SUMMER TASK : KITE RUNNER: JOURNAL ENTRY CHAP 1 TO 10

To be recorded in an electronic folder in your device and posted on THIS  blog.

LEARNER PORTFOLIO: JOURNAL ENTRY METHOD

TASK: CHAPTERS 1 TO 10

KITE RUNNER: by KHALED HOSSEINI

JOURNAL ENTRY METHOD: Remember annotating is the name of the game—your text book needs YOUR COMMENTS!! Build up the journal entry through your reading, re-looking at the your margin comments and use these point as scaffolding.

1. Information about setting-political/cultural/social that impacts the plot/character built up directly
2. Major & Minor Characters as they are introduced and new information leading to complexity of characterization are noted
3. Significant symbols and how they are used
4. Other authorial devices and effects
5. Significant lines & passages and why they are significant. Use the doc which has some of the passage identified ( uploaded in Google classroom)
6. Identify main theme & sub theme & lines related to them in each chapter

So each one of you go Chapter wise and post as comments.

Kite runner: Topics for Exploration

Cultural setting

·       Shia-Sunni clash

·       The Afghan identity

·       Pashtun- Hazara Divide

·       Kite running as a symbol of Afghan culture before 1975

·       Place of religion

·       End of Monarchy and new regime

Thematic Focus

·       Guilt

·       Father-Son

·       Redemption

·       Search for identity(Amir, Rahim Khan)

·       Assimilation & integration

§  -Amir        

§  -Soraya

§  -Baba

§  -General

·       Power and abuse of power

·       Emotional turmoil

·       Change in perception of women

·       Betrayal

·       Honor

·       Disgrace

Kite Runner: Theme based explorations

How is the theme of friendship exhibited in the relationship of Amir and Hassan?

Kite Runner : Background

Khaled Hosseini Biography

Khaled Hosseini was born in 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan, the setting of much of the action in The Kite
Runner. Hosseini and his family moved to Paris in 1976, then immigrated to the United States in 1980 as
refugees with political asylum. Hosseini's parents, a former diplomat and a teacher, settled in San Jose,California, where they subsisted on welfare until his father, working odd jobs, managed to independently support the family. Hosseini received a biology degree in 1988 from Santa Clara University and a medical degree from the University of California, San Diego in 1993. As of 2005, he is a practicing physician,specializing in internal medicine in Northern California.
Hosseini published several stories before writing his first novel, The Kite Runner, which was based on an
earlier short story of the same title. As a doctor with an active practice and many patients, Hosseini struggled
to find time to expand the story, so he wrote the novel piecemeal in the early morning hours. Hosseini
contends that treating patients made him a keen observer of people and the ways they express themselves,
both verbally and nonverbally.
In 2004, Hosseini was selected by the Young Adult Library Services Association to receive an Alex Award,
an honor given to the authors of the ten best adult books for teenagers published in the previous year. Also in
2004, he was given the Original Voices award by the Borders Group, and The Kite Runner was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.


What is kite running?

Kite-running (Gudiparan Bazi) has been a favorite pastime in Afghanistan for
the last 100 years, but there are few on the streets of Kabul that can forget the
terror of living under the Taliban regime for so many years. Under Taliban rule, if
you were caught with a kite, many times you would be beaten and the spool
would be destroyed. However, since the fall of the Taliban regime, kite-running
has again resurfaced tenfold.
Kite-running is a two-person affair, with one person called the “charka gir” and
the other called the “gudiparan baz.” The charka gir is in charge of the holding
the wooden kite spool, around which the wire, or “tar” is wound. The second
person, called the “gudiparan baz” actually is in control of the movement of the
kite in the air. Kite flyers stand on tops of buildings, fighting with kites from all
over the city. The object is to strike down the kite of your opponent with the
string of your kite, after which you will be called the winner. The strings are often
made with razor wire which gives the sharpness to cut down other kites. After an
opponent’s kite is set free, it flutters away into the wind where it is usually picked
up by the local children, who fly it the next day as their own.
Kites are made of either extremely fragile tissue paper, or heavier more durable
mylar fabric. They come in many colors, shapes, and sizes. Kites range in price
depending on the size and materials used to make the kite. For a small, simple,
child sized kite, the price starts at just a few cents. For large, elaborate, colorful
kites, many with dangling adornments, the price can cost as much as [2 to 100]
Afghanis, or $2 US.
(Quoted from “Kites for Kabul: Flying for Freedom”. Available online at
http://www.kitelife.com/archives/issue45/kabul45/index.htm)

TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD : questions based on quotes

Examine the following quotes with reference to their significance in the particular context of the novel as well as the literary function they may perform in terms of plot, character or setting.

1. “Atticus don’t ever do anything to Jem and me in the house that he don’t do in the yard.”  ( chap 5)
2. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. ( Chap 3)
3. “Our battles were epic and one-sided.  Calpurnia always won, mainly because Atticus always took her side.”  ( chap 1)

Diwali break home work

Questions on Act 2 :

Marks 20 : submission date 17 October 2015:

 Choose any 1 option

1.       Analyse the interaction between Big Daddy and Brick and comment on your strongest impressions about each person’s main characteristics.

2.       “Though Big Daddy and Brick dominate the scene, minor characters have a presence and function in Act 2.” Analyse this comment.

3.       Analyse the use of stage directions, light and sound in Act 2.

LOTF: autumn homework

LORD OF THE FLIES: WILLIAM GOLDING

FINAL QUESTIONS

Long questions: choose any one.

1.       Analyse the title of the novel.
2.       Analyse the opening chapter and draw a brief comparison with the concluding chapter.
3.       Analyse the concluding chapter and draw a brief comparison with the opening chapter.
4.       Analyse LOTF as an allegory.
5.       Examine the minor character with special reference to atleast two and examine from perspective of characterisation and plot development.
6.       Analyse the character of Jack –is he an anti-hero?
7.       To what extent does the background of the novel affect plot , setting and characterisation. Evidence with specific events.
8.       Identify and analyse the use of symbolism.
9.       Analyse the roles played by Piggy and Simon in the novel.
10.   Ralph and Jack symbolise two kinds of leadership. Evidence with specific incidents and comments made by them.
11.   Identify and analyse the climax of the novel.

Shorter contextual questions: If you choose these , do any two.

12.    Ralph says in Chapter 12 "there was that indefinable connection between himself and Jack; who therefore would never let him alone; never." What is that connection? How does it develop and what does it signify?
13.    When Simon sees the Lord of the Flies, Golding writes that his "gaze was held by that ancient inescapable recognition" (Chapter 8). What recognition is Golding referring to?
14.   5. Why does Simon's role as a visionary make him an outcast in the group? What other visionaries have been outcasts in their societies?
15.    How does Golding use color to link Jack with the Lord of the Flies? Are there other instances of Golding using color to link characters or provide symbolism?
16.    In Chapter 11, when Ralph announces that he's calling an assembly, he is greeted with silence. How do silence and speech function in this novel, and why is silence so threatening to the boys?
17.    In Chapter 3, Piggy asks the boys "How can you expect to be rescued if you don't put first things first and act proper?" What does Piggy mean by "act proper?" Why does he feel acting properly will bring them success in being rescued? Contrast this sentiment to the actual reason a rescue ship spots their smoke signal.
18.    Describe some of the ways the vision of a human "at once heroic and sick" (Chapter 6) is represented in the novel and within the larger context of history as well. Does Golding prescribe a remedy for the "sickness"?
19.   Show how Golding creates a world of increasing violence in the novel, by             considering all or some of the following:
·         the characters themselves
·         the setting of the novel
·         the events of the novel
·         the behaviour of the characters
·         the way the author works out his theme
20.   What do you think Golding has to say about evil in Lord of the Flies? How does he convey his ideas to the reader?
21.   At the end of Chapter Eleven, Roger pushes Jack aside to descend on the bound              twins "as one who wielded a nameless authority." Focusing on this quotation,           discuss Roger's actions in Chapter Eleven in relation to Jack's power and          political system.
22.   Names and naming are important in Lord of the Flies. Many characters have       names that allude to other works of literature, give insight into their character, or      foreshadow key events. Discuss the significance of the names of, for instance,       Sam and Eric, Piggy, and Simon. What does the character's name say about him                 and his significance? Use external sources as necessary.
23.   What role do the littluns play in the novel? In one respect, they serve as gauges               of the older boys' moral positions, for we see whether an older boy is kind or      cruel based on how he treats the littluns. But are the littluns important in and of         themselves? What might they represent?