Flashbacks- The Kite Runner

Page 76 describes a memory of Amir's that is of great importance. Flashbacks or memories are important in stories like The Kite Runner. The memories hold the story in in this novel because the adult Amir telling the story has been keeping them back for so long that memories are only left. This memory is of a sheep sacrifice that Amir's family participated in. He remembers the look of complete acceptance on the sheep's face, the look of a higher purpose. This flashback was important because it was brought on by the look on Hassan's face. Amir drew a parallel between Hassan and the sheep and the things that were happening to them. This is important because it was a sacrifice for the sheep, but Hassan was not being sacrificed, but he was sacrificing himself for Amir. He didn't want to give up the kite, the key to Baba's love for Amir, so he let himself be hurt for Amir. Everything in this book leads to the sacrifices that Hassan made for Amir and the fact that Amir never did the same for Hassan. He ran instead of helping Hassan. The flashbacks are only one technique that the author uses to portray this theme.

The Author Likes to FORESHADOW- The Kite Runner

"Rahim Khan had been wrong about the mean streak thing," (pg. 23- end of Ch. 3)

"Because suddenly Afghanistan changed forever," (pg. 34- end of Ch. 4)

"Because that was the winter that Hassan stopped smiling," (pg. 47- end of Ch. 5)

I got tired of flipping to the end of the rest of the chapters, but the author, Khaled Hosseini, has a tendency to end his chapters with a foreshadowing sentence that is dramatic. The affect of these endings make the readers wonder and think and want to read more. However, I think that the real reason for these endings is that it makes the reader think. When I read this book, I tried to tie it into history or find connections and through these I started to understand the meaning of the whole work. I feel that life full of foreshadowing. He also foreshadows in a memory sequence on pgs. 73-74. The author tells of a memory that showed Hassan and Amir getting their fortunes told. Hassan went first and the teller actually gave him back his money which only happens when futures are bad. Amir was going to go, but he was scared, so he let Hassan face the bad future by himself. This foreshadows a potential bad future for Hassan. The foreshadowing is important because I think this is where I started to think that Hassan and Amir were not going to live happily ever after.

A World of Conflict: The Kite Runner

There are many types of conflict in this novel, so much, that I think that conflict is a theme. Amir is battling with the internal conflict raging in his head and the poor kid is dealing with external conflict as well. However, the conflict doesn't stop with Amir and himself and others, it goes on to include the Shi'a Muslims and Sunni Muslims, the Hazarras and the Pashtuns. The internal conflict is Amir battling with his feelings about his father. He desperately wants his father's love and respect and is jealous of Hassan, his servant-friend, when Hassan seems to be getting more attention. He struggles with the love for his father and the love of his friend, but over and over Hassan gets hurt because Amir chooses his father who never seems to care much. On page 13, Baba asks Amir if Hassan wanted to go on a trip with them, but "I lied and told him Hassan had the runs. I wanted Baba all to myself." Because Amir never got the attention he needed from his father, he was stuck in the middle of an internal battle. The external conflict also has to deal with Amir and Baba, but not Hassan. Amir wants the approval of his father more than anything in the world, but their personalities stand in the way. Baba was a sports star, who is strong and brave and believes his son should be like him. However, Amir inherited his mother's qualities and would rather read. This difference always led to the conflict between them because they could not enter into a happy medium. "I started spending my allowance on books. That was how I escaped my father's aloofness," (pg. 19). "Baba sensed my lack of genuine interest[in soccer] and resigned himself to the bleak fact that his son was never going to either play or watch soccer,"(20). Finally, there was the external conflict between the two muslim groups. The Pashtuns were the wealthy and the influential while the Hazarra's were the servants and the illiterate and there was no evidence that this would ever budge.

"For you, a thousand times over" The Kite Runner

"For you, a thousand times over." pg. 2 This quote is very important to the meaning of the book and the relationship between Hassan and Amir. It is first seen on page 2 of the novel, but is repeated throughout the entire book. The readers do not understand the meaning of the quote on page 2 as they will later on, but the significance of it is already noticed. I think that it is the epitome of loyalty and friendship and is a quote from Hassan that haunted Amir from the moment he said it all into his adult life. I see it as a surrender almost, a surrender where Hassan tells Amir that even though they are different types of Muslims, not family, and classes apart, he will always be there for him. Amir does not show this type of sacrifice towards Hassan at all. He lets Hassan take the blame for his mischievousness, lets Hassan stand up to the bullies that Amir would be far more equiped to handle due to his status, and never shows Hassan the love and friendship that Hassan showed him from birth... Hassan's first word was Amir while Amir's was Baba. "For you, a thousand times over" is a gift, a promise, and one that I think Hassan will never break and one that Amir has never appreciated. It alsmost has this haunted ring to it and I wonder how Amir will learn of the true power of this phase or if he ever will.

Oh Laura

I think that Laura's disability in the play is more her shy personality, rather than the brace she has to wear on her leg. She was able to walk around for hours when she was supposed to be in school, so I think that the disability is a front for her shyness and inability to meet people. However, her mother would rather pass her off as being a cripple, rather than actually being afraid of people. I think it is also possible that Laura is afraid of people and what they think because so much emphasis was made on her condition by her mother that she became too self-conscious about it. Therefore, not only is Laura a shy person, but she is a shy person with a defining disability that is pronounced by her mother at home. Poor Laura! She has always been told that her disability was something to hide and not discuss that of course she was going to be shy about it. I think that Amanda is what caused the problems for her children. She wanted to protect them so much that she actually drove them away and farther into themselves. Tom left home just like his father and Laura retreated into her shy self because it is what she thought she had to do since she was crippled.

The Glass Menagerie #6

The physical effects of the play, namely the lighting, screen, and music, help to show that this play is a memory play. One time in the play when the father was mentioned his picture lighted up and it showed that while he is not present in their daily lives, he is still a big part of the family. He is absent, but Amanda thinks about him often and is adamant that her son will not turn out like his father, even though she drives him off. Another thing is the see-through screen. This helps create a fourth wall so it is more realistic, but also enforces the dream-like nature of the play. It creates a boundary between Tom the narrator and Tom the character. Finally, the music is important because it signals when something important is happening and when the menagerie is referenced. Laura is compared to the figurines because they are delicate and beautiful, but can be broken easily, like her. The events that are characterized especially by the music and lighting are the ones that contain reasons for Tom's departure and show the themes of the play.

The Glass Menagerie #1

The play employs realistic and nonrealistic conversations. The conversations between the characters are realistic because there are conversations that show Amanda's overbearing nature and Tom's distractedness. It can also be nonrealistic because the play is a memory play, so everything is Tom's memories. Because it is Tom's memory, the conversations can be skewed towards him. There are breaks from conversation a lot in the play because it always seems that Amanda is admonishing one of her children. After, they escape; Tom goes out the fire escape to the movies and Laura retreats inside herself. I think that they are natural because most people will not stay long enough for people to keep scolding them. Also, I think that Amanda's personality is unrealistic because she is very motherly, but she also calls Laura a cripple in a fit of anger, so she doesn't really have respect for her.