Tuesday, 19 October 2010
15.10.10
Reading chapter 5 today I found it interesting looking at the links between Assef and Hitler. I had noticed that Assef was blue-eyed and blond, but I hadn't really thought much further into it except the initial 'oh yeah' moment, so I found it useful to find out that when Assef mentions how he wants Afghanistan to be pure Pashtun it is ironic and also links him to Hitler, because like Hitler (who wasn't purely German) he isn't pure Pashtun because his mother is German, so it is ironic that he wants the Hazara people not to be allowed to live in Afghanistan when really if what he wanted ever happened he wouldn't be allowed to live there either.
Thursday, 14 October 2010
08.10.10 and 13.10.10
08.10.10
Today we read through Chapter Two of The Kite Runner, and we were set a homework about hoe Hassan's character was represented in Chapter Two. I found this lesson really helpful because without going through Chapter Two and analysing it in class I would have missed loads of the important bits about Hassan that you sort of skim over and dismiss when you're reading it, like how when Amir is thinking of the memory of him and Hassan and Hassan is up the tree, and Amir is looking up at him, it shows that Hassan is admired by present day Amir and is seen as important in his early life.
13.10.10
Today we split into groups and analysed Chapter 3, looking for how Baba's character is represented. We made spider diagrams with points about Baba and then evidence to back them up, and then Mr Francis made a competition (TEAM A RULES! even though we don't rule that much because we lost but oh well) between the two groups by asking for evidence that Baba was, for example, powerful, and then whichever group said the quote first got a point. I found this a useful exercise because it gave me more ideas for the essay about Baba, and also helped me to think of quotes to back my points up with, because sometimes I think of a point and then don't have any evidence to back it up with because its either too obscure or I can't think of the right piece of text.
Today we read through Chapter Two of The Kite Runner, and we were set a homework about hoe Hassan's character was represented in Chapter Two. I found this lesson really helpful because without going through Chapter Two and analysing it in class I would have missed loads of the important bits about Hassan that you sort of skim over and dismiss when you're reading it, like how when Amir is thinking of the memory of him and Hassan and Hassan is up the tree, and Amir is looking up at him, it shows that Hassan is admired by present day Amir and is seen as important in his early life.
13.10.10
Today we split into groups and analysed Chapter 3, looking for how Baba's character is represented. We made spider diagrams with points about Baba and then evidence to back them up, and then Mr Francis made a competition (TEAM A RULES! even though we don't rule that much because we lost but oh well) between the two groups by asking for evidence that Baba was, for example, powerful, and then whichever group said the quote first got a point. I found this a useful exercise because it gave me more ideas for the essay about Baba, and also helped me to think of quotes to back my points up with, because sometimes I think of a point and then don't have any evidence to back it up with because its either too obscure or I can't think of the right piece of text.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
01.10.10
Today we learnt about direct and indirect speech. I found it interesting when we were looking at the extract from Enduring Love where there was indirect speech because it felt like direct speech, like it felt like the author was talking to you, or like you had a little view into his thoughts.
Pashtun and Hazara
Pashtun people form just over half the population of Afghanistan and are said to be concentrated more in the east and the south but after they gained control over the rest of the country in the 19th century there are also Pashtun's living in the rest of Afghanistan too. The Soviet invasion of December 1979 has been the major determining factor in Afghanistan's ethnic relations since that point in time. From that time until mid-1991 the various factions of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, all dominated by Pashtuns, controlled the country's government.
The Hazaras settled in Afghanistan at least as far back as the 13th century and have always lived on the edge of economic survival. As a result of Pashtun expansionism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries the Hazaras were driven to the barren, dry mountains of central Afghanistan (the Hazarajat) where they live today separated into nine regions. Many Hazaras also migrated to major towns, like Kabul, where they struggled with economic deprivation.
In The Kite Runner it is clear that the Hazara are seen as lower compared to Pashtun's because Ali and his son Hassan are employed by Baba and Amir to work in their home.
The Hazaras settled in Afghanistan at least as far back as the 13th century and have always lived on the edge of economic survival. As a result of Pashtun expansionism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries the Hazaras were driven to the barren, dry mountains of central Afghanistan (the Hazarajat) where they live today separated into nine regions. Many Hazaras also migrated to major towns, like Kabul, where they struggled with economic deprivation.
In The Kite Runner it is clear that the Hazara are seen as lower compared to Pashtun's because Ali and his son Hassan are employed by Baba and Amir to work in their home.
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