11 IB The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and Pride and Prejudice Book Assignment
C. Lambert and M. Costello
Please Note: Your score on this book project (journals + participation + final project) will
serve as your final exam for Q2.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
New York Times Book Review:
This powerful first novel tells a story of fierce cruelty and fierce yet redeeming love. Both
transform the life of Amir; Khaled Hosseini’s privileged you narrator, who comes of age during
the last peaceful days of the monarchy, just before his country’s revolution and its invasion by
Russian forces. But political events, even as dramatic as the ones that are presented in The Kite
Runner, are only part of this story. In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini gives us a vivid and
engaging story that reminds us how long his people have been struggling to triumph over the
forces of violence—forces that continue to threaten them even today.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseni
Barnes & Noble Review
Khaled Hosseini's follow-up to The Kite Runner does not disappoint. Set like its predecessor in
war-torn Afghanistan, A Thousand Splendid Suns uses that tumultuous backdrop to render the
heroic plight of two women of different generations married to the same savagely abusive male.
Born out of wedlock, Mariam was forced to marry 40-year-old Rasheed when she was only 15.
Then, 18 years later, her still childless husband angrily takes an even younger wife. Hosseini
renders the story of Mariam and her "sister/daughter," Laila, with persuasive detail and
consummate humanity. Their abject situation leaves them no emotional space for idle
philosophizing; their resistance is from the very core of their being. It is truly must-read fiction.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
From the Publisher
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be
in want of a wife” memorably begins Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, one of the world's most
popular novels. Pride and Prejudice—Austen's own 'darling child'—tells the story of fiercely
independent Elizabeth Bennet, one of five sisters who must marry rich, as she confounds the
arrogant, wealthy Mr. Darcy. What ensues is one of the most delightful and engrossingly
readable courtships known to literature, written by a precocious Austen when she was just
twenty-one years old. Humorous and profound, and filled with highly entertaining dialogue, this
witty comedy of manners dips and turns through drawing-rooms and plots to reach an immensely
satisfying finale. In the words of Eudora Welty, Pride and Prejudice is as '”irresistible and as
nearly flawless as any fiction could be.”
Directions
Select which book you would like to read.
Sign up in groups of 3-5 with Mrs. Lambert / Ms. Costello.
With your group create a reading schedule so that the last reading assignment is due on Jan. 15.
***Complete 1-3 by the end of class today.
Keep a daily reader response journal. There should be at least 15 entries that span the entire
novel. These may be handwritten.
Format entries like this:
Significant / Interesting
Page #
Quote
Context (1-2
sentences) Analysis (4-5
sentences)
Journals are due on Jan. 19 and are worth up to 75 points.
Be prepared to discuss the assigned reading with your group members on a daily basis.
Discussions will run from Dec. 8 – Jan. 15. You will receive points based on your participation
in the daily discussion. This will be a subjective grade based on teacher observations.
Upon completion of the novel and discussion, you will plan a final project with your group
members. You will receive class time from Jan. 19 until Jan. 26 to create this project. Projects
will be formally presented to the class on Jan. 27 and Jan. 28 (final exam dates). The project
/ presentation is worth 100 points.
Possible Projects:
Rewrite a scene or add an additional scene to the novel. You can record your group’s
performance of the scene and burn it onto a DVD to show the class or you can provide a live
performance in front of the class.
Write and perform/record a song based on the novel. This could either be an audio recording or a
music video.
Create a painting, mural, or sculpture that depicts the heart of your book.
Have a panel of characters from the book visit the class (meaning your group members would
become these characters) and talk to us about their experiences.
***These projects must be highly creative, well-organized, and school appropriate.
Points
Journals = 75
Participation in discussions = 50
Final Project = 100