The Kite Runner: Week 5, Post B

Dear Amir, 

I am, surprisingly, still astonished at your life and all that you've gone through. In the last section I read, you had to travel to America to get out of Pakistan. From what you wrote, it seems like a very traumatic experience for you and I can't believe how you could have gotten through it. I know that I would never be able to do it. You were always talking about the smells, the sleep deprivation, the other people, and just everything that was terrible on the way to Peshawar. I am almost sure that I'd have given up and either killed myself or just gotten out and left with Baba. I give you extreme props for staying with it because you knew that you'd maybe have a better future in America than you would in the changing Pakistan. You knew how disappointed Baba would be in you if you couldn't make it all the way. In a way, I think that's how you kept it up. How you persisted in traveling was because Baba was being just as brave and he was your stronghold in that hard time. I'm also glad that when you finally got there, things started looking up, and you got into "junior college" and you graduated, and you'll soon be going to real college in the fall. Baba actually told you that he was very proud of you, that you got to do the things that he never did in his life. I am excited to see what happens with Sonraya, the beautiful girl that you met at the market. I can't wait to finish your story!!

The Kite Runner: Week 5, Post A

VOCAB: 1. dissertations (109): a lengthy, formal, treatise or thesis

2. belied (121): to contradict, to be false, to misrepresent. 

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: 1. "Baba walked out of the welfare office like a man cured of a tumor" (114). This is a simile because it compares two objects using the word "like."

2. "and the words had vaporized on my tongue" (115). This is a personification because words can't really vaporize. It's giving somewhat human characteristics to a non-human object.

3. "his thin hands belied a firm grip, as if steel hid beneath the moisturized skin" (121). This is a simile because it uses the words "as if" to compare two objects. 

QUOTE: "Proud. His eyes gleamed when he said that and I liked being on the receiving end of that look" (115). This shows how much of a special moment it was when Baba told Amir that he was proud of him when he graduated from junior college.

THEME: The theme of The Kite Runner in this section is that you always have to go after your dreams and you can't let anything get in your way, no matter how big the obstacles may seem.

The Kite Runner: Week 4, Post B

SIGNIFICANCE OF A QUOTE

I had a hard time picking a quote from the section I just finished, and it wasn't a very long section, either. I came across this one and just felt like I understood Amir perfectly in that moment, he described it so well with a metaphor. "I only knew the memory lived in me, a perfectly encapsulated morsel of a good past, a brushstroke of color on the gray, barren canvas that our lives had become" (107). I used this for an example of figurative language, but it is also my favorite quote out of this section of The Kite Runner. What it means is that the only thing Amir remembers (or wants to remember) of his past life is those few actually good memories that he has of himself and Hassan playing together and still being best friends. As he says in the quote, the memory of him and Hassan is the only colorful part of his memory now. While he is running away to Pakistan, with Baba, he keeps wishing that he can leave his mistakes behind him. He wants to make a new beginning with Baba in Pakistan. All the rest is yet to be made colorful by new memories he'll have with Baba in Pakistan. And he is able to do this now, because like he described in the quote, his life is now a blank canvas with one splash of color from that one good memory of Hassan. I think this quote also shows that he regrets not helping Hassan when he was being abused, because the readers can tell that the only reason Ali and Hassan left was because of what Amir did. I like this quote so much because I can understand exactly how Amir felt in the moment he thought this. I see how he'd feel regretful, and I can see how he wishes he had helped Hassan when he had the chance. I understand him because this quote uses the perfect metaphorical imagery to describe exactly how Amir felt. 

The Kite Runner: Week 4, Post A

VOCAB: 1. sluiced (94): to drain, flow, pour water.

2. precipitous (97): extremely or impassably steep.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: 1. "the headlights came on and cute twin funnels of light in the rain" (94). This is a personification of the headlights that 'cut' through rain. Headlights cannot really cut anything, so it's giving human characteristics to a non-human object. 

2. "piled in a corner just like the birthday presents in my room" (94). This is a simile, because it uses the word "like" to compare two objects.

3. "a brushstroke of color on the gray, barren canvas that our lives had become" (107). This is a metaphor of Amir and Baba's lives now that Hassan and Ali left them to go back to Ali's childhood home. It is a blank canvas that they need to fill up with memories to make their lives full again. I like that metaphor; it gives the reader a really good idea of how Amir and Baba feel. 

QUOTE: "That was when I understood the depth of the pain I had caused, the blackness of the grief I had brought onto everyone" (93). This quote describes how Amir looked into Ali's face and finally realized what he had done and how he shouldn't have only watched Hassan being abused in the alley, but he should've helped him. He finally regrets what he did. 

THEME: The theme of this section of The Kite Runner is that you have to forgive people (especially loved ones) for the things they do that might upset you.

The Kite Runner: Week 3, Post B

Dear Amir,

When I read about what happened to Hassan after the kite-fighting contest, I was shocked. It was completely unexpected, and my heart was breaking for poor little Hassan. I was so mad at you for not going and helping him while the older boys were hurting him. I couldn't believe that you didn't, after all he does for you. He has been nothing but a loyal, trustworthy, loving best friend-more like brother. And now, what do you do, but act like nothing happened and that you didn't see him getting hurt in the alley. You pretended to not be there. I was so frustrated with you. But, I think I can guess why you didn't go and stand up for him. It's just because you two are of different backgrounds and religions. But still, I don't understand this. He loves you as a brother, and you should love him as much as he loves you. In my opinion, you are so stubborn and full of pride that you can't even acknowledge that you even know him, let alone admit that he has been like your brother for the past twelve years. I wish that differences like the ones you two have didn't matter to anyone, that we could all accept each other for what we truly are. I think there would be less problems in all of the world if we accepted our differences. Think about it. It's the only reason for the United States and the Middle East being at war right now, and the only reason for there being disagreements among countries. Differences. I think that you could have and should have been a bigger person and stood up for Hassan because he is all you have. Everyone has the power to do things like that, but we don't because we are selfish and full of pride. I wish the world could change, but I know that's not realistic. 

Can't wait to keep reading your story.

Emma

The Kite Runner: Week 3, Post A

VOCAB: 1. wrought (53): embellished, elaborated, not rough or crude.

2. insomniac (75): someone who cannot sleep.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: 1. "little shapes formed behind my eyelids, like hands playing shadows on the wall" (74). This is a simile, because it uses the word "like" to compare two objects.

2. "phht-phht" (74). This is an onomatopeoia, because it isn't a real word. It's a sound or noise that is described with what it would look like if it was a real word.

QUOTE: "But this was my one chance to become someone who was looked at, not seen; listened to, not heard" (57). This quote shows just how much Amir wanted to become someone that people paid attention to and really admired. Also, he just wanted Baba to be proud of him for once in his life.

THEME: The theme of the book in this section was that you should always help someone, especially a close friend, when they are in need of help.

The Kite Runner: Week 2, Post B

SIGNIFICANCE OF A QUOTE

"But right then, I wished I could open my veins and drain his cursed blood from my body" (27). When I read this line, it surprised me. So far in the book, Amir has seemed like this sweet boy who really loves his father and his family very much. Then, this sentence comes along and you are thrown off. In that instant, Amir wanted nothing to do with his dad. He didn't want to be related to him (not having Baba's blood in him), he didn't want to look at him, and he certainly didn't want to talk to him anymore. However, in other times in the book, Amir has said things like he was really glad that Baba was his father, and like he was proud to have him as a father because of Baba's fame and fortune. I think that Amir is torn apart by this. He is somewhat selfish and doesn't want to lose Baba because of his fame, but he also very well knows that Baba doesn't love him very much and so he wants to be rid of Baba once and for all. In my opinion, I think I'd feel the same way. I'd also want to do everything I could to get in his favor and to make him proud of me and make him love me. It pains me to read the book because I have two parents who I know (most of the time) love and care about my very much and would never give me false support on something. They'd always be there if I needed them. It is heart-wrenching to read a story about a boy who is not very loved by his father, and his father doesn't even support him in doing something he loves: writing. This is horrible to me, but I really love this book and all it has been teaching me about Afghan culture. I can't wait to finish it!

The Kite Runner: Week 2, Post A

VOCAB: 1. rutted (46): a furrow or track in the ground, esp. one made by the passage of a vehicle or vehicles.

2. albeit (47): although, even if.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: 1. "except now, he was the ant and I was holding the magnifying glass" (47). This is a metaphor for how Amir was treating Hassan at that time. It is not literal, but it represents something.

2. "longing for winter already, greeted instead by the specter of yet another long school year" (44). This is a personification, because the "specter of more school" can't really greet someone. That is a human characteristic, being used as something an object does.

3. "words were secret doorway and I held all the keys" (26). This is a metaphor, because it represents how words were the only thing Amir had over Hassan, who couldn't read. It is not to be taken literally, just as a sort of symbol. 

QUOTE: "Show him once and for all that his son was worthy. Then maybe my life as a ghost in this house would finally be over" (49). This quote shows how much Amir wants his dad, Baba, to appreciate him and actually be proud of him, instead of Hassan. I have a feeling that there will be a lot more conflict coming up in the book between Hassan and Amir, fighting over who Baba likes more: his own son, or his servant boy.

THEME: The theme of the book at this point is that one should appreciate everything in one's life. Every part of it is important, and one should be lucky to have anything.  

The Kite Runner: Week 1, Post A

VOCAB: 1. quelled (8): to put down forcibly, quiet, suppress. 

2. melee (18): a confused, hand-to-hand fight or struggle among several people.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: 1. "my entire childhood seems like one long lazy summer day playing with Hassan" (22). This is a simile because it uses the word "like" to compare two unlike objects.

2. "my father was a force of nature, a towering Pashtun specimen" (11). This is a metaphor, because Baba is not really a force of nature, but it is a good metaphor describing Baba in more interesting terms than just a physical description.

3. "in the stampede like a rag doll" (18). This is a simile, because it uses the word "like" to compare two unlike objects. 

QUOTE: "'If I hadn't seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I'd never believe he's my son'" (20). This quote represents exactly how Baba feels about his son, Amir. He is constantly worrying about Amir and how different he is from the other kids he plays with. He is not like Baba was when he was a kid, and this makes Baba worried about him. Baba doesn't realize how Amir just is interested in different things than Baba.

THEME: The theme of this book so far is how you can be completely different from your best friend, but that changes nothing about your relationship or your friendship.

The Kite Runner: Week 1, Post B

Dear Khaled Hosseini, 

So far, your book, "The Kite Runner", has been very good and I am really enjoying reading it. I love how in the first few chapters, you give the readers an idea of what the dynamics among characters are before you start telling us the plot. It gives us a really good base before we start finding out the plot and learning even more about the characters. This is a really good way to start a novel, in my opinion. Ever since I heard about your book and how culturally interesting it was, I've wanted to read it. I can tell from these first few chapters that I'm going to like it a lot. It should be really interesting to read, and I can't wait to find out what happens. 

My favorite part of the first few chapters was when Amir was reflecting on his friendship with Hassan. "But we were kids who had learned to crawl together, and no history, ethnicity, society, or religion was going to change that either" (22). This gave me a really good sense of what the book might be about: religious, social, and ethnic conflicts between Hassan and Amir, two boys in Afghanistan who grew up together, who had always been friends and who couldn't live without each other. Still, Amir had problems getting over the fact that Hassan was Amir and Baba (Amir's famous and rich father)'s servant, and that Hassan was a Hazaran Shi'a. I like how they are still best friends after all of their differences listed and talked about in the first couple chapters. 

Patria's theme song

I chose patria as the sister to find a song for, because she inspires me the most. I love how sweet and kind she is to everyone and also how passionate she is about things like love, and her religion. The thing that struck me the most about Patria was how she had to "find herself". This is shown in her quote, "I put my hands up to the glass to remind her that she, too, must reach up for the things she didn't understand" (45). I read this and thought how hard she was working to try and figure out who she really was and what she stood for. The song I picked for Patria is "Closer to Fine" by The Indigo Girls. It's a song about a girl trying to really find our what is most important to her, and what she wants her life to be about. She does everything she can to figure it out, and in the end, she does. This is the same thing that happened to Patria. She wanted her life to be about Catholicism since she wanted to become a nun in the Inmaculada Concepcion school. The girl in the song also wanted to be about religion and God, but then I think she changed her mind, and just did whatever she wanted to do. This is pretty much the same story, so I thought that it fit Patria well. One part of the song goes, "I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains, I looked to the children, I drank from the fountains. There's more than one answer to these questions, pointing me in a crooked line. And the less I seek my source for some definitive, the closer I am to fine." This part, the chorus, shows how many things the girl in the song tried to do to figure out her life, but then in the end, the way she "found herself" was not trying so hard and just being herself, living her life like normal. Once Patria just stressed out less about becoming a nun, she realized what she really wanted in life.

Water for Elephants: Week 7, Post B

I have to say, your book Water for Elephants definitely got better at the end. I liked the second half of the book much more than the first half of the book. However good the last half was, I didn’t like the ending. Everything worked itself out in the end, and I had always thought that there wouldn’t be a happy ending. Not to say that I hate happy endings, because I almost always love them in books, movies, and shows. For some reason, I didn’t like how this book had a happy ending. I have no idea why, and it was very weird feeling like that. I think it might be because the rest of the book was so depressing and almost nothing happy ever happened, besides Marlena and Jacob falling in love. But everything else seemed to be going wrong. It felt too different for the very ending to be happy and nothing else. Don’t get me wrong, because I really liked the ending. It was so sweet how Jacob found someone that would take care of him and have good company with, being able to talk about the old circus days with him, and being able to actually be working somewhat in the circus just like the old days. I think that’s really sweet, but it seemed completely out-of place with the rest of the book which was sad and almost depressing. So, it was a good ending and I liked having that closure for Jacob, but it was out-of-place with the rest of the book.

Water for Elephants: Week 7, Post A

VOCAB:
1. Placating (282): to allay the anger of, appease
2. Trestle (296): a framework consisting of vertical, slanted supports and horizontal crosspieces supporting a bridge.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
1. “The knife is still gleaming, still throwing and catching light” (297). This is a personification, because a knife (inhuman object) cannot throw and catch something, giving the knife human characteristics.
2. “And savoring them, as though I was fingering smooth stones” (299). This is a simile, because it compares two unlike objects using the word “as”.
3. “My mind is spinning in even smaller circles” (318). This is a personification, because Jacob’s mind (the inhuman object) cannot spin in circles, which gives it human characteristics.

QUOTE:
“Oh, it’s just not fair! All those decrepit old people who won’t even know what they’re looking at, and here’s me! Trapped in this lobby! Or am I?” (321). This quote is significant because it says how annoyed Jacob was when his son forgot to come pick him up to see the Ringling circus. He was so excited to see this circus, and now he won’t get to because his son forgot. He is so disappointed now. He feels like his family does not care about him anymore and that they forget him all the time now that he is old.

THEME: The final and overall theme of the book is that you need to make the best of every situation that life brings in front of you.

Water for Elephants: Week 6, Post B

"Let him examine me. Just let him. Today I am invincible" (279). This quote happens when Jacob is telling Uncle Al Marlena and Jacob's plan. He is afraid that Uncle Al might realize what Jacob and Marlena are doing behind-the-scenes and he is concerned that that will make Uncle Al not be so in favor of their plan. No one wants to get on Uncle Al's bad side, so that they don't get redlighted or something even worse than that maybe. What this quote means is that although Jacob feels nervous and is worried about Unlce Al redlighting (getting rid of) him, he feels like he's on top of the world at this moment. He is not worried about much (except getting redlighted), but even that isn't a big deal to him right now. He is in love, and he feels like his life is going really good because of that. I think that being in love does that to a person. It is an incredible feeling to be in love. You feel like you're on top of the world, and that nothing will bring you down from up there. Nothing can happen to make you life miserable when you're in love. This is exactly how Jacob feels when he is talking to Uncle Al. the reason he "lets Uncle Al 'examine him'". All because he is on top of the world and nothing can bring him down. This is an important quote that describing exactly how Jacob felt at that moment.

Water for Elephants: Week 6, Post A

VOCAB: 1. Surreptitiously (276): acting in a stealthy way
2. solicitous (262): mindful, regardful, attentive

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
1. "His voice drips with sarcasm" (277). This is a personification, because it's giving human characteristics to a nonhuman object: Kinko's voice.
2. "That sure sounds like Camel" (240). This is a simile, because it's comparing two objects with one another using the words like or as to compare them.
3. "August stares at her, as though he's simply awakened and found himself here" (246). This is also a simile, because it uses the word "as" to compare two objects.

QUOTE: "I'm afraid to breathe incase I break the spell" (273). This is a significant quote in this section because it is just after Marlena and Jacob realize that they are in love with each other. They are in love, and this quote means that Jacob doesn't want to do the smallest thing that might break their love or ruin it forever, because that is the only thing that both of them want at the moment.

THEME: The theme of the book in this section is that one has to appreciate every moment of your life, because you don't ever know when that moment may end or when it may never happen to you again. This goes hand in hand with the expression "live every minute to the fullest."

woah

LOL this is so funny... i just realized JUST HOW MUCH i write on this blog. that's pretty entertaining. i have, like, almost 30 posts in total this semester. that is CRAZY. woah. i didn't really ever know how wordy i was. lol this is a sad realization. i'll keep it up, but... yeah. lol ;P

Water for Elephants: Week 5, Post B

Dear Jacob,

You really have an amazing story. It’s so complex and with little side stories and it’s just so interesting! I love the side story of you and Marlena. Although it makes me sad and it’s kind of depressing that you can’t be with her, it’s really helping me be more interested in the book. It’s making me want to finish it! The rest of the book is good, but I don’t think it’s really the kind of book that I’d pick up on my own, but now that I’m reading it, I’m interested again. This feeling, sadly, comes and goes. I think that’s how it is with lots of books and their readers, however. It is so sad, your situation with Marlena, because you both love each other, but neither of you can do anything about it to change it. She is married, and I think she is probably regretting that decision of hers. I know that I would be regretting it. It must be very frustrating and painful for you to see her every single day and to know that you can’t be with her because of August, who treats her so badly. You must be pained to see her treated like this. You love her, and you know that if she was with you, she wouldn’t be like this. I think it’s good that you still get to see her everyday, however. This is lucky for you. What would be worse is if you were in love with her, and she had never met you in her life. That is a bad situation to be in. I’d actually consider you lucky.

Emma

Water for Elephants: Week 5, Post A

VOCAB:
1. sequester (205): to remove or separate.
2. amiably (213): friendly, sociable, agreeable

FIGURATIVE LANUGAGE:
1. “She clings to me as tightly as if I were keeping her from being sucked into a vortex” (215). This is a simile, because it uses the word “as” to compare something to another.
2. “’you’re sharp as a tack’” (217). This is also a simile because it uses “as” to compare something to another.
3. “Fate was smiling on us that day in June…” (231). This is a personification, because an object like fate cannot actually smile. This is giving a human characteristic to a non-human object.

QUOTE:
“That, or August has decided to keep his friends close and his enemies even closer” (213). This quote is significant because it explains the kind of relationship that Jacob and August have in this section. Jacob is not really too sure is August is really being nice, or if August is just ‘keeping his enemies closer’. This is important to Jacob because if he is on August’s good side, then he doesn’t want to ruin that. But if he is on August’s bad side, then he doesn’t want to do anything to make it worse.

THEME:
The overall theme of the book right now is that you have to respect everyone, even if they are ‘below’ you in social status, because you never know what they will do. Or, you don’t want to get on anyone’s bad side, like Jacob with August.

Water for Elephants: Week 4, Post B

Dear Sarah Gruen,

Now that I am more than halfway through your book, I am really starting to question my feelings about it from when I first started reading it to now. I like it, but it is a somewhat strange story. And I’m also not quite sure where you came up with all this information, or even what sparked your interest in writing about a man that ran away to be in the circus. I am not too sure, but I don’t think it seems like the story of your life, so I’m just curious to know where you got this inspiration. This book is good, and I like it, but sometimes I just tell myself, ‘that’s kind of odd…weird thing to write so much about…’ and things like that. I am positive that when I finish this book I will definitely understand much better why you wrote some of the things you did, but right now the whole thing is just kind of a mystery to me. It might just be me. Sometimes, there are books that I just don’t want to read at a certain time. This is probably one of them. It just isn’t making me very interested at all, and I never really feel like I want to read it badly. This is strange, because I usually feel like reading; like I want to read that certain book at that certain time. I always have enjoyed reading, but this book has been a turn-off. I’m not interested in it, and I just don’t like the plot and how it’s going. It might also be your specific writing style, but I don’t know. I just haven’t gotten into it like I always expect with books. This feeling of not wanting to read a book rarely happens for me, so this is the first time, and maybe I’m over-reacting, but I’m just not a huge fan of your book. By the way, it’s nothing personal or about you specifically.

Emma

Water for Elephants: Week 4, Post A

VOCAB: 1. calliope (162) - A musical instrument fitted with steam whistles, played from a keyboard
2. Vociferous (163) - Making, given to, or marked by noisy and vehement outcry.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
“Beaming like a proud father” (163). This is when August is beaming and getting really excited because the elephant, Rosie, is doing what he wants her to. This is a simile because it uses the word “like” to compare two things.
“Shh…” (165). this is an onomatopoeia, because it isn’t a real word that’s in the dictionary, but it’s a sound or noise said out loud by a character.
“Laughing at me, no doubt” (167). This is when Jacob is describing the look that Rosie gave him when he was trying to get her out of the innocent woman’s backyard garden. This is a personification because elephants can’t really laugh in real life.

QUOTE:
“Some things never change…and you can still tell the performers from the workers” (175). This quote is significant because it’s talking about the social status at the circus, but in general Jacob is mentioning that this is really the social status of the world everywhere one goes.

THEME:The theme of this book at this section is that you should help out your friends when they need help with something, especially if they’ve done something for you in the past.