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   me-yuse Teacher
   High School - 12th Grade

   eNotes Editor

   Introduction:

   Father figure as distant and authoritarian. Both characters feel that they often have to measure up to their father's expectations of them.

   Body: (Compare & contrast)

   Soraya- views father as someone who does not understand her, wants her to be someone she's not.

   Amir- always seeking to gain father's approval, finds that he can't quite measure up to his father's expectations.

   * Consider as well how their relationships with their fathers helped shape their personalities growing up- Amir (emasculated to an extent by his father's overt masculinity) and Soraya (demurring to her father's expectations even after she is married- she doesn't drink in front of her father etc)

   *Be sure that it is a comparison and not just alist of facts pertaining Soraya & Amir's relationshipwith their respective fathers.

   1. Think about who seems to have an easier time getting along with his/her father as the novel progresses.
   2. Think about why the father figure acts in a certain manner; his standing in the community back in Afghanistan- this may impact his expectations of his child.
   3. Think about each father's attitude towards life andliving in the States. (eg: The General's refusal to go on welfare, Amir's father questioning Amir's desire to be a writer)

   Conclusion

   Describe how similar and different Amir and Soraya's father were. Comment on how their shared experiences in their dealings with parental expectations draw Amir and Soraya together as adults.

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   Posted by me-yuse on Saturday April 11, 2009 at 9:06 PM