Name Period THE KITE RUNNER CHAPTERS THREE-FIVE ACTIVITY GUIDE QUESTIONS Directions: Read Chapters Three-Five and answer the questions below in complete sentences. KNOWLEDGE 1. What is Baba s famous nickname? 2. In Chapter Three what group do Amir and Baba see while they are fishing? 3. According to Baba, what is the one sin? 4. Who has surgery? Who is the first person to whom Hassan speaks and what does he say? 5. Who was one of Baba s childhood playmates? 6. What was the first Western Amir and Hassan saw together? Who was the star of this first film? 7. In Chapter Four what message do Hassan and Amir carve into the Pomegranate tree near the entrance of the cemetery? 8. Write Baba s exact words responding to Amir about his first story (page 31): 9. At the beginning of Chapter Five, what roared like thunder? 10. What clinical term does Amir refer to Assef? What is the definition of this term? APPLICATION 11. Review Chapter Three and list three passages that reflect Amir s attempts to receive his father approval from Baba: 1. 2.
3. 12. Find three passages about Baba in Chapter Three. The passages should reflect the personality traits that are listed below: CONTROLLING: GREAT PRESENCE: POWERFUL: 13. Summarize the story of Rostram and Sohrab? Who is the character Sohrab? 14. List key differences between Amir and Baba: Amir Baba
ANALYSIS/SYNTHESIS CHARACTERIZATION AND FOIL 15. In the novel there are characters who act as foils to other characters. Which character acts as a foil to Amir? Explain how this character is a foil.. Which character acts as a foil to Baba? Explain how this character is a foil. The word character derives from the Greek verb charassein, meaning to mark with a cut. Characterization is the method used by an author to develop a character. When an author introduces the reader to the characters within the work, he or she has two choices: to use direct and indirect characterization. JUXTAPOSITION AND CHARACTERIZATION 16. On page 23 Amir recalls the time when he was listening to his father talk to Rahim Khan about him when he was born: If I hadn t seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I d never believe he s my son. The very next event Amir talks about is when Amir has his mean streak against Hassan by telling him to mind his own business. What connection is the author making by juxtaposing these two scenes? Juxtaposition is the act of placing close together or side by side, in order to compare or contrast specific objects, images, plot details, characters, themes et certera. PSYCHOLOGY AND CHARACTERIZATION Sigmund Freud and Defense Mechanisms: Freud used three psychic zones describe the components of human personality: id, the ego, and the superego. The id, the pleasure principle, is the part of the personality that wants instant gratification without the consequences. The superego is known as the morality principle. The superego is the human conscience. The ego is the reality principle that maintains a balance between the id and superego. The ego is that conscious part that acts as mediator between the instinctual drives Syntax originates from the Greek words uυν meaning "together" and taxis meaning "sequence, order, arrangement." Syntax refers to grammatical order of words and sentence structure. The arrangement of words and phrases may be shifted to create emphasis, make a connection between The word character derives from the Greek verb charassein, meaning to mark with a cut. Characterization is the method used by an author to develop a character. When an author introduces the reader to the characters within the work, he or she has two choices: to use direct and indirect characterization. A foil is defined as a character who serves as a contrast to another character (usually the protagonist), so as to point out specific traits of the primary character.
of the unconscious id and the social environment. According to Freud, the ego has developed defense mechanisms, to cover for the wild demands of the id, which would rarely be socially acceptable. Although there are many defense mechanisms, Displacement is prevalent in the novel. Displacement is defined as reassignment of some kind of aggression to a scapegoat to relieve the tension of a situation or feeling. 17. On page 28 Amir is cruel to Hassan and teases him because he can t read. Read the passage beginning with My favorite until the end harmless prank. Based on Freud s theory of Displacement, why is Amir being so cruel to Hassan? How has Hassan become a scapegoat? Make a connection to the events on page 23. Parallel structure in sentences involves using the same pattern of words, phrases, or clauses to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance. SYNTAX AND PARALLEL STRUCTURE Read the passage below and underline the key words and phrases that show parallel structure: Never mind any of those things. Because history isn t so easy to overcome. Neither is religion. In the end, I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was a Sunni and he was a Shi a, and nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing. But we were kids who had learned to crawl together, and no history, ethnicity, society, or religion was going to change that either. I spent most of the first twelve years of my life playing with Hassan. (page 25) 18. How does the parallel structure in this passage enhance the possible conflicts between Amir and Hassan? (Make sure you use key words and phrases in your answer and use quotation marks around them) Syntax originates from the Greek words uυν meaning "together" and taxis meaning "sequence, order, arrangement." Syntax refers to grammatical order of words and sentence structure. The arrangement of words and phrases may be shifted to create emphasis, make a connection between two words, or suggest emotional Symbolism (Greek, `to throw together') implications. - symbols-like metaphors, similes, personification, and allusions-are a type of figurative language. Symbols must be something material or visible such as colors, objects, animals, people, and places, while the idea it symbolizes must be something abstract or universal. SYMBOLISM AND CHARACTERIZATION
19. What does the bear that Baba fights symbolize in Chapter Three: Lore has it my father once wrestled a black bear in Baluchistan with his bare hands. If the story had been about anyone else, it would have been dismissed as laaf, that Afghan tendency to exaggerate sadly, almost a national affliction; if someone bragged that his son was a doctor, chances were the kid had once passed a biology test in high school. But no one ever doubted the veracity of any story about Baba. And if they did, well, Baba did have those three parallel scars coursing a jagged path down his back. I have imagined Baba's wrestling match countless times, even dreamed about it. And in those dreams, I can never tell Baba from the bear.? UNIVERSAL THEME 20. Baba says, "A boy who won't stand up for himself becomes a man who can't stand up to anything. When Baba is making this statement, he is foreshadowing a tragic event that will haunt Amir into adulthood. What does Baba mean by this statement and how does it connect to Chapter One? READER-RESPONSE/PERSONAL CONNECTION Directions: Read the response question below and write one paragraph in the space provided. What does Rahim Khan mean when he says, Children aren t coloring books. You don t get to fill them with your favorite colors. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Explain. The word character derives from the Greek verb charassein, meaning to mark with a cut. Characterization is the method used by an author to develop a character. When an author introduces the reader to the characters within the work, he or she has two choices: to use direct and indirect characterization.
ACROSS THE CURRICULUM/SUBJECT CONNECTION (Suggestion for further study) History Research the political and cultural differences between the Pashtuns and Hazaras Religion Research the religious beliefs of the Sunni and the Shi a Psychology Find current theories about sociopathic behavior and treatment