Kabuliwala.

1. With which character in the story do you most sympathize and why? Also, if the author intended
this character to be so sympathetic, what might have been his purpose in doing soin other
words, why would he spend so much energy making you like this particular character?
Answer.
I sympathize most with Rahamat the Kabuliwla . Rahamat is an Afghanistan that sells items
from door to door . He is introduced to Mimi , a five year old whos father describes as being
utterly talkative ( page 3) .Though Mimi shies off from Rahamant on their first meeting , the two
gradually form a very close friendship . The author tactfully displays Rahamat through a
powerful presence and goes on to indicate something underneath him despite the fact that he is
initially described in a sympathetic manner . The author seems to want this character to be
sympathetic as on face value, he is depicted as a mere fruit seller a description that the author
provides in a wanderer manner . For example, the author write that the man was shabbily
dressed ad had a few dry grapes in his hand ( page 1) .
The author might have aimed at creating a sympathetic feeling toward Rahamat in anticipation
ofr the following events that take place. For example , it is because of the sympathy that readers
feel for the man , that we are able to identify with how much he misses his daughter back home
.The author also uses the familiar question asking Mimi if she is going to the house of her father
in law. Incidentally, upon his release from prison , the man asks Mimi the same question . The
feeling of sympathy that had been created by the author enables the readers to gain a fuller
appreciation of the fruit seller who has now aged. His bond with Mimi represents the bond the
Ramahat shared with his daughter in Afghanistan . By asking the same question , he gets to have
refelction of his own life . Although we are sympathetic we also learn that his wandering
physically from door to door is his attempt at trying to establish a resemblance of contentment
in a world that is not predisposed to offer it to him

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2. What does it mean to be a father? Is it just about sharing blood and DNA? Does this
biological link actually mean much without fatherly behavior? What does the story seem to
argue about parenthood and what qualifies one as a father or mother?