This cactus represents Baba's appearance, as he appear to be very tough and stuck in his ways. Cactuses are intimidating in their demeanor and so is Baba. If you look closely though, you can see that this cactus does not have spikes. This represents Baba's weakness and soft spots. This caused him to be weak and have sex with Ali's wife. Although, this also made him have a soft spot for Hassan, and made him love him no matter what. The cactus is also not centered in his bowl. This additionally displays how Baba rejected some Afghan traditions. He was not religious, which is really surprising for a man that seemed to carry Afghan values very highly. He is different, yet very similar to other Afghan men, and this is shown in the crookedness of the cactus.
This connection is really good! I love how you focused on everything about the cactus, including the soft spots and the off-centered placement of the plant.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the metaphor of how the off-centeredness represented Baba's abandoning of some of the traditions, while the thickness of the cactus represents his stubborn hanging on to other traditions.
ReplyDeleteI like the metaphor to the cactus, as Baba seems "spiky" and has a stubborn outside, but the cactus is actually soft, just like Baba's insecurity.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a really great job of representing Baba as a character - he is intimidating both in appearance and personality, but he's not as strong as he looks. this is a really nice plant! It can also be seen that just like a cactus, Baba grew his metaphorical spikes for protection: if anyone knew he was weaker that he appeared or that he had an affair with the wife of his Hazara servant, he would be completely destroyed.
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