How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Baba would enlighten me with his politics during those walks with long-winded dissertations. "There are only three real men in this world, Amir," he'd say. He'd count them off on his fingers: America the brash savior, Britain, and Israel. "The rest of them – " he used to wave his hand and make a phht sound " – they're like gossiping old women."
[...]. In Baba's view, Israel was an island of "real men" in a sea of Arabs too busy getting fat off their oil to care for their own. "Israel does this, Israel does that," Baba would say in a mock-Arabic accent. "Then do something about it! Take action. You're Arabs, help the Palestinians, then!" (11.3-4)
Baba's ideas about masculinity even seep into his politics. America, Britain, and Israel are the only real men in international politics because they take action instead of simply talk. Don't forget, though, how Baba's life changes once he immigrates to America, one of the "masculine" countries. He diminishes in stature; he's no longer throwing lavish parties and building orphanages, but instead working long hours at a gas station. And what caused Baba to move to America? The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, which sounds like a country "taking action." The very qualities – and countries – Baba praises actually ruin him. Is it possible for Hosseini to include any more irony in this novel?
Quote #8
What America and the world needed was a hard man. A man to be reckoned with, someone who took action instead of wringing his hands. That someone came in the form of Ronald Reagan. And when Reagan went on TV and called the Shorawi "the Evil Empire," Baba went out and bought a picture of the grinning president giving a thumbs up. He framed the picture and hung it in our hallway, nailing it right next to the old black-and-white of himself in his thin necktie shaking hands with King Zahir Shah. (11.5)
It's really no surprise Baba would love Ronald Regan. First off, Regan lets the Soviet Union have it. This should please any Afghan who lived through the Shorawi invasion of 1979. But another aspect of Regan might attract Baba. Regan, as a politician, drew on the American mythology of the West, the gunslinger who sets things right. In his dress and demeanor, Regan reminded Americans of John Wayne, the iconic star of the Western film. Reagan was even in a few Westerns during his acting career. With Baba and Amir's diet of American movies in mind (action flicks, Westerns), Regan must seem like the shining god of masculinity and honor.
Quote #9
"Remember this," Baba said, pointing at me, "The man is a Pashtun to the root. He has nang and namoos." Nang. Namoos. Honor and pride. The tenets of Pashtun men. Especially when it came to the chastity of a wife. Or a daughter. (12.11)
Well, Baba gives you a pretty explicit definition of masculinity here: honor and pride. But we also want to note – though honor and pride are generally good things – how nang and namoos affect Afghan women. Meaning, how do Baba's (and General Taheri's) ideas about their own identity affect their wives and daughters and daughter in-laws? Well, the idea here is that women need to be pure for men. A man's honor is tied up in the purity of his wife and daughter. Granted, feminists would have a field day with this one, but we also want to point out the irony (again!) of Baba's statement. Didn't he steal Ali's honor by sleeping with Sanaubar? Did that act destroy Baba's honor, too, and thus his masculinity? Are there any truly honorable men in this novel? Or are the honorable men only in the movies Amir and Baba used to watch?