Louise Betz
Mrs. Ackerman
Honors American Literature
12 May 09
Summary
Make certain to address and summarize articles you read for this assignment] The Kite
Runner is a novel based on life in Afghanistan. It hits on the ideas of a strained fatherson relationships, and it evaluates a life of scandal and lies. It has been speculated that
[passive] although this is not a factual text the author probably based a good amount
of the events on things he thought, saw, or heard about. I see this book as a text of self
discovery. I think “The Kite Runner” is representation of someone on a journey or an
adventure. [summary should focus only on a summary of the article you studied;
response can get into your cool thinking]. Amir embodies this idea. As a child he spent
virtually all of his time seeking acceptance from his father and yet he was never good
enough. As he grew older his desire, as well as his drive for his father to love him only
grew and his actions became more and more drastic. Not only was Amir not the boy
that his father wanted, but Hassan, his dear friend, was. He had to fight his desire to be
himself and his desire to just be happy with his friend all because he was never what his
father wanted or expected.
Response
Symbols are a great element of “The Kite Runner”. The Author aims to create an
accurate picture of Afghani life. He incorporates much of the culture discreetly
throughout the text. The lack of respectable women in the book represents the lack of
respect for women as a whole in Afghanistan. Amir’s lack of a mother is not surprising
because it is a father’s love that a son seeks, never a mother’s because a women’s
opinion does not matter. It is customary to fly kites in free time no matter what age you
are in the Middle East and is often a competitive sport. A kite is a symbol in itself. When
Amir flies a kite he is searching for his fathers love through his own foolish pride. Amir
feels that when he out does everyone else and accomplishes what he wants, his father
will feel the same pride that he does. What he does not realize is that although Amir
and his father may be alike in temperament, their priorities, values, and desires are
worlds apart.
Well ended! Good ideas about symbols, but because you don’t mention your literary
article at all, you haven’t fulfilled requirements for this assignment.
Grade for response: C-
Hosseini, Khaled. Kite runner. New York: Riverhead Books, 2004.
Jones, Tamara, and Khaled Hosseini. "An Old, Familiar Face: Writer Khaled Hosseini,
Lifting the Veil on Afghanistan."" GaleNet. 28 May 2007. 5 May 2009
<http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=LitRC&u=litt24484>.
"Kite Runner". Anti Essays. 12 May. 2009
<http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/35885.html>