Journal Entry 1 Kite Runner Chapters 1-2 Rahul Andra 24/8/10
The book starts off with the narrator (the protagonist Amir), regretting his actions on a day in the winter of 1975, when he was twelve years old. I think that the following lines are the most significant in the assigned reading assignment as these lines basically establish the main theme of the novel which I believe to be remorse. “Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the past 26 years. “Next, Amir receives a call from his friend in Pakistan, and this phone call seems to resurrect buried memories that begin to haunt Amir. In an attempt to take his mind off them Amir takes a walk in Golden Gate park, his attempt is futile though. He sees a couple of kites fluttering in the sky and he remembers Hassan, obviously an old acquaintance who is introduced to us as “the hare lipped kite runner”. The second chapter starts out with Amir’s description of his childhood mischief with Hassan. As a reader I now can deduce that Hassan was Amir’s playmate, and in the present day Amir has lost contact with him. Amir then gives a rude description of Hassan’s facial features. Next there is a vivid description of Amir’s house, which seems to be posh as well as elegant. Here I can make out that Amir is quite wealthy, but Hassan’s financial status is unknown. Next, Amir’s relationship with his father is slightly unfurled. Quite evidently they aren’t that close. Then it is revealed that Hassan is actually Amir’s servant’s son. At this moment the reader may be puzzled as to what exactly occurred that left Amir in grief. Then, we discover that Hassan’s mother is a woman with a very bad local reputation. Hassan then encounters a soldier who says that he had an affair with his mother, and the soldier also calls Hassan a “Hazara”. Here we can deduce that Hassan is from an ethnic minority. We then discover that Amir and Hassan were both nursed by the same woman, and both of them are half orphans (Hassan’s mother’s whereabouts were unknown but due to the embarrassment she caused to their family he was fine saying that she was not his mother anymore). Then it is stated that she ran away from the family when she says Hassan’s cleft lip and she even refused to touch him. Also, Ali suffers from polio and is often heckled at by the locals. This passage in the book creates the feeling of pity for Ali’s family, and we can say that the beginning of the book is off to a dull, solemn start. We learn of the theme (remorse), the setting (A posh neighbourhood in Kabul), and the plot (performing a certain action in order to erase the burden of lamenting a lost one), as well as the personalities of the main characters. 1) Obviously Hassan and Amir were close. This could be justified from Amir reminiscing Hassan. Why then did the present day Ali, give a rude description of Hassan’s facial features, “Chinese doll maker’s instrument may have slipped”? 2) Why did Ali marry Saunabar? Is it because she was beautiful, or was it because of external pressure from his uncle (Saunabar was his cousin and in the 70’s in the middle east, inter family marriages weren’t uncommon)?
The first chapter starts off with a brief introduction of the protagonist(Amir). The author uses foreshadow technique to build up suspense and make it more intriguing for the reader.He uses the line "on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975" as a symbol of Amir's dark past.The main importance of the chapter is to set the tone for the story that is about to follow."For you a thousand times over" is significant line in the chapter as it signifies the friendship between Amir and Hassan. The last line of the chapter "I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything else.And me what I am today" this line is used as a hook by the author to make the reader curious about what was so significant about the winter of 1975 and how it made Amir what he is today.
In the second chapter the story jumps back into the flashback of Amir. Here Amir is an innocent little kid which is in total contrast of how the adult him was (emotionally damaged) in the first chapter.The first chapter gives us only names of few characters like Rahim Khan,Baba,Ali and Hassan.In this chapter we are given details of their appearances and likes(not of Rahim Khan though). We are also introduced to Hassan's mother(who eloped with group of travelling singers and dancers after giving birth to Hassan. The author keeps giving us photographic details of locations and peoples appearances so that we can imagine what they are like.The chapter creates a certain sympathy for Amir and Hassan as both have lost their mothers.
chapter 1 croutching behind a crumbling wall........... The words provide in above paragraph tell's that it provides the fame work for the whole story . provides the trigger of his old memory's to uncurl itself. introduces concept of promises not kept fore shadows of the past that will have to direct influence of present an future.
chapter 2 in this chapter it tells us about the amir child hood ,with whom he had fun with that is hassan. they both used to climb a tree and would reflect the sunlight into their homes,at the people who all are praying and many more. his flat, broad nose and slanting ..... green even sapphire. were some of the features of hassan given by amir in this chapter 2. in this story hassan is amir servant . this chapter also tells that amir father baba is a rich person in that hole of that place and he and his partner rahim khan were having the beautiful house built by them only . casualy baba and his partner (rahim khan) would have a drink and would discuss about politics , sports ,and mamy more which would come intp their mind. in this chapter also tells about the habits about the amir habits like they do some work in the back yard and many more
This is the beginning chapter and a powerful opening to the Kite Runner. There is a lot of imagery that comes to the mind as the main character Amir, now looks back at his past. The most significant is the part about, “Hassan the hare lipped kite runner.” It is significant because we know that to a large extent the story is going to be about Hassan by looking at the title of the novel. For me the sentence with the most depth is the one written in italics, “There is a way to be good again.” Earlier in the chapter, Amir also says, “my past of unatoned sins.” By connecting these two, I could already make out that Amir has a past, numerous with mistakes, and that he is still feeling guilty about it trying to look for redemption. My two questions for this chapter are: when he talks about an incident in the winter of 1975 that changed everything, what does he mean? And also what exactly happened when he was “crouching behind a crumbling mud wall peeking into the alley near the frozen creek.”0020
Amir, the protagonist of the story is introduced and is now a grown up, and his dark past shown by the line ‘on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975’ suggests something tragic has happened. He then receives a call from a friend from Pakistan that “there is a way to be good again..” this appears to have reminded him of haunting memories from his past, he then takes a stroll through Golden Gate park to keep his mind of it, but he sees kites fluttering around in the sky, this enables him to remember Hassan describing him as the “hare-lipped kite runner” who might be an acquaintance of Amir’s. Many parts from this chapter suggests that the main theme is redemption/remorse.
CHAPTER 2
Hassan, Amir’s childhood friend is introduced, and he reminisces of what all things they used to do when they were young, like climb a poplar tree and reflect sunlight onto their neighbors and Hassan used to take the blame even though it was Amir’s idea, which suggests that Hassan respects Amir, then Amir gives an insulting description of Hassan’s facial features. Then there is a description of Amir’s house, which appears to be elegant and this shows that Amir must have a high social status being from a rich family, then Hassan is mentioned to be the son of Ali (the servant in Amir’s house), and then it is described that Amir’s and Baba (his father) aren’t very close, this keeps us wondering what had made him feel grief-stricken, then Hassan’s mother is revealed to have a terrible reputation. Then Hassan runs into a soldier who appears to know Hassan’s mother and says that they had an affair, and then calls him a “hazara” which suggests it’s a minor ethnic in society. After this, its mentioned that Sanaubar (his mother) left days after his birth to go with traveling dancers and that she refused to even touch him (no wonder that Hassan doesn’t want to acknowledge her as his mother) and that Ali has polio on his right leg, which causes him to be harassed by the townsfolk and made fun of.
This chapter is about Amir’s childhood and paints a picture of him and his best friend, Hassan. He describes Hassan and everything he remembers vividly and through Amir’s own eyes. We begin to know more about Hassan, but only as much as Amir wants us to know. Readers can understand that Hassan has always had a deep devotion to Amir, “ he never denied me anything.” By reading all the descriptions, one of the main things that seems to stand are Amir’s and Hassan’s house, and more importantly the difference between Amir’s wealth and Hassan’s humble abode. Another thing that I noticed was the relation between Amir and Baba. Amir tells us while talking about a photograph “--- I am a baby in that photograph and Baba is holding me, looking tired and grim. I’m in his arms, but it’s Rahim Khan’s pinky my fingers are curled around. By making sense of this and the previous chapter, where Rahim Khan calls Amir much later on in life, it is clearly understood that there is a strong bond between Rahim Khan and Amir. My two questions for this chapter are: how does Rahim Khan affect Amir later on in life, and to what extend do the differences between Amir and Hassan affect their friendship.
In chapter 1, I found out that the author uses first person narration. He uses personification to describe the day as a “Frigid, overcast day”. I still do not know the name of the main character, but the author tells us that he is from Kabul, but now lives in San Francisco. In this chapter Amir receives a call from a friend who tells him that “There is a way to be good again”. The protagonist keeps talking about someone named Hassan who was probably close to him, the chapter also ends in a cliff hanger. This chapter provides the framework for the whole story and hints at significant events in the past. It also foreshadows events of the past that will have a direct influence on the events of the future and the present.
In Chapter 2 Amir starts telling us about his past, somewhere in the year 1975. Amir tells us about the many things that he and Hassan used to do together from firing walnuts at neighbors’ dogs to reflecting light off mirrors to distract Muslims praying. The narrator navigates through Amir’s house giving us a descriptive perspective of it, he describes various rooms and the garden in which Ali and Hassan had a hut to sleep in. Also we come to know of separation between the Afghans, where the lower class is called “Hazara” and the upper class “Pashtun”. We learn that Hassan has a cleft lip, but despite that Amir still loves him.We also learn that there is a similarity between Hassan and Amir as they both don’t have any mothers. While I read this story I was able to tell that Amir kept getting distracted when Baba showed more interest in Hassan than in him. So he made a good friend in Rahim Khan, Baba’s business partner, who always used to show interest in Amir’s pieces of literature. In chapter 2 we learn more about the people who were mentioned in chapter 1 and their in the plot of the story.
The passage in this chapter which catches my attention is when he is “on a frigid overcast day.... crunching behind a crumbling mud wall peeking into the alley near the frozen creek” and thinking about how the “past claws its way out” and that he has “been peeking into that deserted alley for the past 26 years.” This passage is an introduction to what is going to be the climax of this story. This is the pivot of the story and the setting where the incident took place is described as being “a frigid overcast day”, this also portrays how he becomes after the incident takes places. This chapter is an interesting read because right from the first line the story grabs our attention and wants us to continue reading, to find out more about the book. Possibly the only thing I might not have liked is the last line in which he explains how “the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me what I am today.” This sentence is a cliff-hanger, cryptic and very tantalizing, therefore left many questions floating in my head. Such as why did the writer want to write about the climax of the story right from the beginning?, what was the climax of the story that changed Amir’s life. Here Amir stands out as a person troubled by his past, hoping that there is some way to redeem his “unatoned sins.” Here you are forced to sympathize with him whether he is at fault and why. I think that the setting is what you would have thought it should have been, in the past, in a reflective, questioning way. In this chapter the theme is to find a way to redeem him for what he has done when he was 12; however the motif of this chapter is freedom. This is because after redeeming himself he will find freedom, a chance to soaring without any restriction from his past. It is written in the first person however Amir seems to be omnipresent throughout this book, and he presents no bias.
• Why did the phone call seem to have that effect on Amir that he had to recollect his life? • The description of the incident, what does it make you feel and why.
In this chapter there are two significant passages, one would be when Amir is describing to us how they “under the same roof we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba his was Amir. My name.” According to him because of this the “foundation of what happened in the winter of 1975- and all that followed- was already laid in those words.” This passage is showing us how the Amir always tried to impress his father and who Hassan always provided his unwavering loyalty towards Amir and assisted in whatever mischief he wanted to get into. The other passage would be the description of Hassan at the beginning of the chapter in which Amir describes Hassan having an “almost perfectly round face, a face like a chiselled doll... eyes that looked, depending on the light, gold, green even sapphire...and the cleft lip....” Here we come to find out how Amir’s feeling have changed towards Hassan compared to when he was alive.
This chapter drew an interesting line between the social, cultural and ethnic group that divided the two boys. In this chapter Hassan and his family seem to stand out since most of the chapter is dedicated to cultural and social aspects of Hassan and his heritage. The tone of this chapter and possibly throughout the whole book is very nostalgic due to the fact that he seems to be recollecting his thoughts about what has passed. The motif of this chapter is based on the division of the social status between Amir and Hassan. The plot in this chapter is very simple, it is built on simplicity; informing us how there is a division thought which even if they wanted they couldn’t become friends. This is clearly shown when he admits that he had “only stepped into Hassan and Ali’s quarter only a handful of times.” There is not a lot of imagery in this chapter however there are a few such as the description of Hassan which clearly portrayed him as a “china doll” yet the perfection of the china doll was spoiled by “the cleft lip, just left of the mid-line.” In this passage, Amir also seems fond of Hassan’s eyes which he likens to “sapphires” or jewels. The description of Amir’s house is also a form of imagery, but in the description there seems to be no bias towards relating the beauty of the house. This chapter while describing Hassan’s family is not actually what he knows, it’s more about what he has heard through other people.
• What are the main differences between Amir and Hassan? Why is this so? • How was Amir’s childhood? Would you describe it as a happy one?
In this chapter there are two significant passages, one would be when Amir is describing to us how they “under the same roof we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba his was Amir. My name.” According to him because of this the “foundation of what happened in the winter of 1975- and all that followed- was already laid in those words.” This passage is showing us how the Amir always tried to impress his father and who Hassan always provided his unwavering loyalty towards Amir and assisted in whatever mischief he wanted to get into. The other passage would be the description of Hassan at the beginning of the chapter in which Amir describes Hassan having an “almost perfectly round face, a face like a chiselled doll... eyes that looked, depending on the light, gold, green even sapphire...and the cleft lip....” Here we come to find out how Amir’s feeling have changed towards Hassan compared to when he was alive.
This chapter drew an interesting line between the social, cultural and ethnic group that divided the two boys. In this chapter Hassan and his family seem to stand out since most of the chapter is dedicated to cultural and social aspects of Hassan and his heritage. The tone of this chapter and possibly throughout the whole book is very nostalgic due to the fact that he seems to be recollecting his thoughts about what has passed. The motif of this chapter is based on the division of the social status between Amir and Hassan. The plot in this chapter is very simple, it is built on simplicity; informing us how there is a division thought which even if they wanted they couldn’t become friends. This is clearly shown when he admits that he had “only stepped into Hassan and Ali’s quarter only a handful of times.” There is not a lot of imagery in this chapter however there are a few such as the description of Hassan which clearly portrayed him as a “china doll” yet the perfection of the china doll was spoiled by “the cleft lip, just left of the mid-line.” In this passage, Amir also seems fond of Hassan’s eyes which he likens to “sapphires” or jewels. The description of Amir’s house is also a form of imagery, but in the description there seems to be no bias towards relating the beauty of the house. This chapter while describing Hassan’s family is not actually what he knows, it’s more about what he has heard through other people.
• What are the main differences between Amir and Hassan? Why is this so? • How was Amir’s childhood? Would you describe it as a happy one?
The Story begins with an exposure leading the reader through a set of Amir’s (The main Protagonist) pasts. These memoirs come into the picture when an old friend of him from Pakistan –Rahim Khan gives him a call. After the call he convinces himself that his past is going to uncurl itself and come back and haunt him again. Out of all his memories there were two most pre-dominant ones, the first is in the late 1980’s in Afghanistan – His Hometown. When Amir had been just 12 years old and was hiding near a crumbing alleyway near his house. This was in the winter just after the “Kite Flying Tournament” had finished and when Hassan was coming after getting the final kite that Amir had cut, thereby winning the tournament. The author has used precise words such as a frigid overcast day the same day when he was hiding thus this suggests that the author was keen in recalling his past. And the other main memory is when the phrases “For you a thousand times over” by Hassan. He further commemorates the idiom “There is a way to be good again” as spoken by Rahim Khan Triggers in his mind. Thus these two parlances become the centrepieces of attraction throughout Amir’s past.
In the second chapter a reiteration occurs which takes the reader back to late 1980's when Amir is residing in Afghanistan (his hometown). This chapter gives a more detailed structure of Amir's pasts like, when he and Hassan used to climb the trees near the driveway of Baba's (Amir's Father) house. In this chapter not only more characters were introduced and, moreover their complex features were further discussed. Amir uses some expressions in the story which give a rough sketch of Hassan's facial structure. Like the Phrase "Sunlight flickering through the leaves on his almost perfectly round face, a face like a chinese doll chiseled from hardwood: his flat broad nose and slanting, narrow eyes like bamboo leaves, eyes that looked depending on the light, gold, green, even sapphire" preciding "And the cleft lip, just left of midline, where the chinese doll maker's instrument may have slipped, or perhaps he had grown tired and careless." Sentences like these that Amir had been a keen observer when he had been young. Him and Hassan would do mischief too such as using a slingshot. Hassan was so ardent toward Amir that he would never put the blame on Amir even though the trouble-causing ideas, such as "shooting walnuts at the neighbours dog" were always Amir's ideas. Furthermore This chapter also describes Baba's House, and how people agreed that it was the most beautiful house on the whole of Wazir Akbar Khan District. It would further describe the interior of the house briefly like the broad entryway, the marble used for the flooring of the house, wide windows and more. Upstairs would be Amir's room, Baba's room and his study to which he would refer as the "smoking room". Which wholely smelled of tobacco ans cinnamon. He also writes that there would be three main topics that were to be heard by Baba and Rahim Khan - politics, business and soccer, although Amir was very keen in sitting with Baba in his study but he would rather not be allowed following phrase "Its grown-ups time" from Baba. This Chapter also describes the year 1964, in which Hassan was born i.e., a year after Amir's mother died after giving birth to Amir. Later, this Chapter describes the clashes between Shia's and Sunni's. Amir comes to know about clashes of Shias and Sunni's when he reads a book entitled Khorami(an Iranian name), which he finds it in Baba's study. And in the end the Chapter closes following the phrase "Looking back on it now, I think the foundation for what happened in the winter of 1975-and all that followed-was already laid in those first words.
Journal Entry 1 Kite Runner Chapters 1-2 Rahul Andra 24/8/10
ReplyDeleteThe book starts off with the narrator (the protagonist Amir), regretting his actions on a day in the winter of 1975, when he was twelve years old. I think that the following lines are the most significant in the assigned reading assignment as these lines basically establish the main theme of the novel which I believe to be remorse. “Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the past 26 years. “Next, Amir receives a call from his friend in Pakistan, and this phone call seems to resurrect buried memories that begin to haunt Amir. In an attempt to take his mind off them Amir takes a walk in Golden Gate park, his attempt is futile though. He sees a couple of kites fluttering in the sky and he remembers Hassan, obviously an old acquaintance who is introduced to us as “the hare lipped kite runner”.
The second chapter starts out with Amir’s description of his childhood mischief with Hassan. As a reader I now can deduce that Hassan was Amir’s playmate, and in the present day Amir has lost contact with him. Amir then gives a rude description of Hassan’s facial features. Next there is a vivid description of Amir’s house, which seems to be posh as well as elegant. Here I can make out that Amir is quite wealthy, but Hassan’s financial status is unknown. Next, Amir’s relationship with his father is slightly unfurled. Quite evidently they aren’t that close. Then it is revealed that Hassan is actually Amir’s servant’s son. At this moment the reader may be puzzled as to what exactly occurred that left Amir in grief. Then, we discover that Hassan’s mother is a woman with a very bad local reputation. Hassan then encounters a soldier who says that he had an affair with his mother, and the soldier also calls Hassan a “Hazara”. Here we can deduce that Hassan is from an ethnic minority. We then discover that Amir and Hassan were both nursed by the same woman, and both of them are half orphans (Hassan’s mother’s whereabouts were unknown but due to the embarrassment she caused to their family he was fine saying that she was not his mother anymore). Then it is stated that she ran away from the family when she says Hassan’s cleft lip and she even refused to touch him. Also, Ali suffers from polio and is often heckled at by the locals. This passage in the book creates the feeling of pity for Ali’s family, and we can say that the beginning of the book is off to a dull, solemn start. We learn of the theme (remorse), the setting (A posh neighbourhood in Kabul), and the plot (performing a certain action in order to erase the burden of lamenting a lost one), as well as the personalities of the main characters.
1) Obviously Hassan and Amir were close. This could be justified from Amir reminiscing Hassan. Why then did the present day Ali, give a rude description of Hassan’s facial features, “Chinese doll maker’s instrument may have slipped”?
2) Why did Ali marry Saunabar? Is it because she was beautiful, or was it because of external pressure from his uncle (Saunabar was his cousin and in the 70’s in the middle east, inter family marriages weren’t uncommon)?
Kite Runner journal entry chapters 1 & 2
ReplyDeleteThe first chapter starts off with a brief introduction of the protagonist(Amir). The author uses foreshadow technique to build up suspense and make it more intriguing for the reader.He uses the line "on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975" as a symbol of Amir's dark past.The main importance of the chapter is to set the tone for the story that is about to follow."For you a thousand times over" is significant line in the chapter as it signifies the friendship between Amir and Hassan. The last line of the chapter "I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything else.And me what I am today" this line is used as a hook by the author to make the reader curious about what was so significant about the winter of 1975 and how it made Amir what he is today.
In the second chapter the story jumps back into the flashback of Amir. Here Amir is an innocent little kid which is in total contrast of how the adult him was (emotionally damaged) in the first chapter.The first chapter gives us only names of few characters like Rahim Khan,Baba,Ali and Hassan.In this chapter we are given details of their appearances and likes(not of Rahim Khan though). We are also introduced to Hassan's mother(who eloped with group of travelling singers and dancers after giving birth to Hassan. The author keeps giving us photographic details of locations and peoples appearances so that we can imagine what they are like.The chapter creates a certain sympathy for Amir and Hassan as both have lost their mothers.
chapter 1
ReplyDeletecroutching behind a crumbling wall...........
The words provide in above paragraph tell's that
it provides the fame work for the whole story . provides the trigger of his old memory's to uncurl itself.
introduces concept of promises not kept fore shadows of the past that will have to direct influence of present an future.
chapter 2
ReplyDeletein this chapter it tells us about the amir child hood ,with whom he had fun with that is hassan.
they both used to climb a tree and would reflect the sunlight into their homes,at the people who all are praying and many more. his flat, broad nose and slanting ..... green even sapphire. were some of the features of hassan given by amir in this chapter 2. in this story hassan is amir servant . this chapter also tells that amir father baba is a rich person in that hole of that place and he and his partner rahim khan were having the beautiful house built by them only . casualy baba and his partner (rahim khan) would have a drink and would discuss about politics , sports ,and mamy more which would come intp their mind.
in this chapter also tells about the habits about the amir habits like they do some work in the back yard and many more
CHAPTER 1
ReplyDeleteThis is the beginning chapter and a powerful opening to the Kite Runner. There is a lot of imagery that comes to the mind as the main character Amir, now looks back at his past. The most significant is the part about, “Hassan the hare lipped kite runner.” It is significant because we know that to a large extent the story is going to be about Hassan by looking at the title of the novel. For me the sentence with the most depth is the one written in italics, “There is a way to be good again.” Earlier in the chapter, Amir also says, “my past of unatoned sins.” By connecting these two, I could already make out that Amir has a past, numerous with mistakes, and that he is still feeling guilty about it trying to look for redemption.
My two questions for this chapter are: when he talks about an incident in the winter of 1975 that changed everything, what does he mean? And also what exactly happened when he was “crouching behind a crumbling mud wall peeking into the alley near the frozen creek.”0020
CHAPTER 1
ReplyDeleteAmir, the protagonist of the story is introduced and is now a grown up, and his dark past shown by the line ‘on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975’ suggests something tragic has happened.
He then receives a call from a friend from Pakistan that “there is a way to be good again..” this appears to have reminded him of haunting memories from his past, he then takes a stroll through Golden Gate park to keep his mind of it, but he sees kites fluttering around in the sky, this enables him to remember Hassan describing him as the “hare-lipped kite runner” who might be an acquaintance of Amir’s.
Many parts from this chapter suggests that the main theme is redemption/remorse.
CHAPTER 2
Hassan, Amir’s childhood friend is introduced, and he reminisces of what all things they used to do when they were young, like climb a poplar tree and reflect sunlight onto their neighbors and Hassan used to take the blame even though it was Amir’s idea, which suggests that Hassan respects Amir, then Amir gives an insulting description of Hassan’s facial features.
Then there is a description of Amir’s house, which appears to be elegant and this shows that Amir must have a high social status being from a rich family, then Hassan is mentioned to be the son of Ali (the servant in Amir’s house), and then it is described that Amir’s and Baba (his father) aren’t very close, this keeps us wondering what had made him feel grief-stricken, then Hassan’s mother is revealed to have a terrible reputation.
Then Hassan runs into a soldier who appears to know Hassan’s mother and says that they had an affair, and then calls him a “hazara” which suggests it’s a minor ethnic in society. After this, its mentioned that Sanaubar (his mother) left days after his birth to go with traveling dancers and that she refused to even touch him (no wonder that Hassan doesn’t want to acknowledge her as his mother) and that Ali has polio on his right leg, which causes him to be harassed by the townsfolk and made fun of.
CHAPTER 2
ReplyDeleteThis chapter is about Amir’s childhood and paints a picture of him and his best friend, Hassan. He describes Hassan and everything he remembers vividly and through Amir’s own eyes. We begin to know more about Hassan, but only as much as Amir wants us to know. Readers can understand that Hassan has always had a deep devotion to Amir, “ he never denied me anything.” By reading all the descriptions, one of the main things that seems to stand are Amir’s and Hassan’s house, and more importantly the difference between Amir’s wealth and Hassan’s humble abode. Another thing that I noticed was the relation between Amir and Baba. Amir tells us while talking about a photograph “--- I am a baby in that photograph and Baba is holding me, looking tired and grim. I’m in his arms, but it’s Rahim Khan’s pinky my fingers are curled around. By making sense of this and the previous chapter, where Rahim Khan calls Amir much later on in life, it is clearly understood that there is a strong bond between Rahim Khan and Amir.
My two questions for this chapter are: how does Rahim Khan affect Amir later on in life, and to what extend do the differences between Amir and Hassan affect their friendship.
In chapter 1, I found out that the author uses first person narration. He uses personification to describe the day as a “Frigid, overcast day”. I still do not know the name of the main character, but the author tells us that he is from Kabul, but now lives in San Francisco. In this chapter Amir receives a call from a friend who tells him that “There is a way to be good again”. The protagonist keeps talking about someone named Hassan who was probably close to him, the chapter also ends in a cliff hanger. This chapter provides the framework for the whole story and hints at significant events in the past. It also foreshadows events of the past that will have a direct influence on the events of the future and the present.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 2 Amir starts telling us about his past, somewhere in the year 1975. Amir tells us about the many things that he and Hassan used to do together from firing walnuts at neighbors’ dogs to reflecting light off mirrors to distract Muslims praying. The narrator navigates through Amir’s house giving us a descriptive perspective of it, he describes various rooms and the garden in which Ali and Hassan had a hut to sleep in. Also we come to know of separation between the Afghans, where the lower class is called “Hazara” and the upper class “Pashtun”. We learn that Hassan has a cleft lip, but despite that Amir still loves him.We also learn that there is a similarity between Hassan and Amir as they both don’t have any mothers. While I read this story I was able to tell that Amir kept getting distracted when Baba showed more interest in Hassan than in him. So he made a good friend in Rahim Khan, Baba’s business partner, who always used to show interest in Amir’s pieces of literature. In chapter 2 we learn more about the people who were mentioned in chapter 1 and their in the plot of the story.
ReplyDeleteThe passage in this chapter which catches my attention is when he is “on a frigid overcast day.... crunching behind a crumbling mud wall peeking into the alley near the frozen creek” and thinking about how the “past claws its way out” and that he has “been peeking into that deserted alley for the past 26 years.” This passage is an introduction to what is going to be the climax of this story. This is the pivot of the story and the setting where the incident took place is described as being “a frigid overcast day”, this also portrays how he becomes after the incident takes places.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter is an interesting read because right from the first line the story grabs our attention and wants us to continue reading, to find out more about the book. Possibly the only thing I might not have liked is the last line in which he explains how “the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me what I am today.” This sentence is a cliff-hanger, cryptic and very tantalizing, therefore left many questions floating in my head. Such as why did the writer want to write about the climax of the story right from the beginning?, what was the climax of the story that changed Amir’s life. Here Amir stands out as a person troubled by his past, hoping that there is some way to redeem his “unatoned sins.” Here you are forced to sympathize with him whether he is at fault and why. I think that the setting is what you would have thought it should have been, in the past, in a reflective, questioning way. In this chapter the theme is to find a way to redeem him for what he has done when he was 12; however the motif of this chapter is freedom. This is because after redeeming himself he will find freedom, a chance to soaring without any restriction from his past. It is written in the first person however Amir seems to be omnipresent throughout this book, and he presents no bias.
• Why did the phone call seem to have that effect on Amir that he had to recollect his life?
• The description of the incident, what does it make you feel and why.
Chapter 2
ReplyDeleteIn this chapter there are two significant passages, one would be when Amir is describing to us how they “under the same roof we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba his was Amir. My name.” According to him because of this the “foundation of what happened in the winter of 1975- and all that followed- was already laid in those words.” This passage is showing us how the Amir always tried to impress his father and who Hassan always provided his unwavering loyalty towards Amir and assisted in whatever mischief he wanted to get into. The other passage would be the description of Hassan at the beginning of the chapter in which Amir describes Hassan having an “almost perfectly round face, a face like a chiselled doll... eyes that looked, depending on the light, gold, green even sapphire...and the cleft lip....” Here we come to find out how Amir’s feeling have changed towards Hassan compared to when he was alive.
This chapter drew an interesting line between the social, cultural and ethnic group that divided the two boys. In this chapter Hassan and his family seem to stand out since most of the chapter is dedicated to cultural and social aspects of Hassan and his heritage. The tone of this chapter and possibly throughout the whole book is very nostalgic due to the fact that he seems to be recollecting his thoughts about what has passed. The motif of this chapter is based on the division of the social status between Amir and Hassan. The plot in this chapter is very simple, it is built on simplicity; informing us how there is a division thought which even if they wanted they couldn’t become friends. This is clearly shown when he admits that he had “only stepped into Hassan and Ali’s quarter only a handful of times.” There is not a lot of imagery in this chapter however there are a few such as the description of Hassan which clearly portrayed him as a “china doll” yet the perfection of the china doll was spoiled by “the cleft lip, just left of the mid-line.” In this passage, Amir also seems fond of Hassan’s eyes which he likens to “sapphires” or jewels. The description of Amir’s house is also a form of imagery, but in the description there seems to be no bias towards relating the beauty of the house. This chapter while describing Hassan’s family is not actually what he knows, it’s more about what he has heard through other people.
• What are the main differences between Amir and Hassan? Why is this so?
• How was Amir’s childhood? Would you describe it as a happy one?
Chapter 2
ReplyDeleteIn this chapter there are two significant passages, one would be when Amir is describing to us how they “under the same roof we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba his was Amir. My name.” According to him because of this the “foundation of what happened in the winter of 1975- and all that followed- was already laid in those words.” This passage is showing us how the Amir always tried to impress his father and who Hassan always provided his unwavering loyalty towards Amir and assisted in whatever mischief he wanted to get into. The other passage would be the description of Hassan at the beginning of the chapter in which Amir describes Hassan having an “almost perfectly round face, a face like a chiselled doll... eyes that looked, depending on the light, gold, green even sapphire...and the cleft lip....” Here we come to find out how Amir’s feeling have changed towards Hassan compared to when he was alive.
This chapter drew an interesting line between the social, cultural and ethnic group that divided the two boys. In this chapter Hassan and his family seem to stand out since most of the chapter is dedicated to cultural and social aspects of Hassan and his heritage. The tone of this chapter and possibly throughout the whole book is very nostalgic due to the fact that he seems to be recollecting his thoughts about what has passed. The motif of this chapter is based on the division of the social status between Amir and Hassan. The plot in this chapter is very simple, it is built on simplicity; informing us how there is a division thought which even if they wanted they couldn’t become friends. This is clearly shown when he admits that he had “only stepped into Hassan and Ali’s quarter only a handful of times.” There is not a lot of imagery in this chapter however there are a few such as the description of Hassan which clearly portrayed him as a “china doll” yet the perfection of the china doll was spoiled by “the cleft lip, just left of the mid-line.” In this passage, Amir also seems fond of Hassan’s eyes which he likens to “sapphires” or jewels. The description of Amir’s house is also a form of imagery, but in the description there seems to be no bias towards relating the beauty of the house. This chapter while describing Hassan’s family is not actually what he knows, it’s more about what he has heard through other people.
• What are the main differences between Amir and Hassan? Why is this so?
• How was Amir’s childhood? Would you describe it as a happy one?
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ReplyDeleteJournal 01 Chapter 01 25th September
ReplyDeleteSoheb ..
The Story begins with an exposure leading the reader through a set of Amir’s (The main Protagonist) pasts. These memoirs come into the picture when an old friend of him from Pakistan –Rahim Khan gives him a call. After the call he convinces himself that his past is going to uncurl itself and come back and haunt him again. Out of all his memories there were two most pre-dominant ones, the first is in the late 1980’s in Afghanistan – His Hometown. When Amir had been just 12 years old and was hiding near a crumbing alleyway near his house. This was in the winter just after the “Kite Flying Tournament” had finished and when Hassan was coming after getting the final kite that Amir had cut, thereby winning the tournament. The author has used precise words such as a frigid overcast day the same day when he was hiding thus this suggests that the author was keen in recalling his past. And the other main memory is when the phrases “For you a thousand times over” by Hassan. He further commemorates the idiom “There is a way to be good again” as spoken by Rahim Khan Triggers in his mind. Thus these two parlances become the centrepieces of attraction throughout Amir’s past.
Journal 02 Chapter 2 25th September
ReplyDeleteSoheb ..
In the second chapter a reiteration occurs which takes the reader back to late 1980's when Amir is residing in Afghanistan (his hometown). This chapter gives a more detailed structure of Amir's pasts like, when he and Hassan used to climb the trees near the driveway of Baba's (Amir's Father) house. In this chapter not only more characters were introduced and, moreover their complex features were further discussed. Amir uses some expressions in the story which give a rough sketch of Hassan's facial structure. Like the Phrase "Sunlight flickering through the leaves on his almost perfectly round face, a face like a chinese doll chiseled from hardwood: his flat broad nose and slanting, narrow eyes like bamboo leaves, eyes that looked depending on the light, gold, green, even sapphire" preciding "And the cleft lip, just left of midline, where the chinese doll maker's instrument may have slipped, or perhaps he had grown tired and careless." Sentences like these that Amir had been a keen observer when he had been young. Him and Hassan would do mischief too such as using a slingshot. Hassan was so ardent toward Amir that he would never put the blame on Amir even though the trouble-causing ideas, such as "shooting walnuts at the neighbours dog" were always Amir's ideas.
Furthermore This chapter also describes Baba's House, and how people agreed that it was the most beautiful house on the whole of Wazir Akbar Khan District. It would further describe the interior of the house briefly like the broad entryway, the marble used for the flooring of the house, wide windows and more. Upstairs would be Amir's room, Baba's room and his study to which he would refer as the "smoking room". Which wholely smelled of tobacco ans cinnamon. He also writes that there would be three main topics that were to be heard by Baba and Rahim Khan - politics, business and soccer, although Amir was very keen in sitting with Baba in his study but he would rather not be allowed following phrase "Its grown-ups time" from Baba. This Chapter also describes the year 1964, in which Hassan was born i.e., a year after Amir's mother died after giving birth to Amir. Later, this Chapter describes the clashes between Shia's and Sunni's. Amir comes to know about clashes of Shias and Sunni's when he reads a book entitled Khorami(an Iranian name), which he finds it in Baba's study. And in the end the Chapter closes following the phrase "Looking back on it now, I think the foundation for what happened in the winter of 1975-and all that followed-was already laid in those first words.