Although I had
already read The Kite Runner in eighth grade, rereading it now as a senior was
a completely different experience. I was much more immature and unaware of much
of what I was reading the first time around. To be honest the only vivid detail
I remembered was the rape scene. I was able to appreciate the book for what
it’s truly worth the second time around and I am glad I reread it. I have
already bought A Thousand Splendid Suns to read next.
Hassan is a rare
type of person. After doing my video reaction, Ciara mentioned that she wasn’t
as big a fan as Hassan as everyone else because she feels like he is weak for
never standing up for himself and believing that Amir was the best friend he
could have. I had never thought of Hassan in such a way because I don’t view
him as being weak. I think Hassan comes as such a shock to most of us because
it is so rare to encounter such a genuine person that some people have a hard
time believing it. I completely understand why Ciara feels the way she does
about Hassan. I personally love Hassan. I think he is a hidden gem and the fact
that people like him exist gives me hope that not everyone is completely
selfish.
Amir can be
easily described as the epitome of selfish. Over 50% of his actions are
selfish. However, that makes me think. After reading Atlas Shrugged I was
completely convinced that people were SUPPOSED to act selfish. I am kind of
conflicted on how to feel about Amir. In one book I am praising people for
acting in their own self-interest and now I am bashing Amir for his actions. I
guess it is circumstantial because acting selfish for economic reasons is
completely different than allowing for your brother to be raped.
Amir is a
complicated character and it’s even more complicated to discuss how I feel
about him. I want to be completely disgusted by his character but one thing I
can’t take away is how honest the writing is. After explaining all his bad
actions and thoughts he never once tries to justify them. He simply says it the
way it happened and the fact that he is not asking the audience for compassion
makes me have a certain extent of respect for him. I feel like Amir has two
different personalities in Afghanistan and in the United States. When he first
moved to America I sensed a complete change in his character, perhaps because
he was traumatized and alone in a new country with his dying father. The way he
fell in love with Soraya and worked hard to take care of his father are things
I would’ve never expected from him. However, when he goes to Pakistan to meet
Rahim Khan again, in many ways he reverts back to his old self. Instead of
immediately trying to make things right again he flips out on Rahim because he
is scared. He is scared and week and has still failed to stand up for anything.
Thankfully he changes his mind because had he gone back home without fulfilling
Rahim’s dying wish I would hate him so much.
I had completely
forgotten the plot twist of Hassan being Baba’s son. I kept writing annotations
between Hassan and Baba’s relationship saying how similar they were and how
Hassan had honorable traits and qualities just like Baba. It made sense to find
out he was his real son. I can’t imagine how Amir felt after finding this out.
Everything horrible about his life could have been avoided had Hassan been
raised as an equal to him.
I found a lot of
similarities to what was happening in Afghanistan to what is going on now in
Syria. My grandmother was born in Aleppo, Syria and the situation there is very
important to me so to see such horrible similarities broke my heart. It’s crazy
to see how often history repeats itself and how often most of the world stays
oblivious to what is currently going on. It is horrible to even stop and think
of all the children that live the same life Hassan’s son had to live, back then
and now.
Finally, I love Hosseini’s
writing style, which is why I have already purchased A Thousand Splendid Suns.
His use of figurative language to describe Amir’s emotions does an effective
job of “showing not telling”. I have always found that to be a difficult part
of writing and Hosseini does it so successfully and effortlessly. I loved the
part about clichés and how authors should avoid them. There is so much irony to
clichés. Today in school I overheard kids saying they hated the book because it
was the ultimate cliché. However, what makes a cliché a cliché? The fact that
it is so overused because it is relevant and makes sense. The Kite Runner is a
real story and to compare it to a cliché does not take from its value.
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