The Kite Runner (Blog 8)
By: Khaled Hosseini

As depressing as this book was, I really did enjoy it.  Every time something good finally happened, a tragedy occurred shortly after, so I was relieved to see that the ending wasn't sad.  It actually ended the novel on a positive note with a sense of hope.  I liked that Sohrab got to partake in kite flying with Amir.  It was one of Amir's most cherished past times, especially because he spent those times with Hassan.  I think that it was interesting that Amir got another chance to experience this with Hassan, although it wasn't actually with Hassan himself.  Amir got to do this with Hassan's son Sohrab, whom reminded Amir of his best friend in numerous ways.  Since Amir had brought him to America, Sohrab had been silent the entire time.  No one could get him to talk or put a smile on his face.  It was a good experience for Amir and Sohrab to share together.  For Sohrab, it gave him the chance to finally try to live a normal childhood.  He finally felt at peace and welcome.  In addition, it was a connection for him to be with his father again.  For Amir, the kite flying gave him a sense of peace and forgiveness.  It was the first time he had flown a kite since he won the kite tournament 25 years before (the same day he saw Hassan get raped).  This was Amir's first time of having positive memories of Hassan since he had finally forgiven himself.  It was a chance to remind him of how special his childhood was, especially with Hassan as his best friend.  With this experience with Sohrab, Amir can feel Hassan through his son, and his memory can live on for both of them.  At the very end of the book, Amir finally gets Sohrab to smile.  This hopefully will lead to him opening up to Amir and others in his future life in America.  A quote that I liked at the end of this novel was "'for you a thousand times over'" (Hosseini, 371).  This quote was said many times throughout the book.  I liked it at the end of this because I took it as Amir telling Sohrab that he will do anything for him.  He regrets not sticking up for Hassan against Assef, but he is going to make up for it by always being there for Sohrab.

The Kite Runner (Blog 7)
By: Khaled Hosseini

Throughout the book, it seems that Amir struggles with his faith.  As a child, he was dedicated to making sure he never missed prayers or times of worship.  However, as he got older, his religion became less of a priority.  Amir realizes that the last time he prayed was more than 15 years ago.  It was the day that he watched Hassan and Ali pack the car to leave Baba's house for good.  I wonder how Amir's life would have been different if he had kept a stronger faith all along.  Would he have been able to forgive himself sooner?  Would he have mended his relationship with Hassan before it was too late?  These questions obviously can't be answered since Amir went through a long period of time without prayer.  However, he turns back to God when he has to take Sohrab to the hospital.  It seems that at this time, Amir is getting his priorities straight again.  He has lost most of the important people to him, so he doesn't want to let Sohrab get away from him.  "I see now that Baba was wrong, there is a God, there always has been.  I see Him here, in the eyes of the people in the corridor of desperation" (Hosseini, 346).  In this quote, I found a literary term.  It can serve as Amir's epiphany.  At this time, he realized that he needed to put his faith in God.  He wasn't going to be able to control every situation and solve every problem in his life.  He needed to see God through it all to make it through all of the hardships he had endured.

The Kite Runner (Blog 6)
By: Khaled Hosseini

It was sad for me to see that Sohrad was sexually taken advantage of.  Hassan, his father, experienced the same thing from Assef.  Although this book is fictional, it is disturbing to know that this kind of stuff happens in the real world.  Sohrab explained to Amir that he is left feeling dirty and sinful.  He had been sexually abused, and he was left no longer feeling clean and pure anymore.  Sohrab says he wants his old life back.  He wants his parents, grandmother, and Rahim Kahn to all be back with him again.  His childhood has been torn apart, and he feels alone and hopeless.  Even worse, Sohrab isn't the only child like this.  Afghanistan is so torn by the war at this point in the novel that this situation is common.  It is common for children to be orphans, or not even know where their parents are.  "There are a lot of children in Afghanistan, but little childhood" (Hosseini, 318).  This quote is a paradox.  If there are many children, we would think that this automatically means that they all have childhoods.  This quote carries a deeper meaning, though.  It is saying that the many children of the country do not have normal childhoods.  They are often abandoned or orphaned, and they do not get to live happy lives like children should be able to.  This isn't how anyone's childhood should be.  Because of this fact, readers feel much sympathy not just for Sohrab, but all Afghan children.

The Kite Runner (Blog 5)
By: Khaled Hosseini

Chapter 22 was so upsetting for me to read.  Amir was just trying to help find Sohrab and give him a chance for a better life.  The officials kept questioning Amir's true intentions of coming back to Afghanistan, but Amir was truly there for Sohrab.  I expected it to be difficult to get Sohrab from the Talibans, but I was more shocked than I thought I would be.  The last person I expected Amir to encounter was Assef.  When Assef came into the scene, I knew things were going to turn ugly.  Assef was saying that he wanted to get rid of the "garbage" of Afghanistan.  This disgusted me; I have no respect for people that are degrading towards other human beings.  "'Afghanistan is like a beautiful mansion littered with garbage, and someone has to take out the garbage'" (Hosseini, 284).  Earlier in the novel, Assef explained how he really like Adolf Hitler.  This quote reminded me of Hitler so much.  Assef ended up telling Amir that he could take Sohrab, but they had to fight first.  If Amir won, he could leave with him.  Assef wore his brass knuckles and was beating Amir badly.  Sohrab saved him by shooting a brass ball at Assef with his slingshot.  He ended up hitting Assef right in the eye, and they were able to escape.  Amir was already injured severely, though.  A literary term that I noticed at this point in the book was imagery.  It made it so much easier for me to picture what was happening to Amir.  I could visualize the setting and Amir's appearance quite vividly in my mind.  "Assef straddling my chest, his face a mask of lunacy, framed by snarls of his hair swaying inches from my face.  His free hand was locked around my throat.  The other, the one with the brass knuckles, cocked above his shoulder" (Hosseini, 289).  I think that this quote is a good example of the imagery used for this scene.  It made the whole situation so much more realistic, in my opinion.

The Kite Runner (Blog 4)
By: Khaled Hosseini

I was so sad when Baba died.  I know that it was inevitable since his cancer couldn't be cured, but I still thought it was very depressing.  Baba and Amir didn't always have a great relationship.  Growing up, Amir felt that he could never please his father.  Even after he won the kite tournament, their relationship wasn't strong for long.  I think that one thing that brought them closer together was escaping to America.  Their journey was long and difficult.  Besides each other, they didn't have anyone anymore.  Because of this, I think that they grew closer on their journey.  At Baba's funeral, many people talked to Amir and expressed their strong admiration for Baba.  He was a great person and helped many people throughout his life.  "Listening to them, I realized how much of who I was, what I was, had been defined by Baba and the marks he had left on people's lives.  My whole life, I had been 'Baba's son.'  Now he was gone.  Baba couldn't show me the way anymore; I'd have to find it on my own" (Hosseini, 174).  I liked this quote because it shows that Amir realized his father was an amazing individual.  He realized that his father was selfless and constantly made a difference in other people's lives.  Luckily, Amir had paid attention to all that his father did throughout his lifetime.  I think he will be able to live a life similar to his father, but I think he is going to tell Soraya about what happened with Hassan first.  I think that if he finally admits it to someone, he will be able to move forward with his life and model it after Baba's.

The Kite Runner (Blog 3)
By: Khaled Hosseini

I found chapter 12 to be extremely upsetting.  One week, Baba catches a cold with a hacking cough.  His sickness only progresses, and his health is quickly deteriorating.  After two weeks, Amir sees his father coughing up blood.  He becomes very worried and finally takes his father to the doctor.  At the San Jose hospital, the doctor states that he has found a suspicious spot on Baba's right lung.  Baba has been a smoker for years, so the doctor is pretty sure it's lung cancer.  After multiple trips to the doctors and many tests later, Dr. Amani diagnosed Baba with cancer.  Even after this trip to the doctor, Baba wants to keep his illness a secret for as long as possible.  His secret is revealed at the flea market when he has a seizure one day, though.  They go to a doctor who puts films from Baba's CAT scan on a viewing box.  He shows that Baba's cancer has "metastasized" and will cause his death very soon.  Amir is distraught with the thought of having to live life without his father.  "I wept in the hallway, by the viewing box where, the night before, I'd seen the killer's face" (Hosseini, 160).  This quote serves as an analogy between cancer and a murderer.  Prior to this, Amir had said how cancer was like a killer.  The films on the viewing box were like a cop showing mug shots of a killer to a victim's family.  As depressing as this analogy is, I found it to be a very good comparison.

The Kite Runner (Blog 2)

By: Khaled Hosseini

When they moved to America, Baba and Amir had to use their visas to register as US citizens.  Their eligibility officer was a heavyset African American woman named Mrs. Dobbins.  Mrs. Dobbins gave Baba a stack of food stamps.  Baba refuses to take them.  "'Thank you, but I don't want,' Baba said.  'I work always.  In Afghanistan I work, in America I work.  Thank you very much, Mrs. Dobbins, but I don't like it free money'" (Hosseini, 130).  I found this quote to serve as an example of characterization about Baba.  Many of the Afghan people seem to be very serious about keeping honor and dignity.  Baba definitely isn't an exception to this.  He wants to maintain a respectable persona, and he feels that he can keep this by always working hard.  In Kabul, he worked so hard and was very wealthy.  Many people were envious of him and his extravagant possessions.  I think that this made Baba proud of himself.  He would not want to live a life of having things handed to him after all of his hard work.  He was already working at a gas station.  Baba didn't want people to view him as lazy if he was on food stamps.  Also, I think that he didn't want his son to be disappointed in him.  As a father, it seems like Baba always wanted to come off as a strong and respectable man.

The Kite Runner (Blog 1)

By: Khaled Hosseini

Escaping the war-torn country of Afghanistan and the Russians, Baba and Amir move to Fremont, California.  Baba has not easily transitioned to life in America, and he struggles to adjust to living away from the only country he has ever known.  Life in America was a very different experience for Amir.  He no longer viewed Kabul as his home after it was invaded.  However, he did not like to see his father so worn out and miserable.  Amir suggests that they move back to Pakistan.  Baba is completely against this and says that they came to America for Amir to finish high school and hopefully college.  In the summer of 1983, Amir graduated high school, and he was trying to decide whether he wanted to attend a junior college or not.  Baba strongly encouraged his son to go to college because he didn't want him to have to work a tiring job at a gas station like him.  For Amir's graduation, Baba buys his son a used Ford Grand Torino.  After realizing the bright future he can achieve in America, Amir decides that he will attend junior college and get a degree in creative writing.  In this part of the novel, Amir presents an extended metaphor.  "America was different.  America was a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past.  I could wade into this river, let my sins drown to the bottom, let the waters carry me someplace far.  Somewhere with no ghosts, no memories, and no sins" (Hosseini, 136).  This metaphor compares Amir's past in Kabul to his future in America.  His life is like a flowing river, which allows him to move on from past memories.  A river is always flowing, just as Amir's life will continue to move along, regardless of his painful past.  This obviously refers to his friendship with Hassan.  Amir feels that his life in America is a fresh start.  He can move on from these dark memories and try to begin anew.