Re-creative writing with commentary Khaled Hosseini The Kite Runner
Re-creative writing with commentary - Khaled Hosseini 'The Kite Runner' Re-creative writing - Hassan's thoughts after he is raped in Chapter 7 Winter 1975 I opened my eyes. They were gone- Wali, Kamal and the monster with the shiny brass knuckles. The pain from the lower half of my body ran through me like an electric pulse. It was more painful than anything I had ever felt before, the physical agony was bad but the mental torment was unbearable. I felt violated, dirty and never had I felt more alone. As a Hazara I was constantly treated as nothing but filth- 'slant-eyed donkey' they called me. The monster called me. Its brutal words clawed their way into my mind, 'rid Afghanistan of all the dirty, kasseef Hazaras'. The talons of the past were tearing their way into my head but I managed to fight them off, just for an instant, by turning my thoughts to Amir. My friend Amir and his bright blue kite, for which I had made my sacrifice. The kite! Had the monster taken it? I used my cold, bleeding hands to lift myself from the rubble, a sharp piece of rock slicing me as I did so- the very foundations of Kabul punishing me for my ethnicity. I frantically searched for the kite and for a fleeting moment I forgot my torment as I saw the blue kite shining in the corner, a vivid sight prominent amidst the dullness of the muddy alley, silently lingering- waiting for its new owner. I
Write a critical appreciation of Saki's Shredni Vashtar putting it in the context of your reading in the Gothic tradition.
Write a critical appreciation of Saki's Shredni Vashtar putting it in the context of your reading in the Gothic tradition. "Shredni Vashtar " (1910) is a story of relationships and escape. It is an example of "equivocal gothic", according to Montague Summers categorizations in his essay "The Gothic Quest: A history of the Gothic novel" (1938). The story is typical to the Gothic genre as it contains ideas of exploring the unconscious, and the idea of metaphorical constraints (like those of Conradin due to his illness and his controlling guardian) represented by physical and literal constraints (like that of Shredni Vashter). Conradin is a curious character, who's reality seems to drive him into his own imagination, as he feels happier in his own world than in the world of Mrs. De Ropp. Freud in his works spoke about two major principles, the "pleasure principle" which opposes the "reality principle". Conradin bases his life on the principle of escaping his reality in search of happiness and pleasure in his own world Perhaps Conradin's "masking" of his dislike for Mrs. De Ropp is an element of "the pleasure principle" which avoids conflict and displeasure in favour of gratification and happiness. Gothic novels are often praised for exploring (and often prematurely) ideas, which Freud explored and legitimised. An important element of Gothic is infertility, as it represents
Story opening
He walked towards the house holding his briefcase tightly, his fist clenched. 'This is the last time,' thought Rudi as he walked up the front path, 'next time the boss can do his own dirty work!' Rudi walked up to the front door and knocked three times. There was no reply. He rang the bell. No answer. He looked around him, pulled on his gloves, picked up the biggest rock he could find and threw it through the window in the front door. Rudi knocked the rest of the glass from the window then glanced around him again. Was it just him or was it rather cold tonight? The street was eerily silent. Rudi put his arm through the window and pushed down the handle. Nothing. He put down his briefcase and kicked the door lock as hard as he could. The door swung open. Rudi glanced round again expecting to hear someone yell after him. He picked up his briefcase and went inside. 'It's clean. Almost too clean,' thought Rudi as he walked down the hall and into the kitchen at the end. The surfaces sparkled, the floor shone and nothing was out of place. It looked just like a newly built show home. Rudi laughed as he walked back into the hall and made his way to the living room. Behind the picture of the family....... He entered the room and looked around him. It was nice and cosy, not too big and not too small with deep red walls and a lovely, big, old fashioned fireplace was the centre piece on
Fly Away Peter - What does Jim learn from the War?
What does Jim Learn from his experiences of war? In the novel, "Fly Away Peter," the character Jim's entire vision of life changes from the moment the war enters his life. As well as him learning of possibilities entirely new to him, Jim's view of life and an individuals place in it develops through his experiences in Europe. In this essay, I will explore the discoveries that Jim makes over time on his journey from the sanctuary that is Australia into unknown hell of the war, and how he makes the change from a youth at the start of the novella to a man who feels "immeasurably old." At the start of the novella, Jim's view of the world is limited. Australia is a womb like sanctuary to him - a seemingly timeless place that both changes and always remains the same, where Jim is protected from the harsh realities of life and can pursue his love of birds. The land is literally a sanctuary for the birds but also a sanctuary for him. Jim holds the birds in wonderment: they are so small and could be crushed by him without him thinking, yet they are able to see the entire world in their tiny eyes and store in their mind a map of this world, so that when they next migrate, they can remember their way. This world of the impotence that Jim feels he has in comparison to the power of birds is the one that is established quickly in the opening chapters of the novella, one that Jim has
Baba and America - the novel explains the statement Baba loved the idea of America. It was living in America that gave him an ulcer by depicting Baba as a person who was more dependent on Afghanistan and its culture than he first believed.
Throughout 'The Kite runner' Baba's character is portrayed as that of a man used to having the respect of others and someone who has strong beliefs and ideals that do not always coincide with those around him. After setting up an orphanage in town, something that gains him yet more respect, he tells Amir to 'Piss on the beards on those self-righteous monkeys'. Baba is referring to the Islamic teachers in Amir's school and we can see that Baba is very much his own man, not somebody who likes the idea of there being something greater than him. As a reader, we see Baba's character through Amir's eyes and his strong opinions prove him to be somebody who follows his own morals, meaning that he is not a sheep within the Afghanistan culture and does not easily succumb to pressure of those around him. This character portrayal means that readers see Baba as almost a revolutionary in some sense; although he is affluent and well-respected he is not scared to share opinions which more often than not are not in agreement with people who have a similar status in society to him. This portrayal is important in the novel because it allows us to believe the first part of Amir's statement in chapter 11, that 'Baba loved the idea of America.' As the novel progresses through Amir's childhood we can see the appeal of American society on a character like Baba, a society not grounded by religion and
To The Lighthouse--symbols & parallel
Symbols and Parallels "To the lighthouse" is a highly symbolic book with different symbols and parallels. Symbols refer to objects, characters, setting and plot that we can add meaning to them to show the themes and focus of the book. Parallels showed repeating development of objects, characters, setting, plot and symbols that has a purpose to show certain meanings. The symbols and parallels will be discussed in this essay together with their significance to the themes and meaning of the book. To start with, the title "To the lighthouse" is a symbol itself. Lighthouse refers to the vision and purpose of life of one self. "To the lighthouse" is a physical journey to the lighthouse of the Ramsay's family. But its symbolic meaning is the spiritual awakening of characters in the book in search of their meaning and purpose in life. For example, the Ramsay's family did go to the lighthouse at the end of the book. But what is more is their spiritual journey that reached reconciliation of the parent-child conflict. Cam and James disliked Mr Ramsay in part I that James imagined to kill his father with an axe handy. They are being inspired by the death of three Ramsay members during the war that changes their attitude towards life. Mr Ramsay was able to acknowledge his own self as a man who had reached Q and father in the family. He did not show his disguise anymore as he could regard
How does Hosseini tell the story in Chapter 7 of The Kite Runner?
Chapter 7 is a pivotal chapter in "The Kite Runner" as the harrowing rape incident shapes the rest of the novel and it is this chapter where Amir's journey to redemption begins. Hosseini tells the story in chapter 7 by developing major themes that are evident throughout the novel. The symbolism of the kites, the state of Afghanistan, friendship, sin, dreams, violence and betrayal are all interwoven by Hosseini in this chapter in order to portray the incident in the most emotionally effective way possible. As indicated by the title, Kites play a very symbolic role in the novel and are used by Hosseini as a tool to explore a variety of issues. The kite itself is used by the writer in chapter 7 as a visual depiction of the spiritual journey that Amir is going to take in order to find redemption within himself. Also, the kite competition reinforces an issue that is prevalent throughout the novel- which is the treatment of Hazaras in Afghanistan during the time the novel is set and also the suggestion that Amir and Hassan can never be true friends because of their differing positions is society. Instead of having an equal relationship, due to the discrimination that existed in Afghanistan against the Hazaras, Amir and Hassan's friendship seems to have strong aspects of a servant-master relationship. This is proven by the fact that Amir flies the kite in the competition every year
Explore the devices used by Wharton to communicate character of Ethan Frome in the opening of the novel
Explore the devices used by Wharton to communicate character of Ethan Frome in the opening of the novel The opening line of Ethan Frome suggests an unreliable narrator, 'I had the story, bit by bit, from various people', thus suggesting that the story of Ethan Frome shouldn't be taken at face value and that interpretations should be based on the reliability of the narrator. In addition to this, the narrator, who is never named, appears to air a sense of superiority, 'Though Harmon Gow developed the tale as far as his mental and moral reach permitted', the narrator has made a judgement on somebody he barely knew and therefore highlighting a definite sense of judgement and superiority in his persona. Wharton communicates a sense of failure on Ethan's part by describing him as, 'but the ruin of a man.', the use of the word 'ruin' suggests that the foundations were laid for Ethan to become a great man and achieve something life, yet he had let life erode him away to nothing but a 'ruin'. There is also a suggestion that there has always been something preventing Ethan from completing his ambitions; 'each step like the jerk of a chain' is almost as though there is something tied around Ethan averting him from breaking away. The suggestion of failure or incompletion is emphasised with 'smash-up', the use of the word smash provokes a sense of utter destruction and of something that
How does Khaled Hosseini tell the story in chapter 4 of The Kite Runner?
How does Khaled Hosseini tell the story in chapter 4 of The Kite Runner? Khaled Hosseini in Chapter 4 of his allegorical novel The kite runner starts the chapter off using a telling method to inform the readers who Ali was using a first person narrative. In this chapter we see that Amir's father Baba does not want his son to do poetry, rather he wants him to manly things like Hassan who is Amir's dearest friend. The reader also sees how the young Amir continues to struggle with his inability to please Baba, making him jealous of anyone who recieves Baba's attention. Hooseini in this chapter shows the readers that the difference of characters two friends had, the use of contrast that Hosseni also used was of their etnicity and religious and how Amir always knew he was much superior to Hassan even at a very young age as Amir states "...and no history, ethnicity, society or religion was going to change that either". Amir begins the chapter describing the story of how with the order of his grandfather they took Ali in and made him their slave when his mother and father died as he says "told other servents to tutor him, but to be kind to him. That boy was Ali." Hosseni shows us through showing method that Amir has inner conflict as he is confused whether he should call Hassan his friend or not, one of the things that make him confused is because even Baba never referred to Ali
The Lonely Londoners Analysis. From the first section of this extract it is apparent that racism is a key theme and that it will be widely used throughout as a young child says to his or her mother mummy, look at that black man
The Lonely Londoners From the first section of this extract it is apparent that racism is a key theme and that it will be widely used throughout as a young child says to his or her mother "mummy, look at that black man" as it was a "little child" that said it suggest the innocence of the comment and also that they do not know any difference. Galahad does not appear to take offence to the child's remarks as he replies with "what a sweet child!" the way he states how sweet the child is, again, highlights the racism. It also sounds slightly sarcastic as if he is implying that the child is not sweet at all. However, the way he says what a sweet child may suggest that, deep down, the comments do affect him as he says it "putting on the old English accent implying that he is desperate to fit in and is possibly ashamed of his culture due to the remarks he has received throughout his life. The way he says it also emphasises the divide between reality and appearance; reality being what has just happened and appearance being that he tries to fit appear 'normal' and fit in but in reality he never will in the situation he is in. A metaphor is used to highlight that Galahad is not affected by the racism: "when rain fall - everything running off" entailing the idea that maybe he has had so many racial remarks towards him nothing really affects him anymore. Galahad personifies the colour