literature circle book response #2

Section A:

I think that what is most interesting about this book is how there are many similar themes in Amir's life and many average American's life. It's interesting how people who live in completely different worlds and have completely different cultures can have certain things in common.
I like the book a lot and I think that it is very engaging because of the descriptive words and it is a captivating story.

Themes
1. father son relationship
2. guilt
3. honor
4. pride
5. culture

Section B:

Our group was wondering why Baba didn't tell Amir that Hassan was his brother? Personally I think that it was to protect Baba's honor, because honor is so important in the Afghan culture. I was also wondering what important events occurred in Amir's teenage life.

Section C:

My most memorable quote is on page 157 paragraph 1. The book states:
"What's going to happen to you, you say? All those years, that's what I was trying to teach you, how to never have to ask that question."

Baba is telling this to Amir and it explains his shame during Amir's younger years. I think that this shows that he was embarassed because he wants he to be tough and self sufficient. This is because Baba was extremely self sufficient and made a life for himself, for that reason Baba wants Amir to be like him.

literature circle reflection

The book that I chose to read for literature circles was Kite Runner. As of our second literature meeting my group and I have reached page 147.

1. PREDICTING
I predict that Amir's relationship with the Soraya Taheri (the swap meet princess) will grow. Also I think Amir will get a job, because he will have to support Baba. Of course eventually I think that Baba will pass away and it will be a huge event in the book. Maybe Amir will enroll in a University as well, instead of a Junior College, perhaps he will take classes other than creative writing too.

2. Picturing
As I read I was able to picture almost everything that was occurring. This was because of the descriptive writing that the author used, also it helped that I took notes of important events and new characters as I read. This helped a lot when the author discussed characters or referred to previous events. I was able to just look at my notes and easily picture what the author was referring to.

3. Making Connections
I started to think about illegal immigration into America when I read the section about Amir and Baba being smuggled into the country. When they spoke of the numerous people in the buses and trucks trying to get to the border and through it I thought of the project we recently completed. Although I personally did not focus my project on illegal immigration, I learned a lot about it when doing the project. I thought of the people smuggling stories that we were told when I read that section of the book.
Another thing that I thought of was Nazi Germany during World War II. When Amir and Baba were sitting and hiding in the basement with many other people and it was cold and dark and smelly, I thought of the Jewish people hiding from the Nazi's. I also thought of this in the beginning of this section when they spoke of people ratting each other out. I find it interesting how history seems to repeat itself.

4. Identifying a Problem
I didn't expect the author to skip from when Amir was 13 to when he was 18. This surprised me because the author skipped a lot of his teen years, which could have been very interesting because that is when kids really grow up and change. I do think that the story will still be good, but it could have been an interesting section (especially for teen readers).

5. Identifying a Solution
When I was unclear about different characters (mainly because of their names that I was not used to) I took notes on a separate sheet of paper. This helped me to better understand the story because I could easily recognize each character. I think that this was especially helpful because there have already been so many characters in the book.

Overall I have enjoyed reading this book. With my reading strategies I have been able to better understand the book and the characters. I look forward to finding out what comes next in the KITE RUNNER.