Monday, November 1, 2010

Kite Runner Fishbowl #7: Chapter 23

This is our second-to-last fishbowl, so make it one of your best ones.

Get into a hotseat! Keep bringing textual passages into your responses.

Most importantly, enjoy.

101 comments:

  1. Why does Amir want to meet with the Taliban official?

    ReplyDelete
  2. In chapter 23, do you think Sohrab might not want to be Amir's friend because of what Amir did to his father?

    ReplyDelete
  3. If Amir had died in the fight would he have accepted it knowing that he at least tried?

    ReplyDelete
  4. In chapter 22, why didn't Assef change his clothes after the two executions earlier that day?

    ReplyDelete
  5. When Amir is in the emergency room and he says "I fade out" is that him like passing out from shock? Or what does he mean by this?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Brendan-

    He wants to meet with the Taliban official because the orphanage leader told Amir the the Taliban took the boy from the orphanage.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Do you think that Assef will still want to hunt down Amir and Sohrab after he has been shot in the eye considering he is a major Tabiban?

    ReplyDelete
  8. On page 300 it says; "Sohrab was still sitting next to me. He was still looking down at his hands." I feel like Sohrab never really talks to Amir is always very quiet. Why do you think he acts like that?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Brendan- He wants to meet with the Taliban official because he wants to rescue Sohrab.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Brendan,
    Amir wants to meet the official because Amir was told he had Sohrab.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Alex B:

    I think that Sohrab might give Amir another chance because he doesn't have anymore relatives alive.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Brendan-
    Amir wants to meet with the Taliban official because he wants to obtain Hassan's son.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Molly-
    I thought he didn't change his clothes because he was proud of what he did, and it wasn't a big deal to wear clothes stained with the "sinner's" blood.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Matt, i think he would have to succeed and not just try to make it count.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Jenny L
    I was wondering the same thing, do you think that Sohrab knows what Amir did to Hassan and he is angry at him?

    ReplyDelete
  16. brenden! they meet in the office about Sorahb.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Alex
    It seems from what Sohrab said and what Hassan said in his letter that Hassan has not told his family about what happened and has only said good things about Amir. Maybe Sohrab is just overwhelmed at what has happened and that he had to save the man that came to save him.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Brendan:
    Amir wanted to meet with the Taliban leader, who turned out to be Assef because he knew the leader had Sohrab and Amir wanted to take Sohrab to the nice orphanage.

    ReplyDelete
  19. The Taliban official seems very dark because he seems almost happy that those people were stoned to death and that families were shot in their homes.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Peyton,
    I think it's just him passing out from either shock or pain.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Jenny-
    I think Sohrab doesn't know what to say to the man who came for him, and the man who was his father's best friend. But also, he feels like he shouldn't be talking to him, maybe somehow he knew Amir was not good to his father.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Jenny-
    I think that Soharb is like this because well first of all he just had to watch his "half uncle" get attacked by the man who he was staying with. So I think that Soharb is in a type of shock. Another reason is that since Soharb is less than Amir-religion wise I think its also out of respect.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Molly- I think Assef doesn't change his clothes because he wants people to see what he has done and that he was the one who did it.

    Jamie- I think Assef might want to considering his power. He wouldn't want to have Amir beat him then just be able to leave, if you understand what i'm saying.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Jenny:

    Sohrab might be shy, and he doesn't talk to Amir because he might be depressed because he has no mother or father.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Molly L-
    I think that Assef did not change his clothes after the executions because he probably goes through that same process at the stadium almost everyday and doesn't care if he has a little blood stain on his sleeve.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Molly- I think Assef was proud of killing the people. He thought of it as a show and probably wanted to show off what he had done to others who couldn't be there.

    ReplyDelete
  27. What do you think that Amir will do with Sohrab now that he has found out that the couple that Rahim Khan told him to take Sohrab to never existed?

    ReplyDelete
  28. So after reading chapter 22, I just wanted to get some clarification. If Assef really gay?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Molly- Assef dosnt want to change is clothing, he hopes to be noticed and everyoner will see what he's done....

    ReplyDelete
  30. Would Amir still have met with the official if he knew that it was Assef and that it would come down to a fight to the death?

    ReplyDelete
  31. Jamie!
    Oh my gosh your genius- I wonder that too... Do you think that Hassan told Soharb about Amir-- the negative ways.

    ReplyDelete
  32. why does he have his jaw wired shut

    ReplyDelete
  33. Why did Assef start attacking Amir? Amir did nothing to Assef.

    ReplyDelete
  34. MattJ-

    We talked about this in class about if Amir is a hero or not. I think that, trying is good enough to be a hero for Amir. However, to be a hero like Batman or Superman, he has to save lives or do something spectacular, where everyone will recognize him for what he has done. I don't think Amir is a hero, because if he was, he would have helped Hassan while he was getting raped, instead of watching him and doing nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Krysta- I think Amir will take him home to America. I think after spending time in the hospital they have become closer to eachother.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Brady- they just discussed that in the middle seat, and it was beacuse it was broken.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Jamie M-
    I think that Assef might try to hunt Amir and Sohrab down only because Sohrab interfered with their fight. If Sohrab didn't shoot Assef to interfere, I believe that Assef woudl have accepted defeat.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Jamie-
    I don't think Sohrab knows that Amir did because on page 306 Sohrab tells Amir that Hassan said "that you were the best friend he ever had".

    ReplyDelete
  39. On Page 294, what do you think the visions that Amir has mean or symbolize?

    ReplyDelete
  40. Do you think that Rahim Khan told Amir that there were people who could take Sohrab in to get Amir to go find Sohrab? But since they don't exist, do think Rahim Khan had a hidden plan or purpose?

    ReplyDelete
  41. SarahS, I think Assef is really gay because he raped Hassan and he wouldn't do that if he wasn't gay. ever since he raped Hassan I have always thought he was gay.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Alex~
    I don't think that Hassan would have told Sohrab about what happened to him when he was little just out of pride. I think that he is acting the way he is to Amir because he has only heard stories about him and never met him.

    ReplyDelete
  43. SarahS-
    I think that Assef is really gay because of when he raped Hassan AND also when he attacked Amir, when Amir did not do anything to Assef at all.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Bryce- Assef started attacking Amir because they were fighting for Sohrab. Whoever won got to take Sohrab.

    ReplyDelete
  45. On p.290 Sohrab says: "Please,Agha. Stop." (Hosseini 290) Why do you think Sohrab wants Assef to stop hitting Amir? Why would he save his uncle even though Amir never saved his father?

    ReplyDelete
  46. Sarah-
    I don't think that Assef is gay. I think it was just one of those situations because Assef was like dangling Soharb in front of Amir-- I don't think it has to do with him being gay: although he did rape Hassan, I think it was just a situation.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Molly-

    Assef has lost all value for human life. he has no respect for blood, life, or humanity. he regards the blood from the people he murdered less than if it were a ketchup stain.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Sarah S-
    No I don't think Assef is gay. I think that he rapes people because it gives him a sense of power of the people.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Did Amir go to the taliban official to save Sohrab or did he go because he knew that he would not come out without a beating and that he deserved to be beaten close to death?

    ReplyDelete
  50. Brady-
    Amir had his jaw sewn shut because he got seriously hurt by Assef.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Jenny-

    I think it may just be because it is just in his personality. Some people are not very talkative but then again there may be something bothering him or that is on his mind. I do not think that it is because Sohab is upset or mad at Amir though.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Sara- I think Assef really is gay, beacuse to go to the extant to do that to another guy,shows something. (gay)

    ReplyDelete
  53. Bryce~
    Assef attacked Amir because Amir wanted to take Sohrab from him and Assef said that if Amir wanted him then they would fight and who ever didn't die would get to keep the boy.

    ReplyDelete
  54. At the bottom of page 298, Amir says, "Let's just say we both got what we deserved." What do you think Amir meant by saying this?

    ReplyDelete
  55. In chapter 22 page 305 Farid said " For you a thousand times over." (Hosseini 305). I noticed this was what Hassan said to Amir before he went to run the blue kite and when he had the encounter with Assef in the alley. But when Farid said this to Amir he began to cry. Why do you think he cries?

    ReplyDelete
  56. Did anyone else think Rahim Kahn purposely made up the names of the orphanage owners, just to make Amir go save him, or was it just a coinsidence?

    ReplyDelete
  57. Bryce
    Assef attacked Amir because it goes back to the day when Hassan shot Assef in the head. Assef then said he would get them back, he has already hurt Hassan, now Assef is wants to hurt Amir now.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Peyton-

    I disagree with your comment about SarahS's question about if Assef is gay or not. I don't understand how you can be "straight" if you rape someone that is the same gender as you.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Nouhad-
    We don't necessarily know that Soharb knows that Amir didn't help his father, so he just knows that Amir has come to save him and he is getting beaten up to try to save him.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Does anyone think that Amir has redeemed himself yet?

    ReplyDelete
  61. Maybe Assef isn't gay, but he wants to get power over Sohrab like he had power over Hassan.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Peyton, I agree with pierce. You wouldn't rape another guy unless you were gay

    ReplyDelete
  63. Sarah S:
    YES I do think Rahim Kahn made up the owners of the orphanage so that Amir would find Sohrab and end up taking him home to America with him.

    ReplyDelete
  64. Bryce- I think Amir is starting to realize that he has redeemed himself in some ways. I think Amir is realizing all he has done to save Sohrab, Amir almost lost his life.

    ReplyDelete
  65. Peyton: i disagree, you can't just say that " it was just one of those things" raping isnt a regular situation nor is it "just one of those things" rape is serious and unless he is very very mental, he's gay.

    ReplyDelete
  66. Pierce-
    He could be showing power, Assef has power over Soharb, when he took him from the orphanage. He just loves to torture people. That doesn't mean that he is gay.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Molly-
    I think that Amir cries when Hosseini says this because it reminds Amir of Hassan and the memories of the two friends growing up. But in a negative way, it reminds Amir of the incident in the alley way.

    ReplyDelete
  68. A prediction I made in chapter 22 is will Assef die and will Amir be the one to kill him?

    ReplyDelete
  69. Matt-

    I think he just went to the Taliban official try to get back Sohrab back, he did know that there is the chance they would beat him and maybe even kill him so he was aware of the risks. It shows that Sohrab is that important to him that he would risk that.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Bryce:
    I don't think he has officially redeemed himself yet but he is definitely getting closer too and he should be there by the end of the book.

    ReplyDelete
  71. Matt J,
    I believe Amir went to the official for one last chance to save Sohrab.

    ReplyDelete
  72. Sarah S~
    I think that Rahim Khan knew that when he told Amir about the couple that they were not real because if he never made a reason for Amir to go find him then Amir would have never gone to find Sohrab.

    ReplyDelete
  73. I think Assef sees whatever he is doing to sohrab as poetic justice, a sick perverse irony that he raped Hassan and now holds his orphaned boy.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Bryce-
    according to the Hero's journey, Amir has not redeemed himself fully yet. They all have to get out of the danger before he has completely redeemed himself.

    ReplyDelete
  75. Jamie
    I think that Rahim lied to Amir because he knew that if there was no place for Sohrab to go then Amir might not have gone to get Sohrab but if he was told that there was a safe place for him to go then Amir might be more willing to go and get Sohrab. Maybe Rahim did this because he wanted Amir to take Sohrab and maybe adopt him and to take care of him to redeem himself to Hassan because Rahim was told by Hassan what happened and how Amir did nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  76. SarahS-
    I understand that he wants to get power over Sohrab like he had over Hassan, but by raping him, I don't get how he gets power by doing that to Hassan.

    ReplyDelete
  77. Peyton-
    I am going to have to agree with Pierce, Connor, and Drew. I think that assef is gay or has something seriously wrong with him.

    ReplyDelete
  78. On page 305 Farid says, "For you a thousand times over". Do you think that this saying is familiar to Sohrab because he frowned when Amir started to cry?

    ReplyDelete
  79. Do you think Sohrab will ever warm up to Amir?

    ReplyDelete
  80. Peyton: there is more than one way to torture someone ...and sexual torture is one way, but again I say if your going to go to the extent to overthink all other possibilities and go staright to sexual torture, then he's gay.

    ReplyDelete
  81. Brendan- Im not really sure if Assef will die. And if he did die I don't think Amir will be the one to kill him. I don't think Amir has the courage to do that.

    ReplyDelete
  82. Why do you think Rahim Khan wants to spend the end of his life alone instead of spending it with Amir or Sohrab?

    ReplyDelete
  83. Payton, i agree he can be showing power but he is still gay for raping another man. You can show power and be gay at the same time. Its not like Assef ever does anything to girls.

    ReplyDelete
  84. What Happend to Assef as a child that made him such an evil man? How could someone feel a constant need to hurt?

    ReplyDelete
  85. Pierce-
    Well, they were kids when Assef raped Hassan, so obviously something was wrong with him then, and there still is, so I was just relating the two incidents. I think Assef was just a power hungry sociopath.

    ReplyDelete
  86. Cool guys-
    okay you don't have to agree with me.
    Its just my opinion.

    ReplyDelete
  87. Sara-

    I think Assef is gay. Well actually he is either gay or really desperate because first of all for a guy to rape another guy does show something. Somebody who is not gay would never think of raping another guy unless they are horribly desperate. He may have been sexually abused when he was a kid so that could play some role is this whole thing.

    ReplyDelete
  88. Sarah S,
    I noticed that too! My way of looking at the situation was that Rahim wanted Amir to take Sohrab to the states so that him and his wife could have a child to look after. I thought this because Rahim knows that they are unable to have children, so I think in the end Amir will take Sohrab home to the states.

    ReplyDelete
  89. I think that Assef and Amir have parallel experiences to a point. Assef's kidney stone story and his being beaten have similarities. Both involve an epiphany, getting beaten, and laughing. Amir has been waiting his whole life to be punished for his inaction, to feel something besides guilt. he passed his guilt.

    ReplyDelete
  90. Jamie~
    I think that the reason that Sohrab frowned when Amir started to cry was because he is close to Amir and he felt bad for Amir when he started to cry.

    ReplyDelete
  91. Jamie-
    I think that Sohrab recognized the saying, he probably heard his father say it many times and didn't understand why Amir became upset at the memory of his father.

    ReplyDelete
  92. Drew-
    Well, Assef doesn't really need to prove his power over women, because women are already so low in social status, so all that really matters is his power over men.

    ReplyDelete
  93. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  94. The author seemed to leave it open to where Assef is still alive, do you think that Amir will ever run into Assef again and how will each of them react towards each other?

    ReplyDelete
  95. Brendan-

    Although i don't know what happened to him when he wans a kid i can say i think doing what he does makes him feel powerful. Maybe if he was sexually abused for example he felt powerless and so this is a way to make him feel powerful.

    ReplyDelete
  96. Brendan-
    I think that Assef could have has a corrupt family when he was younger, which could have made him a "weird" or evil man. For example, he raped Hassan. This is an act or torture and being evil.

    ReplyDelete
  97. I don't think Assef is gay, I think he does what he does to show his power and strike fear into people. He has been a jerk throughout the book, I don't think he raped Hassan to get pleasure out of it. I think he raped Hassan because he knows it's something that he will never forget.

    ReplyDelete
  98. Drew, Pierce, Connor, and anyone else- I don't think Assef is gay, like Sarah said women are so low in social class, so he is trying to show his power.

    ReplyDelete
  99. Brendan-
    Assef was probably beaten and alienated by his parents. Even today, most kids like Assef normally had a rough childhood.

    ReplyDelete
  100. When Amir is imagining Baba wrestling the bear and realizes that he is the one wrestling the bear what is the significance of that?

    ReplyDelete