In addition to the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Kite Runner was also a fabulous book. Khaled Hosseini is a skilled author, something that is hard to come by these days. I was greatful that I could be reading this book on the side of something bad like the Odyssey or All the Pretty Horses. I learned a lot from the novel, and it provided a good perspective on the different lifestyles of America and Afghanistan. One aspect of the novel that helped do this was Amir's move to California. He described it as a river. He described it as a place where one could rest. A place where one could wade into the river, and watch all of his or her sins away. If nothing else, that was why he embraced the United States. His life in America changed him. He became rich and wealthy, and became used to and accustomed to the American ways. When he returns to Afghanistan, it feels different, not like the land he grew up in. "'I feel like a tourist in my own country,' I said, taking in a goatherd leading a half-dozen emaciated goats along the side of the road (231). His chauffer driving him laughs in a kind of cruel way, and asks him half-jokingly, "You still think of this place as your country?"
Even though Amir did become "used to" the American way, of being rich and all, I think it was good for him, and it helped him to become more self-confident overall. When he moved to California, he was able to spend more time with his father, and he got to know him some before he died of lung cancer. In California, his father stuck with him on his decision to marry Soraya, and both Soraya and Amir loved each other very much. Going back to Afghanistan though was a good decision to make, because adopting Sohrab (the son of his late friend Hassan) was the only chance he had to make up for what he had done as a child.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
The Kite Runner Post A # 7
Vocab
Replete (353)- abundantly supplied or provided
Erroneous (361)- containing error; mistaken; incorrect; wrong
Figurative Language
"Watching his chest rise and fall to the rhythm of the hissing ventilator, a curious numbness washes over me [...](349)" The word hissing in this sentence is an ONOMATOPAEIA.
"I'd end up back in the ICU, by the whooshing ventilator beside his bed, and I'd be no closer to knowing (351)." The word whooshing in his second description of the ventilator unit is also ONOMATOPAEIA.
"Until my meeting with the lawyer, Omar Faisal, a light of hope had begun to enter Sohrab's eyes like a timid guest (356)." Hosseini uses a SIMILE to describe Sohrab's almost false hope when he thought that he might be able to move to the U.S. with Amir.
Quote
"You know, I've done a lot of things I regret in my life," I said, "and maybe none more than going back on the promise I made you. But that will never happen again, and I am so very profoundly sorry. I ask for you bakhshesh, your forgiveness. Can you do that? Can you forgive me? Can you believe me?" I dropped my voice. "Will you come with me [to America]?"
I chose this quote, because it is the last time in the novel that Amir breaks a promise he has made. This time, however, I understood and forgave him for it. He was using all of his energy to try and adopt Sohrab, the last thing he could do to honor his friend Hassan. The only way to adopt Sohrab that he knew of, would be to get a humanitarian visa into the U.S., and for that to happen, Sohrab would have to stay in an orphanage for around two years. This promise he broke was different. Over the time of the novel, my feelings toward Amir had changed, and by the end,
if nothing else, I respected him.
Theme
Don't make promises you can't keep.
Replete (353)- abundantly supplied or provided
Erroneous (361)- containing error; mistaken; incorrect; wrong
Figurative Language
"Watching his chest rise and fall to the rhythm of the hissing ventilator, a curious numbness washes over me [...](349)" The word hissing in this sentence is an ONOMATOPAEIA.
"I'd end up back in the ICU, by the whooshing ventilator beside his bed, and I'd be no closer to knowing (351)." The word whooshing in his second description of the ventilator unit is also ONOMATOPAEIA.
"Until my meeting with the lawyer, Omar Faisal, a light of hope had begun to enter Sohrab's eyes like a timid guest (356)." Hosseini uses a SIMILE to describe Sohrab's almost false hope when he thought that he might be able to move to the U.S. with Amir.
Quote
"You know, I've done a lot of things I regret in my life," I said, "and maybe none more than going back on the promise I made you. But that will never happen again, and I am so very profoundly sorry. I ask for you bakhshesh, your forgiveness. Can you do that? Can you forgive me? Can you believe me?" I dropped my voice. "Will you come with me [to America]?"
I chose this quote, because it is the last time in the novel that Amir breaks a promise he has made. This time, however, I understood and forgave him for it. He was using all of his energy to try and adopt Sohrab, the last thing he could do to honor his friend Hassan. The only way to adopt Sohrab that he knew of, would be to get a humanitarian visa into the U.S., and for that to happen, Sohrab would have to stay in an orphanage for around two years. This promise he broke was different. Over the time of the novel, my feelings toward Amir had changed, and by the end,
if nothing else, I respected him.
Theme
Don't make promises you can't keep.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
The Kite Runner Post B # 6
I have always been puzzled by why people fight. And I'm not talking about verbal fights, or arguments between married couples. I'm talking about physical brawls between two people. There is simply no reason to have a fist fight over some stupid issue that they cann't solve with words. "I remember Assef turning on the music before slipping on his brass knuckles. The prayer rug, the one with the oblong, woven Mecca, came loose from the wall at one point and landed on my head; the dust from it made me sneeze. [...] his snarl all spit-shining teeth, his bloodshot eyes rolling (288)." Amir never wanted to fight Assef, not when he was a kid, not thirty years later. Assef forced it upon him, and forced a peaceful man who had never fought a single person in his life before, to fight Assef, who was an accomplished fighter, and also using brass knuckles, putting Amir at a disadvantage.
I recently watched the movie Never Back Down. It was a pretty good movie, and would have been a great movie if the whole soundtrack wasn't pretty much a set list of emo music. It was a fighting movie, and some of the fighting scenes were sure to make the viewer squirm in his or her seat. I mean sure, some of the scenes you do get an adrenaline rush, when you see a knockout or something, but some of the scenes are just indesirable to watch. No one wants to see someone get beaten until they faint, and no one wants to see someone gouge another person's eye in front of a roaring crowd at a bar. No one wants to see a Talib official beat up a peaceful man who just came to save his dead friends orphaned son. Fighting is war, and war is hell. Fighting accomplishes nothing.
I recently watched the movie Never Back Down. It was a pretty good movie, and would have been a great movie if the whole soundtrack wasn't pretty much a set list of emo music. It was a fighting movie, and some of the fighting scenes were sure to make the viewer squirm in his or her seat. I mean sure, some of the scenes you do get an adrenaline rush, when you see a knockout or something, but some of the scenes are just indesirable to watch. No one wants to see someone get beaten until they faint, and no one wants to see someone gouge another person's eye in front of a roaring crowd at a bar. No one wants to see a Talib official beat up a peaceful man who just came to save his dead friends orphaned son. Fighting is war, and war is hell. Fighting accomplishes nothing.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Post B # 5
Hearing how Hassan had died reminded me of all of the times Amir and he shared during their childhood, the good and the bad. I remembered the walks they had in the hills, the time they won the kite fighting competition, the time Amir had gotten raped, the time Hassan had thrown a pomegranate over his head, but most of all, the time Hassan had stopped Assef from beating Amir up, by holding him with a slingshot trained on his eye.
Before Hassan and his wife Farzana were killed by the Taliban, they had a child named Sohrab. Not much was described about him, but the most striking fact Hosseni points out is that he is excellent with a slingshot, and has dead-on aim at anything he wants. He is sent to an Afghani orphanage when his parents and house are destroyed, and stays there for a while. Rahim Khan comes to Amir as he is about to die, and asks him to adopt Sohrab, and tells him it was what Hassan would have wanted. Amir arrives at the house, and the owner tells him that Sohrab has been taken away, sold for money. He tells him about a man who buys children (a child molestor) and tells him he only does it so he can continue to have money to run the orphanage. Sohrab was given away, recently.
Hassan finds the man who takes children, (this next part really suprised me) and the man turns out to be Assef. Assef was a bully in his younger years, and a child rapist in his latter. He agrees to let Amir have Sohrab, but says that he must fight him first, to finish up the time when Hassan prevented him from doing so. To make a long story short, Amir gets his a** kicked, but it did not happen the normal way a fight does. After his ribs started being broken, he began to feel a sense of liberation. "I felt at peace. I laughed because I saw that, in some hidden nook in a corner of my mind, I'd been looking forward to this. I remembered [all the times I had been mean to Hassan] I hadn't been happy and I hadn't felt better, not at all. But I felt better now (289)." Assef keeps punching Amir, and breaking his ribs, until the small voice of Sohrab tells them to please stop. He has a slingshot with acid trained on Assef's eye. History repeats itself.
Before Hassan and his wife Farzana were killed by the Taliban, they had a child named Sohrab. Not much was described about him, but the most striking fact Hosseni points out is that he is excellent with a slingshot, and has dead-on aim at anything he wants. He is sent to an Afghani orphanage when his parents and house are destroyed, and stays there for a while. Rahim Khan comes to Amir as he is about to die, and asks him to adopt Sohrab, and tells him it was what Hassan would have wanted. Amir arrives at the house, and the owner tells him that Sohrab has been taken away, sold for money. He tells him about a man who buys children (a child molestor) and tells him he only does it so he can continue to have money to run the orphanage. Sohrab was given away, recently.
Hassan finds the man who takes children, (this next part really suprised me) and the man turns out to be Assef. Assef was a bully in his younger years, and a child rapist in his latter. He agrees to let Amir have Sohrab, but says that he must fight him first, to finish up the time when Hassan prevented him from doing so. To make a long story short, Amir gets his a** kicked, but it did not happen the normal way a fight does. After his ribs started being broken, he began to feel a sense of liberation. "I felt at peace. I laughed because I saw that, in some hidden nook in a corner of my mind, I'd been looking forward to this. I remembered [all the times I had been mean to Hassan] I hadn't been happy and I hadn't felt better, not at all. But I felt better now (289)." Assef keeps punching Amir, and breaking his ribs, until the small voice of Sohrab tells them to please stop. He has a slingshot with acid trained on Assef's eye. History repeats itself.
Post A # 6
Vocab
Arduous (233)- requiring great exertion; laborious; difficult
Cursory (253)- going rapidly over something, without noticing details
Figurative Language
"[...] where farmers grew sugar-cane, and impregnated the city's air with a sweet scent (234)." Hosseni uses PERSONIFICATION to describe the sweet smell of sugar cane spreading about the city of Jalalabad.
"I was afraid [...] I would wade back into that great, big river and let myself forget, letthe things had learned these last few days sink to the bottom (231)." He uses the METAPHOR of a river again to describe the land of America.
"Where the table's legs crossed like an X, there was a ring of brass balls, each walnut sized (225)." He uses a SIMILE to compare the design and position of the tables legs to an "X."
Quote
"Don't ever stare at them! Do you understand me? Never (248)!"
Amir is being driven around Afghanistan by a man named Farid, and they are currently driving away from the taliban who have just done "beard check." Amir has just been in California, and doesn't know not to look a Talib in the eye. Also, I'm pretty sure that he had a fake beard on that was the standardized one inch length. It just shows the culture gap inbetween America and Afghanistan. Amir is a fairly rich man, and it didn't take him long at all to get accustomed to the "American Ways."
Theme
Although it is important to always be yourself, but certain people and groups require a different way of speaking and acting. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Arduous (233)- requiring great exertion; laborious; difficult
Cursory (253)- going rapidly over something, without noticing details
Figurative Language
"[...] where farmers grew sugar-cane, and impregnated the city's air with a sweet scent (234)." Hosseni uses PERSONIFICATION to describe the sweet smell of sugar cane spreading about the city of Jalalabad.
"I was afraid [...] I would wade back into that great, big river and let myself forget, letthe things had learned these last few days sink to the bottom (231)." He uses the METAPHOR of a river again to describe the land of America.
"Where the table's legs crossed like an X, there was a ring of brass balls, each walnut sized (225)." He uses a SIMILE to compare the design and position of the tables legs to an "X."
Quote
"Don't ever stare at them! Do you understand me? Never (248)!"
Amir is being driven around Afghanistan by a man named Farid, and they are currently driving away from the taliban who have just done "beard check." Amir has just been in California, and doesn't know not to look a Talib in the eye. Also, I'm pretty sure that he had a fake beard on that was the standardized one inch length. It just shows the culture gap inbetween America and Afghanistan. Amir is a fairly rich man, and it didn't take him long at all to get accustomed to the "American Ways."
Theme
Although it is important to always be yourself, but certain people and groups require a different way of speaking and acting. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Post A # 5
Vocab
Unrequited (219)- not returned or reciprocated
Emaciated (231)- abnormally lean or thin from a gradual wasting away of flesh
Figurative Language
"But my neighbor said the Talibs were looking at the big house like-how did he say it?-yes, like 'wolves looking at a flock of sheep (219).'" Rahim Khan uses a SIMILE to describe the Taliban when they were about to destroy Hassan's house.
"His words hung in limbo between us (221)." Words cannot hang in limbo.
"The room was swooping up and down, swaying side to side (222)." Rooms cannot swoop up and down, or sway side to side.
Quote
"Hassan's not going anywhere, he'd barked. He's staying right here with us, where he belongs. This is his home, and we're his family (225)." Amir's father died, and Hassan died now as well. I actually had taken a liking to Baba, and this quote reminded me of him again. I respected Baba much more than Amir. Baba was impartial, not afraid to ever tell the truth, stood up for himself, and had the ability to make friends with random American's at a bar during a time of war.
Theme
Treat others charitably, because it very well might be the last time you see them. Amir treated Hassan poorly, and when he grew up and decided he wanted to make things right, he found out Hassan had been executed.
Unrequited (219)- not returned or reciprocated
Emaciated (231)- abnormally lean or thin from a gradual wasting away of flesh
Figurative Language
"But my neighbor said the Talibs were looking at the big house like-how did he say it?-yes, like 'wolves looking at a flock of sheep (219).'" Rahim Khan uses a SIMILE to describe the Taliban when they were about to destroy Hassan's house.
"His words hung in limbo between us (221)." Words cannot hang in limbo.
"The room was swooping up and down, swaying side to side (222)." Rooms cannot swoop up and down, or sway side to side.
Quote
"Hassan's not going anywhere, he'd barked. He's staying right here with us, where he belongs. This is his home, and we're his family (225)." Amir's father died, and Hassan died now as well. I actually had taken a liking to Baba, and this quote reminded me of him again. I respected Baba much more than Amir. Baba was impartial, not afraid to ever tell the truth, stood up for himself, and had the ability to make friends with random American's at a bar during a time of war.
Theme
Treat others charitably, because it very well might be the last time you see them. Amir treated Hassan poorly, and when he grew up and decided he wanted to make things right, he found out Hassan had been executed.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Post B # 4
"'The war is over, Hassan,'" I said. 'There's going to be peace, Inshallah, and happiness and calm. No more rockets, no more killing, no more funerals!' [...] A few weeks later, the Taliban banned kite fighting. And two years later, in 1998, they massacred the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharaf (213)."
This quote both disappointed and angered me. First of all, Amir and Hassan have not seen each other for probably twenty years now. What he said was just fake, just like he always has been. The last time Amir saw Hassan, he was with his dad, watching him cry because he had been falsely accused of stealing his watch. Now they reunite, and Amir says something false like that. I can see he obviously hasn't learned anything, or changed any. I don't even think that Amir and Hassan should have met up again. He let him get raped, for god's sake! If I were Hassan, I would not want anything to do with him.
I was not happy when Amir got married. He doesn't deserve to have a wife. He doesn't deserve someone as good as Soraya. It was a horrible thing that Soraya was sterile, but I think that it was meant to be that way because he also doesn't deserve to have someone carry on his name.
Amir is not a good protagonist, or person for that matter. I have talked to people about him, and nobody I've talked to likes him. The protagonist is supposed to be the hero, someone who the reader roots for, not some person who lies to their best friends.
This quote both disappointed and angered me. First of all, Amir and Hassan have not seen each other for probably twenty years now. What he said was just fake, just like he always has been. The last time Amir saw Hassan, he was with his dad, watching him cry because he had been falsely accused of stealing his watch. Now they reunite, and Amir says something false like that. I can see he obviously hasn't learned anything, or changed any. I don't even think that Amir and Hassan should have met up again. He let him get raped, for god's sake! If I were Hassan, I would not want anything to do with him.
I was not happy when Amir got married. He doesn't deserve to have a wife. He doesn't deserve someone as good as Soraya. It was a horrible thing that Soraya was sterile, but I think that it was meant to be that way because he also doesn't deserve to have someone carry on his name.
Amir is not a good protagonist, or person for that matter. I have talked to people about him, and nobody I've talked to likes him. The protagonist is supposed to be the hero, someone who the reader roots for, not some person who lies to their best friends.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)