Baba's Struggle to Accept All Cultures (Repost)

In The Kite Runner, Baba emphasizes at many times the importance of many Pashtun traditions/codes of living, such as a mutual respect for others, pride, and how all theft is sin.

When Baba arrives in America, he continues to uphold these beliefs, such as when he refuses the money the government gives them. However, because of a difference in cultures, he fails to understand how in trying to uphold the "mutual respect" at the grocery store, by taking the oranges, he is committing what Americans consider "theft". In this photograph, the hand taking the flower represents Baba's willingness to take what's there- in Afghanistan, the flowers are public property and therefore there for everyone to pick. However, in the States, the flowers may be considered someone else's property and are not okay for people to pick whenever they want.