Complicated Kindness and The Kite runner

Complicated Kindness and The Kite runner
You must respond to three prompts in each of the three response journal entries that you write for one novel. But that’s not all: by the end of the three response journals for one novel you need to have used all six prompts at least once each. That way you aren’t talking only about the same three prompts all the time.
In terms of the structure and style of your reader response journal entries, use these guidelines:
• Use paragraphs to group your ideas, as you would in any type of school writing.
• Do not use formal essay structure; the structure can be more informal since it is a personal journal response.
• Use the first person pronoun “I” because the goal is to show your personal opinions and thoughts.
• Be specific in explaining and supporting your ideas. Refer to specific moments in the novel and use quotations when applicable, though a Works Cited page is not necessary.
• Go back to any annotations you made while reading to get ideas.
How do we form identity? Do we derive it from the encounters we make with people we interact with during the days of our lives? Could it be from the societal pressures that tend to shape our lives instead of letting us remain the way we are?
Identity can be best created by people when they know whom they want to be and to refrain from listening to what others want to see in them. The idea of people forming identity based on what others think is brought out clearly in Khaled Hosseini’s novel, Kite Runner. The protagonist of the book (Amir) allows everything in his environment to create his identity rather than develop one for himself. Amir is seen dismissing Hassan to play and impress other kids from other ethnicities not knowing his true identity to Hassan. He never wanted real friendship with Hassan just because he always felt as better than him due to the notion that Hassan was a Hazara. The perception of Hazaras/Pashtuns spoilt the idea of potential, true friendship that could have existed between Hassan and Amir. This was because Amir failed to understand that the concept of true friendship is never based on the class one occupies in society.
Hazaras were descendants from the Mongols that made them savage people for being untrue Afghanis. The Pashtuns, on the other hand, were perceived as true Afghanis. His identity is also established by his desire to have Baba love him. Amir is also manipulated by the environment as we see him moving from Kabul where he was under the cover of his wealthy father to America where he makes a livelihood from hard
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work. In the end, we see a totally reformed Amir who has learnt to be himself no matter what the surroundings have.
In Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness, we are confronted by Nomi, a rather naive lady who is the central figure in the narrative. She is in the struggle to come to terms with the loss of her mother and sister. Nomi is endeared to one Travis whom she is so much in love with that she blames all their hard times on herself no matter what. In her mind, she identifies herself as a very valued lover to the man. It later turns out to her that she is not. She learns that she was only being used for entertainment, sex tool and for drugs. She feels enslaved in the small town of Mennonite where she has lived all her life besides succumbing to teenage disorientation. We see a misused Nomi in the end that forever will be haunted by the acts of Travis but all at once she learns to let go and even gathers enough courage to leave the town on which she was so clingy.
The theme of identity can be seen in the following quotes: Kite Runner first;
The first quote is “Something is missing in that boy…A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything” (Hosseini 22). This is referring to a totally disoriented Amir. This is a statement made by baba to Rahim Khan in reference to Amir. It reveals both Amir’s and Babe’s traits. Babas describes Amir’s character of cowardice he lacks the courage to stand up for himself without seeking
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approval from his father, Baba who on the other side is bold and stands up strongly for whatever is right without hesitating. Amir reluctantly waits for babe’s approval so as to take a step in rescuing Hassan who later is raped by Assef. This quote also foreshadows Amir’s Character towards the end of the play he is not decided on whether to go and save Sohrab until he additional information from Rahim Khan
Another quote goes like: “If I changed my mind and asked for a bigger and fancier kite, Baba would buy it for me-but then he’d buy it for Hassan too. Sometimes I wished he would not do that. Wished he’d let me be the favorite” (Hosseini 51). Rahim Khan later tells egocentric Amir the truth behind the whole story. Amir then starts to chew the lie and comes to terms with the fact that both of them deserved to be treated the same way. This quote is explaining Amirs selfishness he wanted more treatment from Baba believing he was the only son he never realised that Hassan deserved equal treatment since he Baba’s son too.
In another case: “As it turned out, Baba and I were more alike than I’d ever known. We had both betrayed the people who would have given their lives for us” (Hosseini 226). After Rahim Khan shares with Amir the story about Baba, he begins to understand why his father had the obligation to treat Hassan in a similar manner to that used on Amir. Baba had always been torn between his two sons and had equal love for both. This quote explains the identity of Amir’s half-brother. Both
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Amir and Baba betrayed Hassan who had been loyal to them, Amir is responsible for Hassan’s death on the other hand Baba betrayed Ali and Hassan identity.
Amir teases Hassan in the beginning while reading stories to him. He gives him the wrong definitions for hard words and conjures stories instead of reading from the paper. “‘Let’s see. Imbecile. It means smart, intelligent. I’ll use it in a sentence for you. When it comes to words, Hassan is an imbecile'” (Hosseini 29). In reality the word imbecile is a word for a stupid person. Amir tries a prank on Hassan he strives to show how smart he is. Later on Soraya shares with Amir the story about teaching experience she got with Ziba. He learns and agrees that he was wrong and even immature for treating Hassan oppositely.
In the beginning… Amir is embarrassed for being friends with Hassan and tries to avoid being seen playing with him because he feels Hassan is of different ethnicity. “But he is not my friend! I almost blurted. He is my servant!” (Hosseini 41). Severally Amir has betrayed Hassan until he came to realization that he was his half-brother. We later see him learning the truth that Hassan is a half-brother that makes him guiltier than he have ever got in his whole life. Though Hassan was partly Hazara, he is still Baba’s son and deserves respectful treatment. Therefore, he devotes all his efforts and energy to saving Sohrab, Hassan’s son in an attempt to redeem self from what he had done.
The environment in which Amir lived played a role in the formation of Amir’s identity too. In general Amir
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managed to see the two sides of two diverse worlds. In Kabul, he used to be the son of among the richest men and could get everything he imagined. He would acquire the newest goodies and even the posh kites to fly around because his father was rich. He utters , “But it quickly became apparent that Hassan and I were better kite fighters than makers. So Baba started taking us to Saifo’s to buy our kites.” (Hosseini, pg 51) this quote describes both Amirs and Hassan’s character of being problem solvers. It foreshadows Amirs character of a redemptory in rescuing Sohrab .Things got completely different when he left for America. He had just no other option but to work for everything he needed unlike it was in Kabul during those old good times. He has now gone through the hard transition of achieving what he wants by money to doing so by working. In America, he could have the comfort of writing his novels personally, meaning that his childhood dreams were more realistic in America than in Kabul.
Finally, we see the last quote of a regretful mind that has finally understood its identity in family and society he hopes that after finding Sorhab there will be a way to end the cycle of betrayals and lies. “Come. There is a way to be good again” (Hosseini 192). This statement is directed by Rahim Khan one of baba’s old friends assuring Amir of good life and new beginning saving his half-brothers child and start life afresh back in Kabul
Amir had lived the job of making everyone around him happy to the extent of forgetting to
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find out whom he aspired to be in the process of growth which really influenced him to make lousy decisions. He is a great exemplification of what can find anyone who is not true to himself. A conscious mind should trust in itself, know who it is and be satisfied with that, no matter what consequences come along. It’s better when one is able to live with that person whom you can look and see in the mirror every day.
The following quotes can be seen from Miriam Toews’ A complicated kindness.
Throughout Toews story, Nomi Nickle attempts to unearth the truth behind her mother and sister’s mysterious disappearance while at the same time directing herself into clashes with the small town of Mennonite where she has lived since birth. She views the town prison and even gives off some sarcastic sense of dry humor, which somehow helps her, mask the trauma of her loss. Loss that has no answers. Self-discovery is a major progress in the book as a young woman gradually learns of her true nature and motive as her memoir takes her a step after another through the affliction and distress she faces. Having no parental guidance, falling for a sex pest and failure to find true friendship are the major aspects that aided Nomi on her journey to self-discovery.
In the beginning, we find Nomi absolutely blinded by Travis’ “love.” She finds him such a great treasure in her life that she claims, “‘I love being with you…you are almost perfect’ I told Travis. ‘I’ve got pimples on my ass’ he said.”(Toews, pg7). She sees a very incredible thing in Travis that she even
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accompanies him to the Pill whenever he asks. It is awkward that Travis does just too little to mirror affection showed by his girlfriend. She wants town all the blames for anything that goes haywire for their relationship whether it is by her fault or not. The quote refers to Nomi’s boyfriend who figures out his imperfections to disagree with Nomi who tells him that his ways are close to perfect.
The point when Nomi lost her virginity gives proof to this more vividly: “ In a way I think it might have gone better if I had not been bald, drunk, depressed and jealous. So if, when Travis whispered in my ear move with me, I hadn’t said: To Montreal? When he meant no, now, here, my body. And if afterwards he hadn’t given me an old mini-golf scorecard to wipe the blood off my legs and I hadn’t started crying in the truck on the way home and slammed it into reverse for no good reason going 50 miles per hour.” (Toews, pg 24)
Nomi has to live on, nevertheless, with all sorts of consolation from self and others “Things shouldn’t hinge on so very little. Sneeze and you’re highway carnage. Remove one tiny stone and you’re an avalanche statistic. But I guess if you can die without ever understanding how it happened then you can also live without a complete understanding of how. And in a way that’s kind of relaxing.”(Toews, pg 78) At other times we see her meditating “Life being what it is, one dreams not of revenge. One just dreams.”(Toews, pg 126) this quote vividly describes Naomis fate after her mother
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and sister left her. After a short time she leaves with her boyfriend to New York whom she’s in love with. They are forced to live on the slums due to the uncertain outbreak after she is lost for life.
Nomi was ultimately used by Travis for entertainment and sex. Travis constantly talked of plans of relocation to Montreal which Nomi laughed off. He eventually disowns her, probably to start afresh there. “Lydia was straight-edge but completely, disarmingly, non-judgmental. We had nothing in common. I just liked her weird evanescence and the way he did the most unbelievably nerdy things without knowing it or if she did know it she didn’t care at all.” (Toews, pg31) Nomi visits Lydia now more often which leaves Lydia trapped within the walls of Nomi’s sickness. Nomi now needs someone who is her age, living the same life she is now living to even enable her reflects on her meditation. Mennonite ways are for a select few who had something more to withstand tides.
In anybody’s teenage life, their most valued influences are their peers. Nomi a high schoolgirl gets little if not none of conversations with those existing in the school besides her teacher Mr.Quirking who doubles as her guide and counselor. This forces her to develop a charisma that is based on few ties and so, with nobody to help streamline her decisions, she does it herself. This made Nomi grow up more quickly and learn to make adult choices even before she got to be.
In conclusion, these two protagonists Nomi Nickel and Amir are from different backgrounds. We, however, see them in their search for hope, identity and dignity without noticing it but in the end they are successful. True nature and motives were achieved in both cases towards the end of the books, leaving them almost fully relieved from their past and ready for new beginnings. We find the two characters now willing to change to different beings by figuring out who they truly are. Amir has grown up to hate his misdeeds, is apologetic for mistreating his half-brother and repentant for that matter. Nomi, on the other hand, has come of age and understands why things could be the way they have been for her. She is able to let bygones be in the end and focuses on the future in earnest. That is how hidden, lengthy and traumatizing the road to self-discovery sometimes gets.

Works cited
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books, 2003. Print.
Toews, Miriam. A Complicated Kindness: A Novel. New York: Counterpoint, 2004. Print.

Step a: Write your thesis
In this step, you need to do some initial thinking and brainstorming. The topic of this final essay is Identity. You need to create a thesis statement or argument about identity. How will you do that?
Think about how identity is handled in the two novels. Do the main characters or protagonists of the two novels understand their own identity? Or do they come to understand it as they tell their stories? Do the main characters explore identity only to discover something? What is it? What is the so what about identity? What do you think the authors of these novels really want to say about identity? That will be your thesis statement.
Another way to think about this is to find a question that you can answer for both novels.
Questions you could ask yourself An answer could be your thesis statement
How is identity revealed in these two novels? Identity is revealed in these two novels by…
Do we always understand our own identity? What does it take for us to figure out who we really are? These novels reveal that it takes…to figure out who we really are.
Where does identity come from? These novels illustrate that identity comes from…
What influences the identity of the main characters? The identities of the main characters of these novels are influenced by…
Does identity affect their lives and life choices? How? Identity affects the lives and life choices of the two protagonists in three ways…
What leads to a strong sense of identity? What leads a character to feel lost? Or to resist his/her true identity? In these novels the characters resist their true identity because…
What are the effects of recognizing and accepting one’s identity? The effects on these main characters of recognizing or accepting their identities are…
Keep in mind the following:
• You must deal with both your novels in your essay.
Craft a thesis statement even if it is just a rough idea.
Step b: Create an outline
At the end of Unit 2, Lesson 5, you created an outline for an essay and submitted it for evaluation. Revisit the feedback you were given on that outline.

 
In no more than 500 words, explain why you chose these four lessons. Since the course has focused largely on narrative, or the telling of one’s story, as a reflection of identity, it is most appropriate to write your explanation of your portfolio as a narrative or story about your accomplishments in ENG4U. You may also choose to submit your explanation as an audio file where you tell the story orally instead of in writing. If you write it or tell it well, your story will answer the following questions:
• Why did you pick each of the four lessons?
• What skill areas do you think you showed growth in?
• What are your greatest communication strengths? Reading? Writing? Listening? Speaking?
• Overall, what skills do you still want to strengthen or improve?
• What did you expect when starting ENG4U? Did those expectations actually turn out?
• What are you most proud of accomplishing in the course?
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