Sunday, December 21, 2014

The Kite Runner: A History Lesson Within a Story

I am usually not one for cliche ideas or plots, however, I think The Kite Runner will be an exception.  After reading the first 20 pages, I quickly learned that this book is about a friendship between two boys, Amir and Hassan, who come from different places in society.  "Hassan and I parted ways.  I went past the rosebushes to Baba's mansion, Hassan to the mud shack where he had been born, where he'd lived his entire life" (Hosseini 6).  Hassan's father works for Amir's father as a servant which sets the stage for a strong friendship to be broken apart by Afghanistan's social structure.

No books immediately came to mind when I was given this free-choice assignment for AP English.  After looking over many lists and reading numerous synopses, The Kite Runner seemed to be a prime candidate.  At first I thought this book was going to be a fun read, but after reading the first few pages I knew this book was going to be much more.  I consider myself well informed when it comes to word cultures and world geography. However, after the first 20 pages I now know that this is not the case in regard to Afghanistan.  Hosseini references quotes from the Koran, conflicts between Shi'a and Sunni Muslims, and types of food like "kofta" and "naan," all of which I am not as informed about as I thought.  As I continue to read this book, I will definitely need to do some background research on the history of Afghanistan, which I believe has potential to be a good history lesson. 


Overall, I am very happy with my choice of  The Kite Runner and am looking forward to reading more. 

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3 comments:

  1. Ms. LaClairJanuary 1, 2015 at 6:17 PM

    Given the importance of Afghanistan and the Middle East in the news recently, it is interesting how little many of us really know about the area. It's through novels such as this that I have learned much about the area and its customs.

    I hope you enjoy the book.

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 5, 2015 at 4:54 PM

    Sounds like an interesting book! Do you find that at certain points you have to stop and look things up because the culture is so different? I definitely would have too.

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousJanuary 30, 2015 at 2:49 PM

      It's funny you asked that because I actually printed out a map of the Middle-East and used it as a bookmark. It helped because in the book many cities and countries were mentioned and most of the time I had never heard of them.

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