I presume for most of you It was easy to see the positive view coming out of my last blog post. Before the comments started flowing in and questions began to form, I found myself wondering if I had read enough of the book to properly analyze the characters that had been brought up. The answer is no. Negative actions and betrayal filled my second portion of reading, and proved my themes and ideas wrong. My positive views turned into wrong views as I began to read beyond, for my second blog post. Each page tearing apart what I thought was a great friendship, but I’m glad I kept reading!
Moving on, I believe that I have read enough to answer the question, Is Khaled Hosseini’s novel AP worthy? Hosseini has used two characters to develop his story very similarly to the way that Toni Morrison did with Guitar and Milkman. The foil in The Kite Runner is between characters Amir and Hassan, both of whom have completely opposite lifestyles and are treated differently. Since these foils are developed in The Kite Runner along with other books we’ve read, it allow me to believe that this book is of AP merit.
Foils alone can not be the single reason for a book to become part of an AP curriculum, there has to be more context involved with, and with The Kite Runner, this is the case. Hosseini is able to make the reader think and realize if the part they are reading is significant or, not such as, “I watched Hassan get raped.” (75), this is significant because as the reader this is the first time after Hassan is assaulted, you know for sure what actually occurred. Once you tie it back to the incident that happened a chapter prior, you now must begin to depict the reasoning for placing these phrases where they are. In this case, Hosseini wants the reader to know the direction the relationship between Amir and Hassan is headed. It went downhill fast. “I could step up into that alley, stand up for Hassan-the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past-and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end, I ran.” (68). The downfall begins here with a choice that Amir will never get back, his decision to leave Hassan by himself and get tortured is where the relationship falls apart. There are parts of the book before this, where I got the sense that Amir’s thoughts were already headed in a direction where all the stereotypical racists and anti religion minds were. I noticed this first at the end of chapter 4 where Amir in his mind says, “What does he know, that illiterate Hazar? He’ll never be anything but a cook. How dare he criticize you.” (30). I believe that this is the true personality of Amir, and he is learning it from his father whom Amir is trying to impress and believes that Hassan must be in his way. These ideas and relationships that must be interpreted in order to make sense of the direction of the book, is why I believe this book consists of AP merit context.
Novels that contain enough complexity and characters that seem realistic to the reader is what really brings out the idea that a book is of AP merit. As far as helping me on the AP exam, I am now able to have another book in my arsenal to choose from while answering free response questions. The Kite Runner is a perfect book to use while responding to a question like we received on our midterm. The question talked about the past and I can relate The Kite Runner to this prompt because I am able to see a trend in Amir’s actions as he is affected by his past and knows that he needs to change the way he is reacting to it. Amir knows he needs to try and forget, as he mentions in chapter 11, “Someplace with no ghosts, no memories and no sins.” (119). This develops the theme of past affecting the present as Amir has moved to America and is now trying to restart fresh.
If I am being honest, I don't believe that this book should become part of the AP curriculum, because it’s a frequently banned book due to its language and and context, but also because I don’t believe that it holds the same depth of analysis that the other books we’ve read do hold. This is the only argument that I would be able to make against it being an AP level book. Also, it is hard to tell if it does or doesn't have as much depth, because a lot of in-depth analysis is found after reading books more than once, and Mrs. LaClair has done that with all the book we’ve studied. Therefore allowing there to be a lot to talk about and discuss.
Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner in my eyes has the potential to be an AP style book with AP merit. This book includes foils, important character development, relationship development and complexity within the novel, which enables the reader to use context clues and in depth analysis skills in order to figure out the meaning behind the author's text. In my opinion this book should not be brought into the AP curriculum, although I do believe it is of AP merit and must be analyzed closely, it also doesn't quite have enough analysis for an AP class.
I definitely enjoyed the discussion of foils and character analysis as a plausible reason for making it AP worthy. An AP novel should have characters that are not directly analyzed by the author, the analysis needs to be made by the reader itself. In addition to this although I have not read the book I like how you are able to draw information that would make the characters known for someone, like me, who has not read the book. Although you made good points with the analysis of characters are there any stylistic elements, symbols, themes, etc. that might also make it AP worthy? I think with the addition of these it would make your argument much stronger.
ReplyDeleteA good discussion of the various factors that might make a book AP-worthy. Your ability to relate the book and its characters to other elements we've seen this year is a nice way to make the determination. I think you're right that it is not as complex as the other novels we've read, which is one reason I would probably not include it. While it has a compelling story and clear thematic ideas, it's a book I feel most students would be able to read independently without much need for input from me (which makes it a great pick for this assignment).
ReplyDeleteI thought you made some very good points as to why this is a book with AP merit but that you wouldn't necessarily teach it in an AP English class. One thing that really brought your points to life though was how you compared this book to a few of the books we have read this year. This gave me a jumping off point to better understand the points you were trying to make. You also did a nice job of incorporating actual quotes from the text and using them as evidence to support your claims. Overall, I really enjoyed reading your blog post and I agree with your opinion of this book holding AP merit but not containing enough to analyze in an AP class.
ReplyDeleteReally loved your discussion about complex characters and their ability to make a novel of AP merit. I completely agree. I also think that having the complex, realistic characters cam enhance its enjoyment for the reader. It was a little unclear to me (in your discussion of Hassan's assault) where your argument was headed, but I think you did a great job of trying to incorporate evidence into a subjective argument.
ReplyDeleteI think one of your strongest arguments was how effective the novel would be for the AP exam. I really enjoyed that. I wanted to ask you though, in terms of other novels besides "Song of Solomon," where the AP merit derives from? Because I think that well foil characters are crucial to enhancing the analysis of the novel, I think other books, such as "The Handmaid's Tale," earn their AP merit through complex narration. Just wanted your opinion on that, but overall really great job in blending together your different arguments.