The Kite Runner Bellringer #11 9/25/13

1. The Kite Runner Bellringer #11 9/25/13 1. “For me, America was a place to bury my memories. For Baba, a place to mourn his” (129). What does Amir mean by this statement? 2. What does Baba give Amir as a graduation present? What is Amir feeling at this moment? What is Baba feeling? Today’s Target: I can recognize how the author’s choice of details supports the theme topic of a text.

2. The Kite Runner Bellringer #12 9/26/13 Write a journal entry about the prompt below: Think about Baba and Amir’s relationship since they arrived in America. How has it changed? Why do you think it has changed? Has it remained the same in any way? Give specific examples and explain how those examples support your claim. Today’s Target: I can recognize how the author’s choice of details supports the theme topic of a text.

3. The Kite Runner Bellringer #13 9/27/13 1. When Baba is disappointed in Amir’s career choice to be a writer, Amir stands his ground: “I didn’t want to sacrifice for Baba anymore. The last time I had done that I damned myself” (135). What does Amir mean by this? 2. After Baba’s diagnosis, Amir asks his dad, “What am I going to do now?“ (157) What does this statement show about Amir? 3. Baba is infuriated by Amir’s question and responds, “All those years, that’s what I was trying to teach you, how to never ask that question” (157). What does he mean by that? 4. What does Soraya confess to Amir the day they become engaged? Why does Amir say he believes Soraya is a better person than him (165)? Today’s Target: I can recognize how the author’s choice of details supports the theme topic of a text.

4. The Kite Runner Bellringer #14 10/1/13 Directions: Choose two of the quotes below from chapters 11-14. Give the context of each quote and explain its significance to this section of the novel. • "Not a word passes between us, not because we have nothing to say, but because we don't have to say anything—that's how it is between people who are each other's first memories…" (122). • "Baba loved the idea of America. It was living in America that gave him an ulcer” (125). • "For me America was a place to bury memories. For Baba, a place to mourn his” (129) . • "People need stories to divert them at difficult times" (139). • “My whole life, I had been ‘Baba’s son.’ Now he was gone. Baba couldn’t show me the way anymore; I’d have to find it on my own” (174). Today’s Target: I can comprehend challenging texts through use of questioning.

5. The Kite Runner Bellringer #15 10/3/13 1. In Chapter 15, Amir meets with the dying Rahim Khan. Where are they? 2. What does Amir say about clichés? Why does Amir use the cliché about "an elephant in the room" to describe his meeting with Rahim Khan? 3. Afghanistan has been seized by what political group in Chapter 15? Today’s Target: I can recognize how the author’s choice of details supports the theme topic of a text.

6. The Kite Runner Bellringer #16 10/14/13 Directions: Write a journal about the following quote. Use the questions to help guide your response. "There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls." (Howard Thurman) What does this quote mean to you? How does it relate to the novel? Today’s Target: I can recognize how the author’s choice of details supports the theme topic of a text.

7. The Kite Runner Bellringer #1710/17/13 Directions: Choose two of the quotes below from chapters 15-19. Give the context of each quote and explain its significance to this section of the novel. • “‘Hassan,’ I said. When was the last time I had spoken his name? Those thorny old barbs of guilt bore into me once more, as if speaking his name had broken a spell, set them free to torment me anew” (202, 15). • When I told him, Hassan buried his face in his hands and broke into tears. He wept like a child for the rest of the night” (207, 16). • “And I dream that someday you will return to Kabul to revisit the land of our childhood. If you do, you will find an old faithful friend waiting on you” (218, 17). • "A boy who won't stand up for himself becomes a man who can't stand up to anything." (221, 17) • “And now, fifteen years after I’d buried him, I was learning that Baba had been a thief. A thief of the worst kind…” (225, 18). Today’s Target: I can comprehend challenging texts through use of questioning.