A Thousand Splendid Suns LRB #2

"A Thousand Splendid Suns", by Khaled Hosseini, is centered in the country of Afghanistan. In the second part of the book, ranging from pages 153 to 272, the books centers around a girl by the name of Laila. Part two begins with Laila as a young girl. Her best friend Tariq is out of town, and she is worried sick about him returning safely. Then he comes back. The story continues on as the child grows older. Sometimes there is even small mentions of Mariam. However, she is not the focus right now. When Laila reaches the ago of fourteen, Tariq is sixteen, the two decide to have a secret fling. It is a romance that makes your heart skip a beat. It's so cute. They meet in alleys and sneak around. Tariq even tells Laila that he only has eyes for her. How precious! So anyway the two are doing their own little thing, but Tariq is hiding a secret from Laila. His family is leaving Kabul because of all of the fighting. When he finally tells Laila it's after the two have already made love to each other. Which is so sad. He tries to get her to go with him, but she refuses. She can't leave her father. So she stays and he leaves. The saddest thing ever. Two weeks after he leaves her mother agrees to leave. They are packing up their things, when a stray missile hits her house. It kills her father and her mother, and almost kills her. Did I mention that her mother is crazy? Well she is. Also, her brothers are dead. So anyway she gets hit by junk, and she is in rough shape. Then comes Rasheed and Mariam to the rescue. They take her in, and begin nursing her back to health. End of part two.

Questions for Inner and Outer Circle

I don't remember my original questions, so I came up with a few new ones.

Do you find it ironic that Assef considers Amir and his father traitors for leaving Afghanistan, when his parents left, and he doesn't consider them to be traitors?

Do you think that Amir and Soraya not being able to have kids is punishment for him not standing up for Hassan when he was raped?

How do you feel about Baba not being more upfront about being Hasan's father? Why do you think he didn't openly admit it?

Do you think that Ali knew that Hassan wasn't his son?

How do you feel about Hassan's mother coming back? What do you think is the significance of her returning ugly, or not as physically attractive, as she was when she left?

The Kite Runner Time Writing

1. Examine the rubric closely. What score do you deserve based on that rubric? Justify why by giving examples. 

If it was up to me, I would give myself a 5. My analysis was thinly developed, however it was on the verge of being developed. The essay contained some plot summary, however, there was some good analysis. Although the pivotal moment that was saw as the actual pivotal moment was not used, I still picked a pivotal moment and attempted to analyze it. My analysis just fell short of the bar. I understood the effect of the pivotal moment, I just didn't get the words out on the page. 

2. Read the student performance "Common errors" section. What common errors did you commit? If you were going to do this prompt over again, how would you correct these errors?

I made the mistake of using the words meaning of the work as a whole in my paper. Also I didn't just restate the prompt in my introduction, I practically wrote the entire prompt in my introduction. I didn't just throw in some of the phrases from it. I didn't use enough details. All I done was talk about the pivotal moment, not how it affected the protagonist. If I could do it over, then I would change the phrases, and reword my introduction. Also, I would try to focus on my analysis more.

3. After reading the student response examples what have you learned? Is there anything specifically you would change in your own paper?

I would change the pivotal moment that I used. I realized that my moment was pivotal, but it was not the best option. I have learned that I need to practice analyzing and not just summarizing. I also realized that I don't need to simply restate the prompt as my thesis. I need to state the prompt, but develop my own thesis. 

4. What aspect of timed writings do you feel you need the most help on? What do you suggest we do in class to help with this?

I just hate timed writing. I hate them with a passion. I can do ok picking something to write about. I just think it's the pressure of doing a timed writing. On the AP Exam I can take as much time as I want, although I know I am being timed. In class, I am being graded and it kills me. I take time to write. I have a hard time with my introduction. I hate introductions. 

Literary Response Journal From Where I left Off To The End Of The Book

Let's see. I hate how this book ended. It was ok. It was a descent ending, but I just wouldn't have wrote it that way. I didn't like that Hassan died, however, considering the events of the story it made sense. I also had this feeling like from the beginning that there were no Caldwells. Then it turned out I was right. I hated that Sohrab tried to kill himself. It made me feel so sad. Like this poor kid has been through so much already. This book was honestly a wake up call to what those people have been through. I never realized that this stuff actually went on. I knew it did, I just had never had it put so bluntly in front of my face. It's an entirely different culture. I thought it was ironic that Hassan had a harelip, which marked him for greatness. Then Amir gets a harelip fighting with Assef. I think that it is his price to pay though. I don't know if that makes any sense or not. I just feel like he is finally redeeming himself, and paying that price. It makes me think of jesus. I know that sounds crazy. Amir didn't die and Jesus did. Amir also sinned and jesus didn't. Amir is paying for his sins and the sins of his father just like jesus paid for our sins. This book also does a biblical reference to the story of david and goliath. Assef is goliath. Amir is david. At the point where the the two fight for Sohrab, I feel like this is the major turning point in the story. The dream that Amir had was a key point. Like at first he thought that Baba was wrestling a bear, but it was actually himself. This is important because the bear is like their sins. Baba had to battle his sins, and now Amir is battling his. They had to wrestle their bears. There are so many differences in the book and the movie. I'm just not even going there. I do like this book though. It is up there with Looking For Alaska and The Fault In Our Stars.

Literary Response Journal Number 3 The Kite Runner Page 165 March 17 2014

During the next several pages of The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, I have come to have an extreme hatred for Amir. His father is sick and dying, and what does he do, he asks his father to go see the General and ask for his daughters hand in marriage. I guess I skipped a little far though. I could talk about how Amir and his father fled Afghanistan after the Russians took over. They hid out on a bus with a bunch of other Afghans. Then Amir's father almost got himself killed by standing up and protecting an Afghan woman. After the bus reached it's destination, they came in contact with a another set of Afghans who were fleeing the country. Amir saw Kamal, Assef's friend. After hiding in the gas tank of a gas truck when they got out of the truck Kamal died. I think it served him right because he helped Assef rape Hassan. Kamal's father was so devastated that he shot himself. Crazy right. I think so too. If he only knew what a pig his son was. I guess he would still love him though. Which I think is crazy, but I don't have kids, so I suppose I can't fully understand. Anyway after fleeing the country, Amir and his father came to America. When they got to America, Amir's father started working at a gas station. Then Amir graduated high school at the age of like 20. Then he enrolled in Junior College classes. They sold the Buick. They bought a Volkswagen van. The two started to participate in flea markets. The night of Amir's graduation, his father took them to a bar, and bought drink for everybody there that night. He started a party. That was the night that Amir was given a grand torino by his father for a graduation present. When the two got home, his father made a remark about Hassan being with them, which totally killed Amir. Amir is a completely selfish bastard by the way. I'm going back to his father dying, and him wanting his father to secure his marriage. It kills me. He is such an ass. I can relate to Amir's struggle with losing his father. He is struggling with it, and it is causing him pain. He is hurting and trying to deal with it the best he can. I can relate to that because I have felt the same way before.

Literary Response Journal The Kite Runner Thursday 3/13/14 Page 109

In the novel The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, Amir and Hassan are on the adventures of a lifetime. They are growing up. Life is a wild ride. As I continued to read to page 109, I began to realize that I had a hatred for Amir. He is such a lucky kid. I understand that he struggles with the relationship with his father. It's rough. I have been there, but come on. He is punishing Hassan for no reason, and poor Hassan has already been through so much. At one point in the story Amir looks at his father and says, "Baba, have you ever thought about getting new servants." He literally wants to get rid of Hassan. Then he asks Hassan to go with him to the top of the hill, and he tells Hassan that he has a story to read to him. Instead of reading to the eager Hassan, he pelts him with pomegranates. The poor child just stands there. Defenseless. Amir's father threw him the best birthday party that could have ever been asked for. Amir believes that it is solely because he won the kite tournament, and he may be right. Assef brought Amir a copy of the biography of Hitler. Talk about gross. Amir received a new watch from his father, as well as envelopes of money from various guests. He plants the money and the watch under Hassan's mattress, and then tells his father. Poor Hassan is being accused of stealing, and when he is asked about it, he says that he did it when he didn't. Ali says that he is leaving, and Amir believes that Hassan told Ali about everything, and he also believes that Hassan knows he witnessed what happened. I hope he feels like complete scum. He deserves it. The work uses elements of literature such as foreshadowing. Hassan was asked if he would dirt for Amir, and Hassan replied yes, but he also asked Amir if he would ask him to eat dirt. Later though Hassan ate dirt for Amir when Assef raped him. Amir done all of these things out of his quest to redeem his self in the eyes of his father. Chapters from How To Read Literature Like A Professor relate to the story. There are bible references, so the bible chapter relates. The violence chapter would relate. I think that the quest chapter would relate because I think Amir is on a quest to redeem himself in the eyes of his father. I am trying to decide whether or not Amir is a static or dynamic character. I feel like he could be both. I think that it would be easier to decide when I finish the book.

First Literary Response Journal 3/11 Page 80

During the first forty pages of The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the author introduces the main characters of the story. Their names are Amir and Hassan. They are two boys that are closet to each other in not only just their ages, but also their personalities. As you approach page 80 in the book, you come to gain a little insight to the name of the book. In Afghanistan kite flying is a hobby. Amir and Hassan always fly kites every year in the competition, and the fallen kites are always prizes. The children who chases after the falling kites are referred to as kite runners, and Hassan is known as the best kite runner of them all. Amir himself even acknowledges Hassan's talent on page 52 when he says, "But Hassan was by far the greatest kite runner I'd ever seen. It was downright eerie the way he always got to the spot the kite would land before the kite did, as if he had some sort of inner compass." Amir is a privileged kid. He comes from a wealthy family, and for him to say the this about Hassan, I believe it must be true. Plus he tells the story of Hassan running a kite, and he sat down and waited. Then he saw the kite start to fall, and he took a few steps and opened his arms, and the kite fell into them. This story seems to be revolving around the two boys, but I believe that it is going to focus on Hassan. Maybe not directly on him, but indirectly. I feel like after reading about Hassan being raped by Assef, that's going to be the central conflict through the story. Amir struggles with his guilt. He knows that he should have stepped in, or at least when and got help. Instead he done nothing, and the guilt of his decision is causing internal conflict. So, that's why I feel like this story is going to indirectly revolve around Hassan. I think that because the author grew up in Afghanistan, he is able to easily write about it. It's not that it is easy for him. He is just so knowledgable about the culture and the people, that he is able to write in detail. He writes in such great detail that it makes it seem so much more real to me than most books normally do. This book makes me realize how real everything is that goes on over there, and that even though this is a fictional story the events that take place are real. I struggle with the names of food or other household items. I don't know if I am pronouncing them correctly, and there are times when I question what they are. However I like that they are in the story because it relates to the author's heritage. So far, I am loving this book. I just want to keep reading it.