Feedback from PRAC SAC The Kite RUNNER

You must include CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION You must include aspects about the culture, time, place and circumstances in your introduction Not only do you address the topic with key words, YOU MUST indicate the CONTEXT and culture, as these aspects are what influence the characters SAMPLE: There are defining moments or events in life that stay with the individual into adulthood. We often try to forget things that make us feel guilt or anxiety but we never really lose the impact they have made on us or who we become. The Kite Runner is a confronting story about two boys whose lives are shaped by the political and social imbalances that existed in Afghanistan during the 1970s. It is a story that highlights the danger of hiding behind lies and putting one’s own needs ahead of another human being’s welfare and rights. Amir, the main character and narrator begins his story of redemption by indicating that all attempts to forget the past have failed. Amir is forced to reflect on his troubled childhood and past mistakes, things that he has tried to forget. When he finally learns the truth about his past, Amir is compelled to confront his fears and take control over his life. He chooses to deal with the ‘monster’ that has clawed its way out to once again to destroy someone close to him.

Create a detailed plan first… You must have four detailed topic sentences that relate to the topic, with aspects/moments of the text that they relate to, quotes and metalanguage EXAMPLE OF ONE: (Topic sentence) Baba is clearly ashamed of his son and Amir’s continual attempts to make his father proud are what leads to his betrayal of Hassan. What Baba says to Rahim Khan about Amir Amir’s treatment of Hassan (making him do things, reading, inner thoughts) Behaviour during and after rape “I turned my back to the alley, to Hassan.” Kite – Symbol for making his father proud, cutting down another to win (Metalanguage) “And that right there was the single greatest moment of my twelve years of life, seeing Baba on that roof, proud of me at last.” “Show him once and for all that his son was worthy.” “A boy who wont stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.”

Including quotes DO NOT say ‘this quote shows’ or ‘Hosseini quotes’ or ‘the following quote’ You must embed your quotes into your discussion EXAMPLE: Amir’s guilt is emphasised when he reflects on the realisation that Hassan knew that he witnessed the rape and did nothing to assist him. Through Amir’s inner dialogue he reveals, ‘He knew. He knew I’d seen everything in that alley, that I’d stood there and done nothing.” Knowing that the person you betrayed knows you betrayed them, would definitely increase the level of guilt felt and Amir is ‘haunted’ by the images he saw of Hassan being sacrificed for the kite, as well as the knowledge that his friend knew of his betrayal and still covered for him, showing his own loyalty and unwavering devotion.

Link back to the topic at the end of paragraphs… The novel begins with Amir the adult, receiving a phone call from someone from his past, informing him that ‘there is a way to be good again’. From the very start, the reader knows that Amir has done something wrong in the past and the indication of twenty-six years, accentuates just how significant this past event was. Amir later refers to this defining event as ‘my past of unatoned sins’, also suggesting that this moment led to additional ‘sins’ requiring expiation or making amends for harm to others. Therefore, the book begins with the premise that you cannot avoid the past, particularly if you have done something morally wrong; and that it is only a matter of time before you are made accountable for what you have done wrong. We later learn that the phone call to Amir was from Rahim Khan, who was perhaps the greatest support to Amir through his troubled childhood. Rahim Khan is also the keeper of the truth and the one who knows the sins of all involved in this story; and it is he who calls Amir back to Afghanistan to face what he has been responsible for and to try and attempt to rectify the horrifying consequences of the past.

Amir did not let Hassan get raped… Let’s get it clear…Amir did not cause Hassan to get raped NOR did he let him get raped He watched and did nothing to assist him because he wanted the kite – he allowed the sacrifice to occur He would have been terrified, shocked, not really understanding but thinking like a child His mind (during that event) wandered in a dreamlike, shocked state. During this horrific event Amir has THREE SYMBOLIC day dream (memories) 1) He and Hassan fed from the same breast, that of a Hazara woman named Sakina. 2) He recalls going to a fortune teller with Hassan. They each give the fortune teller money. The man looks at Hassan. After a moment he puts the money back in Hassan’s hand. 3) Then Amir thinks of a dream: he is lost in a snowstorm until a familiar shape appears before him. Suddenly the snow is gone. The sky is blue and filled with kites. Hassan was the sacrificial lamb who willingly sacrificed himself for the kite and Amir was silent, accepting of this sacrifice but it clearly created guilt – does this mean he is an inherently good character? Metaphor

What leads to Hassan being raped? “Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay in order to win over Baba.” This quotation implies that there are two main reasons why Hassan is raped. Hassan is a willing victim. Amir will do anything to carry favour with his father. “Hassan didn’t struggle, didn’t even whimper.” “struggle” means to try and get out of what is happening and “whimper” means to cry, this shows that Hassan didn’t try to get away from Assef or cry about it and just let it happen for his friend. “I saw his face, saw the resignation in it” “resignation” means that Hassan was calm and patient about the punishment. Hassan resigned himself to the situation he was in, accepted it. He resigned himself to something he knew he had to do for Amir. He accepted it and took it because he had to. “Before you sacrifice yourself for him, think about this: Would he do the same for you? … you’re nothing but something he can kick when he’s angry.” “sacrifice” means to give up something for something or someone else. Assef says that he is “nothing” because he is a Hazara and a servant. Hassan sacrificed himself for Amir and Assef wants to make him realise that Amir would not do this for him. Hassan, it seems will do anything to please Amir. “He … crushed it against his forehead. “There” he croaked, red dripping down his face like blood. “Are you satisfied? Do you feel better?” Hassan is too loyal to do anything to hurt Amir and so he crushes the pomegranate against his own forehead instead of throwing one back at Amir. This shows how faithful he is to him. The juice dripping down his forehead looks like blood, as though he has killed someone, as Amir has killed the relationship between them.

THE RAPE All characters are symbolic of the social hierarchy that existed in that country and power abuse The rape is symbolic of one social group violating another social group – through oppression, through degradation, through human rights violation, through genocide Represents what the Pashtuns have done to the Hazaras Represents the sacrifice of one group (individual and group) for another (Individual and group) Reason there are biblical references is because these power struggles and the issue of social hierarchy goes back to biblical times Hassan succumbs to the rape ‘like a lamb’ because he is conditioned to and Amir does not intervene because he too is conditioned to believe Hazaraa are inferior but we are given the father/son issue and the kite to remind us that Amir is influenced by his environment and society – that he really is only a child wanting his father’s love, he is not inherently bad

DO NOT… Use ‘I’ or ‘My’ in essays Just write a series of GENERALISATIONS that are not supported with evidence, moments from the text or things the author did to create meaning Just RETELL the story – your discussion needs to be around the prompt Fail to continuously link back to the topic and make each point relevant to that topic Stick in ‘stand alone quotes’ that are just stuck between two sentences of discussion Leave out important contextual information that is needed to make sense of the ideas in the text Do not ‘signpost’ your essays like a speech or debate, it is not a spoken text Use conversational or SLANG in your discussion Include information that is not relevant to the prompt or topic

The relationship between Amir and his father acts as a catalyst for the events in The Kite Runner. Discuss   Turn the topic into a question…HOW DOES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AMIR AND HIS FATHER ACT AS A CATALYST (TRIGGER/CAUSE) FOR THE EVENTS IN THE NOVEL? What are the events? - Baba’s secret and the way he treats Hassan (Baba’s influence – negative father) - Amir’s jealousy and feelings of inadequacy – what Baba says to Rahim Khan (Effect on Amir) - Rape of Hassan (What he doesn’t do) - Birthday set up to get rid of Hassan (What he does) - Life in America, choice in a partner and feelings of guilt (Choices he makes before and after Baba’s death) - Need to prove himself – Rahim Khan call to Afghanistan (He goes because Rahim Khan was his positive father) - Saving Sohrab – Need to be like his father (Knows the truth and makes amends for himself and his father) - Assuming the role of father (Combination of both father influences??)  

Amir finds a ‘way to be good again’ and frees himself of guilt. Discuss Turn it into a question… Does Amir find a way to be ‘good again’ and free him himself of guilt? Need to write a contention that is clear…is he free of guilt? Is he not? Is he partly free? - What did he do to not be good? Outline reasons for his guilt. How does the guilt consume him? Why doesn’t he return to see Hassan earlier? Returning to Afghanistan and finding out the truth (good) – does this increase his guilt? Going to the orphanage (good) – will he be free of guilt from this experience? Saving Sohrab (good) – will he free himself of guilt by doing this? Taking him back to America and assuming the role of his father (Good) – will he be free of guilt? Devoting his life to his community (Afghan) and using his writing as a way of communicating.

Honest feedback If you haven’t read the book or completed any coursework…you cannot write an essay on it If you are not completing the required work during class or at home, when do you think you will do it? You will not improve in the area of writing essays if you don’t practice the skills and follow a process approach If you are allowed to bring in a resources sheet for the essay, why would you not create one? The people who prepared and have read the book did pass the prac sac The people who have not completed any work or prepared achieved a UG AT this level, you should be able to use the TEEL structure, address a topic and include evidence to support a discussion – after doing it for FOUR years, if you cannot do it…ask yourself WHY? Have you sought HELP? Have you spent time practicing the skills?