THe Kite Runner Chapter 9

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At Amir's birthday party, he gets more gifts than ever before because of his victory in the kite tournament. He gets a brand new Stingray bicycle. He also cant get the image of Hassan and Assef out of his mind. For some reason, Amir plants envelopes of money and his new watch under Hassan's bed, then tells Baba that someone stole it. When Baba finds it, Hassan says he was the one who stole it. Amir can't believe it, and realizes how much Hassan has sacrificed. Then, Amir finds out that Hassan has told Ali everything, about the alley with Assef and how he knew Amir had watched him. Suddenly, Ali and Hassan don't want to stay with Baba, even after he forgave them. Everybody starts crying, and it is all because of Amir's selfishness. The chapter ends with Ali and Hassan leaving town. Almost his entire childhood went with Hassan.

Kite Runner Chapter 8

LaSt BlOg PoSt!!!!1!1!

Previously, in chapter 7, Amir wins the kite tournament and Hassan successfully chases down the kite. However, Assef and his posse come and demand the kite. Amir watches from afar as Hassan is threatened but still doesnt give up the kite. Finally, Assef rapes (yes, rapes) Hassan while Amir watches. Amir does nothing and runs away. After that, Amir and Hassan rarely see or talk to each other. Amir finally has the respect he wants from Baba, but it doesn't feel right. He asks Baba if they should get new slaves. Baba gets extremely angry and says, "I've never laid a hand on you, Amir, but you say that again... You bring me shame. And Hassan...Hassan's not going anywhere, you understand?" (90). Amir then unexpectedly takes Hassan up to their hill, then hurls a pomegranate at him. He tells Hassan to hit him back. This is a lot like FIght Club. Hassan does not fight back however. Instead, after Amir throws until he is exhausted, Hassan comes and crushes one on his own forehead. This hits very deep for Amir and he starts crying. The next summer, Amir turns 13 and his father throws a huge party for him, inviting hundreds of people. Assef shows up and appears very intimidating, but Baba favors him because he is athletic. Assef then gives Amir a biography of Hitler, who Assef looks up to. At the very end of the chapter, by light of fireworks, Amir sees Assef grinning while punching Hassan in the chest. Then darkness.

Kite Runner Chapter 6

Chapter 6 starts off with Amir giving a surrealistic description of winter in Kabul. Unlike here, the school closes for three months during the winter. He says he enjoys flying kites in the winter, which will probably have something to do with the title of the book. Every year, there is a kite flying tournament, and for many years Amir and Hassan would build their own kites from scratch and compete. However, Amir says "It quickly became apparent that Hassan and I were better kite fliers then kite makers" (51). In the tournament, contestants "fought" each other by trying to have the last kite flying in the sky. They did this by cutting the opponents line (each line was coated with broken glass.) The kite runners were the kids taht chased the kites after they had been cut, getting freely blown away by the wind. Amir says that out of everybody he's seen, Hassan was by far the best kite runner. He had a natural feeling of exactly where the kite was going to go before it landed. The chapter ends with the boys playing a card game the night before the kite tournament. Amir is determined to win and is almost positive that he will.

Kite Runner Chapter 5

Chapter 5 starts with Amir and his family waking up to gunfire. It turns out that the King's cousin had taken reign and turned the nation into a republic. I think this new government will play a big part because they might seperate Amir and Hassan. They go to climb the tree but are stopped by Assef, the neighborhood bully. Assef is about to beat up Amir for protecting Hassan, whom Assef hates because he isn't "pure Afghan." Assef takes out his brass knuckles and is about to punch Amir when Hassan takes out his slingshot and aims it right at Assef's eye. Amir describes, "There was a flurry of rapid movement behind me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hassan bend down and stand up quickly. Assef's eyes flicked to something behind me and widened with surpires. I saw that same look of astonishment on Kamal and Wali's faces as they too saw what had happened behind me. I turned and came face to face with Hassan's slingshot." (41) Assef and his posse run away and Amir is extremely thankful of Hassan. The chapter ends with a plastic surgeon fixing Hassan's cleft lip. Again, the chapter ends with more foreshadowing. "He was smiling...which was ironic. BEcause that was the winter that Hassan stopped smiling" (47). Something big is right around the corner.

The Kite Runner...Chapter 4

I took a break from writing my paper to relax with some reading. Chapter 4 starts off with Amir describing Baba's childhood. When Baba was about 5, his father adopted a recently orphaned boy into the family and named him Ali. Ali had polio, and his and Baba's relationship closely resembles Amir and Hassan's. Amir then describes his typically day with Hassan. Hassan would not go to school, but when Amir did get home, they would go on adventures, climbing trees and stealing fruit. It is the typically surrealistic boyhood memory, where there isn't a care in the world. Amir reads to Hassan everyday. One day Amir pretends he is reading from the book, but is actually making up a story as he pretends to read. When he is finished, Hassan is amazed and says it is the best story hes ever heard. Amir can't believe it and it is a great moment in their friendship. That night, Amir wrote his own short story. He describes Rahim Khan's reaction, "He flashed a smile and winked. 'For you. Read it later.' Then he paused and added a single word that did more to encourage me to pursue writing more than any compliment any editor has ever paid me. That word was Bravo. This chapter's foreshadowing is shown by Amir getting positive comments for his writing, propelling him to write more and more. At the end of the chapter, "a voice, cold and dark,"(34) creeps into Amir's head and makes a remark about his and Hassan's differing religions. I think more tension is right around the corner.

Kite Runner Chapter 3

This chapter starts off with Amir describing his father as a very powerful man who had once wrestled a black bear and has the scars to prove it. He also says that in the 1960's, Baba built an orphanage with his own money. It took him three years and was a great success. After that, he and his friend and co-worker Rahim Khan built a carpet exporting business, two pharmacies and a restaurant. All of these were wildly lucrative and he became one of the richest men in Kabul. Amir seems to look up to his father greatly, and wants everyone to see that Baba is his father. While Baba is giving a speech, Amir says, "He motioned me to hold his hat for him and I was glad to, because then everyone would see that he was my father, my Baba. Amir also doesnt like how sometimes Baba favors Hassan and Amir gets jealous. I think that even though they love each other like brothers, there will be some conflict between them later in the book. An Islamic religous man visits Amir's school and teaches them about the values of Islam. When Amir tells his father about it, Baba tells him not to listen and tells him to "piss on the beards of all those self-rightous monkeys." Baba clearly has things his way in the world, and is a heavy influence on Amir. Amir begins to read many books and poems to occupy himself at home. He is ashamed of not having Baba's athletic ability in soccer and decides to bury himself in literature. At the very end of the chapter, Amir is eavesdropping on his father and Rahim Khan talk. Baba says, "If I hadn't seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I'd never believe he's my son." This quote is very hard-hitting and Amir seems like he will be more defensive about things. I like how this author writes; there is always foreshadowing at the end of each chapter that makes you want to read more.

Hey! Its me again!

Ive been reading more of The Kite Runner and Im beggining to like it. Chapter 2 is mostly about the boy (whose name we later find out is Amir) and his relationship with Hassan. Hassan's father, Ali, has paralysis of his lower face muscles, making him unable to smile or move his mouth. On page eight, the author writes " It was an odd thing to see Ali happy, or sad, because only his slanted brown eyes glinted with a smile or welled with sorrow. People say that eyes are windows to the soul. Never was that more true thatn with Alie, who could only reveal himself through his eyes." I like this quote because it describes Ali physically and emotionally at the same time. It also shows that people with disablities rise up and are able to communicate with others no matter what. Near the end of the chapter, Amir finds out through and old history book that his ancestors persecuted and killed Hassan's ancestors. It seems he is too young to comprehend what that means about their relationship. At the very end, there is heavy foreshadowing about the "winter of 1975." I cant wait to read more!

Love,
Kevin