The Kite Runner Study Guide

1. Topics in the Kite Runner

• Role of Women- In America, the women are successful and can do what they want. In Afghanistan, the women are house wives and live their husband's lives
• Betrayal- Amir betrayed Hassan by saving himself instead of resucing Hassan in his time of need.
• Brothers-
• Guilt- Hidden Guilt-Amir carries his guilt of betrayal thoughout his life being miserable on the inside because he never expresses it. Open Guilt- When Sohrab cuts his wrist to kill himself, Amir guilt is visible due to telling Sohrab that he would be going to an orphanage.
• Redemption-Amir redemption is fighting Assef for Sohrab, something he should have done years ago for Hassen.
• Journey- Amir and his emotional journey through his childhood and into his adulthood.
• Fathers & Sons- It's traditional that the sons follow their fathers in everything they do.
• Class Distinction- Pashtuns are majority of Afghan population and Hazaras (the servants) are the minority of the population.

2. Style

• Parallelism- The use of the line "for you, a thousand times over." To see the chance for Amir to be again in the introduction and his carrying out of that in the last chapter. Both excerpts take us back to the tournament and the rape of Hassan. Seeing Sorhab in a volatile state and Amir becoming nervous because of his memories simply enchance the uneasy feeling.
• Character Foils- Hassan functions as a foil to Amir, and their ways that their relationship illuminates the meaning of the work. There are numerous of ways: protecting him form bullies, covering up the lie, Amir told about him, running kites for him, and promising to do things for Amir. Amir lacked his trait and showed it when he didn't help Hassan, when he needed it and lying about Hassan being the thief.
• Forshadowing- Is used at the beginning of chapter 7, when Hassan tells Amir about the dream he had that night. When Hassan and Amir are testing each other's loyalty and integrity.
• Flashback- The book includes flashbacks to his childhood because Amir is telling a story of his childhood.
• Postive & Negative Aspects of the Writing-

3. Setting

• time- 1975 until present day
• places- Afghanistan, Pakistan & the United States
• culture- Afghan & Muslin
• Hazara vs. Pashtun
• Kabul vs. Jalalabad
• America vs. Afghanistan
• Afghanistan before the war vs. Afghanistan after the war
• House of Kabul vs. House of California

4. Minor Characters

1. Assef- A Kabul bully who ends up joining the Taliban
2. Farid- the taxi driver who takes Amir back to Afghanistan
3. Sanaubar- Hassan's mother
4. General Sahib- A friend of Baba's in America & father to Soraya
5. Dr. Armand Faruqi- tends to Amir's injuries after being beaten by Assef
6. Rahim Kham- Baba's best friend and business partner & a father-figure to Amir

5. Symbols

1. the promegranate tree- symbolizes Amir & hassan relationship because they craved their names in the tree & it bears fruit
2. slingshot- symbolizes both childhood & the need to standup for what is right
3. Amir's scar- symbolizes his brotherhood with Hassan, the scar that happened after being beaten by Assef
4. the character of Rostam- symbolizes Amir, who acts dishonorably toward the king by sleeping wit his daughter
5. kites- symbolizes a lot of things in the book like both prophecy and fate

Compared to Voice Phones, Text Messaging has Many Advantages

Text messaging is a good way to notify friends and family member if your going to be late for lunch or dinner. Also, allow you to send quick notes to arrange a lunch appointment with someone without interfering with each other busy schedules. Text messaging is also good for quiet area, so you won’t interrupt others around you.
It is a wonderful way for people to communicate with each other, especially in situations where a phone call just seems quite impossible or inappropriate. Friends can update and keep in touch with one another on events no matter the time of day or where they are at, despite their schedule. The convenience and availability of text messaging has certainly changed the way people communicate today, more so with the increasingly number of people who are starting to own mobile phones.
Text messaging stores the message to your friend’s phone, but does not directly to their phone. This means that the phone does not have to be on or in range to send the message . The message will be stored on the phone until they turn their phone on or moves into range, then the message will come through, so they can check it.
Text messaging is a silent communication between two individuals. You can text to each other without other people being able to hear what your saying. Text messaging has its advantages than making a phone call. It enables your privacy to exchange messages with each other without fear of others hearing your conversation.
In addition to sending one person a messaging, you can send a message to multiple of people. For example, if I want to tell my friends to meet me at the mall at 2 pm in the food court. All I have to do is type, “Meet me at the mall at 2 in the food court.” Then I select send to recipients and select all the people I want to meet at the mall and it will sent to all of them at once.
It is often less time-consuming to send a text message than to send an e-mail or make a phone call. Text messaging does not require you to be at a computer just to send an e-mail or instant message. Although, some have instant message or e-mail on them. Text messaging is also a convenient way for deaf and hearing-impaired people to communicate.

My First Day of College

Before I arrived for my first day of college, I had many different thoughts going through my mind. Some were good and some were bad. About every bad thought I would think about made me even nerves than I was before, but when I think about the good things I felt a little better. When I arrived at school it was hectic. I had one thing I didn’t like and I thing I did like about my first day.
My first day of college was hectic. It seemed as though I was the only one who had trouble finding their classes. I was expecting it to be hectic, but it was. It felt like the first day of my freshman year of high school, but in a bigger area. When I had trouble finding my classes I would ask someone to show me where it was. One person I ask they ignored me acting like they didn’t hear me talking to them. When I asked someone else where my class was they showed me where it was and they were in the same class too.
The one thing I didn’t like about my first day at college was finding somewhere to park. The parking lot was so full that it took me about five to ten minutes to find a empty parking space. Other people were parking places they knew they couldn’t park, but they did it anyways. The others that couldn’t park on the west parking lot. They had to park on the other side of the street on the grass. Since, I didn’t know it was going to be like that. I started to wake up earlier and leave the house really early, so I can find somewhere to park.

The one thing I did like about my first day was I saw some of my friends from high school. I felt like i was in high school again, except for the fact that I'm there for my career and i have more freedom. I like the fact that I had some friends from high school at the same school. Even though I can make new friends, but it's nothing like having your old friends with you.

Even though, I had my good and bad thoughts about my first day of college. It end up being a good first day. I am sure that I will experience a lot move during college and will succeed in furthering my education.