The Kite Runner - Continuation

Hey!

I'm finished with reading the Kite Runner now, and I think it was a good book and very touching. It had a slow start, but when I read further in the book, it became very interesting and made me want to read more. In this post I will try use some quotes from the book to describe different elements in the book.

Relationships

From the book, page 10:
 
Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard. And, under the same roof, we spoke our first words.
Mine was Baba.
His was Amir. My name.

I think this quote from the book describes two relationships.
 
The first one is the one between Amir and Baba, at least the way Amir sees it. Amir always looks up to Baba and wants everyone to know that this is his father. As a kid he was always longing for Baba's approval and wanted to make him proud, so that he would show him off to others as his son. All he ever wanted was for his father to approve of him, and forgive him for killing his mother. But his father was very ignorant to him a lot of times, so this was a long struggle for Amir.
 
The second one is the one between Amir and Hassan. This quote shows that Hassan was always looking up to Amir and wanted to be by his side and protect him, maybe in the way that Amir looked up to his father, Baba. In this relationship, Amir was the boss of the two of them, and Hassan was always the one who followed him.


Conflict

When Amir sees Hassan being captured by the mean boys (Assef, Kamal and Wali), page 64:
 
Assef yelped as he flung himself at Hassan, knocking him to the ground. Wali and Kamal followed.
I bit on my fist. Shut my eyes.

This is describing a conflict between Amir and Hassan. When they get bullied by the mean boys, Hassan stands up for Amir. But when Hassan ends up trapped by the mean boys after the kite flying competition, and ends up being raped by the three boys, Amir doesn't interfere even though he sees it happening. This is definitely a conflict in the book. This episode changes the friendship between Amir and Hassan, and even though Amir has let his friend down, Hassan continues to stand up for Amir. Amir is feeling guilty for what he did, but doesn't make the relationship between them any better by ignoring and being sort of mean to Hassan. This conflict is ongoing from when the conflict started, which is the rape-situation and until Hassan and his father leaves Baba and Amir.


Theme

About the friendship between Hassan and Amir (in the early days), page 24:
 
After school, Hassan and I climbed its branches and snatched its bloodred pomegranates. After we'd eaten the fruit and wiped our hands on the grass, I would read to Hassan.

There are many themes in this book. But one strong theme is friendship, and especially the friendship between Amir and Hassan, and how it develops throughout the story. Another theme is identity, because many of the characters struggle to find their identity. Amir wants to form his identity throughout his actions in his life. But his actions aren't always as noble as he would like them to be, for instance the time when he hides his watch and money that he got from his birthday under Hassan's bed, so Hassan looks like a thief.



That's all I had to say about the content of the film, but I deeply recommend everyone to read The Kite Runner, it is definitely a book you should have read before you die ;) So go get yourself a cup of warm tea and lay down in your couch - then start reading The Kite Runner!


Anna

The Kite Runner

Hello :)


We are reading a book called "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini in class this semester.

The book was published in 2003, and it's Hosseini's first novel. The novel is set in Afghanistan, in the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, and it is about a boy named Amir and his friend Hassan who is the son of his father's Hazara servant. The period of time where the story is set includes important settings, for example from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy though the Soviet invasion, the mass emigration of refugees to the United States and Pakistan, and the rise of the Taliban regime. Hassan is guilty for abandoning his friend in his country and returns to Afghanistan and to his childhood home to correct his past. A movie based on the novel was made in 2007, directed by Marc Foster.

I've read three chapters and my first impression of the book is not so good. This is probably because it has a slow start and I don't find it very interesting yet. But I hope, and think, that this will change when I read some more of the novel. Because most of the people I have talked to, says that the book is a great book, extremely interesting and when you start reading it, it's really hard to put it away. I hope this is true!



One thing I like about the book is that it is written in an easy language, so it is understandable for those of us who are not native speakers of English. I really liked this quote from "The Kite Runner":
"I looked up at those twin kites. I though about Hassan. Though about Baba. Ali. Kabul. I though of the life I had until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me who I am today". (page 2). I like this quote because it tells me that he thinks that his childhood has formed him and made him who he is. When he is thinking this he is sitting on a bench in San Francisco, and he is thinking about how different his life was back in Afghanistan.


I haven't read as far yet, so this post will be longer soon! I just have to read some more in the book :)

Anna

Advice to fellow students!

Hey readers!

This time in International English we got a task to discuss an article called "Facebook hits exam results by 20 per cent" and then write about it in our blog.
Here is a link to the article

Basically the article says that the students who used Facebook (or any other social networking site) during their study-time, scored lower on their exam results than the students who did not use the website while studying. The test shows that the students who did not use Facebook while studying scored on average 3,82 out of four, meanwhile the student who used the website scored a grad point average of 3,06. This was based on 219 students aged from 19 to 54.

The study was made by Professor Kirschner from the Open University in The Netherlands, and it also showed that non-users of Facebook also spend 88 per cent more time studying outside of the lessons. I think this is because you get a lot more done if you aren't doing anything also besides studying, and then you will have more free-time. When you are doing many things at the same time, it's easier to make mistakes and you need more time to get your work done.

I think that the reason people who have Facebook score lower on their exams is that you get so easily distracted and if you start chatting with someone for instance, you won't be able to stop. When I was writing this blog post, I caught myself logging on to Facebook a couple of times, just automatically. This shows how addicted the youth and any Facebook-user has become of the website, and this has a bad impact on our studying.

The moral of the article is definitely that when you are studying you should stick to that, and not log on to different social networks, because then it's hard to log off again and continue with the studying. We should all limit our time spent on Facebook, or at least put off special time for that activity, and not mix that time with study-time.

- Anna

Erin Brockovich - the movie

Hey!

In International English last week, we watched the movie "Erin Brockovich", which is a drama film from 2000 based on the true story about the female lawyer called Erin.

Erin is a twice-divorced mom, with three kids, who gets a job at a lawyer firm after a trial with the same lawyer who runs the firm that helped her with her case. Since she lost her case, and had no money left, she refuses to leave the office until she gets a job there. After almost begging, her lawyer agrees to offer her a job. She starts to sort different documents, and after a while she comes over some very interesting papers. Erin starts digging and soon she finds out that something is up with the case in Hinkley, California. She discovers that the company PG&E is responsible for the sickness of all the people in this small-town, and she wants to make it good again by getting the recidents of Hinkley the money they deserve and need from the big company. Erin, without education and money, becomes the spokeswoman for many sick people against a billion-dollar-company.

I thought the movie was great, and really interesting, because it's based on a true story. It was inspiring to see one person making her way thought the crowd and making so much different. It shows that if you fight hard enough for what you want, you'll get it. You should never give up, like Erin never did, no matter how hard things get and how many people who are against you. She definitely sacrificed a lot when she worked on her case, for example spending time with her kids and new boyfriend. But in the end, it was all worth it because she won her case and got enough money to support her kids. Erin Brockovich is definitely a role model for everyone in this world. She shows us that you don't have to be well educated and brought up in a nice home to make a difference in the world! If you really want it, you can do it!

Trailer:



Anna :)

The Butterfly Circus

In the first International English class we had, we watched a short movie called “The Butterfly Circus”. It was about a man, Will, who was born without limbs, and he was a performer at a circus, where people laughed at him. One day, a circus director from another circus came to see him and the man without legs or armed decided to join his circus instead. There he devolved and became a strong man who managed to swim without legs and arms, because he was so driven and gave all he had.

The topic was hope, and this is a perfect topic for the movie, because it illustrates that you need to have hope and believe in yourself, in order to success. You should never give up, no matter how hard things get, because in the end, you will make it if you only try hard enough. :)

Every performer in the circus had struggled with an ugly past, but now they lived a great life among friends and happiness, because they joined the circus and could develop into something brighter. They were all like caterpillars, which turned in to beautiful butterflies, therefore the name “The Butterfly Circus”.

I think it was a great movie, really well made and it had a very important message!
You should definitely watch it, and here is your chance:





//Anna

International English

Hey readers!

My name is Anna, and I study at Sandvika VGS in Baerum, Norway. My hobbies are music and friends, and most of the usual things that teenagers care about! I love to travel, so English is very necessary for me! I’ve been to many countries, and in 3 out of five continents (Africa, America and Europe). This summer I was in Scotland, Italy and Sweden. I guess this is all you need to know for now!

This is my second year at Sandvika VGS. I’ve had English as a subject since first grade in elementary school, but this year we got to choose if we wanted to continue with the subject. English has always been one of my favorite subjects, because I love languages and communication. My choice was obviously to continue with English, since I’m running this blog now! You see, this blog is a task we got in my new subject, called International English. We use it to post homework and other tasks we get in class, and I think this is a great way of learning, because we learn to write English better and others can read what we write, so it’s a way of communicating with the world. My expectations of the subject, is that I think I will learn a lot and it will also be fun at the same time. I now I will have great use of it in the future. It sounds really cool that we are going to Skype with other people in English-speaking countries, and get to use the Internet to get to know the English world. I hope (and think) that this year will be exciting and that I will get better in English, both writing and talking.



Have fun reading my blog!

Anna