Goblet of Fire: Week 7, Post B

I think now I'd like to talk about ethics, and how it's portrayed in our lives and literature. First, the tie in the Harry Potter. During the novel, Hagrid, the groundskeeper, talks to Harry, and tells him to come to his house at midnight, that he has something to show him. When Harry arrives, Hagrid takes Harry as well as the head of an opposing school into the forest, where he shows them dragons, the subject of the secret first task. When Harry is leaving, he sees the head of another school heading into the woods, apparently going to see the dragons as well. Harry, realizing that Cedric, the other Hogwarts champion, has not seen the dragons, he quickly informs him. Now all the champions know before the event.

Harry says it's "only fair" that Cedric knows, stating the fact that everyone else has already heard of what's to come. However, is something fair just because everyone is doing/seeing it? The task was supposed to be secret...Shouldn't it stay a secret?

I think that because Harry was taken there without his consent, as was Madame Maxime, their guilt is justified. In this situation, I think it WAS fair for Harry to tell Cedric, otherwise it would be unfair to NOT know, not the other way around. However, Hagrid should have never taken Harry to see the dragons--Hagrid is the one at fault. If one champion unintentionally sees the task, all champions have the right to know--Although the problem would be better avoided in the first place.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Week 7, Post A

Well, I finished the Kite Runner, so now I get to blog on whatever, and this is what I'm reading right now.

VOCAB

Beauxbatons: Though it's a school in the book, the term roughly translates to "beautiful stick/wand" in french, which fits considering their coat of arms contains 2 wands, and they're all portrayed as beautiful.

Durmstrang: Strang, meaning storm, and Durm meaning urge, in German, fit considering the school is supposed to be tough and violent.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

"The faces in the portraits turned to look at him as he entered" (273). I suppose this is a personification, since pictures can't look at you. But then again, in Hogwarts they can.

"Giving him the most skull-like appearance" (277). This is a simile because it uses like to compare Mr. Crouch to a skeleton when standing in the shadows.

"A living room on wheels" (245). This is a metaphor since it compares the Beauxbaton carriage to a living room, which scares me a little, but all right.

QUOTE

"And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out--Harry Potter!" (271). This was big, because it was when Harry was picked as the 4th champion. You kinda knew he was going to be in the plot somehow, but still this came as a surprise. The first time. Not this time. This is like my 10th time reading it.

THEME

No matter what, the main character is always going to be in the big event--Not just in this book, but still, never bet against the main character finding away into the mix, especially when the book is named after him. An age restriction, limit on the number of competitors, and the fact that he didn't enter didn't even stop him from joining the tournament.

The Kite Runner: Week 6, Post B

Final thoughts on the book:



One of the words I've been using throughout the book has been a simple one: "wow." The ending really draws the same emotion-- though I'll admit I have a slight feeling that it could have been better. I've been moved intensly over the course of the book...From the intro of the characters, to the happiness after Amir's kite-cutting championship, to the terror when Hassan is cornered- it's all been quite a wild ride.

I'm just going to get it out there right now though-I was fairly annoyed with the ending. Really annoyed? No. Annoyed enough to make me dislike the book? No. But...something deep down made me not like the ending. With Amir kite-running in the end with his "son"...it's all cute and things, but for some reason, it didn't seem complete. Sohrab, to me, wasn't a complete character after he stopped speaking. He didn't convey emotion, he simply annoyed me, and I know it sounds wrong but it's true. I felt terrible for him after Amir said he had to go back to the orphanage--terribly, actually-- but I don't think not speaking was the best solution-for the character or the author.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It's definetly one of the best books I've ever read, and though it may not be the top of the list, it's up there, and I will for sure read it again. A true classic.

The Kite Runner: Week 6, Post A

VOCAB

Carafe (313): A bottle used to hold beverages, usually wine or coffee

Trellis (352): A form of latticework used as a support for plants.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

"That's how children deal with terror. They fall asleep" (342). This book is filled with irony, in a sad way of course. This is no exception, since after this scare we never hear Sohrab speak again. It's his way of dealing with terror.

"the hospital was a maze of teeming, angled hallways" (350). This is a metaphor comparing the crazy, passage-filled hospital to a maze, making it tough for people to find their way.

"by the whooshing ventilator beside the bed" (350). This is an onomatopoeia because the word "whooshing" sounds like the action.

QUOTE

"Later, they said I was still screaming when the ambulance arrived" (343). I won't lie: This was the closest I came to crying while reading. And while I'm not quite there, something pangs inside me every time I re-read this part. It's just so sad and so intense...I feel bad for both Sohrab and for Amir.

THEME

There is a way to be good again. This was used in the book during a phone message from Rahim Khan to Amir, and I think it's true: No matter who you were, you can always change.

The Kite Runner: Week 5, Post B

"Earlier, when I was sure no one was looking, I did something I had done 26 years earlier: I planted a fistful of crumpled money under a mattress" (242).

Wow. Like I said in my last post, I really like this quote, and it really made me smile-- I was so amazed at not only how much Amir has been through, but how deep writing can be.
First, what it means. After witness the brutal rape of his friend Hassan, Amir decides to break off contact with him. Hassan, however, being the kind person that he is, still wants to hang out with Amir and talks to him daily. Unknowingly, this brings out even more guilt in Amir and he feels he must rectify the situation by getting rid of Hassan. He plants money under Hassan's bed in an attempt to frame him for a theft he did not committ. The only problem came when Hassan admitted to stealing the money, and is allowed to continue living with Amir's family.
Amir does the same thing this time, only with different intent. He stays for a night with the family of Farid (Amir's drivers)'s brother. That night, while eating, Hassan sees the children in the house looking at his watch, and he later gives it to them. Unfortuantly, he realizes it was not the watch the children were admiring but the food set next to his hand-- The children could not eat in order to give Amir a proper meal. Feeling guilty, Amir places money under the matress of the family before he leaves.
Long summary? Yes. But I feel a proper build-up is needed if the quote is going to be fully understood. This quote was possibly my favorite of the novel-- it made me feel good, seeing that Amir had such kindness even after what he had been through and done.
Finally, I'd just like to touch on how many emotions literature can bring about. While I wasn't quite going to tears, this story easily can bring many people to cry--It's just that good. There's time when you laugh, when you smile, when you grimace and when you are at the point of tears. It's rare you read a novel this good, and I'm glad to have chosen it.

The Kite Runner: Week 5, Post A

VOCAB

Sultry (224): Hot with passion or anger
Cursory (230): Rapidly and often superficially performed or produced

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

"The signs had been there for me to see all along, they came flying back at me now" (224). This is a personification because it gives human like traits to the tell-tale signs depicting Hassan and Amir as brothers.

"[...] that I would wade back into that great, big river and let myself forget" (231). This is imagry and a metaphor in a way, because he's causing his potential forgetfulness and oblivious beahvior a river, which he must not fall into.

"I saw chains of little villages [...] like discarded toys among the rocks" (231). This is a similie because it uses like to compare the small, haunting Afgahn towns to toys, forgotten.

QUOTE

"Earlier, when I was sure no one was looking, I did something I had done 26 years earlier: I planted a fistful of crumpled money under a mattress" (242). I may analyze this further for my post B, but I really liked this quote-- it showed how Amir has changed and grown as a person, and how he still remembers what it's like to be in need, and so he helps out.

THEME

Sometimes, the things we dread the most are the things we must do, which is shown as Amir dreads going to find Hassan's son, yet does it anyway.

The Kite Runner: Week 4, Post B

"I opened the door and turned to him. 'Why? What can you possibly say to me? I'm thirty-eight years old and I've just found out that my whole life is one big f-----g lie! What can you possible say to make things better? Nothing. Not a goddamn thing!'" (223).

While we had always, as readers, seen how close Hassan and Amir were as they grew up. However, I don't think anyone couldn't be shocked when they read this part in the novel and realized that they were in fact half-brothers. They had always said it was "like they were brothers," but this goes beyond that. Amir had been lied to his entire life, and that has to hurt. Although to be honest I don't know what it would exactly be like, I can imagine that realizing something that important that late in life would be traumatizing.
What also made this worse for Amir was the fact that he now has to deal with the fact that he watched his brother get raped and did nothing, then intentionally got rid of him. He feels that everything is magnified due to the fact that the person he hung out with all of his young life is in fact his own brother. They said that when you're breast-fed from the same woman, you're like brothers. But when you're from the same father, you ARE brothers. And the truth hurts.

The Kite Runner: Week 4, Post A

VOCAB

Temperament: (211) Constitution of a substance, body, or organism with respect to the mixture or balance of its elements, qualities, or parts. (Complexion, makeup)

Tenets: (189) A principal or belief.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

"The city was bursting with sounds..." (196). This is a personification since the city cannot be bursting with sounds. This is also important in the book because it's when he returns to Afghanistan.

"Then, a thing made of skin and bones pretending to be Rahim Kahn opened the door" (197). This is imagery, since it gives us a feel about Rahim Kahn right from the top, although it's admittedly not a good one.

"Those thorny old barbs of guilt bore into me once more..." (202). This is personification, giving the guilt of Amir about the rape of his friend the ability to cause pain, which I'm sure in some ways they do.

QUOTE

"Then Rahim Kahn sipped some more tea. Rested his head against the wall, and spoke"  (202). This is an important quote, because it starts Rahim Kahn's story about everything, about all that's happened since Amir left and what happened with Hassan.

THEME

Years can separate people physically, but true friends can never be fully separated. This is true in the case of both Rahim Kahn and Hassan, where distance does not end the relationship.