Open Space
So here's a little gift: an open forum. Use it to talk about the other summer reading books, to swap books when you're finished, to bemoan how that mean Ms. Clapp has robbed you of your summer...Remember, though, that this is a public space; don't say anything you wouldn't want your mom or me to see.
Go see the free Shakespeare on the Common - it's Taming of the Shrew this year and it runs July 22 to August 13.
posted by Ms. Clapp @ 10:27 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
First, may I say that I absolutely LOVED Kite Runner. It was so well written. Not only were there the interesting tidbits about a new culture to learn about, but there were also so many twists and turns that completely shocked me. For example- (dont read this if you haven't finished the book yet!)- when we find out that Hassan is Baba's son, I was completely taken aback, but when I thought about it, this situation was not quite so farfetched and actually fit in with the prior events of the book. It was also able to provoke an intense emotional response in me; I don't remember the last time I read a book that caused me to cry so much. The book was about issues completely unknown to me but written in such a way that it really seemed real, that I could sympathise with and understand the characters. It also offered such relevant themes that could be applied to any book, like that of redemption, as Tommy said.
This brings me to my next point. To address Tommy's question, I definitely think that Amir was able to redeem himself by the end of the novel. There was a point in the book when I was so disappointed by Amir and his selfishness. On page 77 it says, "I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan--the way he'd stood up for me all those times in the past--and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end, I ran." Amir actually let Hassan, who was so painfully loyal to him, suffer through the trauma of rape just because a) he was too scared to take a stand and get hurt and b) he considered Hassan the price he had to pay, the "sacrificial lamb," to win Baba's affections and recognition for having won the kite. I suppose I can sympathise with Amir somewhat, because all he really wanted was something to create a bond between him and Baba, whom he loved but who never showed any love back. However, the price to pay was too much. So, from the beginning of the book, Amir must live with the terrible guilt he has for sacrificing his friend and never telling anyone about it. The redemption for this act comes gradually, but I think his life in America offers him his first glimpse into it. There, he is able to at least try to start to move on from his mistake, to mend and try to become a better person. I started to like Amir better by this point because I recognized in him a desire to redeem himself, as could be seen when he took care of Baba during his sickness. I also believe that because he and Soraya had both made mistakes in their pasts that had stained their lives, they are able to redeem themselves through each other, through the new beginning each offers the other. Nevertheless, even though there are signs of Amir's gradual change into a better person, even he has his doubts: "There was so much goodness in my life. So much happiness. I wondered whether I deserved any of it" (183). If I had to pick ONE true moment of redemption, though, it would be Amir's courageous confrontation with Assef at the end of the book, when Amir finally is able to repay Hassan for all his loyalty and make up all the horrible things he did to him by saving his child Sohrab. For the first time, he is able to take a stand, to face down his demons and not run away from what he most fears. Amir even admits to his feeling of redemption: "...for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace...My body was broken--just how badly I wouldn't find out until later--but I felt healed. Healed at last" (289). That is definitely the definitive moment of redemption for Amir.
I too loved Kite Runner! I really learned a lot about Afghanistan and the heritage.
Tommy they are really makeing it into a movie?
WE REALLY SHOULD GO SEE IT FOR A FIELD TRIP!!!! Any one else with us?!?!
i didnt start reading eats, shoots, and leaves yet, but i loveeeeee the blurb in the back of the book. i thought it was so cute!
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