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The Kite Runner (Chapters 14-17)

12/13/2020

42 Comments

 

Leo Tolstoy once wrote, “All happy families are like one another; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Write a response in which you explain the source of the unhappiness in one of the families in The Kite Runner, and the uniqueness of its misery.

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add the word count at the bottom of the prompt. Due by 11:59pm Friday night 12-18-2020! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations: After reading all of your classmates' Primary Blog Responses, select TWO that interest you. Reply to them in a thoughtful paragraph. You may offer constructive criticism, elaboration, or rebuttal. 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count at the bottom of the prompt. Due by 11:59pm Sunday night 12-20-2020!

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42 Comments

The Kite Runner (Chapters 10-13)

12/11/2020

48 Comments

 
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Chapters 10-13 move quickly and we see Amir grow up into manhood. Some important events or realizations have a profound effect on our understanding of Amir's character.

Consider the three following scenarios:
1. Amir's courtship of Soraya and her back story.
2. The change in the dynamic of Amir's relationship with his father and Baba's death.
3. The effect of Amir and Soraya's inability to have a child on their marriage.

Explain the importance of each event as it alters our view of Amir AND then tie each event back to Amir's relationship with Hassan and the tragic events of  the winter of 1975. How have those past events effected the behavior, actions, and thoughts of adult Amir as he deals with each of these three scenarios?

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add the word count at the bottom of the prompt. Due by 11:59pm Friday night 12-11-2020! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations: After reading all of your classmates' Primary Blog Responses, select TWO that interest you. Reply to them in a thoughtful paragraph. You may offer constructive criticism, elaboration, or rebuttal. 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count at the bottom of the prompt. Due by 11:59pm Sunday night 12-13-2020!

48 Comments

The Kite Runner Chapters 7-9

12/1/2020

47 Comments

 
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Psychology and Dreams
 
Sigmund Freud and Defense Mechanisms:
    Freud used three psychic zones to describe the components of human personality: the 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 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. One of the defense mechanisms is referred to as Denial. Denial is defined as “having a conscious awareness at some level, but denies the reality of the experience by pretending it is not there.” Another of Freud’s defence mechanisms is Displacement. Displacement is defined as “reassignment of some kind of aggression to a scapegoat to relieve the tension of a situation or feeling.”


  1. What is significant about the Amir’s statement, “He was so g*ddamn pure, you always felt like a phony around him”?  Use Sigmund Freud’s theory of displacement to answer the question.
  2. What does the sheep symbolize in Chapter Seven? Why does Amir recall the sheep’s slaughter during Hassan’s assault? What does Amir mean when he refers to "the look of the lamb."
Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add the word count at the bottom of the prompt. Due by 11:59pm Friday night 12-4-2020! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations: After reading all of your classmates' Primary Blog Responses, select TWO that interest you. Reply to them in a thoughtful paragraph. You may offer constructive criticism, elaboration, or rebuttal. 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count at the bottom of the prompt. Due by 11:59pm Sunday night 12-6-2020!

47 Comments

The Kite Runner: Chs 1-6 COMMENTS CLOSE ON FRIDAY 12/4

11/20/2020

48 Comments

 

Your Primary Blog Response:

Select one of the following passages and compose a single, thoughtful paragraph (imagine that it is the body paragraph of an essay that you aren't actually writing) that explores what we learn about Amir and the relationships he has or the choices he makes. Your paragraph should have a claim (a statement requiring defense in the form of a paragraph) using ample evidence from the passage.

Chapter 3: “When I was in fifth grade, we had a mullah who taught us about Islam… But I hadn’t turned out like him. Not at all.”

Chapter 4: “In 1933, the year Baba was born and the year Zahir Shah began his forty-year reign of Afghanistan… and nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing.”

Chapter 6: “The kite-fighting tournament was an old winter tradition in Afghanistan… And when the last kite was cut, all hell broke loose.”

Chapter 6: “It snowed heavily the night before the tournament. Hassan and I sat under the kursi… ‘Whatever,’ I said. ‘Get ready to lose again.’”

Your Secondary Blog Responses:

After reading all of your classmates' responses, select TWO that interest you. Reply to them in a thoughtful paragraph. You may offer constructive criticism, elaboration, or rebuttal.

Primary Blog Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Friday night 11-20-2020! 

Secondary Blog Response Expectations (read everyone's primary responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the name you were assigned in class as your nom de plume and be sure to add word count. Due by 11:59pm Sunday night 11-22-2020!

48 Comments

    Blog Requirements

    *your blog must clearly relate to the prompt.
    *connect to at least one aspect of the reading.
    *show thinking that extends beyond simple summarization.

    Blog Rubric​

    ​Want to see how you will be assessed? Please click the link below.
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