Final Post

1. What is the setting of the novel? Is the setting important or could the novel happen anywhere? Why? Would it change the plot? In what way?
2. Write down a passage that appeals to you and describe why? Does it make more of an impact on your understanding of the book or does it make more of a personal impact? What significance does the passage have in the book? 

   The setting of the Kite Runner is a once-pure and tolerant country which is later ravaged by ethnic and religious conflict. Tolerant in the sense that Hazara were permitted a modicum of decency, besides the slight name-calling which is minuscule in contrast to the stoning and public executions. Prior to the Taliban insurgency, children would run freely through neighborhoods and fly their kites openly and families were able to gather for picnics. This particular setting is invaluable for illustrating the messages the author was trying to convey. Khaled elegantly and impartially presented the lifestyle of Afghanistan to a culture which has recently developed an acute, perhaps ignorant, prejudice against Afghanistan and its culture; specifically, America. It's crucial that the novel take place in Afghanistan as Canada and America currently have a military presence in Afghanistan and its nearly impossible to turn on the news without mention of Afghanistan in some form or another. The events of this novel are inseparable from Afghanistan if the author wanted to convey the message he did.

   

  Through-out the duration of the novel, I always wondered why Amir treated Hassan the way he did. Despite Hassan's unremitting loyalty, Amir relished in deceiving him and testing his loyalty. An answer to Amir's odd behavior is revealed when Rahim tells Amir that Hassan was actually his half brother and that Ali was sterile.

 "Ali was sterile," Rahim Khan said. 

"No he wasn't. He and Sanaubar had Hassan, didn't they? They had Hassan - " 

"No they didn't" Rahim Khan said.

"Yes they did!"

"No they didn't, Amir."

"Then who -" 

"I think you know who." pg 234

Amir's strange and deceptive behavior towards Hassan was stimulated by a secret neither of them knew. I've heard that boy-girl twin's who are separated at birth will have an attraction towards one another when united. Throughout the novel it's repeated numerous times that "A kinship exists between boys who fed from the same breast," they not only fed from the same breast, but they were created with the same seed. My older brother often meddled with me when I was younger, not to censure me, but to strengthen me for a time when we were no longer together and he was no longer there to test me. Amir was unknowingly strengthening Hassan for his future, given that he was incredibly kind, trusting, and benevolent, because he wouldn't always have Baba and Amir's family there to support him in such a tolerant way, and because other people wouldn't extend the same support. 

Halfway Post

1.    Identify and list examples of flashback and/or foreshadowing in the book. What purpose does flashback play in the book? Is it effective? What purpose does the foreshadowing play in the book? Is it effective? Did you ''guess'' what the foreshadowing was pointing to?

2.    Would you recommend this book to another reader? Why/Why not? What kind of person would you recommend it to? What would you tell the person about the book?

The first  and second chapters of this novel contain two very profound examples of flashback and foreshadowing that, with hindsight, grip my heartstrings very tightly. The first paragraph of the novel has Amir reflecting on the day the turning point of the story occurs: “I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peaking into the alley near the frozen creek. Pg1”  Initially, the reader has absolutely no clue what it is he’s peaking at from behind that crumbling mud wall, but it successfully grasps your interest. The moment a boy realizes what he is to be for the rest of his life is momentous and monumental, something to be celebrated. I recall fervently awaiting that moment to arise in the novel so I could  discover what type of man Amir becomes, the events that lead up to it give you a very good indication of what type of man he will become however. This type of flashback was incredibly effective at constructing the foundation for the novel; the reader learns that this moment is pivotal in the protagonist’s life and it must be a moment where he witnesses something either horrendous or glorifying. The example of foreshadowing from the second chapter which was incredibly ominous is when Amir discloses what his and Hassans first words were. "And under the same roof, we spoke our  first words. Mine was Baba. His was Amir. My name." pg 12. Immediately, I knew this was an indication of where the two characters loyalties would be. Despite being easy to decipher, this use of foreshadowing is very powerful on a deep level; first words are an extraordinary and memorable moment.  

I would definitely recommend this novel to a select few people; particularly, people who don’t mind a conceited, envious and hypersensitive character who betrays the most loyal companion and then proceeds to act like an arrogant, spoiled child. In short, someone who doesn’t mind resenting the protagonist for more than half the novel. I can recall several moments where I was actually so frustrated with Amir that I had to put the novel down and take a breather. A lot of teenage readers that I know would prefer their protagonist have sound morals and be a character from which you could extract positive attributes in order to better yourself. Amir is the opposite, Amir exposes the fragile, timid, and hubristic ape inside all of us that is secretly jealous of others when they experience things we do not or best us at our hobby, or when they earn the favor of someone which we would like to earn the favor of, most importantly, he exposes how we would respond to the ultimate test of our spirit if that test involved a daunting gang of stronger, perhaps superior, apes which were abusing our ally. 

Introductory Post

The Kite Runner

By: Khaled Hosseini

Published By: Anchor Canada

Copyright 2003

391 Pages

 Synopsis: Amir, native to Afghanistan and the progeny of a wealthy Kabul merchant, has an unlikely bond with Hassan, his servant and companion, despite Hassan's lowly status. When contentious ethnic, religious and political tensions begin to rise, Amir's family flees to California, leaving Hassan behind to a horrible fate. Years after he has fleed to California, Amir receives a phone call from a distant friend in Pakistan who tells him: "There is a way to be good again." Amir accepts the calling and makes the pilgrimage back to his homeland in order to correct the wrong he committed against his only true friend.

ONLINE REVIEW: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8947952

The above review seems to dissent from the widely-accept acclaim of the book, this reviewer gives it 1 out of 5 stars.. I chose this review because rather than go into the book only being cognizant of the raves and acclaim, I'd like to be aware of the bad things others noticed and see if I feel the same way. Every single person I've asked about this book gives me a one liner such as: "awesome Book", "amazing novel", "the best book ever." In her review Linda really loathes the expected sympathy we as the readers are supposed to have for a main character who apparently inflicts suffering upon others than feels immense guilt and sorrow which is supposed to make us feel sympathetic for the protagonist, even though he's only upset about what he's inflicted on others, when the others must endure incredible pain time and time again at his hand. Linda even goes as far to say: "I finished the novel resenting Amir, and even more intensely resenting the author for trying to make the reader think she's supposed to care about Amir, more than about anyone else in the story." 

Now that I am aware of the apparent follies of this novel, I have a bit more to write besides agreeing with all of the acclaim.