WeEk 3, PoSt B

Dear Khaled Hosseini,
So far i have really enjoyed your book! i cannot put it down at times and i cannot wait to see what happens! My favorite character is Hassan, and so far i do not like Amir. He is very selfish and only thinks of himself. Hassan portrays a picture-perfect best friend. He never lies, tattle-tales on Amir and he always obeys Amir as if Amir has the right to boss him around, even though Hassan is his servant. Hassan also gets very jealous of Amir because he feels his father likes Hassan better. When he entered the kite contest, he was determined to win, just to show his father that he was worthy. "I was going to win, and i was going to run that last kite. THen i'd bring it home and show it to Baba. Show his once and for all that his son was worthy. "(56). But even after his father accepted his as his son, Amir was still not happy. He soiled his and Hassan's friendship which changed his life from then on. I feel that Amir feels really bad about what he saw and how he did not try and stop it but now it's too late. He cannot just explain what he saw ten years later and expect not to be upset at. I cannot wait to see what happens!
cccclaire

WEEK 3, POST A

This week in the kite runner, i noticed one cultural difference that amazed my of how popular it is in Aphganistan: Kite contests. "Aphgans are independent people. Aphgans cherish customs but abhor rules. And so it was with kite fighting. The rules were simple: No rules. Fly your kite. Cut the opponents. Good luck"(52). When read about this 'game' at first, i was really surprised because something like kite flying in America was just like a random activity that most people did for fun on the beach or in wide open areas. BUt in Aphganistan, this sport was very intense. People would prepare for it the whole winter( summer to us) and when the final fighting day came they would fly kites for hours on end! This game was so big and popular that when he was so determined to win to get his father's attention. Also, This cultural difference i thought was very unique because i feel in America we have just regular and ordinary sports that most all countries can compare to but kite running is different!

Week 2, POST B

Dear Khaled Hosseini,
I have recently started your novel Kite Runner. So far, i enjoy it very much. It shows some very distinct examples of friendship and how the culture was in Aphganistan. I really like how you wrote the book so that the first chapter sets the tone for the entire novel. It was very interesting how before I knew Amir's name, I knew a significant event in his past has defined who he is today. This technique makes me want to continue reading so that i can find out more about that event! Another thing i admire about you novel is how you incorporate the friendship between the boys Amir and Hassan. Hassan always being the kind and nice one, "But he never told on me. Never told that the mirror, like shooting walnuts at the neighbor's dog, was always my idea" (4). I feel like i can relate because i have some best friends who would always back me up. I feel that Hassan has a part with the significant event because the novel goes right to him.
I cannot wait to keep reading!
~Claire O'Neill

Week 2, POST A

In the kite runner this week i noticed many other cultural differences. One that was very noticable this week was the way Baba felt about Amir not wanting to play sports. Baba wanted Amir to be an athlete like him, but Amir was not talented at soccer and did not have an interest in Baba's choice sport. "I'm telling you, I wasn't like that at all, and neither were any of the kids i grew up with"(22). This is a difference that american culture because most parents donnot get so worked up about if their kids cannot play sports and they for sure do not ignor their kids. This is why sports is a big part of the culture in Aphganistan wheras in America people are more concerned in other things.

World Issue Post

I have decided to do my research paper on pollution occuring in China.

Some articles I found interesting...

"Beijing's Olympic Quest: Turn Smoggy Sky Blue" from the New York Times accessed on SIRS
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMN0307H-0-2802&artno=0000271241&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&title=Beijing%27s%20Olympic%20Quest%3A%20Turn%20Smoggy%20Sky%20Blue&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=N&ic=Y

"The Last Empire" from Mother Jones accessed on SIRS
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMN0307H-0-2802&artno=0000274438&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&title=The%20Last%20Empire&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=N&ic=Y

"Shadow Hangs over China's Boom" from San Jose Mercury News accessed on SIRS
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMN0307H-0-2802&artno=0000265530&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&title=Shadow%20Hangs%20Over%20China%27s%20Boom&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=N&ic=Y

OUTSIDE READING QUATER 4, Week 1- Post B

Dear Amir,
You are the narrator/main character in the novel Kite Runner. I have only read two chapters but so far what i have read is very good. The novel starts off by you saying, "I became what i am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975 [...] That was a long time ago, but it's wrong what they say about the past, i've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws it's way out. Looking back now, i realize i have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty six years"(1). You talk about your good friend Hassan who has a face of a Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood. The face is marred by the harelip as through “the Chinese doll maker’s instrument may have slipped"(3). You live in a big house in Aphganistan in which Hassan and his father Ali live next door in a mud hut. I learned that you and Hassan had done everything together from the beginning. Your first words were Baba (Dad) but Hassan's was your name. So far you believe that the foundation for what happened in 1975 and all that followed was already laid in their first words. So far, i cannot wait to keep reading!
Sincerely,
Claire O'Neill

OUTSIDE READING QUARTER 4, Week 1 - Post A

A cultural difference i noted this week in the Kite RUnner was the discrimiation between other groups of people in this time period. In aphganistan, Amir (the narrator) recalls his best friend (Hassan) being discrimiated against because he was Hazara. I found out that Hazaras were in the minority, because they were Shi'a Muslims and not Sunni Muslims. "They calles him 'flat-nosed' because of Ali and Hassan's characteristic Hazara Mongoloid features"(9). This type of discrimiation was very common in that time period which influenced how the characters lived. This discrimiation was also different than American discriminationi because in Aphganistan, the children would say the insult to the person's face whereas in America people would talk behind others back.

THE KITE RUNNER!

I chose the book Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini because by what i have heard from others, it is very good. I am really looking foward to reading it because alot of my friends have read it and they have talked about it but from now on i will know what they are talking about and i can join into their conversation! i hear that it is very good and hard to put down. Also, by reading the compliments on the cover from other authors and such it sounded like it was a pretty decent book. All in all, i chose the Kite Runner because it sounded like a very interesting book.