1. The Kite Runner LO: To understand the course requirements
To understand the context of The Kite Runner
To begin to analyse the text.

2. AS Level (all open book)
Unit 1: Post 2000 Poetry and Prose Section A – Poems of the Decade Comparative essay question Section B – The Kite Runner One essay question from a choice of two
Unit 2: Drama
Section A – Pre 1900 Twelfth Night
One essay question from a choice of two
Section B – Post 1900 A Streetcar Named Desire

3. Assessment objectives
What does it mean?
AO1
Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression.
AO2
Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary ways
AO3
Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts written and received
AO4
Explore connections across literary texts
AO5
Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations

4. Vital Statistics Author: Kahled Hosseini Year: 2003 Country: America
Genre: Historical fiction, Drama
Setting: Kabul, Afghanistan, Pakistan (mostly Peshawar), and San Francisco Bay Area, California
Adaptations:
Movie (2007)
Play (2007)
Graphic Novel (2011)
Accolades:
- #1 New York Times Bestseller
- South African Boeke Prize (2004).
- Reading Group Book of the Year for (2006 & 2007)
- Penguin/Orange Reading Group prize (UK).

5. Hosseini’s Life and Influences
AO3
Hosseini’s Life and Influences
Hosseini was born in Afghanistan in 1965
Hosseini’s family applied for asylum in the United States because of the Soviet War. They moved to California.
He worked as a doctor for ten years.
Hosseini was 38 before he revisited Afghanistan
Hosseini works with organizations that aid refugees and those displaced by conflict in Afghanistan and other areas.
Hosseini flew kites as a child and was heartbroken when he heard the Taliban had banned kite fighting.

6. What do you know about Afghanistan?

7. Afghanistan Afghanistan is a landlocked central Asian country.
The population is about 28,000,000 and the capital is Kabul.
Afghanistan occupies a strategic position and has been the target of various invaders.
The country has a mix of ethnic and linguistic groups.

8. Key Historical Influences
AO3
Key Historical Influences
the rebellion against King Zahir Shah,
the Soviet War in Afghanistan,
the Cold War,
the Taliban in Afghanistan,
the massacre of the Hazaras,
the September 11 attacks, and
the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.
Brainstorm anything you know about these events

9. Afghanistan

10. Afghanistan: demography
The largest group is Pashtuns making up over 40% of the population. Sometimes Afghan is used as a synonym for Pashtun. They speak Pashto. Some speak Persian.
The second largest group (about 35%) is Tajiks. They speak Persian.
The third largest group is Hazara, making up about 10% of the population. They are believed to have Mongolian origins. They speak Persian.

11. Afghanistan: religion
99% of the population is Islamic
84% are Sunni Muslims
15%, including all Hazaris, are Shi’a Muslims

12. Afghanistan: history
The area of Afghanistan was dominated by various Islamic peoples from 700 onwards.
The beginning of modern Afghanistan is considered to be the Durrani Empire created in 1747, centred in Kandahar and later in Kabul.
European influence began around 1840 and for the next 80 years much of the territory was dominated by Britain.

13. Afghanistan: history
From 1919 Afghanistan became an independent kingdom, remaining neutral in WW2.
Under Zahir Shah ( ) the country was relatively stable.
A coup in 1973 turned the country into a republic.
An uprising in 1978 brought the PDPA to power and the country became the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

14. Afghanistan
Once in power the PDPA launched religious and cultural reforms that were unpopular with conservative Muslims. Following a series of uprisings, the government of the new Democratic Republic were forced to call on Russian troops to help quell the disturbances.
In 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support the PDPA, occupying the country for ten years. Up to 2 million Afghans died and 5 million left the country.
The USA funded forces opposed to the PDPA, particularly the Mujahideen.

15. Afghanistan
The Soviet Union finally withdrew its troops in February However, the Soviet Union continued to lend aid to the Afghan government until its collapse at the beginning of the 1990s.
Following the withdrawal of the common enemy – the Soviet Union – the different groups in Afghanistan turned on each other, creating a civil war in the 1990s, particularly between rival Mujahideen factions.
During this time the Taliban developed as a political/religious force, and they had captured most of the country by 2000.
Under the Taliban, women were banned from jobs and girls forbidden to attend schools. Communists were systematically eradicated.

16. Afghanistan
On 11th September 2001, terrorists hijacked American planes and flew them into the two towers of the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. This led to the USA and its allies invading Afghanistan later in 2001 in an attempt to find those responsible.

17. Afghanistan
Following the Twin Tower attacks, the Taliban refused to hand over the Al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden.
When the military forces invaded Afghanistan in Dec 2001, they expelled the Taliban from Kabul.
Hamid Karzai was elected president of Afghanistan.
The Taliban “insurgency” continues, though they no longer have ties with Al-Qaeda.

18. Main Cultural Influences
AO3
Main Cultural Influences
Islamic
Afghan
American

19. “I became what I am today at the age of twelve”
How far do you believe that childhood or one single event in childhood can alter the person you become?
Ask students to discuss their ideas in pairs/groups, before taking whole class feedback.

20. Main Characters Amir (narrator) Hassan Baba Rahim Khan Soraya Sohrab
Assef

21. AO2
Themes
Betrayal
Fathers and sans
Violence
Memory
Redemption
War

22. “for you, a thousand times over”
“there is a way to be good again”
Discuss the use of Hosseini’s overly literary style here – one idea is he trying to make it more believable that Amir is writing the novel as an adult who is an author?
Why does Hosseini use this very dramatic language?

23. The opening section
December 2001 I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realise I’ve been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years. And suddenly Hassan’s voice whispered in my head: For you a thousand times over. Hassan the harelipped kite runner. I sat on a park bench near a willow tree. I thought about something Rahim Khan said just before he hung up, almost as an after thought. There is a way to be good again. I looked up at those twin kites. I thought about Hassan. Thought about Baba. Ali. Kabul. I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me what I am today.
Give students photocopies of the first chapter to annotate. Focus of annotation: how Hosseini makes the opening of the novel exciting.

24. How does Hosseini make his opening exciting?
In pairs, brainstorm your ideas

25. How does Hosseini make his opening exciting?
Key Concept: Foreshadowing
The presentation of details, characters, or incidents in a narrative in such a way that later events are prepared for.
Summarise how Hosseini chooses to open the novel in three sentences.
Create a list of ideas to answer the question. This encourages students to have an awareness of writer’s craft and the methods Hosseini uses (AO2).

26. Predictions
From your understanding of context and from the use of foreshadowing try to predict what will happen in the novel.
Your predictions should be as detailed as possible and be supported by the text.

27. Context and Meaning
Hosseini uses a lot of symbolism and imagery in his novel. It is important for AO1 and AO2 to analyse the meaning. You should also connect your analysis of meaning, AO2 to your discussion of context, AO3. Here are some examples.

28. Green AO3 AO2 This is a colour associated with Islam. hope
new beginnings.

29. Kites
AO3
Kite fighting was part of Afghan culture and was later banned by the Taliban.
AO2
Childhood
Redemption
Freedom

30. Hassan’s Cleft Lip AO2 AO3
-Hassan’s bravery in spite of the odds against him.
- social and economic difference between him and Amir.
AO3
As a Hazara, Hassan is deemed to be of a lower social standing to Pashtuns like Amir. His cleft lip is a physical reminder of how superficial such class divisions are, that is, they can be removed if you choose to remove them.

31. Homework Read Chapters 1 - 4, look up any unfamiliar terms.
Make notes and be prepared to comment on plot, characterisation and themes.