Questions with no Answers

People are full of questions, from the important ones to the useless ones. However, more times than not the questions that are needed to be asked are only asked in hindsight. Would our lives have changed if we asked these questions when we had the opportunity? Would it be a life lived better or worse? Most spend their lives asking themselves that question, but only few spend their lives trying to answer it, and one of those people is Amir in the novel Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Would his life be better if he and Baba got along when he was a child? Or if he knew Hassan was actually his step-brother, or even if Hassan knew Baba was his biological father?

“How could I have been so blind?” Amir had many questions for Baba and Hassan, but they were no longer there to answer them. He had missed all of the signs and clues, he had failed to find out the answers when he had the chance. If he had know the answers his whole life would certainly have been different, but would it have been better? Sure, he wouldn’t feel that mind numbing guilt but maybe that guilt made him a better writer. Because of all the missed chances at asking the questions, Amir and Hassan both lived most of their lives without really knowing each other. Even though Amir mistreated Hassan when they were children, it still made him feel guilty but he never knew why. When Amir found out that they were actually step-brothers, which brought an answer but more questions with it. Amir sought answers when he went to save Sohrab and bring him back to America. It may have righted a few wrongs but did Amir regain Hassan’s friendship? It was friendship Amir thought he lost, but it was really the friendship that never left him.

Much like his son Amir, Baba spent most of his life with a secret. It stayed with him until he died. It was a secret that was revealed to Amir, the secret that Baba was Hassan’s biological father. The father-son relationship that could have been between Baba and Hassan. Baba had felt that Hassan resembled him as a child; a boy that would stand up for himself. Baba was always so proud of Hassan. “He never missed any of Hassan’s birthdays...” and always got Hassan something special. Baba always treated Hassan like a son but never as his son. But Ali was the one who raised Hassan, who changed his diapers, the things that a father should do, things that Baba wanted to do but couldn’t. Ali may not have been Hassan’s biological father but he was his real father. Some questions were answered, other were forgotten in time.

After death, answers can only be assumed. Baba and Amir broke the “like father, like son” cliché. Two completely different people were somehow joined together by blood. Their relationship started out more distant than they both wanted but grew closer than they could have ever imagined. Amir always wanted to know why things were the way they were, but he never asked, he only wondered. Would Amir have asked Baba if they were closer? Would Amir have asked Baba if they were more alike, Amir would have gotten the courage to ask Baba? Questions that may not even have answers. As Amir gets older he and Baba grow closer. Amir spent most of his childhood trying to gain Baba’s love, but after waiting all of that time, when Amir finally felt that Baba loved him, was Amir truly happy? Possibly for awhile, until he finds out that “Baba had been a thief, a thief of the worst kind.” Amir wanted to know the answers to questions of all sorts. The questions all started the differently but ended being the same. Will Amir ever really know Baba? This question, can only be assumed.

Do you ever really know the answer to questions that you ask? Would everyone’s lives be better if questions were asked but if answers were never revealed? Were Baba and Amir truly father and son, was Hassan better off without Baba as his father, and did Amir really heal old wounds with bravery? There are so many questions to be asked, but so few of them to be answered.

Comparing to Heart of Darkness

The unknown is what we cannot see and what we do not understand. Kite Runner is filled with the unknown. The unknown scares some but interests others. In the Heart of Darkness, Kurtz’s views to the natives as “the horror” because he his scared by what he does not know. Which is opposite to Amir in Kite Runner, Amir spends his life learning about the unknown and is not afraid of it, but he challenges it. Horror is different for everyone, horror to Kurtz is the unknown, and horror to Amir is what he saw on that day in the winter of 1975. Horror is when we don’t know and do nothing to find out.

Kite Runner Quiz Quart #4.

#1. Amir and Sohrab snuck into America and lived as a happy family with Soraya.
T / F

#2. Short Answer: What was Soraya’s change in feelings towards Sohrab from before and after his arrival in America?

#3. How was Sohrab effected when Amir told him he might have to go to another orphanage?
a) Sad but accepted it
b) Angry and ran away
c) Angry and betrayed
d) None of the above
#4. How did Sohrab and Amir bond and find a common ground?
a) Going to flea markets
b) Kite Fighting
c) Writing
d) Collecting stamps

#5. Essay question: Discuss and Compare the main symbols and situations between Amir and Sohrab.




ANSWERS::::::::
#1. F
#2.
-Was really excited that they would have a child
-Wanted to help him through his problems at home and school
-She felt very distant after but still tried to get his attention and get him to have fun
-Finally gave up but was then relieved that Amir and Sohrab bonded
#3. C
#4. B
#5.
-The slingshot helped Amir get away from Assef twice throughout his life, once by Hassan and once by Hassan’s son Sohrab
-Betrayl: Amir betrays Hassan when they were children and Sohrab thinks Amir betrays him
-Hassan was never angry at Amir but Sohrab was
-Kite fighting: Amir and Hassan won the kite tournament as children which earned Baba’s respect for Amir. When Amir and Sohrab beat the other kite in the end, Amir earns Sohrab’s trust and respect

Kite Runner Quiz Quart. #3

#1. Soraya feels ____________ about Amir while he’s in Afghanistan?

a) Sad

b) Worried

c) Angry

d) A and B

#2. What are Amir’s feelings toward Farid in the beginning and then in the end of their journey through Afghanistan?

a) Hostility / Sadness

b) Hostility / Grateful

c) Anger / Happiness

#3. Short Answer: How did Amir’s thoughts and feelings change about going to find Sohrab?

#4. Short Answer: What was Amir’s reactions to Rahim Khan’s news about Hassan and himself?

#5. Essay Question: Compare the Afghanistan of Amir’s past to his present and any symbolism that intertwines them.

ANSWERS::::::::

#1. D

#2. B

#3.

-Thought about what he would leave behind if he died

-Didn’t want to risk everything

-Felt bad about Hassan

-Decides to go and find Sohrab

#4.

-Anger towards Baba for lying to him

-Feels even worse for what he did to Hassan and Ali

-Felt stupid for not seeing the signs and clues

#5.

-Used to be peaceful but is now a warzone

-People used to respect their elders now they obey the people in the Taliban

-People who were teachers and doctors are now poor and homeless

-Any differences in buildings being destroyed and people being killed

-The environment has gone from joy to fear

Kite Runner Quiz Quart #2

#1. Amir loved all of the toys he received for his birthdays?

T / F

#2. What was Ali / Hassan’s reaction to Amir’s accusation of Hassan stealing his gifts?

a) Anger

b) Ignorance

c) Joy

d) Sadness

#3. What was Amir’s mood while leaving the country?

a) Joyful

b) Scared

c) Angry

#4. Short Answer: Describe how Baba adapted and how he behaved in America.

#5. Essay Question: Compare and contrast the differences between Amir now and his past. Also discuss how his past has found him.

:::::::::::ANSWERS:::::::::::::

#1. F

#2. D

#3. B

#4.

-Hard at first

-Found parts of Afghanistan which made him feel more at home

-Also found old friends

-Grew closer to Amir as they went on and bonded doing the flea market and other examples

#5.

-Amir cannot run from his past

-Is now closer with his father and more open about his feelings

-Is happier in some ways now that he has a wife and his dad respects him

-Dad now values Amir’s career choice in writing compared to Amir’s childhood

Kite Runner Q's Quart. #1

#1. How did Baba act towards Amir?
a) Tough
b)Distant
c) Somewhat awkward
d) All of the above

#2. T/F: They had a 2 month winter vacation.
T / F

#3. Short Answer: What were some symbols in this quarter?

#4. Amir was more excited about him and Hassan winning the Kite tournament than him finally earning his father's respect.
T / F

#5. How do the other children view Amir and Hassan's friendship?
a) None of the below
b) That they are great friends all of the time
c) They are not really friends at all
d) That Amir is secretly ashamed of Hassan being his friend

#6. Essay Question: What was the environment of Afghanistan in Amir's childhood compared to what it is in real life today?

Answers:::::
#1. D
#2. T
#3.
-Gifts from Baba are Baba's attempts to make Amir happy but really do the opposite
- The leather book was Amir's only place where he could get away and be himself without his father critizing him for writing.
-Kite Fighting was the friendship between Amir and Hassan but when they won, their friendship broke apart
#4. F
#5. D
#6.
-Peaceful quite city where everyone knows every one
-Now warzone where the Taliban rule and people are killed almost everyday
-Seems people get killed everyday
-Bad propaganda against them making them look like bad people now

Kite Runner

IT's no big deal but I already finished the book. This message is for all of the avid readers who come to my blog everyday, 3 times a day to read my thoughts on Kite Runner but whatever like I said it's no big deal, I'm just pretty awesome like that...end quote.