Spring Break Prompt 3

1991. Many plays and novels use contrasting places (for example, two countries, two cities or towns, two houses, or the land and the sea) to represent opposed forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of the work. Choose a novel or play that contrasts two such places. Write an essay explaining how the places differ, what each place represents, and how their contrast contributes to the meaning of the work.

In the novel, Kite Runner, the protagonist, Amir, lives in two separate places. He was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan, and later moved to a different location in America. Amir’s hometown of Kabul represents his culture and the conflicts that he had faced in the past, while America represents the new beginnings for him, the amends that he makes in order to redeem himself for his past actions.

Kabul represents the conflicts that Amir faced within Afghanistan. For example, at a young age, Amir was faced with deciding to do the right thing, risking getting beat up, yet standing up for his friend; or doing the wrong thing by being a bystander and watching the heinous crime take place. In the end, Amir had made the tragic decision to watch his closest friend get assaulted. This made Amir face many conflicts within himself of guilt and he ended up pushing away his best friend, Hassan, away because of it. Another conflict that Kabul represents for Amir would be his seemingly never-ending quest for his father’s approval. In Kabul, Amir’s father was a highly respected man who was well-known throughout their town for his courageous and generous behavior. Amir sought to receive his father’s recognition and he felt as though he received it by winning the Kite Running competition.

Amir made a transition to America from Kabul due to the war in Afghanistan. Amir and Baba made a new life in America, yet Amir still continued to follow in his father’s footsteps. Baba later died while in America and Amir finally struck out on his own. While in America, an old friend, Rahim Khan called Amir to tell him that there was a way for him to reconcile for everything that he had done in his past, mainly concerning Hassan. Amir discovers that Hassan was shot and his son was still alive. Amir then takes charge and redeems himself by getting Sohrab out of Kabul and bringing him back to America with him. America represents Amir’s actions of reconciling his sins that he committed against Hassan in his past. The ending of this novel even shows Sohrab and Amir flying a kite together just as Hassan and Amir had done as they were children, signifying that everything had been forgiven and returned to a state of balance.

Assignment 3

Miesha: "My Talent is Perserverance"
*What is your talent/gift?
*What are you going to do with it?
*Compare your talent with Miesha's

I certainly support Miesha's statement when she states that her talent is perseverance. It continues to amaze me at how each of these students have the ability to continue moving forward and achieving what they want, despite the hardships they face.

While Miesha believes that her talent is perseverance, I believe that my talent is music. From playing the viola to singing with a group of friends, I believe that I really show my talent in music. Starting in elementary school, I have participated in the music program and have continued to stay in it. I hope to continue to have music be a part of my life. I joined the Orchestra class in sixth grade, and immediately excelled in it. I haven't stopped playing since. I have managed to hold first seat violist throughout high school.

Music empowers me. It is the one subject in school that I could spend hours and hours of doing and never get tired of it. With my talent,I plan on continuing to practice music in order to enrich my life and the lives around me. I already do in my church by participating in the church choir through singing and playing the viola.

My talent in comparison with Miesha's is somewhat similar. In any activity that you pursue, there must be a large amount of perseverance mixed into it. Sure, I am a musically inclined individual; being able to hit each note on pitch and whatnot, but, it still takes a large amount of practice and perseverance to actually become good and hone your skills. Perseverance is a key part in success, in my case, being a successful musician.

Literary Connection: Jesus' Parable of the Talents NOTE: In ancient times, a measure of gold was called a talent: There once was a master and he had three servants. He goes on a trip and gives gold to each of them. The first one spends it having a good time, the second one purchases a rug in the market place. The third one goes out into the fields and buries it. When the master returns, he asks them what they did with the gold. The first one says, "I spent it and had a great time with my friends." The master says, "Very Good." The second one says, "I purchased a rug in the marketplace." The master says, "Very Good." The third one says, "Master, you will be most proud of me! I buried it in the fields and here it is!" The master beats him and send him out of his house.

What do you think is Jesus' point? What lesson does he teach and how does it connect to you and Miesha? How does this story work on more than one level?

The point that Jesus is trying to make would be that we are each given different talents, and that those talents must be shared and put to use, rather than be "buried in the fields." When you hide your talent and don't share it with others, you waste a talent.

This idea connects to Miesha in that she put her talent to use. Rather than hiding it and letting it go to waste, she put her talent of perseverance into her schoolwork and worked to succeed and get somewhere better in life. Miesha faced a very troubling childhood and was forced to deal with many hardships, but she used her talent of perseverance to get through it and continue to succeed in school despite the troubling circumstances around her.

The point that Jesus makes in this parable is connected to me as well because I have been given the talent of music. Rather than burying my talent in the dirt, I plan on sharing it with others and put my talent to good use. Just as Miesha uses her talent to succeed in what she does, I use my talent to enrich my life and the lives of the people around me.

This story works on more than one level because at the first level, you could perceive the story as telling us that burying the gold rather than spending it or putting it to good use is a waste. But, on a deeper level, the reader could perceive the lesson as being that Jesus has given us all different talents, and we must make sure that we put it to good use, rather than "bury it in the dirt." By putting our talents to good use, we can reap the benefits just as the first two servants had; one having a good time and the other a rug. So, by using our talents, we can receive more than what we can attain other benefits.

Prompt 1: Symbolism

Choose a symbol used in a novel or play of your choice and discuss its function in the world of the work.

In the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir faces two family conflictions; one with his father, and one with his "brother" Hassan. Hassan belongs to a minority group called the Hazara. These Hazaras are discriminated for their appearance and generally live as second-class citizens. Throughout this novel, Amir reveals his conflicts about Hassan and with his father through the symbol of the game, Kite Runner.

Kite running is a sort of sport in Afghanistan, and our protagonist, Amir, revels in it along with his brother Hassan. Amir and Hassan create their own homemade kite for the competition. This process of building the kite together symbolizes the friendship between Hassan and Amir. The sort of brotherhood between Hassan and Amir is also symbolized through the fact that they were both nursed from the same woman as well.

The class distinction between Amir and Hassan is also seen through the kite running. Amir controls the kite and holds onto the string of the kite, maneuvering it through the air to strike and cut down the other kites. While Hassan, is in charge of feeding more string to Amir and then running to retrieve the the opponent's kite in the streets.

Through the competition of Kite Running, Amir believes that it will be his chance to finally win his father's acceptance and attention, that he craves for. Amir believes that kite running will help him gain his manhood, to prove himself to his father. In the end, Amir and Hassan manage to be the last two kites remaining; there is only a blue kite and their own left. Amir successfully cuts this last kite, and Hassan promises Amir that he will catch that kite for him. While Amir believes that he has won his manhood by winning the competition, he soon loses it in the events that follow by not stepping forward to protect his friend, the true kite runner.

Therefore, the symbolism of the game kite running is a significant symbol throughout this entire book. Kite running helped explain Amir's story throughout the book, about the different class distinctions between himself and Amir, the bond they shared as brothers, and the final betrayal Amir had done to Hassan. However, Amir redeems himself later on in the book, the final act being Amir flying the kite with Hassan's son, Sohrab.

Assigntment #2

Period 4 Assignment #2: After reading this book review, what do you think your experience reading this book is going to be like? Do you tend to look at book reviews before you purchase a book? Do you use book reviews to influence your book purchases? Are you more apt to listen to a friend who recommends a book to you? Your response should be at least 250 words.

After reading this book review, I was pretty confident that I would enjoy the book And Still We Rise. I felt compelled to read such a thoroughly enjoyed book from reading his review. Like Welch, I live in a community where we take things for granted pretty often. Many of us complain about how our parents did not get us what we wanted for Christmas or will not get us that new shiny car; we are ignorant of the fact that many people face hardships that are on such a greater magnitude than our own. From what I have read so far in this book, I have felt extremely selfish because I am one of these people that complain about what I have to face, when in reality, my troubles are nothing compared to what these students must go through on a daily basis.

I do not tend to look at book reviews before purchasing a book. I mainly go off what I hear from my peers and teachers. I feel as though my peers and teachers have more knowledge on what I would like to read or share the same interests in books as I do, and so I mostly go off what my friends say about different books. However, after reading this book review, I probably should begin to do some research on a book before I actually buy it. If I had not been assigned to read And Still We Rise I probably would have overlooked it and went for something else. Especially after reading this book review, I am excited to read how the story unfolds and the outcome of each of the student’s journeys through their final year in high school.

Assignment 1

Read pages 1 - 61 in the text! Write a response to the 1st 61 pages with this prompt: What is Crenshaw High School like in comparision to Mililani High School? You may write in terms of the community, the layout/enviornment of the school, and the students/faculty/teachers? This needs to be at least 300 words. You may use quotes from the text to support you.

Crenshaw High school has many differences when compared with Mililani High School. One main difference that is quite apparent is that the environment of Crenshaw High School is much more hostile than the one at Mililani High School. Students at the Crenshaw High School have to face things such as gang fights and lots of vandalized property, while the worst thing that Mililani High School students have to worry about on a daily basis would be the unusual weather. Vandalized property at Crenshaw High School is so bad that it is said that the school smells of freshly painted paint because custodians at the school always have to be at the ready to cover up some new graffiti.

Crenshaw High School students are often involved in gangs as well. Sadifuku is an example of a student that attends Crenshaw High School and was involved in gang activity. Mililani High School has no gangs, granted, there are social factions such as the jocks, geeks, nerds, band kids, etc. But, there are no violent groups that are opposed to each other like the gangs in Crenshaw High School. The level of violence between gangs is so high that while Sadi was involved in gangs, he experienced the death of one of his friends who had the unfortunate incident of being shot by a rival tagging crew called Nothing But Trouble.

At Crenshaw High School, there are a few policemen on campus because of the need to restrict the violence of the gangs on campus. Mililani High School rarely has cops on campus unless there is some sort of lock down drill or something relative to that. Students at Crenshaw High School, especially the students that have been introduced thus far, have to face many more obstacles than the students at Mililani High School. They each have their own tragic story, such as Olivia, who was beaten by her mother and has to work to sustain the life that she wants to lead.