Wednesday, December 21, 2011

ACE 21 December 2011 Kite Runner Reflections



I enjoyed the story Kite Runner very much. There were many themes in Kite Runner, such as family, friendship, betrayal, guilt, love, redemption and acceptance. The author of Kite Runner is Khaled Hosseini, who is also the author of the famous book A Thousand Splendid Suns. The story Kite Runner is full of suspense and has complex yet interesting characters. The story is set in Afghanistan and tells the story of how the main character, Amir, deals with his past and how his past has shaped him into the man he is today. After reading Kite Runner, I have now learned more about Afghan history and culture and I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read.

Monday, December 19, 2011

ACE 20 December 2011- Kite Runner Chapter 13-25 Summary

Chapter 13
Amir and Soraya are married. She moves in with Amir and Baba because Baba is so sick. She takes care of Baba and reads stories to him. He dies one month later in his sleep. Amir finishes his first novel in 1988 and the book is released the following year. The couple attempt to have a baby for a year but are unsuccessful and decide to try in-vitro fertilization. They consider adoption, but General Taheri does not approve of this and in the end, they do not adopt a child.

Chapter 14
Amir tells Soraya that he has to go to Pakistan to visit Rahim Khan, who is very sick. Rahim Khan knows all about Hassan, and how he is Amir’s brother and will soon tell him. Rahim Khan, has also always known about the circumstances surrounding Hassan, being raped, and what Amir did in order to get Hassan and Ali out of his life. Amir finally decides to go to Pakistan and visit Rahim Khan.

Chapter 15
Amir returns to Pakistan and sees an ill Rahim Khan, who tells Amir about the unbearable life of Afghans under Taliban rule. Rahim Khan was happy at first when the Taliban defeated the Russian soldiers because he thought life in Kabul would improve. Most people felt this way because they thought the fighting would stop. Rahim Khan tells Amir that Hassan lived with him in Baba’s house in Kabul after he left. He says he wants to tell Amir about Hassan.

Chapter 16
Rahim Khan found Hassan in 1986. Hassan was married and his wife was expecting a baby. Ali had been killed by a land mine. Hassan and his wife decide to move with Rahim Khan, but will only live in the hut and work as servants. Hassan’s mother returns to see him, disfigured from a recent knife attack. They nurse her back to health. Hassan’s wife gave birth to a son named Sohrab, and his mother died 4 years later. Hassan taught his son to be a kite runner, but alas the Taliban banned kite fighting shortly after taking power. Many of the Hazars were killed.

Chapter 17
Amir asks where Hassan can be found. Rahim Khan hands him a picture of Hassan and his son and a letter. In the letter, Hassan tells him about living under Taliban rule and his family. Hassan clearly wishes to see his friend Amir. A month after Rahim Khan left for Pakistan, Taliban officers came to take the house. Hassan refused to leave. He and his wife were shot dead. Rahim Khan asks Amir to go to Kabul and bring 10 year old Sohrab to him. He also tells Amir that Ali was sterile, and that Hassan was also Baba’s son, without Hassan knowing.

Chapter 18
Amir feels angry and betrayed by his father. Amir decides to go to Kabul.

Chapter 19
Amir enters Afghanistan with the help of Farid, a man born with privelige. Farid takes Amir to Wahid's house. There, Amir is served a dinner, which he offers to share with Wahid's children. Amir notices that the children are staring at his watch. During dinner, Amir reveals to Wahid and his family that he has returned to Afghanistan in order to rescue his half brother's son. Later on, he overhears Wahid and his wife arguing that they had to give food to Amir since he was a guest, even though they barely had any food for themselves. Farid thinks better of him when he learns why he is going to Kabul. Farid and Amir leave the house, and Amir gives his watch to one of the children. However, Amir realizes the kids weren't staring at his watch at all, they were staring at his food. At the end of the chapter, Amir puts money under his matress for the children to find and buy food with.

Chapter 20
Ami and Faridr enter Kabul and manages locate the orphanage where Sohrab has been living. Amir convinces the director to help them find Sohrab by referring to his skills with the slingshot. When the director lets Amir and Farid in, he regretfully informs Amir that a Talib Official had come to the orphanage and bought Sohrab. Farid is furious about this, and accuses the director of selling the children to make a profit. He then begins to strangle the director until Amir intervenes. The director informs Farid and Amir that he has no choice but to sell some of the children. He says that if he refused, the Taliban would take as many children as they want instead. He adds that he had spent his life savings on the orphanage, and instead of escaping to Pakistan like many others did, he chose to stay and run the orphanage. The director then instructs Amir and Farid to go to Ghazi stadium, and look for the Talib official with the black sunglasses, this man will know where Sohrab is.

Chapter 21
Amir and Farid visit Amir's childhood home, and they find his neighborhood is now home to the rich Taliban. The next day, they go to Ghazi Stadium to find the official who bought Sohrab. The stadium is filled with people watching soccer. During halftime, a man and a woman are stoned to death for adultery on the field by a man in white and wearing sunglasses, who was none other than the Taliban official. Amir and Farid arrange for a three o’clock appointment with the official.

Chapter 22
Amir goes in alone to see the official and is verbally abused and threatened by the official, who instructs guards to bring Sohrab to the room. He looks just like Hassan. Sohrab is dressed almost like a court jester, wearing make-up, and forced to dance whenever music is played. The official asks Amir where “babalu” is, in reference to Ali. He removes his glasses, and Amir realizes the official is actually Assef. Assef says he can have Sohrab, but first he has to earn him. Assef tells his guards not to come in the room, no matter what they hear. He and Amir have unsettled business. Only one of them will come out alive. If it is Amir, then the guards will have to let Amir and Sohrab go. Assef beats Amir badly, breaking his nose and teeth. Amir starts laughing. He believes it is funny how just now that he is being beaten up he finally feels comfort. His laughing angers Assef more. The fight ends when Sohrab points his slingshot at Assef, who lunges at Sohrab. Sohrab’s shot takes out Assef’s eye. Sohrab helps Amir out of the house and Farid drives them away.

Chapter 23
Amir wakes up two days later in a hospital with severe injuries from his fight with Asseff. Rahim Khan has left town, leaving a letter for Amir. He tells Amir that he should forgive himself for what happened to Hassan and he should also forgive Baba someday. Baba was torn between two sons and took out his frustration on Amir. Rahim Khan also leaves his money in a safe deposit box for Amir. Amir has to be moved soon because the Taliban are looking for him. Amir and Sohrab converse and get to know each other for a while. Amir then takes Sohrab to Islamabad.

Chapter 24
Amir wakes up one night to find that Sohrab is gone. He finds him by the mosque. Sohrab says he is beginning to forget what his parents look like. Sohrab is ashamed of what Assef did to him. Amir offers to take him to live with him in America. Amir calls his wife and tells her about Hassan, what happened in Kabul, and his desire to adopt Sohrab. A man at the American Embassy in Islamabad says adopting Sohrab is impossible, due to the fact that Amir would need death certificates of his parents, when most people in Afghanistan hardly had birth certificates. Also, he would need to prove that Sohrab is really his half nephew, which was nearly impossible as well. However, he still gives them the name of an immigration lawyer. Amir meets with the lawyer who says Sohrab may have to wait in an orphanage. He is willing to help. Later, Amir tells Sohrab that he would need to go to an orphanage again. Terrified, Sohrab becomes very upset. Later that night, Sohrab was taking a bath; Amir enters to talk with Sohrab, but finds that he has slit one of his wrists with a razorblade.

Chapter 25
Sohrab tries to commit suicide rather than be put in an orphanage. He survives, but he tells Amir he wishes that he had died. Amir and Sohrab go home to America. At a party thrown by the American Afghan community, Amir buys Sohrab a kite. The two of them kite fight together and win. Just as he and Hassan had done years earlier Amir is now Sohrab’s kite runner.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

ACE 19 December 2011- Kite Runner Chapter 1-12 Summary

Chapter 1
The narrator, Amir, recalls a day in the winter of 1975 that changes his life. Amir also recalls about a phone call he received the summer before from his friend Rahim Khan, who requests that Amir visit him in Pakistan. Amir now lives in San Fransisco.

Chapter 2
Hassan is introduced in this chapter. Hassan is one of Amir’s childhood friends and his father Ali works for Amir’s father, who Amir calls Baba. Amir’s father is well-to-do and they own an estate in an affluent neighborhood in northern Kabul.

Chapter 3
Amir wants to be closer to his father Baba, but he fears that Baba blames him for his wife’s death, as she died while giving birth to Amir. Amir overhears a conversation between Rahim Khan and Baba, in which Baba says that Amir does not stand up for himself, while Rahim just says that Amir lacks a mean streak. This causes Amir to start feeling jealous and snap at Rahim.

Chapter 4
Baba’s father adopted Ali and raised both Ali and Baba. In the present day, Ali and Hassan work as Baba’s servants and are very grateful to him. Amir goes to school while Hassan does not. Once, Amir told a story to Hassan who said he enjoyed it very much, and wished for Amir to write more stories. Amir thus wrote his first story and showed it to Baba, however he was not interested. After reading the story to Hassan, Hassan manages to point out a problem in the plot, which angers Amir as he goes to school while Hassan does not.

Chapter 5
While Amir and Hassan are talking, they hear an explosion and gunfire and encounter the school bully Asseff. Asseff hates Hassan because he is a another type of Muslim known as Hazara. Asseff is half German and he feels that the prime minister should get rid of the Hazaras. Hassan takes out a slingshot and Asseff backs off. For Hassan’s 12th birthday party, Baba arranges for Hassan to undergo a surgery to remove his left cleft lip, and after the surgery it is hardly visible.

Chapter 6
During a cold months, school is shut down. Kites are a popular activity and both Baba and Amir are interested in kites. Kabul organizes a kite-fighting tournament, and Baba takes Hassan and Amir to have their kites made.

Chapter 7
In the end, Amir wins the tournament and wonders if Baba was proud of him as he was observing the tournament. Later, Amir finds Hassan cornered by Asseff and his friends, who beat him up. However, Amir was too scared to intervene, and later when he saw Hassan, he pretended he did not witness what had happened. Amir gives the kite he won to Baba, who said that he was proud of Amir.

Chapter 8
Baba now spends more time with Amir and takes him out on a few outings. Hassan attempts to be friendly with Amir once again but is pushed away by Amir as he feels guilty for not helping Hassan on the night of the kite fight. Amir angers Baba by asking him if he ever thought about getting new servants. Baba throws a huge thirteenth birthday party for Amir. Asseff presents Amir with a gift- a biography of Hitler, who Asseff adores as his idol.. Rahim Khan tells Amir that he can talk to him anytime and gives a blank book for writing.

Chapter 9
Amir realizes that he cannot live with Hassan anymore. Amir lies and tells Baba that Hassan stole his birthday money and watch, a gift from his father. Baba talks to Ali, and then confronts Hassan with Amir. Hassan admits to stealing to protect Amir. Amir realizes that Hassan knew everything- including his hiding behind the wall instead of helping him. Baba surprises Amir by forgiving Hassan. Ali tells Baba they are leaving. Baba begs them to stay, but they leave. This is the first time Amir sees Baba cry. Baba drives Ali and Hassan to the bus station.

Chapter 10
In March of 1981, Amir and Baba flee Kabul secretly as Russian spies lurk everywhere and head for Pakistan. At the border, they are stopped by soldiers. Baba protests and the young soldier pulls a gun on Baba, who won’t back down. An older officer stops the younger soldier and allows them to pass. The group is supposed to change vehicles, but the second truck has been broken for weeks. Baba nearly kills the man when he realizes the man only transported them for the money. They will have to wait for the truck to be repaired, along with thirty other refugees. In the basement, they meet Kamal and his father, friends from Kabul. All of the refugees are transported in a fuel truck to Pakistan. Kamal dies during the trip, apparently from gas fumes. Kamal’s father kills himself because he feels that he just lost his last valuable aspect in life.

Chapter 11
Baba and Amir settle in Fremont, California. Baba does not fit in and is not happy working at a gas station. Amir graduates High School in 1983 at the age of 20, after graduation Baba takes him out to dinner and then to a bar where they drink. Amir displeases his father when he tells him he wants to major in English in college. After that, Amir meets Soraya, the daughter of Baba’s old friend, General Taheri.

Chapter 12
Amir wants to get to know Soraya better and lets her read one of his stores. However, General Taheri spots them and throws Amir’s story away. Baba is diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, but refuses treatment and collapses due to a seizure at the flea market. Soraya and her family visit Baba. Days later, Baba arranges Amir’s engagement to Soraya.

Friday, December 16, 2011

SC 16 December 2011










Today, I did Science Chemistry questions on Mixtures, Solutions and Separation Techniques. I feel more confident now in doing these type of questions.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

SC 14 December 2011










Today, I did Science Chemistry questions on Mixtures, Solutions and Separation Techniques. I feel more confident now in doing these type of questions.

SC 13 December 2011










Today, I did Science Chemistry questions on Elements and Compounds. I feel more confident now in doing these type of questions.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

SC 9 December 2011












Today, I did Science Chemistry questions on Elements and Compounds. I feel more confident now in doing these type of questions.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

SC 8 December 2011










Today, I did Science Chemistry questions on Mixtures, Solutions and Separation Techniques. I feel more confident now in doing these type of questions.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

SC 7 December 2011












Today, I did Science Chemistry questions on Solvents, Solutes, Acids, Bases and Alkalis. I feel more confident now in doing these type of questions.