Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Fish Bowl #6, Chapter 21 of The Kite Runner

Welcome to your sixth fish bowl!

A few reminders if you're looking for an A for the day:

(A) Bring at least one quotation and/or page reference into at least one of your responses.
(B) Explain your thinking thoughtfully and thoroughly (try to avoid the one-sentence response).
(C) Keep it professional, including the usage of proper grammar and spelling.
(D) Comment frequently from the beginning of the conversation to the end.


Remember also that you're welcome to get into a hot seat in the inner circle for a little while and earn some of your daily participation points there.


Enjoy!

108 comments:

  1. Do you think the dead tree is symbolism for something? if so what could it be symbolism for?

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    1. I think the dead tree symbolizes the death of Hassans' relationship with Amir. That was the tree that the two boys played on when they where kids so if its dead its only makes sense.

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    2. The pomegranate tree is a symbol of the connection between Amir and Hasaan. When they are friends the tree bears fruit but later the tree dies. This shows the strength of their relationshiop

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    3. Well at the beginning of the book it talks about how Amir and Hassan would sit in that tree and just have fun, but maybe now that Hassan is dead and there friendship was never forgiven the tree is dead and there's no bringing it back to life.

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    4. I'm not sure what kind of symbol it could be or necessarily what it stands for, but I definitely see the possibility of the tree coming into play later in the story. Maybe he'll return there again and the tree will be living or he'll have another experience where a tree will symbolize a form of change in his life.

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    5. I think that the dead tree is an important part of the book because i feel like it shows amir and hassans friendship throught the book.

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    6. I think that it symbolizes the now dead relationship between Hassan and Amir. Amir is now trying to redeem that friendship which is why he looked for it and the carving in it, and also why he was reminded of the fruit. P. 264 "The tangy taste of pomegranate crept into my mouth." He is getting closer to bringing back his friendship with Hassan, but hasn't quite healed it fully.

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  2. On page 259 why do you think those two men were trying to sell his amputated leg?

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    1. I think that they were trying to sell the amputated leg because they need money and will do anything to get it. Even if they have to sell body parts, they will o what it takes to survive.

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    2. He probably needed food for his family. On page 260 Farid said "You can get good money for it on the black market. Feed you kids for a couple of weeks."

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    3. The leg being sold on page 259 shows two things to me. First people are suffering so much they will sell anything in order to live. Two the leg symbolizes what the Taliban takes away from Afghanistan; pride, money and blood.

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    4. Responding to Paul's comment, I definitely think his family played the biggest role in the situation but why do you think he'd sell his leg over something else? Of course in this case it seems he doesn't have very much money but if he had something else why would't he sell that instead?

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    5. He probably needed the money so he can buy food or supplies of some sort.

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    6. P. 260 "'You can get good money for it on the black market.'" That man was willing to put away his needs in order for him and his family to survive. You see a lot of times the people of Afghanistan put their families before themselves and their basic needs.

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  3. I think that Baba's house still being in shape symbolized Hassans love for Baba and Amir even after everything Amir has done to him.

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  4. I wonder what kind of long lengthed emotions were probing amir when he looked at the tree? I think It was a sense of belonging because it reminded him of his childhood.

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    1. I agree the tree showed exactly how true and great Amir's and Hassan's friendship was but I'di magine that with all the good memories of the tree came the bad ones of the past.

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    2. I think that he was reminded of his friendship with Hassan which encouraged him to find Hassan's son in order to redeem himself of ruining that friendship. It was a reminder that hurt him but also encouraged him to do what's right. P. 264 "I stood under it, remembered all the times we'd climbed it, straddled its branches, our legs swinging, dappled sunlight flickering through the leaves and casting on our faces a mosaic of light and shadow."

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  5. On page 263 "I don't want to forget anymore," this is what amir said and what exactly does this mean?

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    1. This symbolizes that he now acknowledges his past and realize that everything that had happened happened for a reason and turned him into the man he is.

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    2. Amir is finally facing his past with courage rather than trying to hide and run from it with cowardice. He has had enough trying to forget about his past and instead is facing and moving on by redeeming himself.

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  6. I believe that the dead tree is symbolism for the death of Hassan. It resembles how Hassan and Amir fell apart and their sins were left atoned.

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  7. On the first page of chapter 21 Amir states, "He's Selling his leg?", this shows a lot of symbolism of the area they are in and how desperate people can be. But in times like this would you do the same if it meant food on your table and clothes on your back?

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  8. On page 262, Amir visits his old house and spends a lot of time reflecting. The house is a symbol of the condition of Afghanistan because in the beginning of the story the house is in a splendid condition and then later in the story the house is in ruins.

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  9. Do you think the way the Taliban works is overall effective? Do you think striking fear deep into the hearts of the citizen really proves an effective method?

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    1. I don't think it's an effective method because either way the rules of the Taliban are going to be broken by ignorant civilians and the Taliban will just react by executing the people that break the rules.

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    2. I believe that this method is effective in the way they want it to work. They want all of the people to look up and notice that they are the ones in power and this method achieves that goal.

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    3. Responding to Dalton, I also think that it is an effective way of showing power, but, do you think there is any other way that they could show their power without taking the lives of citizens. No matter what they did to end up in that position.

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  10. What kind of crime was commited that the couple were sentenced to be stoned to death? and what kind of an impact does this have on amir? I think it could remind amir of when he just stood by and basically watched hassan get degraded or his spirit "killed" while in the allyway

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  11. I think the Amir going back to his own home and seeing the tree that him and Hassan used to sit under and hangout was very important because I think that it made him FINALLY see what all he did and the pain he caused. This is important for him because now that he fully understands the situation he can finally get over it and know that if Hassan was still alive he would forgive him

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  12. I think the tree is significant because it is kindove the last place where Amir and Hassan had met and where Amir wanted him to throw pomegranates at him to make him feel better about what he let happen to him in chapter 7

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  13. On page 260, Amir explains how he does not even recognize his home town. "I look at the corners were Hassan and I would run kites, and play, but its worthless now. I don't even know this place I once called home?

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    1. I think that this symbolizes what happens when a Fascist group takes over, such as the Taliban.

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  14. On page 268 why do you think that the scrawny boy wanted to sell Amir sexy pictures? It's really creepy and it's a little kid selling inappropriate pictures.

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    1. The book describes the boy as scrawny so I can assume he has very little to eat. I think he is selling those pictures because he needs food.

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  15. What does the change in the city of Kabul on page 259 symbolize?

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    1. I believe it symbolizes destruction, because when Amir goes back to Kabul he says he feels like a tourist.

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  16. On page 261 it says" I stood outside the gates of my father's house, feeling like a stranger." Why does Amir say this? Does he have hope for his country?

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    1. Amir does this because he feels as if he betrayed his country after he left to go to America.

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    2. I think he says this because he has made a new life for himself in America. He's been away for so long that his childhood seems like a different life. I don't think that Amir has hope for his country because of all of the terrible things that the Taliban have done to it.

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    3. I think he feels this way due to the fact that it has been so long sense he has been to the house. He feels like a stranger even though it is his own house he grew up in.

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  17. The meeting between Amir and the Taliban, is going to be about Hassans son at the Orphanage.

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  18. I agree with Austin, I think that they are going to use Hassan's son as something to hold over Amir. I think that Amir can get Hassans son back but I think that he is going to have to make a payment of some kind.

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    1. I think that Hassans son is the only reason he is still in Afghanistan. Even if Hassan was still alive and Ali wasn't sick he would have never come back. If he did come to Afghanistan he would probably have left right after he learned that he and Hassan where brothers.

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  19. Do you think Hassans son is better off at the orphanage or with the Taliban?

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  20. On page 246, It talks about the snipers that were used to kill many people were hidden inside of the trees, before the shorawi cut them down and burned them. Amir is overcome with sadness when he learns of this.

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    1. Hassan is dead.

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    2. You can't come back from the dead Ryan, Zombies aren't real.

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  23. What has the Taliban done to Hassans son?

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  24. I think when Amir re-visits the house it really shows just how evil people can be. The author creates sadness as a motif. It shows how destruction can be so evil and why it makes this place such a bitter, unforgiving wasteland.

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  27. I really disagree with the actions of the Taliban on page 271, "He picked up a rock and showed it to the crowd". I really was hurt when the Taliban stoned that man and forced his own wife to watch her husband die by stoning.

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  28. Farid told Amir “And they call themselves Muslims” on pg 271. Why do you think that Farid has a different viewpoint than the Taliban when they are all taught the same way? Could it be personal experience with the Taliban that has made Farid hate them?

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  29. On page 259, Amir is talking about a store sign and he says "The letters k and r were missing from its name." This is symbolic because the name of the book is kite runner and now kite running is "missing" from afghanistan.

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    1. I really wonder how much the Running of the Kites symbolized in Afghanistan. I think that this country relied on this and that now that the Taliban has taken over, the symbolism of the Taliban is that the all of the country has fallen apart.

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  30. The Taliban wants to show people to be afraid of them. They would kill people at a half time show to prove this.

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  31. Do the Taliban kill all the people to show that they are in charge, or because the people actually committed a crime?

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    1. They kill people in front of large crowds to assert their power and to show that they are oppressing another group. They are using fear to control people which is very powerful.

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    2. I think they kill the people who have committed crime, to show people that they are in charge and anyone who doesn't follow their rules will be shot and killed.

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    3. They committed the crime of adultery, the Taliban priest says on page 270 "And what manner of punishment brothers and sisters, befits the audlterer?"

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  32. What do you think Amir's life would be like if Baba and him hadn't fled the country?

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    1. I think that it would of been worse with the Taliban and they might of even been killed by them.

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  33. Zaman: "Despite your promise, I think I will live to regret this. But perhaps its just as well because I'm damned anyway. If you think something can be done for sohrab then I will tell you, you have the look of a desperate man" - I think he says this because amir is the kinda guy that will not stop until he achieves what he wants, and as zaman said, he looks extremely desperate.

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    1. I agree, I think that Amir needs this. I feel that Amir needs to find Sohrab because of all that he did to Hassan. I think he looks desperate because he needs to find Sohrab its eating him up inside so knowing that the Taliaban has him most have killed him inside.

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  34. In this book I would say the Taliban are the leaders, because they can do what ever they want and get away with it.

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  35. On page 259 Amir says "I saw a dead body near the restaurant. There had been a hanging." Has Amir gotten used to all the death around him? Or by him going into detail on the dead body, saying he's deeply disturbed by all this death that surrounds him?

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    1. I think he is disturbed by it because if he were used to the death then he would not elaborate on the topic with his thoughts. But because he put a good amount of thought into it then that means it had significance to himself and therefore I think he was disturbed by the dead body.

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  36. What reasoning do you think the Taliban official is taking the children? Prostitution? Labor? Terrorism acts?

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  37. I think the Taliban's appearance at the soccer game, shows that death is everywhere here. To think you could be having a normal day simply viewing a soccer game and then these evil, powerful men come to kill, really makes me understand just how lucky we are to live where we do.

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  38. They said that the couple were sinners becuase they had to give a reason to why they killed them. like on page 268 they said "every sinner must be punished in a manner benefiting his sin. And what manner of punishment brothers and sisters befits the adulterer? how shall we punish those who dishonor the sanctity of marriage." This is saying how these people being killed cheated on their spouse and are now being killed for it. I feel like this is more of a moral crime than a government crime because to punish someone with death for that just seems wrong. was the Taliban justified in killing the people at the game?

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    1. They are not justified but they don't need to be because they have no challengers or people going against them.

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    2. Yes the Taliban justifies themselves. They truly believe they are doing the right thing. These are evil acts in the eyes of the rest of the world though. And the rest of the world do evil in the eyes of the Taliban. Now you have these dualalities that fuel this conflict. So killing the people at the game was good in their own eyes but evil in the eyes of those who don't believe in their morals

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  39. on page 262 Amir states that "Like so much else in Kabul, my father's house was the picture of fallen splendor." This statement sums up Amir's emotions about returning to his home.

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  40. I believe that when amir goes to revisit his old house as a childhood it brings back both good and bad memories, it reminds him of hassan but also of his readings, running his kite, talking to baba and just being a child. There is obviously many emotions portrayed through this single passage, and we could only imagine how amir feels.

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  41. What do you guys think the Taliban are using the kids from the orphanage for?

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    1. I meant to say, is Hassans death haunting Amir more than Hassans rape haunted Amir?

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  43. On page 264 Amir goes back to the pomegranate where Hassan and him went to play. Do you think that this is a good thing for Amir or it brings back bad memories and how he betrayed Hassan?

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  44. I think that Amir seeing the pomegranate tree brought back the bad memories and makes him remember Hassan and how he and him never made up and how Amir will never be able to truly be able to make up for his mistake when he was young. However, I also feel like it brought up good memories to like when they were really good friends and would read together and hang out in the tree.

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  45. On page 248 it says "Don't stare at them! Do you understand me? Never!"
    This show just how powerful the Taliban really is, for people to have such fear for these men is truly frightening.

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    1. The Taliban is using fear to control people.

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    2. I agree, you put a gun in a mans hand, they will listen to anything you say.

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  46. Page 256- "I saw a dead body near the restaurant. There had been a hanging. A young man dangled from the end of a rope tied to a beam, his face puffy and blue, the clothes he'd worn on the last day of his life shredded, bloody. Hardly anyone seemed to notice him."
    Are the people of Afghanistan becoming numb to the violence of the Taliban? What impact does this have on their society? Can their lives be changed for the better?

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    1. I think that there has just been so much violence around Afghanistan people that it's becoming a lifestyle for them. If you are born by with a river, you learn to fish. If you are born in Afghanistan at a time of violence, you learn to survive.

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  47. Its kinda scary how amir is told to not look at the taliban, because of how vicious and brutal they are known to be, they compared it with "You might as well poke a rabid dog with a stick". I just think its very compelling and demanding

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  48. What is the effect of having the man's wife watch her husband be killed and not the husband watch his wife being killed?

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    1. So they can take the women back with them and use her for whatever they want.

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  49. I felt it was very important for Amir to visit Kabul. It could bring back good memories, as well as bad, which could inspire him along his journey.

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  50. On page 261 and 272 I think that Amir thought of the good memories first, because there was more good than bad. The only bad memories of Hassan were when he let his own brother get raped and he pushed him away. Amir thinks of the happiness at his window on page 263, "I had watched Hassan and Ali load their belongings into the trunk of my father;s car." This really got to Amir because he watched them everyday, but he is singling out the time that they left. Now Amir knows why Baba was so sad then his own son left him.

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  51. Earlier on in the story Assef worshiped Nazi Germany. Now that the Taliban has taken over Afghanistan, such as Nazi Germany did in World War 2 (Striking fear into the people such as on page 271). With all this happening do you think there is a chance that Amir will run into Assef again?

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    1. I think that is a valid statement. I believe the raping of Hassan by Assef in Chapter 7 is a foreshadowing for the Taliban's takeover later in the book. Assef resembles the Taliban because Hassan is the hopeless and harmless citizen that violence and rape comes to. I am wondering that same question to about if Assef will come into the book again. I also wonder if the Taliban leader could be Assef, what do you think?

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  52. Amir going back to his childhood house brought back mostly bad memories i think because when he looked out his bedroom window it only reminded him of Hassan and his dad leaving for good. And when he saw the tree at the top of the hill i think that brought back bitter memories because thats the spot where he and Hassan had spent lots of time and grown up with that tree

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  53. I think the significance of Amir going to Baba's house when it was falling apart was how everything from his childhood is dying, dead, or falling to pieces. Rahim is dying, Hassan, Ali, and Baba are all dead, and his house is falling to pieces.

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    1. I agree with this, and also I think it symbolizes that the old Afghanistan is dying off with the rise of the Taliban.

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  54. Does Amir look at Afghanistan as a positive country or does he see it more as a place to forget?

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  55. Do you think that all the suffering Amir has overcome throughout the story so far has made him stronger? Will the mental strength he has gained, help him overcome future obstacles?

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    1. I think that the suffering has made him stronger because he is learning to overcome obstacles.

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  56. Would Kabul be the same way it is today if the Afghans had lost control to the Soviets?

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  57. On page 267 Farid says 'You came all the from America for a Shi'a." This quote shows that the segregation between the Muslim groups still exist and still plays a role in the life of the people. My question is why can't the people get over the two religions and get along? Why does the Taliban have to kill based on religion?

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  58. I feel like in this chapter we are able to see Amir’s true determination to claim Sohrab and take him out of the orphanage. Despite the horrible conditions of the orphanage and the extreme over population of the kids, it is difficult for Amir to just pay for Sohrab to leave the orphanage.

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  59. The significance of Amir going to Babas house is that it shows how much things have changed and that Kabul is no longer the same. Also, when Amir went back to the house he remembered the good and bad memories.

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  60. As time is progressing, Afghanistan is worse than it has in the past.

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  61. I think that the taliban leader will be Assef and he will not let them go and get the kid and then it will start a fight of some sort.

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  62. When Amir goes to meet with the Taliban, what do you believe will happen to Amir, and will he get HAssan's son back?

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  63. When Amir goes to see the leader he will see that the leader has Hassan's son and Amir will do everything in his power to save him.

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