The Kite Runner
The title of the
novel often suggests an underlying theme, idea, or message. Based on what you
have read so far indicate the significance of the title. Does the title suggest
any connections to your own life or raise any questions?
Based on what I have read so far in “The Kite
Runner” I believe that the kites play a big role in the culture in Kabul. The
author states “Never mind that we spent entire winters flying kites, running
kites”, (Hosseini 20). This shows that kite flying was a great form of entertainment
to people in Kabul. This title does make a connection to my life, when I was
younger my parents would not let me sit around the house and let me watch tv
and play video games all day. My father told me to find myself a hobby and
eventually I got myself into flying kites. For a couple years making and flying
kites became one of my main hobbies.
When you read, you
should be asking questions about what is happening. Make three predictions
about what you feel may happen next. Support your predictions with evidence
from the text thus far.
I believe that something bad will happen to
Hassan because already in the beginning of the book he is being
dricriminatized, “You! The hazara” (Hosseini 5). I believe that Amir will
betray Hassan. He treats him like his puppet for personal use and does not
worry about the consequences of the actions he makes Hassan do such as shooting
the neighbors dog and taking the blame for it, even though Hassan is his one of
his only truly loyal friends. I predict that maybe Hassan's mother will be
introduced later on, the author foreshadowed, “Hassan never talked about his
mother, as if she’d never existed. I always wondered if he dreamed about her.”
(Hosseini 5).
Write down two
favourite quotations from the text. Explain the significance of each so far in
the novel.
“But we were kids who had learned to crawl
together, and no history, ethnicity, society, or religion was going to change
that either. I spent most of the first twelve years of my life playing with
Hassan. Sometimes, my entire childhood seems like one long lazy summer day with
Hassan, chasing each other between tangles of trees in my father's yard,
playing hide-and-seek, cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, insect torture –
with our crowning achievement undeniably the time we plucked the stinger off a
bee and tied a string around the poor thing to yank it back every time it took
flight.” (Hosseini 20). In this quote Amir explained the deep history of
friendship between him and Hassan. Although he explains them to be such good
friends, Hassan and AMir are from two different levels of society and Hassan
being the lower (Hazara). I want to see if they truly are friends and if they
will stick up from one another to superior people.
“Assef gritted his teeth. “Put it down you
motherless Hazara”.” This was soon after we are introduced to a antagonist of
the book, Assef. He is a very racist boy with a heavy history of violence and
racism. You can see how he spoke to Hassan and this foreshadowed a future of
conflict between each other. Also I took note that Amir did not stand up for
Hassan at all, and this also showed that he is not a true loyal friend.
