Both novels concerned some interesting concepts, including the one of fleeting happiness and question of the longevity of joy and life. Alaska Young embodied this question, what with her perpetually shifting moods of happiness and depression. Pudge always worried about this question, with Alaska being the subject of his happiness, with her emotional shifts or final disappearance being the thing of Pudge's pain. As for The Kite Runner, Amir's overall life was filled with simple joys with an overshadowing threat of withdrawing all happiness. Amir was the subject of his deceased mother's joy. Both Amir's mother and Pudge are afraid of losing what is most important to them, and right before they both lose what is most important to both of them, they experience a apex of joy and happiness. Pudge cannot foresee what is to come, but Amir's mother is already afraid of losing such elation:
"'She said, 'I'm so afraid.' And I said, 'Why?,' and she said, 'Because I'm so profoundly happy, Dr. Rasul. Happiness like this is frightening... They only let you be this happy if they're preparing to take something from you...''"(250) Amir's mother was joyful because of her successful, loving marriage, but mostly because of her new son. Pudge was happy because he believed that he truly had a chance of someday being with Alaska, because they do have a passionate kiss before Alaska leaves him and the rest of Culver Creek, permanently. This quote draws attention to Alaska and Amir's inability to rise from their ill history and declare independence from the past. For both, the past rose up like a mighty monster that threatened to destroy happiness. Amir did the right thing by reconciling his past, but Alaska did not face her past as she should have; if her death was a suicide, then she was a coward, but if it was an accident, it would be a shame, because she was going to visit her mother's grave, and was irrational and overly emotional because she had nearly forgotten. Her behavior on this trip did not suggest that she was gaining independence from her past. |