1) Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to elements of plot that you've learned in the past courses. Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose.
a) Introduction/Exposition: The novel begins with a phone call to Amir, the narrator, from an old friend of his asking him to meet him and telling him how there's still hope for him to change for the better. The novel then begins to go in a flashback of Amir's story.
b) Rising Action: The story then proceeds in the flashback leading up to an event in the winter which changed the life of every character. Later in the story, Afghanistan is taken over by Russians, followed by the Taliban. Amir and his dad moves to America.
c) Conflict: The entire story doesn't necessarily have an external conflict but an internal one. Amir suffers the guilt of ruining his friend's life and him being a coward.
d) Climax: Amir risked his own life to save his friend's son's life.
e) Falling Action: Amir struggles to bond with Sohrab, the son of Hassan - Amir's friend.
f) Resolution: Sohrab was finally able to agree to his growing and closing relationship of him and Amir.
The first person point of view of the story helps the readers to connect with Amir, the protagonist. The emotional ups-and-downs of Amir and his life allows the readers to witness his growth and maturation as a challenged character.
2) Succinctly describe the theme of the novel.
The biggest theme of the novel is betrayal. The betrayal of Amir towards Hassan; the betrayal of Amir's dad towards Amir; the betrayal of Assef towards the society of Afghanistan; the betrayal of Hassan's mother towards Hassan. The author uses this theme to indirectly characterize all the characters in the book.
4) Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers.
1) Foreshadowing: "I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me what I am today." (Pg:2)
2) Allusion: "The slingshot made a thwiiiiit sound when Sohrab released the cup." (Pg: 291) (Allusion to the Biblical story of David and Goliath.)
3) Imagery: "It looked like someone had stuck an air pump nozzle under my skin and had pumped away. My eyes were puffy and blue. The worst of it was my mouth, a grotesque blob of purple and red, all bruise and stitches... There were stitches across my left cheek, just under the chin, on the forehead just below the hairline." (Pg: 303-304)
4) Irony: "...I was learning that Baba had been a thief. And a thief of the worst kind, because the things he'd stolen had been scared: from me the right to know I had a brother, from Hassan his identity, and from Ali his honor." (Pg: 225)
5) Flashback: "Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years." (Pg: 1)
6) Onomatopoeia: "He killed the engine and we sat for a minute, listening to the tink-tink of the engine cooling off, neither one of us saying anything." (Pg; 273)
7) Metaphor: "He'd count them off on his fingers: America the brash savior, Britain, and Israel.... 'The rest of them-' he used to wave his hand and make a phht sound '-they're like gossiping old women.'" (Pg: 125)
8) Simile: "At least two dozen kites already hung in the sky, like paper sharks roaming for prey." (Pg: 63)
9) Characterization: "The boy had his father's round moon face, his pointy stub of a chin, his twisted, seashell ears, and the same slight frame. It was the Chinese doll face of my childhood, the face peering above fanned-out playing cards all those winter days, the face behind the mosquito net when we slept on the roof of my father's house in the summer." (Pg: 279)
10) Point of View: "There is a way to be good again. I looked up at those twin kites. I thought about Hassan. Thought about Baba. Ali. Kabul." (Pg: 2)
CHARACTERIZATION:
1) Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end?
Examples of direct characterization include: "I can still see Hassan up on that tree, sunlight flickering through the leaves on his almost perfectly round face, a face like a Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood: his flat, broad nose and slanting, narrow eyes like bamboo leaves, eyes that looked, depending on the light, gold, green, even sapphire." (Pg: 3) "...Even in birth, Hassan was true to his nature: he was incapable of hurting anyone." (Pg: 10)
Examples of indirect characterization include: "It should have been just the two of us - that was the way I wanted it - but by Wednesday night, Baba had managed to invite another two dozen people." (Pg: 82) "I opened my mouth, almost said something. Almost. The rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had. But I didn't. I just watched. Paralyzed." (Pg: 73)
The author uses more indirect characterization than direct characterization. By doing so, he's giving his readers an option to decide the personality of each character. It almost makes him seem unbiased because he gives the readers the option to decide who's guilty and of what.
2) Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
The author's syntax and diction remains almost the same because his point of view is first person. His tone of approach does change, changing the mood of the story, but his syntax and diction remains fairly constant.
3) Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
The protagonist is very much dynamic and round because he has an amazing transformation from a cowardly and disturbed young boy to a brave, sure, and matured adult. And he achieves this transformation through very much hardships and obstacles, just as a person in real life.
4) After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character? Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.
I came away, feeling as if I met a reflection of me. Even though Amir did some things that I personally wouldn't have, I do understand his desperation to achieve his Baba's love, trust, and faith and his desperation to go at any lengths to achieve it. The Afghani culture is also very much similar to mine (Indian), so I could not only understand some of the Urdu words used by the author (similar to Hindi, national language of India), but I could also relate to the festivities and traditions of Muslims, seeming like jargon to many of the readers.
a) Introduction/Exposition: The novel begins with a phone call to Amir, the narrator, from an old friend of his asking him to meet him and telling him how there's still hope for him to change for the better. The novel then begins to go in a flashback of Amir's story.
b) Rising Action: The story then proceeds in the flashback leading up to an event in the winter which changed the life of every character. Later in the story, Afghanistan is taken over by Russians, followed by the Taliban. Amir and his dad moves to America.
c) Conflict: The entire story doesn't necessarily have an external conflict but an internal one. Amir suffers the guilt of ruining his friend's life and him being a coward.
d) Climax: Amir risked his own life to save his friend's son's life.
e) Falling Action: Amir struggles to bond with Sohrab, the son of Hassan - Amir's friend.
f) Resolution: Sohrab was finally able to agree to his growing and closing relationship of him and Amir.
The first person point of view of the story helps the readers to connect with Amir, the protagonist. The emotional ups-and-downs of Amir and his life allows the readers to witness his growth and maturation as a challenged character.
2) Succinctly describe the theme of the novel.
The biggest theme of the novel is betrayal. The betrayal of Amir towards Hassan; the betrayal of Amir's dad towards Amir; the betrayal of Assef towards the society of Afghanistan; the betrayal of Hassan's mother towards Hassan. The author uses this theme to indirectly characterize all the characters in the book.
4) Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers.
1) Foreshadowing: "I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me what I am today." (Pg:2)
2) Allusion: "The slingshot made a thwiiiiit sound when Sohrab released the cup." (Pg: 291) (Allusion to the Biblical story of David and Goliath.)
3) Imagery: "It looked like someone had stuck an air pump nozzle under my skin and had pumped away. My eyes were puffy and blue. The worst of it was my mouth, a grotesque blob of purple and red, all bruise and stitches... There were stitches across my left cheek, just under the chin, on the forehead just below the hairline." (Pg: 303-304)
4) Irony: "...I was learning that Baba had been a thief. And a thief of the worst kind, because the things he'd stolen had been scared: from me the right to know I had a brother, from Hassan his identity, and from Ali his honor." (Pg: 225)
5) Flashback: "Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years." (Pg: 1)
6) Onomatopoeia: "He killed the engine and we sat for a minute, listening to the tink-tink of the engine cooling off, neither one of us saying anything." (Pg; 273)
7) Metaphor: "He'd count them off on his fingers: America the brash savior, Britain, and Israel.... 'The rest of them-' he used to wave his hand and make a phht sound '-they're like gossiping old women.'" (Pg: 125)
8) Simile: "At least two dozen kites already hung in the sky, like paper sharks roaming for prey." (Pg: 63)
9) Characterization: "The boy had his father's round moon face, his pointy stub of a chin, his twisted, seashell ears, and the same slight frame. It was the Chinese doll face of my childhood, the face peering above fanned-out playing cards all those winter days, the face behind the mosquito net when we slept on the roof of my father's house in the summer." (Pg: 279)
10) Point of View: "There is a way to be good again. I looked up at those twin kites. I thought about Hassan. Thought about Baba. Ali. Kabul." (Pg: 2)
CHARACTERIZATION:
1) Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end?
Examples of direct characterization include: "I can still see Hassan up on that tree, sunlight flickering through the leaves on his almost perfectly round face, a face like a Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood: his flat, broad nose and slanting, narrow eyes like bamboo leaves, eyes that looked, depending on the light, gold, green, even sapphire." (Pg: 3) "...Even in birth, Hassan was true to his nature: he was incapable of hurting anyone." (Pg: 10)
Examples of indirect characterization include: "It should have been just the two of us - that was the way I wanted it - but by Wednesday night, Baba had managed to invite another two dozen people." (Pg: 82) "I opened my mouth, almost said something. Almost. The rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had. But I didn't. I just watched. Paralyzed." (Pg: 73)
The author uses more indirect characterization than direct characterization. By doing so, he's giving his readers an option to decide the personality of each character. It almost makes him seem unbiased because he gives the readers the option to decide who's guilty and of what.
2) Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
The author's syntax and diction remains almost the same because his point of view is first person. His tone of approach does change, changing the mood of the story, but his syntax and diction remains fairly constant.
3) Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
The protagonist is very much dynamic and round because he has an amazing transformation from a cowardly and disturbed young boy to a brave, sure, and matured adult. And he achieves this transformation through very much hardships and obstacles, just as a person in real life.
4) After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character? Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.
I came away, feeling as if I met a reflection of me. Even though Amir did some things that I personally wouldn't have, I do understand his desperation to achieve his Baba's love, trust, and faith and his desperation to go at any lengths to achieve it. The Afghani culture is also very much similar to mine (Indian), so I could not only understand some of the Urdu words used by the author (similar to Hindi, national language of India), but I could also relate to the festivities and traditions of Muslims, seeming like jargon to many of the readers.
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