Ryan Moore

English 4a

Mrs Johnston

November 10 2015

The Kiterunner

            The Kiterunner continues to be an excellent book. Hassan and his acting father, Ali, leave Baba and Amir. They decide to move on from serving their family. Ali discovers that Amir has been trying to get rid of Hassan with tactics such as framing him for stealing large amounts of money. He finds out the terrible news of Hassan’s rape and understands they can not stay there anymore. They then depart Afghanistan and head for Pakistan in a truck. The story continues as political events persistently interrupt the lives of the characters.

            Amir, Baba, and others spent time in a truck departing Afghan. Amir was feeling really sick, but felt embarressed and did not want to let down his father. This theme tends to be relevant throughout the story. The love and tension between father and son has been a main point in the story since the beginning. Amir does a lot attempting to receive his father’s affection. This is established when Amir’s sole motive for winning the Kite running competition was to impress his father. Amir’s focus throughout the entire competition was what his father was thinking of him and how proud he was going to be afterwards. He even repeatedly states in the story that he was looking towards his home trying to spot his father. Sure enough when he comes home with first place and the kite, his father finally expresses his happiness for his son

            Baba has a rough time showing his love for his son. He initially shows his disappointment for the way his son turned out athletically. Baba continues to treat Hassan and Amir the same way although one is his son and other his servant. This treatment angers Amir. He believes his father is more fond of Hassan than himself. When Amir receives the gift of Baba paying for his lip surgery it is seen by Amir as another reason that Hassan is loved more. Hassan’s quest for his fathers love is even prime motivation when he did not attempt to stop Hassan’s rape. He needed to bring home the Kite that Hassan was protecting in ordr to gain his father’s love.

            The love and tension between father and son persists very strongly in the story, and Baba and Amir experience a lot as a result to it. This is a very popular theme in the story and can be related to common real life expiriences between father and son. This need for love from Amir leads to a lot of trouble that may have been avoided if he just accepted himself as he is.

Ryan Moore

English 4a

Mrs. Johnston

3 November 2015

The Kite Runner Blog Post

            All of my friends had great things to say about the book The Kite Runner so I figured if I’m forced to read a book, might as well make it a highly recommended one. The Kite Runner takes place in Afghanistan and tells the story of Amir who struggles to find approval from his father. Amir’s jealousy of his father’s affection of his servant and best friend Hassan gets the better of him. Amir is the supposed protagonist which is ironic because he annoys the hell out of me sometimes. He can never seem to find happiness when it’s plausible he is selfish and treats Hassan like a pet. Although Amir consistently acknowledges the importance of their friendship in his thoughts he does the opposite with his actions.

            Surprisingly enough the story actually involves a kite runner. In recent stories I’ve read I‘ve been angered when the title has no relation to the book. For example when I was forced to read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn freshman year I was anticipating the mention of a tree, but nope had nothing to do with a tree. But surely enough Hassan and Amir have been Kite running for years. It is a highly participated event within their town where participants fly kites in the sky attempting to be the last one there. When the kites are cut down children in the town rush to the spot in which the kite falls to attempting to recover it. Those that do this are Kite Runners. Hassan shows is loyalty to Amir by running the last Kite for him.  Hassan exhibits his bravery when he takes a beating and is raped over protecting the Kite

            Hassan continues to put his dignity on the line for Amir in many ways throughout the story. I don’t understand why Hassan was born to be a brave selfless loyal friend while Amir shows no remorse from treating him like poop. Perhaps it is the condition that they are half brothers and Hassan feels obligated to protect him. No matter what the reason is Amir needs to be more greatful to his friend. The characters in the book are total opposites, yet their friendship was so great but was destroyed so easily. This book qestions the  values of friendship and the strength of it.