Topics for Further Study
- Imagine what might have transpired if Amir had confronted Assef to save Hassan instead of fleeing. Would Hassan and Ali have joined Baba and Amir in their move to California? Consider how this decision could have altered the course of their lives. Create a timeline outlining the key events and milestones for both boys as depicted in the novel. Then, develop an alternate timeline to explore how their lives might have changed if Amir had intervened to help Hassan.
- Reflect on the middle chapters of the novel, focusing on the interactions between Amir's wife, Soraya, and her parents. Examine how traditional Afghan culture, as portrayed by Hosseini, imposes different expectations on men and women. Analyze how Soraya Taheri and her mother, Khanum Taheri, are impacted by these cultural constraints on women's behavior. Write a two-page essay discussing the influence of gender politics in Afghan culture on the characters, using specific examples from the book to support your points.
- Form a small group and analyze the scene from pages 70 to 79, then revisit the confrontation between Amir and Assef in Chapter 22. Consider how Amir has evolved between these two events. Reflect on the letter from Hassan that Rahim Khan gives to Amir. Imagine Amir writing a response letter to Hassan. As a group, compose a one-page letter in which Amir explains his personal growth, changes in his goals, or shifts in his worldview. Use specific details from the novel to support Amir's statements.
- Examine Amir's relationship with Baba as described in Chapters 2 through 7. Create a list of adjectives that characterize Amir, followed by a list of adjectives that describe Baba. Compare and contrast their similarities and differences. Write a short essay detailing the relationship between Baba and Amir, providing at least four concrete examples from the novel to illustrate your points.
- In the novel, the character Assef is twice linked to Adolf Hitler. Conduct research on the early 20th-century German nationalist movement that led to Nazism. Compare and contrast the public's response to the Nazi regime with the Taliban regime as depicted in the novel. Assess how Nazism affected Germany from the 1930s to the 1940s and compare it to the impact of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. Use specific examples from the novel to support your analysis.
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