English 155: Introduction to Literature: Global
Prof. Boyer, Fall 2020
Paper 2 (The Kite Runner and Stories from the Middle East)
Due via Canvas Assignments by 11:59 pm Monday October 12
The assignment for your second paper is to write a short essay of 1000-1500 words, normally 3-4 typed
pages, on one of the following topics. Make sure your essay has a good argument (thesis, main idea).
Give specific details from the text and explain why those details are important for your argument. Do not
use outside sources except for factual information; be sure to cite the sources that you use.
Please read the statement in the syllabus on Academic Dishonesty. Do not turn in someone else’s paper
from a previous semester (I have copies of those) or take words or ideas from other sources, including
Sparknotes and similar sources. I will follow the syllabus statement in all cases of academic dishonesty
that I discover.
Then please read the General Instructions for Papers in English 155. Your paper must be written
following those instructions. That document is available in Document Archive 1 in the CN Tasks and in
Modules on Canvas. There will also be links to it with the links to this assignment sheet.
And please remember that your readers have read the novel or story you are writing about. Do not waste
our time by telling us what happens in the text—we already know that. Your task is to make and support
an argument about some aspect of that text, to explain why some aspect of the text is the way that it is.
For a style sheet and some suggestions on writing literature papers, see the Course Writing and Style
Guides section in Document Archive 1 in the CN Tasks and in Modules on Canvas.
1. Learning “to be good again”. How does Amir learn “to be good again”? Write an essay in which you
focus on the process through which this happens. Don’t just tell the story; pick a few key incidents or
stages and show how his character changes through the novel. Consider how his relations to others in
the novel affect these changes. What specific incidents help him to change, and how do they help?
Why did it take so long? The trick here is to turn this into a strong argument, not just a series of
events. One approach might be to focus on what exactly “good” means in ‘Amir’s situation. Be sure
to present a strong argument. Be specific: use specific details from the novel and explain why those
details are important for your argument.
2. Fathers and mothers. In the early portions of The Kite Runner we are in a world in which there are
fathers but no mothers. Later mothers also appear (Sanaubar, Khala Jamila, Farzana, and, in brief
descriptions by the former professor, Amir’s mother; you might also consider Soraya). Write an essay
in which you consider the roles of fathers and mothers in the novel and the effect of their presence or
absence on the other characters. You should focus on one or two examples rather than covering all the
characters. Or you might focus on the importance of mothers and/or fathers in the novel. Be sure to
present a strong argument for your position. Be specific: use specific details from the novel and
explain why those details are important for your argument.
3. Two Afghanistans. In The Kite Runner we see two very different pictures of Afghanistan, the
“golden” world of Amir’s youth and the devastated world he finds when he returns. In between we
see America through the eyes of Amir (and indirectly through the eyes of other characters). Write an
essay in which you consider these locations and their importance for the novel. You might want to
focus just on the two versions of Afghanistan (remembering Farid’s comment “You’ve always been a
tourist here, you just didn’t know it.”) or on Amir and Baba in Afghanistan and then in America.
Consider how the locations contribute to the meaning of the novel. Make sure you have a strong
argument, not just a sequence of details. Be specific: use specific details from the novel and explain
why those details are important for your argument.
4. Theft as the only sin. In chapter 3 of The Kite Runner Baba says “[T]ere is only one sin, only one.
And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft” (17). Much later in the novel Amir applies
this directly to the issue of Hassan’s father, but if you dig more deeply you may find other examples
of how Baba’s statement can be applied to events in the novel. And you may well consider whether
you agree with Baba or not, based on what happens and is said in the novel. (You should restrict
yourself to what is said in the novel; this is an essay about The Kite Runner, not about your ideas
about whether or not you agree with Baba.) Write an essay in which you consider Baba’s idea in
relation to the rest of the novel and argue whether, in the context of the novel, he is either right or
wrong. Be sure to present a strong argument. Be specific: use specific details from the novel and
explain why those details are important for your argument.
5. Book versus film. I think that the film if The Kite Runner is pretty good, but obviously a film cannot
do exactly what a book does, and a book cannot do exactly what a book does. Think about
differences between the book The Kite Runner and the film The Kite Runner. Then write an essay in
which you focus on an important difference (or similarity) and compare how the two differ or develop
the similarity. Do you prefer one over the other in terms of the difference you have chosen. You will
need to cite and discuss specific examples that support your argument. Be sure to present a strong
argument. Be specific: use specific details from the novel and explain why those details are important
for your argument.
6. Character relations in the stories. As a way of approaching the stories from the Middle East we have
Read (Nawal El Saadawi’s “In Camera” and Hanan Al-Shaykh’s “The Women’s Swimming Pool”),
write an essay in which you consider the relations between two characters in one of them. Focus on
the relationship and develop your thinking about it into a strong argument about the relationship. Be
sure to present a strong argument. Be specific: use specific details from the text and explain why
those details are important for your argument. You may also write on your own topic on one or both
of the stories. See “Your Own Topic” below.
Themes and Motifs
7. Themes and motifs. The Kite Runner and the stories from the Middle East make use of many themes
and motifs. (For a definition of the terms see the “Theme and Motif” document in Document Archive
1 in Tasks on CN and in Modules on Canvas.) Some of those themes are identified by Isabel Allende
on the cover of The Kite Runner as “love, honor, guilt, fear, redemption.” And there are more. Write
an essay on one theme or motif that you find in The Kite Runner or one of the stories from the Middle
East. Begin by identifying the theme or motif and explaining its use in the novel or story. Then show
in greater detail how it is used in that text and consider how it relates to the text as a whole. Please
remember that a work of literature is much more likely to be putting a particular theme “on the table”
for discussion and then presenting different aspects of the theme for the readers’ consideration. Good
works of literature normally do not tell you what the theme “means” but asks you to look at the many
things in could mean in that particular work. Be sure to present a strong argument supporting your
understanding of how the theme or motif works in the text. Be specific: use specific details from the
text and explain why those details are important for your argument.
Your Own Topic
8. Your own topic. You are welcome to develop a different topic related to The Kite Runner or any
of the stories we have read from the Middle East. This might include a "What's the use of stories that
aren't even true" topic. And this option leaves you a way to address one or more of the stories in ways
not included in the rather general topic on the stories. Whatever topic you choose, be sure to develop
a strong argument and to be specific in your paper: use specific details from the text and explain why
those details are important for your argument. Please check the topic with me before you begin
writing, preferably by email.