PT GR 11 ELA The Kite Runner Ch 3-5 Study Guide

Quote 1

"... a person who wastes his God-given talents is a donkey"

In Chapter 4 what message do Hassan and Amir carve into the Pomegranate tree near the entrance of the cemetery?

"Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul"

Quote 2

"Children aren't coloring books. You don't get to fill them with your favorite colors"

Write Baba's exact words responding to Amir' about his first story (page 31):

"Well, that's very good, isn't it?" (feigned=pretended interest and said nothing more)

Review Chapter 3 and list 3 passages that reflect Amir's attempts to receive his father approval from Baba: [father and son relationship]

1. Amir tries to play and watch soccer to please Baba, his lack of ability and passion are disappointing to his father. 2. Baba and Amir celebrate the completion of the orphanage by going to Ghargha Lake. Baba asks Amir to bring along Hassan, but Amir lies and tells Baba that Hassan "has the runs". Amir is jealous of Hassan and wants the attention from Baba. 3. Their visit to a Buzkashi tournament, Amir's striving to make his father proud of him. In the last small section of the chapter we see for the first time how Amir's desire to please Baba turns itself into cruelty to Hassan.

Who was one of Baba's childhood playmates?

Ali (Ali and Baba grew up together as childhood playmates - at least until polio crippled Ali's leg - just like Hassan and I grew up a generation later.)

Who is the first person to whom Hassan speaks and what does he say?

Amir "_Tashakor_" Thank you. (He muttered something I didn't understand. I put my ear to his mouth. He whispered it again.)

Who has surgery?

Hassan (has plastic surgery to be able to smile normally)

Quote 1 meaning

He wants him to know that if you have a talent then instead of wasting it and not showing off your talent to use it and do something good with it don't let it go to waste.

Quote 2 Significance to overall plot (how does the quote help with characterization? Themes?)

It shows that Baba and Amir's lack of father-son relationship. But their relationship changes with the Soviet Invasion and their moving to USA where Baba accepts Amir who just writes a book and is being published.

Quote 1 Speaker

Rahim Kahn

Quote 2 Speaker

Rahim Khan, a friend of Baba

Quote 1 Context (When/Where/Why/To Whom)

Rahim is reading the short story that Amir has written. Rahim is now giving feedback to Amir. The purpose of this quote is to allow Amir to hear Rahim's thoughts on his story.

What is Baba's famous nickname?

Toophan agha, or Mr. Hurricane

Quote 2 Context (When/Where/Why/To Whom)

When Baba, Amir's father, complains to Rahim that Amir wasn't like him. Amir was growing up is not the way that he, himself grew up. He is not the kind of boy he expected to have as a son, Rahim Kahn replies, "Children aren't coloring books. You don't get to fill them with your favorite colors." Parents are often guilty of this. They project their own wants or needs onto their children and rather than helping them find their own paths in life, they push their children along a path of their own design. This only makes people unhappy. The children either live lives that are not truly their own or they live their lives feeling they aren't really worthy of their parents' love and respect.

At the beginning of Chapter 5, what "roared like thunder"?

bullets, bombs

Quote 1 Literacy elements (if any)

metaphor

Quote 2 Literacy elements (if any)

metaphor

Quote 2 meaning

parents cannot expect their children to share the exact same desires or interests as them. Each child should be allowed to pursue his or her own "colors"

What clinical term does Amir refer to Assef? What is the definition of this term?

sociopath sociopath - a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience. (Assef is a feared bully who carries a set of brass knuckles and loves to be cruel.) (Years later, I learned an English word for the creature that Assef was, a word for which a good Farsi equivalent does not exist:"sociopath.")

According to Baba, what is the "one sin"?

theft ("Good," Baba said, but his eyes wondered. "Now, no matter what the mullah teaches, there is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft. Do you understand that?")

(Eileen) cleft lip symbolize

uses the symbol of the cleft lip to great effect. Hassan's cleft lip symbolizes his poverty and low social status, especially compared to Amir. The fact that Baba pays for Hassan's plastic surgery to correct the lip symbolizes his secret paternal love toward Hassan.

Quote 1 Significance to overall plot (how does the quote help with characterization? Themes?)

This quote is important because it is one of the first times Amir has someone pay attention to something he has accomplished, it shows Amir that he does have the talent to be a good writer.

In Chapter 3 what group do Amir and Baba see while they are fishing?

They saw "hippies" while they were having picnic by the lake. (On Fridays, the lake was bustling with families out for a day in the sun. But it was midweek and there was only Baba and me, us and a couple of longhaired, bearded tourists-‐-‐"hippies," I'd heard them called.)

What was the first Western Amir and Hassan saw together? Who was the star of this first film?

They watched Rio Bravo with John Wayne. John Wayne. (The language was dubbed in Farsi. The boys thought John Wayne was Iranian until Baba informed them that their movie was American.)

(Eileen) Why didd Rahim Khan refer to Baba as 'Mr. Hurricane'?

This is because him being 'a force of nature' or a 'towering Pashtun specimen'. Rahim Khan has respect for Baba and looked up to him for guidance and assurance.