At the end of the month, my father paid him for the number of notches on the stick. That was it. No questions. No ID." (Hosseini,11, 136). In Kabul, the community was very closely knit and trusting, but in America Amir and Baba were treated much differently, this again could have had something to do with their new class/status in society that made adapting to American culture so much harder. Amir and Baba maintained some traditions from their own culture, but these traditions were used generally in the personal and private space of their home.

There were few gains in moving to America, a big one was their new found freedom and escape from the havoc taking place in Kabul at the time. The relationship between Baba and Amir was improved because both of them were able to bury there past, but the adjustment to a new country, the learning of a new language, the struggle of maintaining traditions, loss of social status, friends, and the emotional impact that went with it was a big price to pay.