Dear Reader,
"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini portrays the life of Amir who lives in pakistan with his father, a succesful buisnessman. So far in the story Amir is desperatly trying to win his fathers love as he feels he is not the son his father wanted and he feels he has to make it up to his dad since his mom died while delivering him. This need for acceptance particularly shows through when Amir's "Baba" or father says that he thinks Amir will win the kite fighting competition this year. Amir sees this as an opprotunity and thinks " I was going to win, and I was going to run that last kite. Then I'd bring it home and show it to Baba. Show Him once and for all that his son was worthy" (Hosseini 57). This concept of children proving themselves to their parents is prevelant in alot of families today. Like Amir, children sometimes feel like they're letting down their parents and that they need to prove themselfs. In order to prove themselfs children may want to win a competion or achieve a goal like Amir did in the kite competion. Have you ever felt the need to prove yourself to your parents?
In the story so far there have been multiple sections which have clashed with my views on the world. One specific example is when Hassan is being raped by Assef in the alley after retrieving the kite for Amir. As Amir onlooks the scene in horror he desribes what he sees " He kept one hand on Hassan's back and undid his own belt buckle with his free hand. He unzipped his jeans dropped his underwear. He positioned himself behind Hassan" (75 Hosselini). This graphic scene completely clashed with my thoughts on the world, mainly because im blinded of what happens in other places than America. A early teenage boy raping another teenage boy to teach him a lesson? This is unknown to Americans. My stomach was turned after reading this section being so graphic and unheard of to me. Its hard to believe that this happens somewhere in the world. As a reader what was your mental reponse to this section?
Overall im really enjoying the book so far. Although it was a little slow to start, as im sure you would agree, the book is beggining to pick up. I particularly enjoyed the kite fighting section since I had no clue such an intresting sport existed. Which part did you enjoy the most so far? The story is pretty dark to due its topic yet I kinda of enjoy its harsh reality. At parts its very graphic but it shows what life was like in Afgan during the 1970's. This time period was before Afganistan became well known for its volient extremists and government turmoil. I didnt think this time period was very violent yet its turning out to be the opposite of that. Before reading 'The Kite Runner" how did you think Afganistan was during the 1970's? Also what are your thoughts on the book so far?
Sincerely,
Ben Sawyer
I agree that all children at times feel like they must impress or prove something to their parents. The cause of this is for different reasons than Amir had sometimes though. Amir felt like he wasn't good enough for his Dad becasue his Dad was a very successful buisness man and athletic. Some kids try to impress or prove a point to their parents about a disagreement. This is the reason why I have tried to prove myself to my parents. The scene that Assef raped Hassan was also a shock to me. Reading that scene made me relize how lucky we all are to live in America. The protection of the people here is so much better. If a boy in America was raped then everyone would know. It would not stay a secret like it did with Hassan. My favorite part of the book was also the kite flying scene. I don't fully understand how one kite is cut without cutting the other. I actually thought that Afganistan was always in trouble with government. I never really considered anything different probably becasue I was not alive for anything different. The book made me think of Afganistan as a better place than I previously thought of it. I also agree that the book is starting to pick up after having a slow start.
ReplyDeleteOne video that made me think about the book is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5S47aSlezs. This video tought me more about the kite running scene. It showed me how the real kite running happened in Afganistan. I felt it helped me understand more of the signifigance of that scene.
ReplyDelete