The Kite Runner-Week 6, Post B

Hassan continues to surprise me with his fierce willpower. His mother, after leaving him the day he was born, returns to reconcile and Hassan finds it in his heart to forgive her. Not only does he forgive her, but he takes her in his home and nurses her back to health. This woman never even held her newborn son. When Sohrab was born, it was nice to see Sanaubar taking such an active role in his life. She clearly regretted the time missed raising her own son and decided to compensate by helping to raise her grandson. She became a prominent figure in this boy's life and as Rahim Kahn said, "The two of them were inseperable." I'm glad that for the few years she had left, she was able to reconnect with her son and actively participate in his family. Hassan is one of the strongest characters I have ever read about. It's the little things he does that makes him appear so emotionally strong and stable. For instance, when he returned to Baba's house to live with Rahim Kahn he insisted that he and his wife live in the hut in the backyard out of respect. Rahim Kahn continually told them they were welcome in the home, but Hassan would hear nothing of it. I would have wished that Hassan would have just gone and lived in the house, but he displayed such willpower and respect in that little decision. Every decision he makes seems to reflect upon his strong sense of self and others.

The Kite Runner-Week 6, Post A

Vocab:
-Affable (205): pleasantly easy to approach and to talk to; friendly; cordial; warmly polite
-Caracul (200): Any of a breed of Central Asian sheep having a wide tail and wool that is curled and glossy in the young but wiry and coarse in the adult.

Figurative Language:
"'It sounded like a jaroo, a broomstick, snapping in half.'" (192) This quote is an example of a similie describing the sound of the general's hip fracturing when he tripped on a carpet edge.

"But I remember it was a scorching summer day and I was driving up a rutted dirt road, nothing on either side but sunbaked bushes, gnarled, spiny tree trunks, and dried grass like pale straw." (204-205) This passage is an example of a similie describing the terrain in Hassan's village.

"...beyond them nothing but broad sky and mountains like jagged teeth." (205) This statement is a similie describing the setting of Hassan's village.

Quote:
"You should have seen Sanaubar with that baby, Amir jan. He became the center of her existence. She sewed clothes for him, built him toys from scraps of wood, rags, and dried grass. When he caught a fever, she stayed up all night, and fasted for three days. She burned isfand for him on a skillet to cast out nazar, the evil eye. By the time Sohrab was two, he was calling her Sasa. The two of them were inseperable." (211) I was pleased to read this passage because it shows that Sanaubar truly regrets leaving Hassan the day he was born. She knows she cannot raise Hassan again, but to imerse herself in her grandson's life is the next best thing. I was shocked to see that she had come back. After all these years I wonder what compelled her to return.

Theme:
A theme I have noticed in this passage of the novel is forgiveness. It took a lot of willpower for Hassan to forgive Sanaubar and even take her in and care for her.