Saturday, September 14, 2013

Fishbowl #3: Chapters 14, 15, and 16 of The Kite Runner

Welcome to your third fishbowl!

A few reminders if you're looking for an A for the day:

(A) Bring at least one quotation and/or page reference into at least one of your responses.
 
(B) Explain your thinking thoughtfully and thoroughly (try to avoid the one-sentence response).

(C) Keep it professional, including the usage of proper grammar and spelling.

(D) Comment frequently from the beginning of the conversation to the end.


Remember also that you're welcome to get into a hotseat in the inner circle for a little while and earn some of your daily participation points there.


Enjoy!

94 comments:

  1. Exactly how old is Amir when he gets married? I seem to have lost/forgotten that

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    1. I think he was around 20, because he is going through college around that time

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    2. Yah I think he might have been in his late 20s and just finishing writing his first or second book

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  2. Do you think of Amir could go back in time, do you think that he'll help Hassan when Assef was being a jerk and not frame him for stealing?

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    1. Yes, I personally believe that apart of Amir feels guilty for not helping Hassan, and making Baba lose his life long friend, Ali. Amir has to live his life knowing that he never got a chance to tell Baba what really happened. If he had the chamce I think he would go back.

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    2. I agree with Kailyn. Amir knew that he had lost his friend because of what happened and I just think Amir was a kid who was put in a situation where he had no clue what to do. But now, I believe that he would go back because he's older and realized that being respectful and caring can change you. He know's now that he should have been there for his friend and cared. So yes I believe he would go back.

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  3. Why does Baba only have $35,000? wher did all of his money go?

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    1. Probably went to when he and Amir traveled to American and his smoking problem

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    2. I think all of his money was back in Kabal because they had to leave immediately and also it probably cost a lot to bring Amir and Baba to America.

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    3. I am not sure where all of his money went but I know that Baba spent his remaining savings on Amir's wedding.

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  4. Why did Sanubar come back after all these years of leaving Hassan and Ali?

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    1. I think its because of love

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    2. Maybe I think maybe the dancing thing didn't work out as well as she planned. So she came back and decided to be the mother she never was.

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    3. When Sanubar comes back and she wakes up. she says "I have walked long and far to see if you are as beautiful in flesh as you are in my dreams." To me it just looks like she just wants to see her child before she leaves this world.

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  5. On page 187 Amir and Soraya are talking about adoption. Even through adoption do you think kids would be as loved as kids through conception?

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    1. I think it depends on the age that you adopt a child. If you adopt a new born, they are closer to you and you get to watch them grow and teach them. But if you adopt a child who's 7 or 8, he already has a personality and it's harder to connect with them.

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    2. I agree if u adopt a new born its like it is your own kid if you adopt a child that is older than that child might not consider you there perent

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  6. Page 179, "He asked us to lean in, gave us each a kiss. 'I'll come back with your morphine and a glass of water, Kaka jan,' Soraya said. 'Not tonight,' he said, 'There is no pain tonight.' 'Okay,' she said. She pulled up his blanket. We closed the door. Baba never woke up."
    Do you think that Baba rejected the medicine because he wanted to die, he didn't actually have pain, or he knew he was going to die that night?

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    1. This is in Chapter 13 ,but I think he has accepted his time to leave the world because he died happy. Like Rahim on pg. 202 "... Rahim Khan laughed. " You sound like your father just now. ... But it is God's will, Amir jan. It really is." Being like Rahim he has accepted his fate and feel he lived a full life.

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  7. Why did it take the death of baba to reconnect Hassan Rahim Kahn and Amir.

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    1. Baba was a big part of all of their lives and they all were going through the same thing and could lean on each other to try to get past Baba's death.

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  8. How has Amir shown growth through reading chapters 14-17?

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    1. Yes, because I think his marriage with Soraya has given him the opportunity to expand as an overall person.

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  9. Rahim Kahn symbolizes the past by showing that some people in your life never truly leave. The most important people leave a mark on you and what you do, even if they don't seem to be the most important in the beginning, they may come back and you can realize their true worth.

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  10. Who do you think the incident effected more, Amir or Hassan?

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    1. I think Amir was affected more, because Hassan bushed the incident away and stayed loyal to Amir, while Amir distanced himself and thought about the incident more and more.

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  11. Do you think amir feels as though rahim khan is like a second father to him

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    1. Yes because throughout the story Rahim Kahn seemed to be more of a helpful father figure than baba through amirs childhood.

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    2. Yeah, because Rahim Khan took Amir how he was and didn't try to change him.

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    3. When Amir was a child he wasn't used to having his dad be there with him. But Rahim was he even gave him birthday presents and brought him souvenirs. After Baba died I think Rahim was the person that Amir would turn to as a father figure.

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    4. Yes, because he has accepted Amir for who he is throughout the story, where it took a while for Baba to truly warm up to him.

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  12. I think he knew it was his time to go because his body just probably broke down on him. I feel like you know that you won't have the strength to keep fighting the bad in you and its your time to go.

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  13. On page 198 to 199 it describes how the Taliban were being greeted when they first took over but now they are vicious people who rule every aspect of your life....why does Hassan and Rahim Kahn suggest Amir move back.

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  14. I also think it affected Amir more because it changed him in such a way and Hassan is basically the same person.

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  15. Page 213
    What do you think will happen if the Taliban find Hassan and his family in Baba's house?

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    1. I think they'd get killed on the spot and they wouldn't even get a chance to do anything because the Taliban hate the Hazaras more than anything.

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    2. On pg 213 " The Taliban banned kite fighting. And two years later, in 1998, they massacred the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif." The point is the Taliban will kill all the Hazaras, since the Talibans are in charge they'll probably kill all Hazaras.

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  16. "The people in Bamiyan had told me I would find him easily-he lived in the only house in the village that had a walled garden." I think this shows how Amir's family had an impact on Hassan. Even though they were used to living in poverty they still managed to bring in some of the class that they saw back when they were with Amir and Baba.

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  17. After Amir's meeting with Rahim Kahn will Hassan and Amir see each other again and forgive each each other for what happened

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    1. I believe that Hassan and Amir will see each other again eventually and will forgive each other but will never forget what happend.

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  18. Why do you think the General is so protective over Soraya? Why did he have Soraya cut her hair? Page 179, "He handed me a pair of scissors and calmly told me to cut off all my hair".

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    1. It was used as a shaming technique to make someone have a visible consequence for doing something wrong.

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  19. On page 197, Amir is notified that his first grownup friend is very ill. How will this effect Amir emotionally and how will it play out in the future?

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    1. Amir did just loose his father, so hearing that he is sick is going to make him sad. Hopefully his wife will be able to comfort him

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  20. Why is Amir losing everyone that's close to him?

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    1. To make a point in the story, or to see Hassan again.

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    2. I think that its karma for how selfish Amir has been. Like Amir can't have a child, but Hassan does. Hassan is getting everything that Amir can't.

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  21. On page 207, why do you think Hassan says he can't move to Kabal with Rahim and then after the night Hassan decided to go? Was it because Baba died?

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  22. DO you think that Amir has been more affected by the incident then Hassan even though the incident did not really affect personally affect Amir at all?

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    1. Yes I personally think that Amir was more affected by this incident. Hassan eventually told Ali about what had happened about that night, Amir has not told anyone about it, nor talk to anyone about it. I think that it is eating away at him inside. Like on page 194, the night that Rahim Khan had called him Amir had a dream about Hassan. He had a dream about the night of the Kite race when Hassan had said "For you, a thousand times over" I think this statement eats at Amir.

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  23. How did Hassan adjust to Ali not being with him?

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  24. Do you think that Amir regrets not telling Baba about what happened that night in the alley? Do you think he will eventually break down and Soraya?

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    1. I honestly think that Amir won't tell Soraya because on page 165 Amir says,"I envied her. Her secret was out. Spoken. Dealt with. I opened my mouth and almost told her how I'd betrayed Hassan, lied, driven him out, and destroyed a forty-year relationship between Baba and Ali. But I didn't. " I think its to late now for Amir to tell Soraya because they have been married for a while and he still hasn't told her. I think he is scared that she would judge him or leave him. He just wants to keep it to himself so he won't lose anyone else.

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    2. Yes and yes. It's hard to keep a secret like that locked up inside you for so long.

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  25. On page 202 - Why does Rahim Kahn want to tell amir everything about Hassan what could he possibly tell him and what does he want Amir to do for him.

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    1. He feels Amir will do it for him as a last wish and, he tells him about Hassan so he knows more about what Hassan has been through.

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    2. Rahim Kahn told Amir everything about Hassan so that he could see how Hassan is living his life without Amir

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  26. Pg 213 "A few weeks later, the Taliban banned kite fighting. And two years later, in 1998, they massacred the Hazaras In Mazar-i-Sharif." How would this make Amir feel when he heard this? Could Hassan be dead and Amir live with guilt for the rest of his life because he never saw Hassan again?

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    1. I think Amir feels more and more lost because of the banned kite fighting. I think it is a part of him and his childhood being taken away. I think Amir will be worried about Hassan but might not show it because thinking about Hassan will bring back the bad memories.

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  27. Do you think Amir wants to go and find Hassan after talking to Rahim? Will they ever see each other again? Will they meet up because of Rahim's death?

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  28. Can death ever lead to anything good?

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    1. I think that it can. Death can bring people together at times. No one likes to die, but sometimes it's necessary. Sometimes death happens in order to end a person who's life who has done nothing but bring grief to people.

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  29. In Chapter seventeen, when you read the letters written to Amir, the wording states that you "cannot escape the fighting," in Kabul. Even though the people there might not be able to escape, isn't that exactly what Amir did? Are the people in Kabul feel jealous of Amir, or do they think he is foolish for leaving? How does Amir feel? Are these feelings replicated elsewhere in the book?

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  30. Why didn't Rahim Khan move to America with Baba and Amir, and why does he feel the need to take care of Baba's old house?

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    1. I think Rahim did not move to America because there was no reason to. He grew up in Afghanistan and did not feel the need to make a change and re-direct his life in a different country.

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    2. I think Baba ordered him to. Cause I think Baba wanted to return once Amir settled down. Or once he got well enough to return.

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    3. On page 203, Rahim says that Kabal was his home and he had lived there his whole life and that he wanted Baba's house to be maintained and nice. I think it was harder for Rahim to say because Rahim says that he knew no one in Kabal anymore.

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  31. How much does Hassan make off of his books? Page 182, "In the summer of 1988, about six months before the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, I finished my first novel, a father-son story set in Kabul, written mostly with the typewriter the general had given me".

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  32. "Hassan," I said. When was the last time I had spoken his name?
    -Amir

    This shows how far Amir has grown apart from Hassan

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    1. Not so much how 'respect' has grown. They're more just showing that he hasn't thought about him in a while.

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  33. Pg 192. "I thought about a comment Rahim Kahn had made just before we hung up."..."Come. There is a way to be good again,Rahim Kahn had said on the phone just before we hung up." Why is Amir just assuming that Rahim Khan is talking about Hassan's rape?

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  34. Does Amir still feel like he is better than Hassan

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    1. I don't think so. Maybe a little, but I think he is thinking that he and Hassan are pretty much the same.

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    2. I think that over time he has grown to realize that Hassan is more of a friend then a servant, mostly because I think he misses him after Hassan and Ali leave.

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  35. What sickness does Rahim Khan have? Page 191, "Rahim Khan is very sick".

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    1. Well on page 203, Rahim says, "And with my arthritis, it was getting harder for me to maintain the house." Rahim has arthritis that can lead to other illnesses and make him very weak.

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  36. On page 213 it says on the end how in 1998 the Taliban massacred Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif, if the Taliban were trying to free Afghanistan then why would they massacre their own citizens?

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    1. Weren't the Hazaras the undermined citizens of that time so maybe there just trying to free the land of the "trash" of there society which i don't see why the Hazaras were a problem.

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    2. Because the Hazzaras are different. Like at the begging of the book with Assef and how he thought Hitler was a hero and that Hazzaras shouldn't be in Afghanistan.

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  37. On page 201- Amir doesn't want Rahim Kahn to die even though it his time and he wont rest the fact that he could get him a good doctor here in America to save him...is he trying to save him because he didn't want to lose another father type figure.

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    1. Yes, because Rahim was one of the only fathers he had. He never got close to Baba *I don't think* and he could always count on Rahim.

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  38. Could it be possible that Baba was the only reason that Hassan and Amir knew each other and got along. Now that he's dead will their relationship never come back?

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    1. I feel like there is a chance they could meet again and think it is because of Baba's death. Also Amir might want to forgive himself for betraying Hassan and the only way to forgive himself is to confess to Hassan.

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  39. "Outside the walls of that house, there was a war raging. But the three of us, in your fathers house, we made our own little haven from it." Page 209. Do you think that Hassan had a hard time coming back to the house? I would imagine that it would have been traumatizing enough to not like the place.

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  40. In the middle of chapter 14 Amir sees children selling cigarettes in a place known as "Afghan Town." How does this reflect Afghanistan in a negative way and how could this also be a mirror image of America?

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  41. Can violence ever be justified?

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  42. Do you think that Amir feels like not being able to conceive a child is a sin of his own? Throughout the book we notice that Amir considers a lot of things that happen to him his own fault and his own sin. Some things that happen to him are indeed of his own doing and his own sins, but sometimes, the things that happen aren't his fault. Do you think recognizing sins allows you to absolve them.

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  43. Why did the guard get so angry when the man next to Rahim cheered for Kabul in a soccer game? Was it necessary to strike him in the face? Page 199.

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  44. Does Hassan still care so much about Amir and Baba? "Hassan buried his face in his hands and broke into tears" Page 207. Did Hassan wish he was still working for Baba and friends with Amir?

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  45. Does the fact that Amir and Soraya can't have children drift their marriage apart?

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  46. How long did Baba plan to stay in California? It says that Baba had planned to return to his house in Afghanistan. Page 199.

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  47. Was Ali fighting the Taliban or was he just a civilian that was killed.

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  48. When Hassan says "What will Amir agha think when he comes back to Kabul and finds that I assumed his place in the house?" Why would hassan still be loyal after what Amir did to him?

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  49. What inspired Hassan's Mother to come back after all those years being gone? Was she not afraid of being pushed away?

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