Afghan history here
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For each day's assignment, read the required chapters. Answer the discussion question either on lined paper or typed and ready to turn in. Be ready for a quiz, a discussion, and/or an activity.
Tues., 4/25 Chapters 1-5
1. Chapters 1-3 contain much of the exposition of the novel. What are the setting and the main conflicts? Also, provide a short description of each of these characters: Amir, Baba, Ali, Hassan.
2. Discuss the depiction of fatherhood in the novel, both the characters' actual fathers and their father figures (like Rahim Khan toward Amir or Baba toward Hassan). How do the fathers relate to their sons? and sons relate to their fathers? Use evidence from the novel to support your answer.
Thrus. 4/27 Chapters 5-7
3. Write three original question about this section that we can discuss in class on Thursday.
Fri., 4/29 Chapters 8-9
4. How does Hassan sacrifice himself for Amir again?
Tues. 5/2 Chapters 10-13
5. In America, Amir and Baba are disconnected from their previous lives in Afghanistan. How is this disconnection different for each character? Give examples from Chapter 11.
6. Explain the events in this section that enable Amir to achieve manhood? What is his continued connection to his childhood in Kabul?
Thurs. 5/4 Chapters 14-17
7. Make a prediction about how Rahim Khan thinks Amir can find "a way to be good again".
8. In what ways can Amir redeem himself by traveling to Kabul?
Fri., 5/5 Chapters 18-19
9. Ironically Amir and Baba are more alike than Amir ever knew. Explain how.
Tues., 5/9 Chapter 20-21
10. On Amir's trip back to Afghanistan, he stays at the home of his driver, Farid. Upon leaving he remarks: "Earlier that morning, when I was certain no one was looking, I did something I had done twenty-six years earlier" (Chapter 19 last page). Why is this moment so important in Amir's journey?
Tues. 5/16 Chapters 22-25
11. While in the hospital in Peshawar, Amir has a dream in which he sees his father wrestling a bear: "They roll over a patch of green grass, man and beast...They fall to the ground with a loud thud and Baba is sitting on the bear's chest, his fingers digging in its snout. He looks up at me and I see. He's me. I am wrestling the bear." Why is the dream so important at this point in the story? What does this dream finally help Amir realize?
12. The novel begins with Amir's memory of peering down an alley, looking for Hassan, who is kite running for him. As Amir peers into the alley, he witnesses a tragedy. The novel ends with Amir kite running for Hassan's son, Sohrab, as he begins a new life with Amir in America. Why do you think the author chooses to frame the novel with these scenes? refer to the following passage: "Afghans like to say: Life goes on, unmindful of beginning, end... crisis or catharsis, moving forward like a slow, dusty caravan of kochis (nomads)." How is this significant to the framing of the novel?
Tues., 4/25 Chapters 1-5
1. Chapters 1-3 contain much of the exposition of the novel. What are the setting and the main conflicts? Also, provide a short description of each of these characters: Amir, Baba, Ali, Hassan.
2. Discuss the depiction of fatherhood in the novel, both the characters' actual fathers and their father figures (like Rahim Khan toward Amir or Baba toward Hassan). How do the fathers relate to their sons? and sons relate to their fathers? Use evidence from the novel to support your answer.
Thrus. 4/27 Chapters 5-7
3. Write three original question about this section that we can discuss in class on Thursday.
Fri., 4/29 Chapters 8-9
4. How does Hassan sacrifice himself for Amir again?
Tues. 5/2 Chapters 10-13
5. In America, Amir and Baba are disconnected from their previous lives in Afghanistan. How is this disconnection different for each character? Give examples from Chapter 11.
6. Explain the events in this section that enable Amir to achieve manhood? What is his continued connection to his childhood in Kabul?
Thurs. 5/4 Chapters 14-17
7. Make a prediction about how Rahim Khan thinks Amir can find "a way to be good again".
8. In what ways can Amir redeem himself by traveling to Kabul?
Fri., 5/5 Chapters 18-19
9. Ironically Amir and Baba are more alike than Amir ever knew. Explain how.
Tues., 5/9 Chapter 20-21
10. On Amir's trip back to Afghanistan, he stays at the home of his driver, Farid. Upon leaving he remarks: "Earlier that morning, when I was certain no one was looking, I did something I had done twenty-six years earlier" (Chapter 19 last page). Why is this moment so important in Amir's journey?
Tues. 5/16 Chapters 22-25
11. While in the hospital in Peshawar, Amir has a dream in which he sees his father wrestling a bear: "They roll over a patch of green grass, man and beast...They fall to the ground with a loud thud and Baba is sitting on the bear's chest, his fingers digging in its snout. He looks up at me and I see. He's me. I am wrestling the bear." Why is the dream so important at this point in the story? What does this dream finally help Amir realize?
12. The novel begins with Amir's memory of peering down an alley, looking for Hassan, who is kite running for him. As Amir peers into the alley, he witnesses a tragedy. The novel ends with Amir kite running for Hassan's son, Sohrab, as he begins a new life with Amir in America. Why do you think the author chooses to frame the novel with these scenes? refer to the following passage: "Afghans like to say: Life goes on, unmindful of beginning, end... crisis or catharsis, moving forward like a slow, dusty caravan of kochis (nomads)." How is this significant to the framing of the novel?