Monday, November 9, 2009

Kite Runner Fishbowl #4: Chapters 15-17

Please do exactly what you did last time; show your professionalism, insight, and creativity.

84 comments:

  1. On page 213, why do you think the Taliban banned kite fighting?

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  2. Does anyone think that Amir can redeem himself by saving and raising Hassans son?

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  3. Jay,

    I was confused by that too because earlier in the book they were mentioned as heroes.

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  4. Surprising that Hassan is Amir's brother. How do you deal with something that big kept secret for so long.

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  5. jay-
    because he wants to be in power an seem like he is in power

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  6. well I don't think they necessarily banned it they just made the peoples life so miserable they wouldn't have the time or energy to do the tournaments.

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  7. What were your reactions when Hassan's mother came to Hassan for the first time in his life?

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  8. I think he can redeem himself because in a way he is helping Hassan by taking care of his son. It wont completely redeem Amir but it's a step in the right direction.

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  9. I think they did it because it was a Haraza past time that everyone loved and they were trying to "purify" their society because they see the Haraza as lower than them.

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  10. Jay, I believe the Taliban banned kite fighting because they didn't want the Hazaras or any citizens to have fun or freedom so it would be easier to conquer them because their spirits would be broken.

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  11. jay- i think the Taliban banned kite fighting because they wanted to control their way of life and showing them that they can do anything they want because the kite fighting was like tradition and once you take tradition their isn't much left.

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  12. Gage,
    Thats a good question, but I don't think so. I still can't find that saving throw that would make me think he is really a hero, not just a nice person. He has no courage, not enough inner strength. Do you think he can redeem himself this way?

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  13. Garrett- it says, "A few weeks later, the Taliban banned kite fighting." I'm pretty sure they banned it.

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  14. In chapter 16, why do you think Hassan and his wife decided to move and live a life as servants and live in a hut in order to respect Amir?

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  15. gage-
    I agree with what you think to be in power you take away there hopes and fun with out that they would be broken

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  16. justin b- i agree, I think the only way Amir can really redeem himself is to become a stronger man for the people that need him. I think this because Hassan always knew the seflish Amir who couldnt do anything for himself.

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  17. Landon- Maybe Hassan knew that he and Amir were brothers. He could have wanted to show him respect not because he was his servant, but his own brother.

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  18. Do you think that Hassan has more character and has more leadership noe, or is he still a servant with a servant's calm pleasing mentality?

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  19. Jay- I was angry as hell! How do you say "Sorry honey for abandoning you for your whole life and making sure that you had no way of seeing me or having some kind of comfort in your miserable childhood."?

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  20. Landon

    I think that Hassan and his wife decided to be servants to Amir because the friendship between Amir and Hassan is gone. Also Amir doesn't count Hassan as a friend.

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  21. Landon- I think they moved into the hut because Hassan really loved Baba, and that was Baba's house. he wanted to show respect to Baba and his legacy.

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  22. Garret.
    I agree with you... Kite fighting was a tradition and really a main source of entertainment, so the Taliban took that away from them.

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  23. Landon- Because thats the only way of living that hassan knows. I think that Ali taught Hassan that having material objects is not responsible for joy in life. Would you agree?

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  24. Jays2012, I think the Taliban banned kite fighting because it gave the Hazaras a feeling of freedom and the Taliban wanted to completely control them and didn't want a possibility of an attemp of overthrowing the Taliban.

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  25. Matt- I agree. But I was also relieved that Hassan had finally found his mother. Amir never had a mother so I would bet Amir would rather be in Hassan shoes at that moment. But it could also bring up the question, would you rather have then lose, or never have?

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  26. Landon-I think Hassan chose to live the life of a servant and live in the hut because he has a lot of pride and wants to honor Amir.

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  27. Matt, I agree with you, finding out that your childhood friend is your brother would be a huge shock, especially for Amir because first of all if everyone knew that Hassan was not a Hazara then he would probably still be alive. Second of all Anir has to feel even bad about the rape because now he knows he let his brother get raped.

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  28. Jacob- it seems to me that he still has a servant mentality. Because he spent his childhood being a servant I dont think that he will ever be able to get over that.

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  29. landon-
    i think Hassan and his wife moved because they knew that something bad was going to happen to the hazaras and instead of living in an area that would be targeted they moved back to the old house and to keep it low key they move inside the hut and to respect Amir because he didn't want Amir to think he had taken his place.

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  30. Jacob- Hassan has definitely shown more heroic qualities than Amir. He sacrificed the life he had living with Baba just so Amir didn't have reveal his secret.

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  31. Why do you think the Taliban are so hungry for power?

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  32. The Taliban are making life for afghans a living hell. Why is the Taliban doing this and what effect does this have on Hassan and Rahim Kahn?

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  33. Jay

    I felt sad when the mom came to Hassan after all those years when she wasn't there for him because if my dad came to me like that I would be very angry.

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  34. jake- I think the Taliban took the tournament away because it was part of the Afghan culture befor the invasion took place. Overruling countries probably dont want old traditions being supported. Do you think its posssible they are banned for safety purposes? Considering the war

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  35. Justin-
    Hassan also shows friendship and loyalty to a friend who was not really loyal to him.

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  36. Dominic- Wouldn't you also be relieved at the same time? Because you spend so much time thinking about them and wondering where they are. So I agree I would be very angry but at the same time, it would release a lot of emotions off my chest.

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  37. How do you think Hassan felt after he taught his son to be a kite runner and shortly after the Taliban massacred the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif?

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  38. How much do you want to bet that Assef joined the Taliban, and raped Hassan's son?

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  39. I think the reason Hassan didn't want to live in the house is because he never knew a life like that. He was merely a servant and enjoyed the life he had living in the hut outside and cleaning the house.

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  40. Gage-
    I agree with you about finding out about your childhood friend is your brother but friends are family members that your can pick and you would think they hang out so they would become good brothers ya it would be really shocking but you would get over it and be happy your not just an only child or something like that in the end an it would help with the whole thing with the father an cancer it would help to have two people in the family be the hero to replace the father

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  41. matt-
    i think that the Taliban are hungry for power over all Hazaras because they think of them as animals and i wouldn't be surprised if Assef the guy that raped Hassan was the leader of the Taliban.

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  42. When Hassans mother came home it was a twist in the story because i didnt expect this to happen.

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  43. Why do you think that Baba treated Hassan as his own son and Rahim Kahn is the kind uncle or friend to Amir, is there something more to it than just a good family friend bond?

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  44. Jacob
    The Taliban are fighting and taking control of several territories for power... but i honestly can't answer why the Taliban are doing this.

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  45. On page 208 it says that the "Wall of Ailing Corn" was destroyed. What is symbolic about the destruction of the wall?

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  46. Landon- I think Hassan felt sorry for his son. He felt sorry that his son has to grow up in this day and age where all this fighting is going on compared to when he was a child and everything seemed so peaceful.

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  47. There seems to be a circular pattern: Hassans story starts, continues, leaves, comes back to, the ultimately ends at Baba's mansion in Kabul. Does Amir too have a a circle? Emotional? Physical?

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  48. Jay

    No I wouldn't be relieved because after all those years of not seeing her "I would ask her why did you leave? Why?" After that I would want to be alone.

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  49. Carlos- Osama Bin Laden is the leader of the Taliban, but I could agree with you. I still am wondering, is this all for a religion that they themselves don't fully understand?

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  50. Landon- I think the accomplishment of teaching his son how to be a kite runner made Hassan very happy, but I wonder how he did it without having memories of the rape flooding into his mind, that would be hard to do but happy at the same time.

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  51. Dominic- So you would rather never have than have then lose?

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  52. Maybe Baba cheated on his wife with a hazara woman and had Hassan and Amir's mom left him because of that and it was so painful for Baba that he lied and said his mother died at childbirth.

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  53. Jacob-
    I think Rahim Kahn is probably a similar age to Baba. I'm going to guess about 60 years old.

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  54. Lance,
    I agree with you. I think Hassan had a dream of teaching his son to become a kite runner and after the Taliban began to prohibit kite fighting, it tore him up inside.

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  55. Brandon- Thank you. If it is not too much trouble for you, will you answer my latest conundrum?

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  56. @Dominic

    People react differently to different situations, its like how When Hassan was raped Amir chose not to do anything while other people would choose to stop it.

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  57. Kevin-
    I think Amir's cycle is one of honor. He was born into pride, but then lost it when he made Hassan move away. Now he is coming back to Afghanistan to try and regain some of that honor by rescuing Hassan's son.

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  58. Carlos-
    If what you said was true, then why would Amir be blamed for it? There is no vaild reason.

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  59. Jay

    Thats just me though. Its up to Hassan to forgive her completely or to be nice and not to forgive. But after her death then I would of set aside me differences and go to her funeral and be there for her.

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  60. Dominic-
    So how would you react if you seen a lost parent you haven't seen

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  61. Jay.
    I agree with you.I would rather have her come back and being able to ask questions rather then never seeing her again.Finally i would probably leave to think about everything.

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  62. Wait...
    I'm wondering guys. The story mentions the woman that Hassan and Amir fed from when they were kids. I have a creepy sensation that this may have been Amirs mother- Another idea is that Amirs mother didn't die. She found out about Baba's affair, and left home.

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  63. Dominic-
    I agree with your statement. It is up to Hassan to forgive her and I believe that after he forgave her, she helped raise Hassan's son.

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  64. Kevin- I think Amir can start to redeem himself by saving and raising Hassans son but I don't think it completely releases him from all his mess-ups earlier on in the story, he would still have allot more redeeming to do.

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  65. cody- The taliban wants to completely destroy the Hazara culture. They want to change the complete way they live. Their country is undergoing a revolution.

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  66. Anthony-
    Killing Baba's wife when he was born.

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  67. When Amir goes to get Hassan's son, it will be the end of the book. Following the heroic patterns, Amir will have to have some kind of struggle. What do you think this struggle will be? Physical? Emotional?

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  68. Amir has his secrets, but Rahim Kahn and Baba have bigger secrets. Amir thinks that Baba is a good honest man, but Baba has skeletons in the closet just like everyone else... why did he chose to die with his secrets and never tell Amir?

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  69. Jay

    If a person leaves my life my dad did then I would not see him because like Hassan, I have a life that didn't involve him and that would put me in a bad place. Plus seeing one parent doing things on the thier own its hard to see that.

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  70. Hunter- I would be happy to see them. I would probably strangle them. How do you justify something like that. They rob the kid of their child hood because they have to grow up when they are not ready.

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  71. Justin:

    It could be honor, but it also mentions that Soraya was infertile. Do you think thats half of it? That since he cannot bear children of his own, that he would adopt Hassans son instead. If not, it also mentions that he tried to drop him off at an orphanage that didn't exist.

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  72. Kevin- No they say it was just a woman that helped out but they do mention there that Hassan and Amir had some type of brotherhood because they fed from the same woman and it ends up that they are brothers.

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  73. Does anyone think that the taliban is sort of like the nazi's in that they want to completely kill everyone of a certain race or religion?

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  74. Jay and Carlos-I guess Amir could have killed Babas wife, then baba remarried or mated with a hazzara woman.

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  75. Well gage... it A lot not allot. But i think that Amir will redeem himself by his actions and Hassan will just forgive him. I think Hassan will except that Amir is sorry.

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  76. The Taliban banned kite fighting because it needs control to happen, the taliban don't like control

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