Dear Reader,
One event that occured in The Kite Runner that shocked me happened on page 105. Amir put Afghani money, and his watch under Hassan’s pillow to frame him so that him and Ali would be fired. When Baba asked Hassan if he stole the items he was acused of taking, he admitted to it. This shocked Amir because he knew that he was the one that put the money and watch under his pillow. He then thinks to himself, “Then I understood: This was Hassan’s final sacrafice for me.” I was suprised that Hassan was able to remain loyal to his best friend after he had seen him get raped and not done one thing to stop it, and was currently trying to rid him and his father of their job and home. I think this period of the novel showed a tremendous amount of Hassan’s character. He is a truly pure person that does everything for the people he loves even when they don’t deserve it. I think Hassan is an amazing, and extremely strong person and I look up to him for those reasons. What do you think about Hassan’s character?
One time where I saw a difference in culture was on page 188. Amir and Soraya were having difficulty in attempting to start a family and become parents. A doctor reccomended that they try adoption. When the news of this reached Soraya’s father he gave Amir and Soraya a long speech. He said, “People here (In America) marry for love, family name and ancestry never even come into the equation.” In Afghanistan family name is an extremely important factor in family life. People know who everyone is, and who there ancestors are. If someone were to adopt no one would know where they were brought up, whose genes they had, what kind of blood they had. None of that would be present. In America it would not matter; as long as the child was healthy everyone was happy as well. This was one of the many times in the story that I found clashing views on a certain subject between the two vastly different cultures. It really interested me to see why Afghani’s viewed adoption the way that they did. Did this part of the novel interest you? Why or why not? Did you see many differences between the two cultures throughout The Kite Runner?
A quote that was very interesting was on page 165. When Amir And Soraya first got engaged she told him of her past with other men in case he wanted to change his mind about the marrige. She didn’t want to start of the marrige with secrecy and lies. Amir does not change his mind, and admires the fact that she is able to reaveal her secrets, unlike him, who is still holding onto several secrets involving Hassan. He thinks in his mind, “I envied her. Her secret was out. Spoken. Dealt with. I opened my mouth and almost told her how I’d betrayed Hassan, lied, driven him out, and destroyed a forty-year relationship between Baba and Ali. But I didn’t.” This really stood out to me, and I thought that he would reveal all of the secrets he held onto from his past, seeing so as his soon-to-be wife could, then so could he. It shocked me when he didn’t say anything, and kept it to himself. He was so close to being completely honest and truthful, and letting go of that portion of his life. To me, this showed character. Amir was becoming closer to speaking out about what happened. I hope in the future of the story to see him actually do so. Do you think Amir will reveal his past? What was your reaction to this portion of the novel?
Sincerely, Destiny Messier
Dear Destiney,
ReplyDeleteI do agree that Hassan is an amazing and loyal character. Even after he knew that his best friend had just sat there and watch him get raped and then set him up so he looked like he stole something, he still was loyal to his Amir and said that he did steel the items which i think shows both loyalty and strength.
Yes this part did interest me becasue i find it interetsing on hoe they want to know so much about there past and where they come from, but Americans don't really care as much about this.I did see other differences in culture, like when Baba went to go purchase something and the cashier asked him for his id, but in Afghanistan everyone would trust each other and so showing the id would not be necessary, and Baba was even slightly offended in a way that he had to show it.
I do believe that at some point Amir will reveal his past and what happened to him. It shoes that his guilt is still very much present form watching Hassan get raped, so i feel that he must want to tell someone sometime and he will tell his wife. My reaction to this part was that i am surprised that after his wife telling him about her past that he didn't say his like his soon to be wife did to him, but i do feel that he will soon.