End & Beginning

Thank you.
Encore!!! haha~
(This crown the girl weared in the picture is similar to what I weared in the play of Hamlet.)

It is the end of the ISP.
Today we have finished all the presentation and handed in the ISP essay. Though it was a hard work for us to do as well as it took much time and energy for us to do the reserach, I really aprreciated that Ms. Vetuna gave us the chance to improve our learning ability. We did lots of research and selected useful information. While reading the original english novel, it also provided us a chance to enlarge my vocabulary.
As I mentioned before, I wrote my essay about the hero's journey in the Kite Runner. In a sense, I thought myself had just finished the hero's journey. :P
The call is to read the book and finish the ISP task well.
The helper in the Threshold is Mr. Venuta, espeically the conference with her.
The challenges is that I had lots of work to do, such as searching information and finding second resources.
The Abyss may be that when I had to do other reports and much homework for other courses, even had 3 tests in a busy week, but I still had to handle the ISP!
The transormation and revelation happened when I finished all the reading and got some valuable points about the books.
The Atonement may be when I found that I forgot to update the blog for some time, from that day on, I tried my best to make my blogger more informative as Ms. Vetuna suggested.
The return is that I finished the ISP task and I returned to everyday study life and prepare for my final exam. I returned to study with my new independent learning ablity, which I gained from the ISP learning.
Consequently, I am happy to say that I complete my hero's journal. (LOL~)
After the hero's journey, I had formed the ability of independent reading.

I still remember that when I did some research in the library, a kind woman said that the Kite Runner is a good book and I suggest you to read his another novel: A thousand Splendid Suns, it is better than the kite runner.

I think I would read A thousand Splendid Suns in my short semester.
It is a new begining for the my personal reading.

Encore. Once agian.

My plan for my presentation

Here is the outline for my presention~
★Remind of the 9/11 attacks in the U.S.A.
★Show the picture of war in Afghanistan
★Introduce the Taliban
★Talk about their radical Islam which somehow destroy the culture
★Especically they ban the kite flying
★Connect to the book of The Kite Runner
★Compare the picture of children's flying kites past and nowadays
★Show a wonderful vedio about the kites flying tournament referred to the book
★Display a serious of picture from New York Times about the kites flying again in the open
★Make my wish for the peace in the Afghanistan
I will make a presentation on Tuesday. wow~
I prefer to find other interesting information to add to my presentation.
Cross my fingers~!!!

After the conference with Ms. Venuta

Today, I had a conference with Ms. Venuta.
It has already past 4 o'clock, she may have something else to do after school but she still talked with me. Thanks for your care.
I talked about the idea of essay and presentation.
For essay, I wanna connect the Kite Runner with the hero's journey. I want to write how the
hero's journey applied to the Amir. I was glad that Ms. Venuta said it was a good idea~~
For presentation, I want to do some information for the background of Afghanistan. I planned to introduce some culture and religious about Afghan, which are affected by the war in the Afghan.
I searched great amouts of informaion, so it seemed to be hard to know what was the first step I should do. The culture and religious are too broad and complex to talk in only 20 minutes. What's more, it may be boring, I thouhgt.
Ms. Vetuna gave me suggestion that I had to find a hook in the presentation. The purpose of the presentation is to teach others something.
I thought I got a sense. Maybe I would talk about How war destroys culture in Afghan, especially flying kites.
OMG~
I will make a presentation on next Tuesday. I feel a bit nervous mixed with excited.
HURRY UP~~TIME IS UP~

Thinking for my Essay!

It's time for me to prepare for the essay! I has a idea that I want to write the application of the Hero's Journey in the Kite Runner. Since we had just leaned the mythlogy and the Alchemist, it helped me to gain a understanding of the hero's journey more clearly.

There is a quotation of the handout about the hero's journey, which impressed me a lot.
"The Hero's journey isn't just a pattern from myth. It's the pattern of life, growth and experience--for all of us. We see it reflected everywhere, from a televsion comedy to the great works of literature to the experiences in our own lives."

This sentence gave me the inspiration for the essay.
The narrator in the Kite Runner has a journey of return to Afghanistan to redeem himself from the sin he had made when he was a young boy. I
n the end of the story, Amir has became a good brave and faithful man, which is a sharp contrast to what he used to be, a cheater and coward.
The narrator completes his transformation in his personality!

From The New York Times: Afghan Kites

From Afghanistan, The New York Times brings us Tomas Munita's photography in a (too) short slideshow titled Back In The Air. Kite-flying is a traditional pastime in Afghanistan, however it was banned during the Taliban’s rule. Now, flying kites is once again the main recreational escape for Afghan boys and some men. It still remains largely off limits to girls and women. The big kite-fighting day is Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, and the objective of the kite fight is to slice the other flier’s string with one's own, essentially disabling it from flying. Kite-fighting string is coated with a resin made of glue and finely crushed glass, which turns it into a blade. With the release Friday of the film “The Kite Runner,” based on the best-selling novel of the same name, a much wider audience will be introduced to Afghan kite culture. Kites were invented in China some 2800 years ago, and its use migrated to Japan, Korea, Burma, India, Arabia, and North Africa, then farther south into the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, and the islands of Oceania as far east as Easter Island. In Bali, annual kite-flying festivals draw teams from all over the country to compete.

Funny and Useful Vedio about the flying kites

Afghan Fighter Kite
This video shows how Afghan fighter kites are flown. These kites are similar to the kites from "The Kite Runner" book and movie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fixJaV5Ja_g&feature=related

It really is a wonderful vedio about the fighgting between the kites fighters, which shows their excellent skills at flying kites. There kites are like dancing in the sky!!! Amazing~

AFGHANISTAN : THE TOUGHEST BATTLE: CHALLENGE: KITE PROBLEM
Here is a video clip of Afghanistan: The Toughest Battle. This is with regards to the problem with kites flying. This was aired on Al Jazeerah TV.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHILUBHB2MQ&feature=related

Kites flyijng is banned by the Taliban. Kites flying also is a traditional game for Afghanistan. As a result, there comes a conflict.
Historical and Political Context for "The Kite Runner"
Peter Bergen and Massoud Aziz discuss the historical and political context for the book and movie of "The Kite Runner."

In breif version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAYd117Dj2Y
A detailed version:http://fora.tv/2007/12/18/Kite_Runner_A_Panel_Discussion

The Kite Runner author visits Afghanistan

Khaled Hosseini, author of the best-selling novels "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns" visits with Afghan refugees who have returned to their homeland after living as refugees for decades.


More information on the website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6aAgCPSdOw

The Kite Runner Study Guide

The Kite Runner Themes

Major themes explored in the novel are war, loyalty, forgiveness, friendship, redemption, sacrifice, race, class, fear and the relationships between father and son. With race, class, and gender, a theme could be the inhumanity inflicted by one man unto another based on one's race. The Kite Runner is a novel to be read, discussed, and enjoyed by anyone who has wanted a chance to make things right again. It also provides a sense of traditional Afghan lifestyle, and culture. However, the four main themes shown to us by the author are strength of character, sin and redemption, realationship between parent and child, as well as Loyalty and friendship between two people.

http://www.wikisummaries.org/The_Kite_Runner

Themes

Identity and Self-Discovery

Throughout the novel, the protagonist struggles to find his true purpose and to forge an identity through noble actions. Amir's failure to stand by his friend at a crucial moment shapes this defining conflict. His endeavor to overcome his own weaknesses appears in his fear of Assef, his hesitation to enter a war-torn country ruled by the repressive Taliban, and even his carsickness while driving with Farid into Afghanistan.

http://www.enotes.com/kite-runner/themes

Style:Flashback and Foreshadowing

Khaled Hosseini frequently uses flashback and foreshadowing. Indeed, most of the novel, which begins in 2001 and ends in 2002, is an elaborate flashback that brings the reader from the narrator's childhood to his young adulthood to his manhood. Within this overarching structure, Hosseini's use of time devices provide the reader and the narrator with information about what has happened outside the action of the novel so far.

Historical Context

The Kite Runner, set in Afghanistan and the United States from the 1970s to 2002, presents a story of intertwined personal conflicts and tragedies against a historical background of national and cultural trauma. The early chapters tell much about the richness of Afghan culture as experienced by the young Amir and Hassan in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Frost over the World - The Kite-Runner(Vedio)

Khalid Abdalla, who plays the lead role in the film of the 2003 bestselling novel 'The Kite-Runner', joins Sir David to talk about the film.


Because I have no idea how to download from youtube,I just find a way to convert it in 90 seconds and upload it.
If you want to see more about this vedio, you can see it on the website as follows
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CdqMIKQbqs

Finish!!! Accept the advice from Ms. Venuta

Say YEAH!!!!!
This blogger will be a part of my treasure, which records my process of learning.
I deeply felt excited when I reviewed all the books journals. I wrote each chapter in a short brief. One thing I was proud of myself was that I tried to match each journal with a picture which was closely related to this chapter; it was another good way to remind me of the plot in the book as well.
I regret to not update the book journals for such a long time!!! So I catched every minutes to make up for missing journals about the books. According to Ms. Venuta's suggestion that the blogger should not only have journals, I am pleased to accept the advice. It really seems boring if there were only journals about the books. People can search the summaries of the book from many different websites which is more detailed and academic. Why they come this blog just to see my summaries about the books ?! LOL~it's boring~ I will put some interesting vedio and useful news , which are connected to my book, or they will be helpful to my presentation and essay writing. Besides, I will post some personal journal about what I think from the book and my plan for the ISP.


Have a rest~Good Night~

Journal---Chapter 25

Soraya had found a way to solve the problem. Unfortunately, Sohrab slit his wrists with a razorblade in a hopeless mind. Amir was really sorry for what he had done. After Sohrab woke up, he told Amir he wishes that he had died. Since then, Sohrab hadn't even said a word in a year, no matter he was in Afghan or in the United States. Things changed at a party, because Amir bought Sohrab a kite. Sohrab was so interested in fly the kite. He inherited this gift from his father. Amir and Sohrab beat the kite beside theirs. Then Amir went to run the kite for Sohrab. Sohrab finally smiled.
I really like this quotation in the end.
"Do you want me to run taht kite for you?"
His Adam's apple rose and fell as he swallowed. The wind lifted his hair. I thought I saw him nod.
"For you, a thousang times over," I heard myself say.
Then I turned and ran. It was only a smile, nothing more. It didn't make everything all right. It didn't make anything all right.
Only a smile.
A tiny thing. A leaf in the woods,shaking in the wake of startled bird's flight.
But I'll take it. With open arms. Because when spring comes, it melts the snow on flake at a time, and maybe I just witnessed the first flake melting.
I was really moved by this story. In the end, Amir redeemed himself and tried his best to atone for what he had done to Hassan. The roles had exchanged, for that it was Amir that who said "for you, a thousand times over". At first, I felt sorry for Hassan for his poor fate, however, I changed may view because I believed that Hassan would forgive Amir. Amir was really a good man. He experienced and grew through his return to Afghanistan. It is definitely a good book. I am happy I had chose it to read! I highly recommend everyone to read it!

Journal---Chapter 24

This chapter Sohrab finnally flied to the United State with the narrator, which lead to a happy new life.
The narrator gave two thousand dollars to Farid as thankfulness. One night in a hotel, when the narrator woke up, he found Sohrab was not there. Amir was very worried. Later, he found Sohrab at the mosque. The narrator wanted to take Sohrab to the United States and adopt him. He called his wife, Soraya, and told her about adopting, Hassan and his experience in Kabul. Amir promised to Sohrab that he would never sent Sohrab to orphanage again. The staff at the American Embassy, Raymond Andrews, said it was nearly impossible to adopt Sohrab. But he still decied to help Amir. Andrews recommend a good lawyer, Omar Faisal. Faisal said that if Amir can sent Sohrab to orphanage for a few days. It would be easier to adopt him. But Sohrab had rather die not to go back to orphanage again. Finally, they found a new way. Soraya can arrange for a humanitarian visa to get Sohrab into the United States.

I am glad it is a happy ending for Sohrab!

Journal---Chapter 23

The narrator stayed in the hospital for a long time with blurry memories. When the narrator woke up, he found himself had got a harelip, like Hassan. One day, Farid and Sohrab went to see Amir. Farid gave some clothes to Sohrab. And he also gave a letter from Rahim Khan to Amir. Rahim Khan left some money at a safe place to Amir. He thanked Amir for taking Sohrab back. He told Amir to forgive his father and himself. Amir finally knew that his father atoned for his sin all his life. Getting better, Amir began to play panjpar with Sohrab. Sohrab was happy with it. Later, Farid told Amir the Taliban was looking for him. Amir shouldn't stay in Peshawa any longer. In addition, he should take Sohrab with him back to American immediately.

Journal---Chapter 22

Farid let Amir face that man alone. Two men toting Kalash nikovs led Amir into the large house. The Talib official still wore that black sunglasses. Unexpectly, he knew Amir is not a Talib. He told the narrator a lot of cruel things the Talibans had done and they actually took delight in it. It made Amir sick. When the narrator told the Talib that he wanted to bring Sohrab back, the Talib took Sohrab out. Sohrab was so like Hassan. But he was forced to dance for the Talib. Later, the Talib official took off his sunglasses. He actually was Assef. It shocked the narrator a lot. Assef said that Amir can take Sohrab away, but he had to win him back. Assef command his guard not come in the room whatever happened. If Amir won the fight, he, with Sohrab, would also win the freedom. Assef beat Amir badly. At the time Assef was ready to kill Amir, Sohrab shot Assef's eye with his slingshot. Then Amir and Sohrab ran out of the room to Farid's car. They were free. This chapter, something happened was similiar to what it was twenty-six years ago. Amir had changed his attitude and behaviour to face Assef. He bacame brave instead of coward when he was a young boy. Personally I thoungt it was a great meaning in this book. Besides, it displayed suitfully for the sentence: There is a way to be good again.

Journal---Chapter21

Had left the orphanage, Amir and Farid reached where Amir lived before.
There were abjective changes happened there. The narrator can't enter his former even once again. He thought about life in the house before and those happy memories with father and Hassan. And he also reached the tope of the hill just north of father's house. He find that the pomegranate tree was still there and the
words they carve on the tree remains as well.
It was the symbol of the relationship between the narrator and Hassan. The next day, they went to Ghazi Stadium. Father used to bring Amir to watch football matches there. During halftime, Amir and Farid saw a man and a woman stoned to death. Also they found the man they want. He was tall and broad-shouldered, wearing black sunglasses. Surprisedly, Amir and Farid made a appointment with the man through a extremly way. It would be three o'clock. Next chapter, there must be something important!

Journal---Chapter 20

This picture shows the small poor orphanage.
They were still on the way of finding Sohrab in this chapter. Farid's attitude had changed a lot. He began to talked with the narrator. What changed as well was Kabul. Kabul was no longer beautiful as before. All things in the narrator's memory about Kabul had been in great difference to what he had seen. On their ways, they met some Talibans looking for someone who could anger them. Farid preach to Amir not to stare at them. After that, they found an old man. This old man happened to be the narrator's mother's friends. He really knew some thing about Sofia. He told nearly all he knew about her to Amir, which Amir's father would never told him. They reached the orphanage in the northern part of Karteh-Seh. At first the man who answered the door pretended that there was not such a boy in the orphanage. He is the chargeman of the orphanage, Zaman. He didn't let Amir and Farid in until Amir said a lot of things about Sohrab and showed the man that he was the boy's uncle. However, Sohrab had been taken away by a Taliban official. Farid got mad about that. In Farid's mind, things like compromise to Taliban shouldn't be forgiven. He really wanted to kill him, but finally stopped. They were told that they can find that Taliban in Ghazi Stadium the next day.
I hope I could see Sohrab in the next chapter~

Journal---Chapter 19

In this chapter, Amir was on his way to Afghanistan.
In other words, he was on his way to redeem himself from what he had done wrong.
Farid was the drive who take Amir to Kabul. On the way, the narrator got the car sickness again.
At first Farid was really cold to the narrator. In his mind, Amir just came back to Afghan, sold off his house and land and then came back to the United States again. Those Afghanistan who stayed behind and fought the wars wouldn't give a warm face to Amir.
That night, the narrator stayed in Wahid's. Wahid was Farid's brother. At his place, Farid asked a lot of poignant questions to Amir, which made Wahid angry. However, Farid finally saw the truth.
Wahid serve Amir so kindly though his family didn't have many food.
When the narrator left, he planted a fistful of money under a mattress, like what he had done twenty-six years before. But this time, it was for good.
This chapter made a sharp contrast to what Amir had done before. What Amir did displayed the words said by Rahim Khan:
There is way to be good again.

Journal---Chapter 18

It is quite a short chapter, which only consists of 3 pages.
Have known the secret, Amir thought about a lot of things in the past what can show father's love to Hassan. In Amir's mind, it really meant a big lie to him.
However, after thinking over it, Amir finally decided to bring Sohrab back.
He wanted to atone for his and his father's debt.

Journal---Chapter 17

The narrator really wanted to see Hassan. Rahim Khan showed him a picture of Hassan's Family. Amir read the letter written by Hassan. The letter expressed that Hassan also hoped to see Amir. When Amir asked to Rahim Khan about the recent situation of Hassan, He was told that Hassan had been killed by Taliban. Hassan's wife was killed at the same time. Then Taliban move into the house Hassan used to live in. After his parents' death, Sohrab began to live in a orphanage. Rahim Khan wanted Amir to bring Sohrab back. Amir hesitated about that. Rahim Khan wanted him to be brave and to take on his responsibility. Rahim Khan told Amir the secret had been kept for so long a time.
Hassan was Amir's half brother, which shocked Amir and made him angry.

Journal---Chapter 16

This chapter was all quoted from Rahim Khan's words. Rahim Khan went to Hazalajat to look for Hassan. He can't afford to live to live alone. Hassan had married with a Hazara woman. At the time he was found, his wife had been pregnant. What was sad was that Ali had been dead for two years. He was killed by a land mine. Hassan learnt reading and writing from an old Farsi teacher. He wrote a letter to Amir. Then hassan move to Kabul living with Rahim Khan. But he declined to stay in the house. He just live in the hut in the backyard. In addition he wore black for 40 days to mourn for Amir's father. That autume, Hassan's daughter was stillborn. And next year, Farzana, Hassan's wife was pregnant again. Some time later, Hassan's mother found him and lived with him together. They took good care of her . Winter, Hassan got a son. He was named Sohrab, after the hero of "Shahnamah". Hassan's mother died when Hassan's son was four. Hassan taught his son how to run a kite. But the Taliban banned kite fighting and massacred the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Journal---Chapter 15

The narrator reached Peshawar. All the scene there made him think about Kabul. Kabul is busier and more crowded. Rahim Khan lived in the "Afghan Town" in Peshawar. Since the narrator and his father came to the United States, Rahim Khan had kept in touch with them. The narrator told him that he had married General Taheri's daughter. Also he said about his father's death and his novels. Of course, the topic came to Taliban. At first, people's in Kabul thought that Taliban brought the peace to them. But soon they became the nightmare. On the other hand, the narrator knew that Rahim Khan only had a few months to live, but Rahim Khan never showed any sadness about that. Then the narrastor was told the real reason why he was in Pakistan.
It was about hassan.

Journal---Chapter 14

This chapter ended the recollection.
The narrator received a phone call from Rahim Khan.
It was a turning point of the book.
He told the narrator that there was a way to be good again, which hinted that Rahim Khan must had knew everything between he and Hasson. All the memories about Hassan came out from the bottom of the narrator's mind. He decided to go to Pakistan. He was on the way to healing himself.