Character Analysis
Our autobiographer's father, Kaba Gandhi, serves as a positive influence on the author. In his example, Kaba Gandhi teaches his son the value of religious tolerance (1.10.8). And, perhaps most important to Gandhi's becoming Gandhi is his father's response when the son confesses to stealing.
Kaba Gandhi reads little Mohandas' confession and begins to cry, and the author says those tears wash his sin away (1.8.14). The forgiveness his father shows him is for Gandhi an early lesson in ahimsa, or non-violence, which you can read more about in our "Symbols, Imagery, Allegory" section.