Vocab
Reticence (157)- a state of being reluctant or restrained
Affable (205)- pleasantly easy to approach and to talk to
Figurative
"The bus was a sad carcass of rusted metal (137)[...]" Amir uses a METAPHOR to describe the bus that his dad owns. The bus was, "an old dilapidated '71 Volkswagon bus for $550 from an old Afghan acquaintance (137)."
"And I could almost feel the emptiness in Soraya's womb, like it was a living breathing thing. [...] I'd feel it rising from Soraya and settling between us. Sleeping between us. Like a newborn child (189)." After Amir marries Soraya, they find that she is sterile, and is saying how it created a certain uncomfortable feeling that seemed to hang around the two of them everywhere. There are actually two SIMILES in here. You're lucky I didn't count it for two.
"I was driving up a rutted dirt road, nothing on either side but sunbaked bushes, gnarled, spiny tree trunks, and dried grass like pale straw (205)." Amir goes to Afghanistan to visit Rahim Khan one last time before he [Rahim Khan] passes on. He was used to the polished roads of America, and uses a SIMILE to describe the grass surrounding the road he was driving on.
Quote
"I remember Sanaubar came out of the hut holding her grandson, had him wrapped in a wool blanket. She stood beaming under a dull gray sky, tears streaming down her cheeks, the needle-cold wind blowing her hair, and clutching that baby in her arms like she never wanted to let go. Not this time (211)."This quote struck me like a slap in the face. I had written my second blog basically about what a slut Hassan's mom was. I was not prepared for her returning to him later in his life, when she was close to death. She cared for Hassan's new son, until he was four, when she died in the house of Hassan and his wife Farzana. My outlook on Sanaubar changed, and I felt the sorrow of Hassan, Sohrab, and Farzana when she finally passed on.
Theme
Its true that you never miss something until it is gone, but it is impossible to miss something that you never knew.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Post B # 3
"'And one more thing. No one finds out about this, you hear me? No one. I don't want anybody's sympathy.' Then he disappeared into the dim lobby. He chain-smoked the rest of the day in front of the TV. I didn't know what or whom he was defying. Me? Dr. Amani? Or maybe the god he had never believed in (157)."
Amir's father develops oat cell carcinoma, from his long-standing habit of chain-smoking. It is advanced, and "chemotherapy would only be palliative (156)." It is obvious that death is near for his father, and he does pass on in just a few days after he is diagnosed.
I compared Baba's cancer to the life of Kiefer Sutherland, the star of the popular t.v. show 24. Both characters are hard partyers, and are chain smokers and/or heavy drinkers. Kiefer has been living life in the fast lane since his teenage years, when he started smoking. He hasn't tried to quit once since then, and is still a chain-smoker at age 43. Because of his smoking, he looks like he is about 58 (which ironically seems to fit him well for his role in 24).
He is also a heavy drinker, and recently was released from a 48-day stint in jail (should it have been 24 hours instead?). He was a reported role-model in jail, and served the rest of the inmates food, and did lots of laundry. Along with being hard partyers, both Sutherland and Baba are both extremely compassionate, and make an effort to maintain their pride.
Baba is a very forgiving man. Earlier in the story, one of the servants is wrongly accused of stealing Amir's new silver watch. Not knowing this, Baba forgives him.
The lifestyles of Baba and Kiefer Sutherland are remarkably similar. Although he is currently in an 18-month alcohol treatment program, my guess is that he still smokes many cigarettes daily. I just hope that he doesn't meet an untimely death because of it, like Amir's father. The world would lose a hero, just like Amir lost his father.
Amir's father develops oat cell carcinoma, from his long-standing habit of chain-smoking. It is advanced, and "chemotherapy would only be palliative (156)." It is obvious that death is near for his father, and he does pass on in just a few days after he is diagnosed.
I compared Baba's cancer to the life of Kiefer Sutherland, the star of the popular t.v. show 24. Both characters are hard partyers, and are chain smokers and/or heavy drinkers. Kiefer has been living life in the fast lane since his teenage years, when he started smoking. He hasn't tried to quit once since then, and is still a chain-smoker at age 43. Because of his smoking, he looks like he is about 58 (which ironically seems to fit him well for his role in 24).
He is also a heavy drinker, and recently was released from a 48-day stint in jail (should it have been 24 hours instead?). He was a reported role-model in jail, and served the rest of the inmates food, and did lots of laundry. Along with being hard partyers, both Sutherland and Baba are both extremely compassionate, and make an effort to maintain their pride.
Baba is a very forgiving man. Earlier in the story, one of the servants is wrongly accused of stealing Amir's new silver watch. Not knowing this, Baba forgives him.
The lifestyles of Baba and Kiefer Sutherland are remarkably similar. Although he is currently in an 18-month alcohol treatment program, my guess is that he still smokes many cigarettes daily. I just hope that he doesn't meet an untimely death because of it, like Amir's father. The world would lose a hero, just like Amir lost his father.
Monday, February 25, 2008
The Kite Runner Post A # 3
Vocab
Dilapidated (137)- reduced to partial ruin or decay
Insinuated (148)- suggested or hinted slyly
Figurative Language
"'The rest of them--'" he used to wave his hand and make a phht sound "--they're like gossiping old women (124)."' The phht is an onomatopoeia for sound that Amir's father would make when making remarks about gossiping women. ONOMATOPOEIA
"He's not fit to run this country. It's like putting a boy who can't ride a bike behind the wheel of a brand new cadillac (126)." Amir's father compares Jimmy Carter's presidency to an inexperienced boy driving a cadillac. SIMILE
"America was different. America was a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past (136)." Amir and his father now live in Fremont, California. He is comparing America to a river, and life there is vastly different than any other life he has had. METAPHOR
Quote
"My father wants me to go to law school, my mother's always throwing hints about medical school, but I'm going to be a teacher. Doesn't pay much here, but it's what I want (151)."
This passage talks about doing what you want. There comes a point where the job you pick must have a decent pay (e.g. ice cream man would not suffice), but one of the single most important things in life, is that you must do what you want. Amir knows what he wants, and I commend him for that.
Theme
It doesn't matter what someone is doing and how good he or she thinks it is. If it is not what he or she wants to do, it is not worth it at all.
Dilapidated (137)- reduced to partial ruin or decay
Insinuated (148)- suggested or hinted slyly
Figurative Language
"'The rest of them--'" he used to wave his hand and make a phht sound "--they're like gossiping old women (124)."' The phht is an onomatopoeia for sound that Amir's father would make when making remarks about gossiping women. ONOMATOPOEIA
"He's not fit to run this country. It's like putting a boy who can't ride a bike behind the wheel of a brand new cadillac (126)." Amir's father compares Jimmy Carter's presidency to an inexperienced boy driving a cadillac. SIMILE
"America was different. America was a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past (136)." Amir and his father now live in Fremont, California. He is comparing America to a river, and life there is vastly different than any other life he has had. METAPHOR
Quote
"My father wants me to go to law school, my mother's always throwing hints about medical school, but I'm going to be a teacher. Doesn't pay much here, but it's what I want (151)."
This passage talks about doing what you want. There comes a point where the job you pick must have a decent pay (e.g. ice cream man would not suffice), but one of the single most important things in life, is that you must do what you want. Amir knows what he wants, and I commend him for that.
Theme
It doesn't matter what someone is doing and how good he or she thinks it is. If it is not what he or she wants to do, it is not worth it at all.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Post A # 2
Vocab
Austere (61)- severe in manner or appearance
Abhor (52)- to loathe, detest utterly, regard with extreme repugnance
Figurative Language
"I felt his glare on me like the heat of a blistering sun (61)." (simile)
Amir and Hassan are about to fly their kite in a contest. Amir's father is intently watching them from a rooftop, and he is feeling the pressure to win the competition in order to not let his father down.
"He turned on me now, his face as red as a tulip (90)." (simile)
Baba is angered when Amir asks him if he has ever considered firing Ali and Hassan as their servants. He tells Amir how he has lived with Ali for 40 years, and he's not gonna sell him away.
"Hassan serving drinks to Assef and Wali from a silver platter. The light winked out, a hiss and a crackle, then another flicker of orange light: Assef grinning, kneading Hassan in the chest with a [brass] knuckle (100)." (imagery)
Earlier on in the plot, Hassan had protected Amir from a beat down from the brass knuckles by aiming a slingshot at Assef's head. Assef is just a scumbag bully, who as well as punches him out, rapes Hassan. I was almost scared how clear I could visualize this quote in my mind. I could picture the look of confusion on Hassan's face for an instant after he was hit, the smug satisfaction on Assef's face as he knocked him out, and the light of the fireworks illuminating the scene for only a fraction of a second.
Quote
"There is no monster, he'd said, just water. Except he'd been wrong about that. There was a monster in the lake. It had grabbed Hassan by the ankles, dragged him to the murky bottom. I was that monster (86)."
After Amir and Hassan's kite wins the competition, Hassan has to go and retrieve the kite. Hassan is Amir's kite runner. Hassan is cornered by Assef and two others, and he gets raped by Assef. Amir had gotten there to see them take his pants, but then he left because of fear. All of his life, Hassan had comforted and stood up for him in times of need, hence the quote above. Now, Amir is thinking back to all of the times that Hassan said it was okay, and Amir now knows it is not.
Theme
The only way to stop a bully is to verbally or physically confront them. If Amir had attempted to intervene, he could have prevented one of his best friends from getting raped by a bully that both of them hated.
Austere (61)- severe in manner or appearance
Abhor (52)- to loathe, detest utterly, regard with extreme repugnance
Figurative Language
"I felt his glare on me like the heat of a blistering sun (61)." (simile)
Amir and Hassan are about to fly their kite in a contest. Amir's father is intently watching them from a rooftop, and he is feeling the pressure to win the competition in order to not let his father down.
"He turned on me now, his face as red as a tulip (90)." (simile)
Baba is angered when Amir asks him if he has ever considered firing Ali and Hassan as their servants. He tells Amir how he has lived with Ali for 40 years, and he's not gonna sell him away.
"Hassan serving drinks to Assef and Wali from a silver platter. The light winked out, a hiss and a crackle, then another flicker of orange light: Assef grinning, kneading Hassan in the chest with a [brass] knuckle (100)." (imagery)
Earlier on in the plot, Hassan had protected Amir from a beat down from the brass knuckles by aiming a slingshot at Assef's head. Assef is just a scumbag bully, who as well as punches him out, rapes Hassan. I was almost scared how clear I could visualize this quote in my mind. I could picture the look of confusion on Hassan's face for an instant after he was hit, the smug satisfaction on Assef's face as he knocked him out, and the light of the fireworks illuminating the scene for only a fraction of a second.
Quote
"There is no monster, he'd said, just water. Except he'd been wrong about that. There was a monster in the lake. It had grabbed Hassan by the ankles, dragged him to the murky bottom. I was that monster (86)."
After Amir and Hassan's kite wins the competition, Hassan has to go and retrieve the kite. Hassan is Amir's kite runner. Hassan is cornered by Assef and two others, and he gets raped by Assef. Amir had gotten there to see them take his pants, but then he left because of fear. All of his life, Hassan had comforted and stood up for him in times of need, hence the quote above. Now, Amir is thinking back to all of the times that Hassan said it was okay, and Amir now knows it is not.
Theme
The only way to stop a bully is to verbally or physically confront them. If Amir had attempted to intervene, he could have prevented one of his best friends from getting raped by a bully that both of them hated.
The Kite Runner Post B #2
On page 109, Amir's friend (and servant) Hassan and his father Ali leave Amir and Baba. It still came as a bit of a shock, however, I shouldn't have been suprised based on the way that Amir had been treating Hassan. He had after all, walked away when Hassan was getting raped by one of the worst bullies in their city. Amir was standing near the end of the alley, torn between helping him, or running away and staying unscathed. "I could step into the alley, stand up for Hassan-the way he'd stood up for me all those times in the past-and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. [...] I ran [...] I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. I was afraid about getting hurt (77)." I'm going to speak frankly here. That was a dick move on Amir's part. What kind of friend jumps ship on someone in a situation like that? If I saw something like that happen, I don't care if there were five people. I would go in there and tell them to stop, and if they didn't, I would beat them up. It's as simple as that. If you are a true friend to someone, you will stand up for him or her no matter what. What angered me even more, is that Hassan stayed true to Amir until the very end. He even tried to retain what friendship they still had, and did not hold it against Amir for running away (he had seen him looking down the alley and running). What did Amir give him for it? He pelted him with pomegranates, told him to stop being around him, and accused him of stealing his new watch.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Post B # 1
Thus far, Amir's only friend seems to be a boy his age, named Hassan. Hassan's mother Sanaubar is the definition of a whore if I have ever heard it. Near the beginning, Hassan and Amir are walking on the road, when they approach a group of soldiers. One of the group of soldiers starts talking to Hassan. He tells him to look at him while he is being spoken to, and starts making sexual motions with his hands. "I knew your mother, did you know that? I knew her real good. I took her from behind by that creek over there. [...] What a tight little sugary c*** she had (7)." I know that part of this is just stressing the discrimination and inequality in the novel, but I can't help but wonder about his mom. I mean, what kind of self-respecting woman lets herself get taken behind a creek, especially by a random soldier who chain-smokes cigarettes?
She is described a bit more. "People were surprised when Ali, a man who had memorized the Koran, married Sanaubar, a woman nineteen years younger, a beautiful but notoriously unscrupulous woman who lived up to her dishonorable reputation. [...] Sanaubar's brilliant green eyes and impish face had, rumor has it, tempted countless men into sin (8)." There is another quote about how not many men could resist her oscillating hips. From her provocative walking and talking, as well as her abandoning of her son Hassan (when she saw his cleft lip), I judge Sanaubar as a shallow, evil character.
She is described a bit more. "People were surprised when Ali, a man who had memorized the Koran, married Sanaubar, a woman nineteen years younger, a beautiful but notoriously unscrupulous woman who lived up to her dishonorable reputation. [...] Sanaubar's brilliant green eyes and impish face had, rumor has it, tempted countless men into sin (8)." There is another quote about how not many men could resist her oscillating hips. From her provocative walking and talking, as well as her abandoning of her son Hassan (when she saw his cleft lip), I judge Sanaubar as a shallow, evil character.
Monday, February 11, 2008
The Kite Runner Post A #1
Vocab
Unatoned (1)- in a state where something hasn't been made up for
Atrophied (8)- wasted, withered, shriveled
Figurative Language
"A face like a Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood (3)."
Amir compares his friend Hassan's face to that of a Chinese doll's.
"[...] attention shifting to him like sunflowers turning to the sun (13)."
Whenever Amir's father enters a room, the attention suddenly switches to him, like sunflowers to the sun.
"[...] still the sounds of Baba's snoring-so much like a growling truck engine-penetrated the walls (13)." Apparently, Amir's father is a pretty accomplished snorer.
Quote
"How my mother managed to sleep in the same room as him is a mystery to me. It's on the long list of things I would have asked my mother had I ever met her (13)."
When I read this, I was once again reminded of the recurrent theme of death in Khaled Hosseni's novels. No one should have to experience their childhood without a parent, much less their mother. In addition to that, Amir seems to me like somewhat of a weak character. Whether that is a cause of his absence of a mother, I don't know yet.
Theme
Appreciate each and every little thing that you have, because one day, it will all be gone.
I haven't read much of the novel, but I already know that Amir never knew his mother, and it's a pretty safe assumption that she died in childbirth. It seems to me that all Amir has now is his best (and what it seems only) friend Hassan, and his father. It is good to enjoy things while they last, because you never miss them until they are gone.
Unatoned (1)- in a state where something hasn't been made up for
Atrophied (8)- wasted, withered, shriveled
Figurative Language
"A face like a Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood (3)."
Amir compares his friend Hassan's face to that of a Chinese doll's.
"[...] attention shifting to him like sunflowers turning to the sun (13)."
Whenever Amir's father enters a room, the attention suddenly switches to him, like sunflowers to the sun.
"[...] still the sounds of Baba's snoring-so much like a growling truck engine-penetrated the walls (13)." Apparently, Amir's father is a pretty accomplished snorer.
Quote
"How my mother managed to sleep in the same room as him is a mystery to me. It's on the long list of things I would have asked my mother had I ever met her (13)."
When I read this, I was once again reminded of the recurrent theme of death in Khaled Hosseni's novels. No one should have to experience their childhood without a parent, much less their mother. In addition to that, Amir seems to me like somewhat of a weak character. Whether that is a cause of his absence of a mother, I don't know yet.
Theme
Appreciate each and every little thing that you have, because one day, it will all be gone.
I haven't read much of the novel, but I already know that Amir never knew his mother, and it's a pretty safe assumption that she died in childbirth. It seems to me that all Amir has now is his best (and what it seems only) friend Hassan, and his father. It is good to enjoy things while they last, because you never miss them until they are gone.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Telemachus: Kansas- Carry On Wayward Son
Early on in the epic poem The Odyssey, a depressed Telemachus embarks on journey to find the answers about how his father met his "death". Fortunately for him, he is not alone, and has the support of people King Nestor, King Menalaus, and Athena. All three characters tell Telemachus how great of a man his father was, and tell him to keep going. Although Telemachus is certainly not wayward, because he has the love and support of Nestor, Menelaus, and Athena, I chose the song Carry On Wayward Son, by the band Kansas.
Although King Nestor and King Menelaus are supportive of Telemachus' quest, Athena stands by him the most. She is, in fact, the one who tells him to make the journey in the first place. "Now if you hear your father's alive and heading home, hard-pressed as you are, brave out one more year. If you hear he's dead [...] build his honors high with the full funeral rites he deserves (Book 1 330-335)." "You must not cling to your boyhood any longer-It's time you were a man (Book 1 341-342)." These two quotes from Athena relate to the lines "Carry on my wayward son/ There'll be peace when you are done/ Lay your weary head to rest/ Don't you cry no more."
In addition to the chorus of the song, another passage from the song, "On a stormy sea of moving emotion/ Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean," relates to Telemachus' feelings about his father Odysseus. Whenever his father is mentioned, Telemachus is hit hard with many waves of grief. For example Menelaus finishes speaking to him about how courageous and honorable Odysseus was, and Telemachus can't help but break down and cry. "Such memories stirred in the young prince a deep desire to grieve for Odysseus. Tears streamed down his cheeks and wet the ground when he heard his father's name (Book 4 126-129)."
So carry on Telemachus. Carry on, son.
Although King Nestor and King Menelaus are supportive of Telemachus' quest, Athena stands by him the most. She is, in fact, the one who tells him to make the journey in the first place. "Now if you hear your father's alive and heading home, hard-pressed as you are, brave out one more year. If you hear he's dead [...] build his honors high with the full funeral rites he deserves (Book 1 330-335)." "You must not cling to your boyhood any longer-It's time you were a man (Book 1 341-342)." These two quotes from Athena relate to the lines "Carry on my wayward son/ There'll be peace when you are done/ Lay your weary head to rest/ Don't you cry no more."
In addition to the chorus of the song, another passage from the song, "On a stormy sea of moving emotion/ Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean," relates to Telemachus' feelings about his father Odysseus. Whenever his father is mentioned, Telemachus is hit hard with many waves of grief. For example Menelaus finishes speaking to him about how courageous and honorable Odysseus was, and Telemachus can't help but break down and cry. "Such memories stirred in the young prince a deep desire to grieve for Odysseus. Tears streamed down his cheeks and wet the ground when he heard his father's name (Book 4 126-129)."
So carry on Telemachus. Carry on, son.
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