LoVe iT!!!! Its a great and wonderful Literary piece!!
LoVe iT!!!! Its a great and wonderful Literary piece!!
"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise."
-- F. Scott Fitzgerald
So, none of you, think it to be prejudiced, in some way? Even slightly?
it does feel biased; i don't agree alot with the setting Hosseni created but that's with every other book.
I dunno, I concentrated more on the events and feelings that the charachters had..
Yes, emotionally, I felt its strength too.
I've read both his books in the past few months. I love them both! It is nice to learn about Afghanistan history. The stories are amazing- I highly recommend both books to everyone!Originally Posted by eteacher45
I teach the book in my World Lit classes. The perspectives of my students are astounding! This novel is a great one to use for discussion.
SPOILER.....
eteacher, I'm so glad you teach this book in your World Lit class. I too teach World Lit at the high school level, and am wondering how you and the class dealt with the rape scenes? Thanks for any tips. Perhaps I can teach this book in the future. At my current school, I couldn't because the principal of this school made a comment to me that she couldn't finish the book because of that initial rape scene. Geez, if she couldn't even read it, I dare not introduce it into her school I think.
"I have so often dreamed of you that you become unreal." ~ Robert Desnos
A friend of mine gave me this book as a birthday present and I read it overnight.It is very powerful and moving,although artistically I've seen better.Anyway,today,in our world,potece is more important,as people need something to belive in,something to make them think and act.In the end,The Kite Runner is a very idealist book,one that can teach people human love and compassion is not dead,that spiritual strength is not dead.
Definitely one of the best books of modern literature.
You forget that the kingdom of heaven suffers violence: and the kingdom of heaven is like a woman.
James Joyce
It is a fatal miscarriage, so ill to order affairs, as to pass for a fool in one company, when in another you might be treated as a philosopher. Jonathan Swift
Like all those who admired this book, I was rivetted by the first two-thirds of it but my belief in it began quickly to disappear once he receives the long distance call from Rahmin Khan & returns to Afghanistan. After that, it seemed to me, there was one unbelievable contrivance or coincidence after another: the beggar he encounters who turns out to have been a class-mate of his mother; the prominent Taliban who turns out to be the villain, Assem; and above all else, the information that Hassan was his half-brother. That Hassan has been killed conveniently deprives the novel of providing the much-desired confrontation between them, in which Amir might atone for his earlier despicable behaviour. Instead we are asked to believe that the savage beating administered by Assem serves that purpose. It was all too convenient, too contrived for me.
I didn't find it contrived until you pointed it out to me
I think the beggar thingy is kinda ..symbolic? he stands for the whole situation in Afghanistan, were professors became beggars overnight.
why should Hassan not be his half-brother? it happens all the time, and besides, doesn't it send out a clear message to racists? like anyone could have a half-brother or -sister whose other parent is from a different ethnic group. of course, they are already brothers in that they grew up together, but this makes it even more drastic.
I didn't really expect or hope for them to meet again. that would have been even more contrived and unrealistic, wouldn't it?That Hassan has been killed conveniently deprives the novel of providing the much-desired confrontation between them, in which Amir might atone for his earlier despicable behaviour. Instead we are asked to believe that the savage beating administered by Assem serves that purpose. It was all too convenient, too contrived for me.
Last edited by SleepyWitch; 01-16-2008 at 11:30 AM.
Sure but that this one beggar turns out to have known his mother? It was as if he wanted to condition us to expect other coincidences. In fact he even remarks that people from outside Afghanistan might be surprised at the frequency of coincidence there.I didn't find it contrived until you pointed it out to me
I think the beggar thingy is kinda ..symboli? he stands for the whole situation in Afghanistan, were professors became beggars overnight.
Why indeed not? But they were already as close as if they had been brothers.why should Hassan not be his half-brother? it happens all the time, and besides, doesn't it send out a clear message to racists? like anyone could have a half-brother or -sister whose other parent is from a different ethnic group. of course, they are already brothers in that they grew up together, but this makes it even more drastic.
Not necessarily, since Rahmin Khan had maintained contact with him, but the author would have had one hell of a time writing the scene in which Amir apologizes to him! Rather than attempt to write this without getting schmaltzy he invokes this deus ex machina in reverse: Hassan is dispatched by the Taliban and Sohrab turns out not only to have inherited his father's outstanding skill with a slingshot but - as Hassan himself would have done - he rescues Amir! Phooey! And much as we may have wished for retribution for the wicked Assem, he owed us NOT to provide that since in reality the bad guys - the really bad guys - more often than not go unpunished. Or at least they are not punished right before their victims' eyes.I didn't really expect or hope for them to meet again. that would have been even more contrived and unrealistic, wouldn't it?
I think the book was good, yet I wouldn't consider it a great book.
It was nice to read, interesting, moving etc. However, I think that Hosseini took it a little too far from time to time, especially in the end, where Hassan's son didn't get the visa for the US. There have been so many, for my taste too many, turns in the story and so many terrible strokes of fate that made the book kitschy. I mean come on, who really thought that Hassan's son wouldn't be able to stay in the US??
I think he also described the conflict between Pashtos and Hazaras a little too one sided, presenting stereotypes that could have been avoided (Hazara=servant; Pashto=Master).
Yet, I'm reading "a thousand splendid suns" at the moment because I considered the Kite Runner a good read. But again Hosseini's story is not really ecxiting because the fates of the characters are so stereotypical and do not really tell a new story.
Ben.
Last edited by Benyameen; 01-28-2008 at 04:50 AM.
The Kite Runner has been one of my all time favorites due to the extensive use of symbolism. Primarily, the symbolism of the pomegranate tree was the most intriguing to me for I had never truly grasped its importance until I looked up “pomegranate” in the Dictionary of Symbolism. This resource states that the “many seeds embedded in the pulp of the fruit came to symbolize fertility…. The tree, with its fragrant, fiery red blossoms, was also seen as a symbol of love and marriage, followed by childbirth…. The red juice of the pomegranate became a symbol of the BLOOD of martyrs” (Biedermann 271-272).
The following passage best demonstrates how this symbolism is used in The Kite Runner: “Then Hassan did pick up a pomegranate. He walked toward me. He opened it and crushed it against his own forehead. ‘There,’ he croaked, red dripping down his face like [blood]. ‘Are you satisfied? Do you feel better?’ He turned around and started down the hill” (Hosseini 93). This passage shows that the red juice “dripping down [Hassan’s] face” was a symbol of a martyr for Hosseini state it was dripping down like blood (BLOOD of the martyrs). Hassan is a martyr because he sacrifices everything he has to keep Amir happy and protected. This is seen when he defends Amir against Assef and puts himself at a great risk of being tortured by Assef and his clan.
The tree can also symbolize love and marriage. Specifically, in Amir and Hassan’s lives. Both ended up attaining true love and getting married (Amir w/ Soraya & Hassan w/ Farzana). We don’t know for sure whether this is true or not, but the tree seems to have been blooming during this time in the characters’ lives. Yet, only Hassan and Farzana proceeded to have a child. Amir and Soraya tried to have kids but they couldn’t. This could be perhaps explained by the fact “the pomegranate tree hadn’t borne fruit in years” (264) by the time Amir found the tree when he returned to his homeland. Thus, perhaps, the tree became fruitless before or during the time Soraya and Amir tried to have kids (year was 1991 when Soraya learned they couldn’t have kids and Farzana was “visibly expecting” (205) around 1986). Thus, the tree could be a symbol of fertility for those who had etched their names into its trunk (“Amir and Hassan. The Sultans of Kabul” (264)). They had essentially binded themselves to the tree by inscribing this slogan which was a representation of their hope for the future. Therefore, a part of their future lies in sync with the pomegranate tree’s future.
by the way, there's an awesome thread on Handmaid's Tale and 1984. Just go to advanced search and use my username to find it (find posts by user).
Well, Hassan is a Hazara, and Amir is a Pashtun so there is major discrimination going on in this book. Still today in Afghanistan, and so many other parts of the world, unfortunately. Amir couldn't even call Hassan his friend until he became an adult and realized that they were actually half brothers. Still, I don't think it was easy for him to physically say that they were blood related.
"I have so often dreamed of you that you become unreal." ~ Robert Desnos
None- I wanted to read and learn about Afghanistan and Hosseini's two novels do a great job opening our eyes. I am excited to have taught these two novels to juniors and seniors in high school. Intense!
"I have so often dreamed of you that you become unreal." ~ Robert Desnos
Dang I spent 20 minutes just reading this thread! A lot of interesting stuff, for sure.
About the part where Amir sees Hassan getting raped and does nothing...
Yeah, I was angry, but I should have probably been more angry (And you have to remember they were just kids back then. and amir felt his father pressuring him to measure up to be a better son. I think it would have been impossible for Amir to have been good enough in Baba's eyes because Baba was still suffering from guilt and projected it on his son. I honestly don't blame anyone. You have to understand the circumstances that a person has, and when considering Amir's, I couldn't be furious with him)... We had just read God of Small Things before starting KR, so I was almost indifferent about the rape scene. I'm not saying that it wasn't a big deal. Goodness no!
However, I see Kite Runner as a means through which Hosseini is telling a story and entertaining, yes, but to a much more profound level, he's exposing Afghanistan's history for mainstream America and other countries. I'm not very big on keeping up with news and searching for multiple perspectives on even controversial issues (I know, bad me.) so I would be ignorant if I hadn't read KR.
Anyways, what I'm saying is, yes, maybe some of the events seemed a little too coincidental and there was a slightly happily-ever-after, but that's not important. What does matter is what Hosseini's trying to tell his readers. You have the whole history lesson about Afghanistan, yes, and it's quite important, but also, with the theme of redemption, he's showing us how imperfect the world is. How flawed we are. We are all, on some level, Amir. Maybe we didn't witness a rape and do nothing about it, but I'm sure we've all been quiet when we should have said something. Maybe we let a friend taunt an unpopular kid at school. Whatever. I don't think I have the power to judge Amir, and I think that even though he ran away from Hassan when he should have stayed, it shows that even our worst mistakes can be atoned for. Underneath the tragic situation of Afghanistan, I don't see this book as melancholy. I think it's quite hopeful.
Has anybody else read this amazing book?!
If so, what do you say Khaled Hosseini's style is?
And what do people generally make of this book?
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