Blog Post #3 of Semester 2: Most important Quotation from The Kite Runner

     As many of you may already know, The Kite Runner is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini published 12 years ago. The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, whose closest friend is Hassan, his family's young Hazara (lower caste in the Afghan society) servant. The story is set in a period of tumultuous events, ranging from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy through the Soviet military intervention, the exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime. Hosseini commented that he considers The Kite Runner to be father-son story this emphasizing aspects of family in the novel, aspects that he continues to use throughout his trilogy. And perhaps most importantly The Kite Runner primarily highlights themes of  redemption and guilt related to a life-changing scene depicting an act of violence against Hassan that Amir doesn't prevent.

Remains of Amir's City 26 years since he last saw it     At the commencement of the novel Khaled Hosseini says a quote that is revered to be one of the most powerful quotes in the world, "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 its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years"(Hosseinei 2). This quote essentially summarizes the novel and informs the reader about what Amir will soon tell us about in The Kite Runner.      The plot develops from this very line because this fact sets the stage for the novel's plot through referencing the time that has passed, "twenty six years". From this quote Khaled Hosseini has been able to put in context the format and timeline of the novel proven by the fact that the novel then goes on to start from Amir's and Hassan's very beginning and leads up to the moment when Amir says the quote above in the beginning of Chapter 1. This quote happens to be so important because the quote highlights and exemplifies the quality of guilt, that is developed through the course of the novel by the descriptions of the events that cause Hassan to remember the fateful memories of his past.

To view other important quotations and their accompanying explanations from The Kite Runner view the following link:

http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3295919-the-kite-runner

Blog Post #4 of Semester 2: Fahrenheit 451 Theme 3 Handout

Theme #3: In the Wrong Hands, Technology can

Negatively Impact our Relationships and/or Communities

Group Members: Rishi Mehta, Gabi Renshaw, Kelly Tibbetts, Sam Cannava and Suhas Kolli

Timeline of Events:

Quote from Part I: “Wasn’t there an old joke about the wife who talked so much on the telephone that her desperate husband ran out to the nearest store and telephoned her to ask what was for dinner?” (Bradbury, 39)

Explanation: This quote represents Montag’s current situation with his own wife. Technology has ultimately led to the degradation of their relationship in the sense that Montag and Mildred would most probably communicate through technology rather than actual face-to-face conversations. Similistic technology in Fahrenheit 451 affects the relationships and communities due to the fact that they have almost completely disregarded social interaction and made technology their main means of communications even when social interaction is possible.

Quote from Part II: “It’s perpetual motion; the thing man wanted to invent but never did...it’s a mystery…Its really beauty is that it destroys responsibility and consequences...clean, quick, sure; nothing to rot later. Antibiotic, aesthetic, practical” (Bradbury, 109).

Explanation: In this passage, Beatty muses to Montag about the mystical nature of fire before he was burned alive by Montag. Fire in this passage represents Montag’s subjugation and his liberation. Montag who had been accused by Beatty, was told about how he wasn’t considering the consequences of his actions. Beatty then defines the beauty of fire and how it will destroy responsibilities and consequences.

Quote from Part III: “The sun burnt every day. It burnt Time….Time was busy burning the years and the people away, without any help from him. So if he burnt things with the firemen and the sun burnt time, that meant that everything burnt!” (Bradbury, 134).

Explanation: In this passage, Montag escapes the city and floats down the river in “Burning Bright.” Montag muses at the sun while he escapes. For the first time, he finally enjoys the leisure that Faber told him so he can regain his life back. Montag for the first time sees the stars. He starts considering that the sun is constant to time and burns with its own fire. He then considered the moon, which gets its light from the sun. He and the firemen will burn everything since the sun burns time, meaning it burns away the people and years. Bradbury repeats the word “burning” to tell the audience how Montag experiences and how he now must redefine his conceptions of the burning and fire and also identity and purpose.

Theme Explanations:

This theme is important to our understanding of the story because it helps us realize that we need to appreciate what we have and be weary of new advancements, as they may,ironically contribute to both the rise and fall of society.

This theme connects to our modern-day society and how we see it play out in our lives and in society today by helping us realize that importance and significance of books while also highlighting the negative outcomes technology may potentially pose on both communities and relationships.

Blog Post #2 Semester 2: About the Author of the Kite Runner

     I would like to start off this blog post by giving you a brief summary of the first few chapters of The Kite Runner to illustrate Khaled Hosseni's primary style and focus of writing. Hosseni chooses the setting of Wazir Akbar Khan in Kabul, Afghanistan, this instantly highlighting the importance of religion and race in the novel. The story starts off with the narrator, Amir, explaining how he came to be the man he has come to be. Amir then describes his situation with his friend Hassan. In The Kite Runner, Amir and his family are Pashtuns but their servants, Hassan and his father, Ali, are Hazaras. The main problem arises from a social norm: Hazaras and Pashtuns are not supposed to be friends. The novel gyrates around how the small difference between the 2 boys shapes their relationship in a society where race and religion are distinguishing factors. The focus of my blog-post this week will be about the author, Khaled Hosseni, in order to understand what impact Hosseni's personal life had on his personal development and the events detailed in The Kite Runner.

     The oldest of  five children, Khaled Hosseni, was born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1965 and live there for 5 years until Hosseini's father was posted to Afghanistan's embassy in Tehran, Iran. During the few years the family lived there the monarchy was overthrown and the Hossenis soon found them selves packing up to go to Paris, France where Hosseni's father was assigned. While they were there the Soviet invasion on Afghanistan began in 1979, meaning that moving back to Afghanistan was out of the question. The family then applied and received political asylum in the United States where they lived in San Jose, California. Khaled was 15 years old and knew poor English, but after working hard, he was able to get his undergrad in biology from Santa Clara University and his Doctor of Medicine from UCLA. Hosseni then married and settled in Mountain View, California where he works for Kaiser Permanente. Aside from being a doctor Hosseni dedicates his time and money to the organization he has founded named The Khaled Hosseni Foundation, a nonprofit organization that assists the people of Afghanistan.


     During his medical studies Hosseni wrote many short stories about his time in Kabul before the country was consumed by war and oppression. In 2001, with the encouragement of his wife and father-in-law, Hosseni began to compile his short stories into a novel. With the defeat of the Taliban Hosseni found a stronger urge to tell his story, and so in 2003 he got his book published. The Kite Runner was his debut novel and one of 3 in a series about the impact of society and culture on him home country of Afghanistan. A Thousand Splendid Suns is the second book  he published  in 2007 followed by his recent release of his third book titled And the Mountains Echoed  in 2013. His books have topped the New York Times Bestsellers lists with their powerful stories, the likes of which the world of literature has never seen.

The following link is a CBS interview with Khaled Hosseni regarding his inspiration for the novels he has written along with how he gives back to the Afghan community:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq7i55hJN5A