Kite Runner Discussion

[Apocrypha75]

I read it. I thought it was pretty good. Standard story of redemption but it's the culture it's set in that gives it a nice lift. I might venture another of his in the future, but we'll see.

[prendrelemick]

A very good book. I thought it was non fiction until the last quarter, very rare for a novel to catch me out like that.

Be warned, his next book "A Thousand Splendid Suns" isn't half as good.

[optimisticnad]

I can say with sure confidence (which is rare) that it was the best book I read in 2008. I expected a typical coming-of-age novel but half-way through it just changed and became more complex. It was bittersweet. I loved it. I loved the characters Hosseini created and there were some truly exceptional passages in the novel, e.g the ending was great!

Not read 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' yet but I've only heard good stuff about it.

Edit: I didn't find Sohrab's suicide attempt believable, probably the only fault in the novel.

[Scheherazade]

This was neither the best nor the worst book I have read. The author does manage to engage the reader and keeps the interest going by reeling out the details cleverly; however, at times the story is too dramatic and predictable.

Thousand Suns did not live up to my expectations.

[Tournesol]

I read them both.

'Kite Runner' I read first: it made me cry. Hosseini was able to craft such utter pain, and yet at times such pure joy, into the novel, that to me it was very realistic.

'Splendid Suns' to me was the same: extreme pain and joy.

I guess, as a Muslim woman, both novels made me appreciate that I was born and grew up in the West, here in Trinidad in the Caribbean.

Our Islam is very orthodox, very pure, and free from the tentacles of cultural baggage that is seen in the Eastern and Middle Eastern cultures.
These horrid practices are not Islamic at all.
And my non-Muslim friends are sometimes shocked when they hear in the media that an 'honour killing' is made in the name of Islam.
They ask me, 'Why isn't that practiced in Trinidad?' and my reply is always 'That practice is not purported or condoned by Islamic teachings. It it purely cultural.'

[jinjang]

I always like to read books about different people of different culture. I am not a literature expert and would not know the literature value of it, but it certainly was a captivating book and left me a great impression that will last a long time.

In the beginning it bothered me each time the main character, Amir, showed his weakness or faults like an average person. I wanted a hero with high morality and strong will. It was frustrating to see him stand there to watch his dear friend in trouble. I wanted him to rush out and fight for his noble friend. In the end, though, I accepted and appreciated that he was a regular person with mistakes, faults, and many missteps.

It is a story of a man who wronged a faithful friend, who lived with regrets, who tried to forget the past, and who eventually corrected some of his mistakes. It did not have a happy ending, but it ends with a tiny sunshine of hope.

There are great phrases: “(W)hat true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good.” “It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime.”

I am ignorant in so many things and I am sure I will forget about them soon enough. But, along the way, I learned Afghanistan was peaceful until 1978, the ruling tribe was Pashtuns, the Hazaras are the Asiatic tribes ruled by Pashtuns, the Soviet invaded the country in 1979, the Taliban ruled between 1996 and 2001 until US invasion. I also learned about Afghans, their pride and vanity, how they live, and what they eat. It brought me a warm feeling to Afghans as if they could be neighbors or friends.

It also said Kabul was a beautiful city and I found this web site with many pictures of the country: http://www.unomaha.edu/afghan/afghanistan/A8.HTM

The book gives me some understanding of Afghanistan and, if everyone reads about different people in books like this one, the World may be a better place.

[RocKin_RicAn]

John here, I read the Kite Runner over last summer. I have to say this book was absolutely amazing. As a young man I feel it responsible to start learning about the world around me. Schools do not go as far as what The kite Runner had to offer. The culture of the Afghans is beautiful. Each member of society being treated as if they were born from the same whom. The kite tournaments where kids would fly kites and battle each other while the other children ran the kites (chased and caught them) was the most cherished day of the year where people from all over gathered around and watched.
The kite Runner was also very revealing as to what happened to destroy this beautiful sanctuary. During the war there was much struggle and confusion. Life when Amir, protagonist, changed dramaticly from when he was a boy. He fled to America to look for a new life and found one. Something happened that he would have to return to home and face what he ran away from. All the elements that make a great story come here and the feeling is overwhelming. My heart warms every time I read the final line of this marvelous story "For you, a thousand times over." The significance of this line is built up through the whole story and makes its appearance right at the end.
I did not say much about the story since there is just so much to cover. But please anyone who read it or has questions, post so I may view your thoughts and see if you enjoyed this story as much as I did. The book was simply amazing...

[OlutomilolaAsa7]

I chose the following passages from Chapters 1-5 of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner:

Snippet 1: "Then he would remind us that there was a brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could break"(11).
I had a very significant and strong personal response to the above snippet of the novel. I am generally fascniated by the spiritual bonds that can form between human beings, and how the essence of true, honest, and enduring love abiding in such bonds can completely transcend cultural and social bounds that humans place on themselves. The relationship between the narrator, Amir, and Hassan in the novel springs and sustains itself off of a connection between them in their infancy. The above quote is part of a passage that goes on to describe how Hassan and Amir "took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard. And, under the same roof, we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba. His was Amir. My name." This passage is significant for many reasons; it identifies our narrator, establishes the relationship between Hassan and Amir, and foreshadows the consequences of the relationship due to the society into which it is born. The events of the narrator's life following the life-altering winter of 1975 seem to have been "laid in those first words" from the beginning. This passage establishes the relationship between the two boys as one that will be tested and suppressed by society because of its existence outside of socially acceptable Love Laws.

Snippet 2: "Seasons of rain and snow had turned the iron gate rusty and left the cemetery's low white stone walls in decay" (27).
The literary value of this snippet, especially in its use of the season and weather symbol, is very interesting. The way that rain and snow, two precipitate forms of water often associated with cleansing and purity, are most responsible for the decay of protective structures (gates and walls) in the community is a direct comment on the initial cleanliness and moral stability of the community in which the boys live. The fact that the white walls fade and decay is also significant, as white is often used as a color symbol meaning purity and cleanliness. Hosseini is making a distinction between true purity and cleanliness in a way similar to Arundhati Roy in her novel The God of Small Things. Time and weather erode the whiteness and purity of the walls, and arguably the very foundation and fortress, of the cemetery in The Kite Runner and the Ayemenem house in The God of Small Things. One can infer in both novels that the ability of nature to strip both constructs of their white, clean, pure facades reveals an uglier truth about them, exactly what they are enclosing, and what surronds them. All of this is a greater comment on the society in which the symbols of moral decay reside.

Chunk: "Hassan, of course, was oblivious to this. To him, the words on the page were a scramble of codes, indecipherable, mysterious. Words were secret doorways and I held all the keys" (30).
This chunk is significant to the duality of language in real life. Language can be a tool of freedom, liberation, and self-expression, but no language, or the better the lack of knowledge thereof, can lead to one's ensnarement and manipulation by those with knowledge and power. Amir's use of language to exert unjust and cruel power over one as loving and trusting as Hassan is very much a tragedy and a clear flaw in Amir's character. The relationship then that Amir has to language, however, as a frequently, negatively exercised source of control only adds more dimension and significance to the relationship Amir has with his father, in which Amir feels and essentially is neglected, unaccepted, and left feeling unloved. Amir uses language to regain dignity and control in his own life, an aspect of his character that disappoints this reader but is, at the same time, very understandable given his situation. Language in this book is then significant to the relationship between Hassan and Amir, which is a focal point of the novel itself.

[nickname0811]

This thread is for nov. 11

1. personal response for chapter 6-9
Amir kept bring about the relationship between him and his father. He was being jealous over how his dad treated him as same as Hassan.

Baba and I lived in the same house, but in different spheres of existence. Kites were the one paper thin slice of intersection between those spheres.

Also, I liked this book a lot. Because it keeps showing the Afghanistan's culture throughout the book.

Afghans cherish custom but abhor the rules

Not only this book shows the social clash, but also it questions what causes the social clash and what's the consequences of it.

2. literary value for chapter 6-9

I noticed that Hosseini used a lot of metaphors and symbolism. Since Hassan was raped by his peers, he wouldn't forget what happened to him and would be terrified whenever he thinks about it. Hassan' blood was almost close to black, which Hosseini used the colors symbolism. "snow dark red, or almost black" just tells us how he was horrified and how the incident would be significant to his life time.

To the droplets of blood staining of snow dark red, almost black

3. relates to the how to read like a professor

The kite's tournament is happened during the winter. Also, it's usually on the coldest weather. In the winter of 1975, there is a significant kite tournament that brings the major conflicts with Hassan and Amir or inter conflicts of themselves. It was the last year of Hassan running a kite. It was the year Amir won. It was the year Amir and Hassan became really awkward. Finally, it was the year Hassan was raped. All of things happened during this winter. Due to the incident of Hassan, Amir and Hassan couldn't get along anymore. Also, Amir never forgot what happened to Hassan, and he would feel guilt for his life time.

And if you were a boy living in Kabul, the day of the tournament was undeniably the highlight of the cold season.

And for the first time in my life, I couldn't wait for spring

Because everything happened during the winter, everything portrayed more dramatically. After everything happened, Amir who was suffering from the guilty conscience couldn't wait for the spring, which symbolized the hope, restart, etc

[generic]

" The streets glistened with fresh snow and the sky was a blameless blue. Snow blanketed every rooftop and weighed on the branches of the stunted mulberry trees that lined our street[...] I turned my gaze to our rooftop, found Baba and Rahim Khan sitting on a bench [...] Baba waved. I couldn't tell if he was waving at me or Hassan. [...] Suddenly i wanted to withdraw. Pack it all in, go back home[...] This would be a failure on a grand scale, even for me" (Hosseini 61).

This entire passage can relate back to the representation of "snow". In How to Read Literatur Like a Proffessor, Foster talks about in Chapter 10 of his book as snow being a symbol many things, but this passage can represent snow in 4 symbolic ways.
This passage starts out with it being clean, inviting and playful as it "glistens" and the children begin throwing snowballs. Then Amir looks up and sees his father and the snow turns into a suffocating blanket in the atmosphere that turns the mood into jealousy.



" 'For you a thousand times over'[...] The next time i saw him smile unabashedly like that was twenty-six years later, in a faded polaroid photograph" (Hosseini 67).

This flashes back and foreshadows.
FLASHBACK: we are opened with Amir hearing Hassan whisper
"For you..." in his head
FORESHADOW: since he only sees it in a photograph again, will
Hassan be dead in the future?



" There is not monster, he said, just water[...] I was that monster. That was the night i became an insomniac" (Hosseini 86).

I think Amir somewhat feels guilty in his jealousy and is turned into an insomniac for fear that if he dreams he will become that monster again.

[OlutomilolaAsa7]

I chose the following passages from chapters 6-9 of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner:

Snippet 1: "The color fell from his face. Next to him, the stapled pages of the story I'd promised to read him fluttered in the breeze. I hurled the pomegranate at him. It struck him in the chest, exploded in a spray of red pulp. Hassan's cry was pregnant with suprise and pain" (92).
This passage from the novel contains alot of literary significance, as it is yet another illustration of Hassan as a Christ figure. Just before the sexual act of Hassan's rape takes place in the novel, Amir notices a look on Hassan's face that he associates with a triggered memory of lamb before its being sacrificed for atonement, labeling the look of knowing and acceptance the "look of the lamb." The imagery that Hosseini uses in the passage above and the developing plot surrounding it is quite vivid and striking. The passage describes the first act in a frenzy that ultimately results in Hassan's being "smeared in red like he'd been shot by a firing squad" (93). The holy text of the Christian faith, the Bible, describes Jesus after being beaten as looking inhuman, barely recognizable as a man. One can imagine that he was covered in blood in a way similar to what Amir inflicts upon Hassan. The fact that Amir is the one abusing Hassan in this particular incident is also quite symbolic of Amir's tendency to allow Hassan to be physically and emotionally abused as payment for spiritual voids in his own life - for example, his abuse of Hassan regarding language as a way of dealing with the neglect he feels from his father and arguably as a way of punishing Hassan, a Hazara, for being accepted by Baba just as much, if not more, than Amir himself.

Snippet 2: "'But before you sacrifice yourself for him, think about this: Would he do the same for you? Have you ever wondered why he never includes you in games when he has guests? Why he only plays with you when no one else is around? I'll tell you why, Hazara. Because to him, you're nothing but an ugly pet. Something he can play with when he's bored, something he can kick when he's angry. Don't ever fool yourself and think you're something more" (72).
I had a very strong personal response to this passage in particular. Spoken by Assef, just before he rapes Hassan, the passage really opens the eyes of readers as to what the true dynamic of Amir and Hassan's relationship is. Though Assef is a detestable creature in his own right, this passage made me realize that, even with all the pain that Amir goes through that somewhat triggers his actions, he must join Assef in being a true villain of the novel. All of the things that Assef says in the passage above may not be worded in a way that Amir would be comfortable admiting to but are very much what his actions demonstrate. The fact that he could stand there and watch Hassan be raped, knowing that Hassan was allowing it for Amir's benefit, is not only beyond me but greatly indicative of Amir's regard for Hassan being less than human, let alone less than a friend. This passage served as an unpleasant but very distinct turning point for me as a reader of the novel as, after reading this passage, I ceased to make excuses for or show much pity toward Amir as I had done before.

My Chunk: "In Kabul, it rarely rained in the summer. Blue skies stood tall and far, the sun like a branding iron searing the back of your neck. Creeks where Hassan and I skipped stones all spring turned dry, and rickshaws stirred dust when they sputtered by. People went to mosques for their ten raka'ts of noontime prayer and then retreated to whatever shade they could find to nap in, waiting for the cool of evening. Summer meant long school days sweating in tightly packed, poorly ventilated classrooms learning to recite ayats from the Koran, struggling with those tongue-twisting exotic Arabic words. It meant catching flies in your palm while the mullah droned on and a hot breeze brought with it the smell of **** from the outhouse across the schoolyard, churning dust around the lone rickety basketball hoop. But it rained the afternoon Baba took Ali and Hassan to the bus station. Thunderheads rolled in, painted the sky iron gray. Within minutes, sheets of rain were sweeping in, the steady hiss of falling water swelling in my ears" (107-8).
This passage is very significant as it touches on Hosseini's use of irony with season in The Kite Runner. It seems that everything happening in the novel occurs during the most unlikely season possible. For instance, Baba and Amir's relationship blossoms most in the winter, a season associated with death, decline, resentment and bitterness. The use of weather occuring abnormally in seasons significant to relationships between characters in the above passage is blatantly symbolic of what the dynamic between the characters and the state of their relationship. Summer has been the season up to this point in the novel that Hassan and Amir's relationship blossom's most, but the abnormal occurrence of rain right at the time that Hassan and Ali leave, rain being a symbol of cleansing and transformation, is very symbolic of not only the saddness in the emotional moment ensuing but the huge shift that Amir's life is making into the period "post-Hassan." The rain in the summer, when the air is hot and humid (atleast in Alabama) and possibly thick with passion and emotion, is Hosseini's way of letting readers know that a huge transformation is taking place in the plot of the novel that will result in a change in all the characters of the novel as well.

[MadisonB]

I have a few sentences from chapters ten through fourteen that I would like to share for a class.

1. "When I was older, I read in my poetry books that yelda was the starless night tormented lovers kept vigil, enduring the endless dark, waiting for the sun to rise and bring with it their loved one" (Hosseini 143).

This was a passage I picked for a personal response. I really like the traditional value it holds, and I find that true of many of the Afghan traditions in this book. They can be what we consider odd, but they can also be very poetic like this one. The fact that it reflected tormented lovers just made me relate it to Amir that much more. Anything and anyone he loves will have torment incorporated into it because of what he has experienced.

2. "And I remember wondering if Hassan too had married. And if so, whose face had he seen in the mirror under the veil? Whose henna-painted hands had he held" (Hosseini 171).

I think this passage conveys the perpetual guilt Amir feels. Even on a day dedicated to he and his new wife, he cannot help but think of Hassan. His relationship and tragic experince with Hassan rules every aspect of his life. I also thought of the tradition of the veil and the mirror as a relation to Amir's life. It seems he is always forced to stare at himself, and his mistakes, and everything else is blocked out.

[poet_discussion]

Chapters 10-14 Snippets:
Snippet 1: "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. I suspected there were many ways in which Soraya Taheri was a better person than me. Courage was just one of them" (Hosseini 165).

Explanation: When Soraya told Amir about her past, or rather when she was eighteen and how she had run away with an Afghan man who was into drugs and how that affected her family, Amir's pride was somewhat hurt because he loved his wife-to-be dearly and couldn't stand the idea of her being with another man seeing as how he never was with another woman all his life. Yet he envied her greatly because she had the courage to tell the secrets of her past, whereas he didn't. He forgave her and at the same time Amir so very much wanted to express the secrets of his own past, and just as Soraya had done, he also wanted his past dealt with. He wanted his past to stop haunting him. But as it's been shown throughout the novel to this point, Amir's courage is limited so he is unable to express the events of his past.

Snippet 2: "The idea of fatherhood unleashed a swirl of emotions in me. I found it frightening, invigorating, daunting, and exhilarating all at the same time. What sort of father would I make, I wondered. I wanted to be just like Baba and I wanted to be nothing like him" (Hosseini 184).

Explanation: Seeing as how Amir truly loved his father and also disliked the lack of affection his father had given him, Amir was very cautious of the decision of becoming a father himself. He had no idea of how it would feel or what it truly would be like to be a father but the idea itself was a mixture of emotions. The interesting part is that Amir had the courage to want to try to raise a child. If he had married younger perhaps his decision in wanting a child of his own would be different because of his attitude towards life and others in general, but I think that throughout all of his experiences Amir has now finally understood what it means to actually care and love rather than being selfish. I think that's mostly due to his move to America and the change of culture in comparison to Afghanistans and also just having to help out his father live out the rest of his life as he battles Cancer in the States.
I also believe that Amir is not completely the man/child he used to be. Yes indeed his courage limitation is still quite the same at this point in the novel as it was in the beginning, but his care, love, and affection towards others has definitely increased.

[bookworm_girl]

Snippets:

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. Someplace with no ghosts, no memories, and no sins

(Hosseini 136)

-- This quote shows the continued effect of the events of the winter of 1975 on Amir, and how he views everything after the events through the lense of his feelings about those events; he is fixated on his guilt and cowardice as revealed by those events. Also how everything he does afterwards is with a mind to forgetting and being redeemed or forgiven. Throughout these chapters, Amir constantly refers to "Hassan, Assef, the kite;" even his view of Soraya and his experience with her is with a mind to Amir's own cowardice and guilt towards Hassan-- Soraya's past reminds him of his own, her confession makes him almost confess himself, he sees her as braver than himself, he wonders whether Hassan has married, and who, etc. This quote also shows that Amir really isn't that bad of a person; he simply made a mistake and has had to live with it his whole life. It is also ironic, because as I have already said, America did not provide Amir with an opportunity to forget his sins, nor is it "unmindful of the past;" at least the Afghan community is not- they do not forget Soraya's past, even "four years ago and three thousand miles away" (179) everyone still holds her mistake against her. It is ironic that Amir expects America to provide this great magical baptism experience and wash all his sins away, but in reality the very place he was trying to escape is what finally provides him with the redemption, punishment, and forgiveness he craves.

A photo of the general, dashing in full military outfit, shaking hands with King Hussein of Jordan

(167)

-- Just personally, this quote gave me a thrill of recognition. It caught my eye as I was flipping through looking for a quote, so I used it as my personal response quote. What I'm wondering though, is whether it's important that General Taheri has a photo of himself shaking hands with a foreign king, whereas Baba has a photo of himself and the late Afghan king hunting deer... I suppose that says a lot about their individual personalities-- Baba is manly, athletic, strong personality, and Taheri is petty, aristocratic, living on the hopes of regaining his old position once the monarchy was restored, just waiting out trouble instead of trying to do anything about it. I don't know; maybe I'm overanalyzing and the pictures are just pictures.

[generic]

" Do you always have to be a hero? [...] The problem was his nature was going to get us all killed" (Hosseini 115).

This foreshadows obviously that how Baba actsis going to be a result of the all dying physically or in their hearts somehow. Also in this quote it shows resentment between the two characters of Baba and Amir, is Amir embarrassed?

" 'Not tonight,' he said. 'There is no pain tonight' [...] Baba never woke up" (Hosseini 172).

Personally...
This was the first time we are referenced in the book to when Baba dies and it was the most peaceful because he died as we all wish too, quietly and with no pain. It is also in character for Baba to feel no pain up to this point.

But personally.. I have known many people to die with pain, and that pain showed them to be stronger character i feel, than Baba has in this last scene. so...