The Kite Runner: Section 4: Significance of the Title

          In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the title reflects the meaning of the work.  The physical person that runs the kite symbolizes the person being loyal to his friend and doing service for him.  Originally Hassan runs the kite for Amir, but by the end of the novel Amir is doing service for others.  He runs the kite for Sohrab.  The title also illustrates the Afghan saying that describes that life moves on.  Even though many horrible things happened to Sohrab, Hassan, and Amir there was always another kite tournament and another kite to run.  Amir tells Sohrab that he will run kites " 'For you, a thousand times over'," (Hosseini, 371).  Amir used the words that Hassan had said to Amir many times before.  This shows that the role of the kite runner or servant had been passed.  Amir was finally paying Hassan back for all the years that Hassan had done things for him.

The Kite Runner: Section 4: Connection between Hassan's Loyalty and Amir's New Loyalty

          In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir's loyalty to Hassan does not really show up until after Hassan is already dead.  Hassan was loyal to Amir throughout Amir's life and even after he no longer saw Amir.  Amir was not completely loyal to Hassan until his adulthood when he was given a chance to atone for his guilt.  Hassan and Amir's situations flip at this point in the novel.  Amir having to go through lots of pain symbolizes "karma" and how he had to suffer for Hassan in order for him to feel better about his guilt.  Amir eventually has to do what Hassan did for Amir for Sohrab.  Amir's best way to be loyal to Hassan after all the years was to adopt Sohrab.  This was his, "way to be good again..." (Hosseini, 310).  Amir took Sohrab in tto try to absolve himself of all the things he did to Hassan.  Just how Hassan layed down his life for Amir, Amir was going to have to lay down his life for Sohrab.

The Kite Runner: Section 4: Amir Atoning for His Guilt

         In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir is given an opportunity to atone for his guilt.  Rahim Khan  called Amir asking him to come to Pakistan.  After he was told about his father's guilt, he had a chance to make-up for his.  Amir did not originally want to rescue Sohrab.  This was because he had buried his guilt in America.  Being back in the Middle East, he could not hide his fears anymore and began his journey to save Sohrab.  This was a significant change in his character.  Instead of letting others fight for him, he was going to fight for himself and someone else.  " 'That was the first time I'd fought anyone', " (Hosseini, 288).  This proves that Amir is not a static character because of this personality change.

The Kite Runner: Section 4: Identity

          In Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner, Amir has many changes in his life.  A large gap in his life is the absence of a mother.  His identity thus far has been made up of Baba, a picture of his deceased mother, and his father's description of her.  He learned of his mother's taste for Almond cake with hot tea and honey.  Unfortunately, this is all he ever learns about his mother.  Amir's identity is also changed because of his new knowledge that Hassan was his half brother.  Amir tells Sohrab that " 'Your father and I were brothers'," (Hosseini, 322).  With Amir's new knowledge he completes his identity a little more and lives his life differently.  This affects the meaning of the work, because since Amir found out he had a half nephew he decided to go to Kabul and find him.  This decision changed his life forever.

The Kite Runner: Section 2: U.S.A.'s Significance

          In Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner, he uses America as a way for Amir to escape his problems.  Because of Amir having time to heal, not seeing Hassan, and being in a different country, he thinks about his guilt less.  The story becomes less about Amir's guilt and more about Amir's life.  Amir even says that, "For me, America was a place to bury my memories," (Hosseini, 129).  This illustrates how America helped him forget his guilt.  He was reminded of his guilt before he married Soraya.  Although, he buried this guilt quickly.  As the novel progresses Amir's guilt is forgotten more and more.  The change of scenery and culture symbolizes Amir trying to forget his guilt and what he did to Hassan and Ali.  I think that in the next section of the novel something will happen that rekindles his guilt and causes him grief and in turn he will tell Soraya.

The Kite Runner: Section 2: Embedded History

          Throughout Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner, he embeds Afghanistan's history.  He does this by having the character's lives be constantly affected by what the government is doing.  The history is most prevalent when Baba and Amir leave Kabul and immigrate to the U.S.  As the Russians take over Afghanistan Baba decides to take himself and Amir to Pakistan.  They then move to the U.S. to escape the Taliban and to search for a better life.  Hosseini writes about the peril that the Afghan people went through.  He tells this through the telling of Baba and Amir's story.  "Long before the Roussi army marched into Afghanistan, long before villages were burned and schools destroyed, long before mines were planted like seeds of death and children buried in rock-piled graves..." (Hosseini, 136).  This passage depicts what happened to the Afghani people during the time Russia was in Afghanistan and when the Taliban took over.  

The Kite Runner: Section 2: Diction

          Khaled Hosseini's novel, The Kite Runner, uses different words in the language used in Afghanistan.  This language that the speaker, Amir, uses is his native language, Farsi.  Hosseini spreads these words throughout the novel to add more specific description to the memories.  The speaker uses such words as the greeting "Salaam alaykum," (Hosseini, 162).  He also uses the "iftikhar," (Hosseini, 165) which means pride.  The use of Farsi throughout the novel helps the reader better understand the Afghani culture and the characters themselves.  The words are used to describe emotions, objects, and specific event.  The embeded culture helps to emerse the reader in Afghani culture and better understand the characters.  Hosseini uses Farsi when an English word does not suffice or when the Farsi word simply describes the situation more accurately.

The Kite Runner: Section 2: Hassan and Amir's Friendship

          In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir and Hassan come from very different backgrounds but still have a very close friendship.  Although they each view their friendship differently.  Hassan sees himself as having complete loyalty to to Amir and Amir sees his friendship as somewhat dispensable.  After Amir witnesses Hassan being raped Amir will not talk to Hassan and avoids him because of his own guilt.  He will also not tell anyone because of his guilt; he is not completely loyal to Hassan.  Because of his guilt he framed Hassan for stealing some of his money and things.  "I lifted Hassan's mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it," (Hosseini, 104).  Amir did this because he could not bear to be around Hassan any more.  His view of Hassan and his relationship shapes the entire novel.  It drives the plot line for Amir to not talk to Hassan or to get him to leave.  This difference in value also characterizes Amir as someone who carries guilt and burdens only to himself.

"Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold: Location

          In Matthew Arnold's poem "Dover Beach," location plays a large role in the overall meaning of the work.  The speaker discusses three different seas and each are in a different place but have one common bond.  The seas are the English Channel, the Aegean, and the Sea of Faith.  The common bond they all share is they produce the sound of the "eternal note of sadness," (Arnold, 892).  The speaker describes them as looking nice but they have a melancholy tone to the sound they make.  He relates this to the Sea of Faith saying that as faith dwindles there is more sadness and that the Sea of Faith is very sad.  The speaker uses these locations to better describe the sadness he feels.  At the end of the poem the speaker blames this sadness and lack of faith on the world.  He even proclaims to his love that they only have each other and must hold on to that.  This contributes to the meaning of the poem as a whole.

"I taste a liquor never brewed" by Emily Dickinson: Figurative Meanings

          "I taste a liquor never brewed" by Emily Dickinson uses the technique of extended metaphor and other figurative language.  In the last stanza Dickinson creates a stereotypical scene.  This scene is of neighbors observing the behavior of a drunkard.  It also depicts a drunkard leaning against a lamp post.  Because of the extended metaphor the speaker is not drunk off of alcohol.  The speaker is drunk off of nature.  So the drunkard is not leaning on a post.  They are actually "leaning against the-- Sun," (Dickinson, 797).  Also, the angels watch the speaker frolic in the nature instead of the neighbors and drunkard.  This creates a tone of happiness because of the descriptions of nature.

"Sorting Laundry" by Elisavietta Ritchie: Imagery

                             In the poem "Sorting Laundry" by Elisavietta Ritchie, the speaker uses many images all relating to laundry.  These images relate to her relationship with her significant other.  Throughout the poem the speaker reveals different aspects of her relationship through the images of laundry.  The speaker talks about the "wrinkles" in her relationship (Ritchie, 841).  This is a metaphor for the problems in their relationship that could be fixed or could be ignored. The speaker also references how they are not tired of each other and that the "seams still holding our dreams" are intact (Ritchie, 841).  But the poem has a shift when the speaker thinks too much.  She begins to wonder what might happen if her lover left her.  Ritchie uses the image of folding laundry to tie the end into the beginning creating another image.

"The Convergence of the Twain" by Thomas Hardy: Tone

          In Thomas Hardy's poem "The Convergence of the Twain," Hardy's tone unfolds throughout the poem.  In his poem about the sinking of the Titanic, he has a tone of indifference towards the victims of the ship wreck.  Throughout his writing he describes how all of the glamour of the ship no longer matters.  He depicts this through the image of indifferent "sea worms" and gazing "moon-eyed fishes," (Hardy, 778).  This creates a tone of indifference of the  speaker towards the tragedy that killed many.  This also brings some irony into the poem.  The people were very wrapped up in the glamour and beauty of the ship.  The speaker implies that the people should have been concerned with the safety of the ship.  The speaker presents this in an ironic manner.  The people were very wrapped up in the "stuff" on the ship and in the end it did not matter because the "stuff" they needed to save them was missing.

"My mistress' eyes" by William Shakespeare: Tone

        In William Shakespeare's poem "My mistress' eyes," he uses a different kind of tone for a love poem.  Instead of being affectionate it seems in the first twelve lines that the speaker is insulting the mistress.  The speaker continuously says less than desirable things about his mistress until the last two lines.  The speaker even goes as far to say, "I love to hear her speak, yet well I know/That music hath a far more pleasing sound," (Shakespeare, 885).  The speaker also comments on the mistress' eyes, lips, skin, hair, cheeks, breath, and voice.  In the first twelve lines, he only says bad things about the woman.  But finally he says that his love for her is very rare and true.  The speaker says that she may believe all the things he has said but that he loves her very much.

"Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy: Satire

        In Marge Piercy's poem "Barbie Doll" she aims the satire of the poem not at the young girl but at the society.  The poem describes how girls are treated once they begin puberty.  At this time girls become more curvy and are told by their peers sometimes that they are fat as depicted by this poem.  Piercy is chiding the society for making girls get nose jobs and plastic surgery.  She is also scolding society for putting such pressure on young girls.  The irony of the phrase "the magic of puberty" is that magic is usually seen as a good thing, where here it is shown as bring on the bad things, such as " a fat nose on thick legs," (Piercy, 835).  There is also meaning in the title of the poem, "Barbie Doll".  The type of body the young girl wants resembles a barbie doll.  She wants a smaller nose, small waist, small legs, and perfectly shaped.  Piercy depicts the type of body society thinks every girl should have and what some girls will do to get that body.

"Hunters in the Snow" by Tobias Wolff: Characterization

        In Tobias Wolff's "Hunters in the Snow," the three main characters are not like normal hunters.  They each have very strong personalities and different quirks about them.  Frank's dialogue and actions help characterize him throughout the short story.  At the beginning of the short story, Frank did not join Kenny in making fun of Tub.  Instead of making fun of Tub's obesity, "He smiled and looked off," (Wolff, 187).  After the three men reach the sight they wish to begin hunting though Frank joins in the mockery.  This proves himself to not be a static character.  Later after Frank confesses to Tub of his love for a fifteen-year-old girl, Frank perpetuates Tub's eating disorder to make himself feel better.  This change shows that Frank is selfish and cares about feeling good.

Othello: Act V

       As Shakespeare's play, Othello, comes to a close the events become very chaotic.  After the deaths of Roderigo, and Desdemona, Iago becomes desperate for his plan to work.  His desire for the downfall of Othello was too great for him also to save himself.  This is his flaw.  His hatred of Othello is in turn bringing down himself.  Out of desperation he murders his wife.  But, before he murders Emilia he becomes frantic when she starts telling Othello the truth.  He says, "You piece of filth, you're lying," (V. ii. 244).  In this line Iago is speaking to Emilia as she tells Othello the truth of everything.  In Iago's fury he loses his temper and kills Emilia.  Iago's character has changed significantly now.  He is now letting his emotional, passionate side be shown to everyone.

Othello: Act V: Changes

       In Shakespeare's tragedy Othello, as act V begins to unfold Iago is frantically trying to make his plan come together.  After Roderigo is stabbed by Cassio, Iago frantically stabs Cassio's leg.  This is the first time that Iago's plan is starting to become rough.  Throughout the first scene Iago expresses concern directly to the audience about his concern for the night.  He tells the audience that, "This is the night, that either makes me or fordoes me quite," (V. i. 138-139).  This aside shows Iago with a little fear that things may not go the way he wishes.  He openly admits that the next several hours are what will decide his future.  This would affect him for the rest of his life.  He understands that if he is caught he would be killed but if he isn't then Othello may be out of his life forever.

Othello: Act IV: Character Development

       Thus far in Shakespeare's play Othello, Iago has been portrayed as an inherently evil man. The level of his evilness is still being developed in Act IV.  This development deepens in the ways Iago expresses his hatred for Othello.  His plan seems to be just to ruin Othello's life.  He slyly convinces Othello to kill Desdemona in a different manner.  The Way Iago suggests blatantly points to Othello as the murderer.

" 'Get me some poison, Iago, this night.  I'll not expostulate with her, lest her body and beauty unprovide my mind again.  This night, Iago.'

' Do it not with poison, strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated',"  (IV. i. 188-192).

If Othello stuck with his idea of poison it would be harder to trace the poison back to him.  The new plan of strangling Desdemona makes Othello the only suspect.  Iago secretly sneaks this new way of ruining Othello's life into what Othello believes as a better way of killing Desdemona.

Othello: Act IV; Dynamic Character

       In Shakespeare's tragedy, Othello, there are several dynamic characters.  One specifically is Othello himself.  At the beginning of the play he is very calm and cool headed when accused of drugging or using magic on Desdemona.  Othello simply tells the Senate to go ask Desdemona.  By the fourth act he has become distrusting and suspicious of Desdemona.  Othello's sarcasm in Act IV shows his distrust of Desdemona.

"What not a whore?" (IV. ii. 86).

In this scene Desdemona does not understand why Othello is being so suspicious towards her. She had not realized that his personality of absolute trust had change.  This change makes him a dynamic character.

Othello: Act III: Motive

       In Shakespeare's play Othello, Iago's motive to do the horrible things are very strong.  By the end of the third act he has already gotten his main motive accomplished.  This was becoming lieutenant.  Now the reader must decide if he is so evil to keep making Othello's life difficult just because of hate.  Shakespeare shows this through a series of soliloquies that Iago says.  He also says asides during the play.  These reveal that he is very evil and has an intense hatred for Othello.  Iago says, "Patience, I say.  Your mind perhaps may change," (III. iii. 453).  Iago says this after he has convinced Othello that Desdemona has cheated on him.  This shows that he is greatly evil and will stop at nothing to hurt Othello.

Othello: Antagonist

        In Shakespeare's play, Othello, the main character is depicted as the stereotypical gentleman.  He is kind, honest, trustworthy, and brave.  Iago is the opposite force of Othello.  He is very evil.  Some of his personality traits include, manipulation, hypocrisy, and just pure evil.  He is constantly manipulating many people at once to achieve his several goals.  In the end his main goal and ending point are making Othello's life very difficult and painful.  At the end of Act I Iago reveals to the audience his plans.  At this point he has decided to "abuse Othello's ear" (I. iii. 375) or manipulate him to believe everything Iago says.  So far, Iago has been successful in this first endeavor.

Othello: Act II: Irony

       In the play Othello by William Shakespeare,  he uses irony to help characterize Iago.  Throughout Act II Iago says derogatory things about women in general.  His main aversion to women is that they are manipulative.  He believes that they should only "suckle fools and chronicle small beer," (II. i. 159).  The irony in all of this is that Iago is very manipulative of the people around him.  He especially manipulates Cassio, Montano, and Othello.  But he also manipulates Roderigo.  This irony creates some frustration from the reader and Iago seems hypocritical in his opinions.  Shakespeare uses this irony to create an evil manipulative character.  

Othello: Act I: Diction

       In the Shakespearean play, Othello, Shakespeare intertwines racism into the lines of the characters subtly and bluntly.  Othello being from another region and of a different race is often the object of racist comments and jokes throughout the play thus far.  Iago describes Othello as "an old black ram... tupping your white ewe," (I. i. 88-89).  In this line Shakespeare uses the analogy of an animal to show that Iago views Othello like an animal.  Iago also calls Othello "the Devil," (I. i. 91).  Iago is not the only person who says racist comments about Othello.  The Duke and other characters of the play also do.  This allows the reader to understand that these comments are not always meant to be derogatory.  The comments are just part of the culture of the time.

"Getting Out" by Cleopatra Mathis: Tone

       In the poem "Getting Out" by Cleopatra Mathis,  the tone is set immediately in the first line.  The speaker describes the husband and wife as "inmates," (Mathis, 896).  Most readers do not perceive married couples as unhappy prisoners that "beat the walls" (Mathis, 896).  These phrases set a dark, unhappy, and unpleasant tone for the rest of the poem.  There is a dramatic change in tone between lines 14 and 15.  For the first two stanzas the speaker is angry and talking about how bad the relationship was, but at line 15 the speaker says, "still I'm startled by men who look like you," (Mathis, 896).  This line shows that the speaker is not angry with the husband but still has fond feelings for him.  The narrator also shows that they still have feelings for each other is at the end when she says that on the last day "...We held on tight, and let go," (Mathis, 896).  This also shows that the speaker still loves him.  The tone becomes lighter and one of sorrow after line 14.

"Popular Mechanics" by Raymond Carver: Puntuation

       In Raymond Carver's short story "Popular Mechanics,"  he uses very little punctuation throughout the short story.  This moves the story along.  It also is less formal and less personal.  When the husband and wife are fighting, between there dialogue there are no quotation marks. "Bring that back, he said.  Just get your things and get out, she said," (Carver, 1).  By leaving out quotation marks the story is more fluid and there is no stop and go motion in the dialogue.  This creates a fast pace story and enables the reader to read Carver's story more quickly.  The lack of quotations also creates a more dramatic and intense tone.  There is no stopping between speakers.  This also creates a chaotic atmosphere because the reader is not always sure who is speaking.

"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin: Irony

       In "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin,  Mrs. Mallard's personality is described through irony and the tone for the short story is also set.  The first irony of the story is when Mrs. Mallard is described as to having "heart trouble" (Chopin, 1).  She not only has physical heart trouble but she also has heart trouble with her husband.  She does not love him but she states that " '...she had loved him--sometimes,' " (Chopin, 2).  But, she is not completely upset that he is dead; she is also happy to be free.  At the end of the short story another irony is her own death at the sight of her alive husband.  Her untimely demise is not expected, but does not evoke pity for Mrs. Mallard, from the reader.  This also ties in the irony from the beginning about her heart trouble.  The irony of her death was that, " 'When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of joy that kills,' " (Chopin, 2).  The doctors thought that she was so happy she died but in reality the reader knows that she may have felt guilty or been very upset by his appearance.  The irony of their belief that it was joy contrasts with the truth that she was not happy.

"You're Ugly Too" by Lorrie Moore: Zoe's Humor

       In the short story, "You're Ugly Too" by Lorrie Moore, Zoe's humor drives her personality.  Her humor is very sarcastic and cynical.  As the speaker and main character, she narrates the story.  Zoe's student evaluations describe that she does not care and this is shown through her humor.  When talking to a student, the student says, " 'I just want my history major to mean something,' " Zoe retorts, " 'Well there's your problem,' " (Moore, 355).  Her sarcastic humor relates to her feeling towards love.  Zoe pushing Earl also shows her sarcastic, cynical humor.  Earl does not find this funny, but on the contrary Zoe does.  Zoe finds humor in herself especially her current relationship status, when she says sarcastically, " 'I'm seeing my house,' "  (Moore, 357) and " 'I'm not married? Oh, my God... I forgot to get married,' " (Moore, 355).  In these instances Zoe is portrayed as sarcastic and cynical, through her humor.

"Delight in Disorder" by Robert Herrick: Oxymorons

       In Robert Herrick's "Delight in Disorder", the speaker talks of the type of love and relationship he wants.  The dress symbolizes this.  Herrick uses several oxymorons to characterize the speaker's "dress."  One of them can be found in line 1, "A sweet disorder in the dress," (Herrick, 979).  "Sweet disorder" is the oxymoron used here.  The adjective sweet is usually seen as nice, desirable, attention grasping, and organized or wonderful.  Disorder is described as chaotic, stressful, and a distraction.  Herrick puts these two words together to describe the speaker's ideal love and relationship or maybe his current relationship.  It is described as not the usual romantic relationship but more spontaneous and not structured.  Another one is in line 12, "I see a wild civility;" (Herrick, 979).  This combines chaotic and unorganized with civil and the structure of society.  Possibly the speaker is describing how love should be: without all of the courting rules.

"Bright Star" by John Keats: Question 1

       In John Keats' "Bright Star", the speaker is describing how he wants to be and how he wants to live the whole of his life.  In the first line he says that he does not want to change.  He wants to be a constant figure in his life.  But the following lines 2-8 express how he does not want to be like the star.  The star could be the moon, but is more likely the northern star because it never changes.  The speaker says that he does not want to change and move like the waters and the seas that move along earth's shores.  Line four says, "Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite," (Keats, 792).  This line is expressing that the speaker does not want to remain without human contact like a hermit.  He also wants to be himself and not just apart of how the world works.  The first line of the poem introduces what he admires and wants to emulate and the next seven lines express how he does not want to be.

"Eveline" by James Joyce: Characterization

       In "Eveline" by James Joyce, the characterization of Eveline's father and supervisor help feed her desire to leave Dublin.  They are chiefly characterized at the beginning of the short story.  Her father is characterized by what she says in the second paragraph about him.  The speaker says, "Her father used often to hunt them in out of the field with his blackthorn stick..." (Joyce, 218).  Miss Gavan her supervisor is characterized on the very next page.  The speaker says that Miss Gavan would be glad if Eveline left and that she was always nagging Eveline to take care of the waiting ladies.  Eveline wants to leave with her fiance.  She is reassured of her choice by the actions of her father such as his rudeness.  She is also pushed to do this by Miss Gavan because Eveline is always nagged on.  Both Miss Gavan and Eveline's father help fuel her want to leave Dublin.

"How I Met My Husband" by Alice Munro: Sympathetic Character

       In Alice Munro's "How I Met My Husband", Edie is described and shown as a sympathetic character.  She is the hired girl for the Peebles' family and this creates some sympathy from the reader.  This is because she is not treated as the Peebles' complete equal.  One distinct scene that shows Edie as a sympathetic character is when Edie waits at the mail box everyday for a letter from Chris.  The speaker, Edie, says, "I was always smiling when the mailman got there, and I continued smiling even after he gave me the mail and I saw today wasn't the day," (Munro, 145).  The reader knows that the letter from Chris is never coming.  This scene distinctly shows Edie's naivety and evokes sympathy for her from the reader.  Another scene where sympathy is evoked for Edie is when she thinks that being intimate can just be kissing.  Loretta Bird and Alice Kelling do not believe her but Mrs. Peebles stands up for her and this evokes sympathy from the reader.  Edie is scene as a sympathetic character by the her naivety.