the kite runner #3

This week for outside reading i continued with The Kite Runner. Khaled starts his trip to find Sohrab. An old friend of Rahim Khan, Farid, will drive him. They stop overnight and stay at Farid's brothers house. They have little money but still give him a nice meal. Khaled notices the children staring at him and he thinks they want his watch, but later he realizes it is his food they wanted because they did not get any. Khaled tells them why he is going and the Farid starts being nice to him because he understands now. They arrive and he sees the city has changed a lot since he had last been there. Khaled makes the mistake of staring at the Taliban and an old beggar runs up and tells him not to do that. He gives the beggar some money and keeps talking to him. He finds out the man had been a professor at the same college as him mom and they knew eachother. Khaled likes talking to him because his father doesn't like to talk about it. They soon go to the orphanage to find Sohrab but he is gone. Some officers take a few children every month and the man who runs the orphanage can't do anything about it. They leave and decide they will keep looking until they find him. Later that day they go to a soccer game where Khaled always went when he was younger. The officers bring in two people and stone them to death. Khaled makes a call to meet with a main officer to find out about Sohrab and to try and get him back.

the kite runner #2

This week for outside reading I continued to read The Kite Runner. Rahim Khan starts telling Khaled all about what happened with Hassan. Rahim Khan had gone to find Hassan because he was lonely and for many other reasons. Hassan is very sad when he learns Baba has died. At first Hassan didn't want to leave his new home but eventually he agreed that he would. He and his pregnant wife went back to the house with Rahim Khan. They would not move in, they insisted on living in the shack in the backyard and they would do all the work for Rahim Khan. Hassans wife gave birth to a stillborn baby girl and they burried her in the backyard. They were devestated. Then his wife, Farzana becomes pregnant again. One day an old lady shows up starving and dirty. They soon learn it is Hassans mother. They nurse her back to health and she moves in to an empty bedroom. Farzana has a son and him and his mother become very close. She lived until he was four and then she didn't wake up one morning. Hassan taught his son how to fight kites just as he had when he was a kid, but kite tournaments are soon banned too. A few years later Hazaras are massacred in Mazar-i-Sharif. It hits Khaled all he has done. All the times he didn't stand up for Ali and Hassan. Khaled asks if Hassan is still in the house and Rahim Khan gives him a letter from him. There's also a picture. He finishes reading and then asks how Hassan is. Rahim Khan goes on to tell him about some officers that went to the house and thought it was too big for Hazaras even though Hassan said he was just looking after it. They say they will move in and Hassan protests, so they take him to the street, order him to kneel, and shoot him in the head. Farzana runs out screaming and they shoot her too. Rahim Khan wants Khaled to go find Hassan's son, Sohrab, and bring him back to him. Khaled says he can't, it's Rahim Khan's dying wish. Khaled still won't. Then Rahim Khan tells him Ali isn't Hassan's father. He realizes Baba was and they were half brothers. Khaled gets very mad that no one told him the truth. He storms out of the apartment. He realizes all the signs he should have a long time ago. He also realizes he needs to go find Sohrab to make things better after all the bad he has done.

the kite runner

This week for outside reading I skipped the Twilight series and continued with The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, that I started a while ago and then quit in the middle. Things in Afghanistan are continuing to get worse. Hassan faces a lot of trouble because he is a Hazara. One day after Khaled wins a kite tournament and Hassan runs and gets the winning kite, Khaled sees some other boys torturing Hassan in an alley. He just stands there and watches because he knows if he tries to help he will get hurt too so he runs home. Although he never tells Hassan, he always seems to know. This causes a lot of tension between them. It eventually gets bad enough that Hassan and Ali move out. This is very hard on Baba, but Khaled is secretly relieved. Baba and Khaled go to America to start a new life. Rahim Khan stays to look over the house. In America Khaled gets married and becomes a writer. Baba is very sick and ends up dying. Rahim Khan is very sick. He calls Khaled to Pakistan and says "there is a way to be good again." Khaled thinks about all the people close to him and all that he has done wrong and decides to go. He gets there and finds Rahim Khan is dying. He tells him that he not only wanted to see him before he dies, but also he has to tell him something important. He says that all the years he had lived in their house he wasn't alone, Hassan was with him. He had thought about writing and telling Khaled that, but he wasn't sure if he would want to know. He asks if he was wrong and the truth would be no, a lie would be yes, so Khaled just says "I don't know." Then Rahim Khan says he is going to ask Khaled to do something for him, but first he will tell him something about Hassan.

2 annotated citations

Research Question:

Should prisoners be isolated in solitary confinement units?

Laughlin, Meg. "Does Separation Equal Suffering?" St. Petersburg Times 17 Dec 2006. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source. Edina High School. 8 Dec 2008 http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMN0307H-0-5708&artno=0000283433&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&title=Does%20Separation%20Equal%20Suffering%3F&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=N&ic=Y.

Meg Laughlin is a writer for the St. Petersburg Times. She writes mainly about criminal cases and the treatment of prisoners. Most of her articles are about the problems prisoners face in being locked up. A lot of her articles also involve racial issues. This article is written for the public to inform of the effects of solitary confinement. This article is similar to another that I have cited. Both articles are stories about people who have had the experience high security solitary confinement with minimal privileges. Both of the men would cut themselves with whatever they could find just to have something to do. Both also attempted suicide multiple times and one of the men succeeded. Both articles state that solitary confinement causes severe mental problems, however only one of the articles states what the prisoner did to land in solitary confinement. This work challenges the fact that prisoners are kept in solitary confinement because it states what the prisoner did, and the results of their actions.

Belluck, Pam. “Mentally Ill Inmates at Risk in Isolation, Lawsuit Says.” New York Times 9 Mar 2007. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source. Edina High School 8 Dec 2008 http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMN0307H-0-9017&artno=0000283445&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&title=Mentally%20Ill%20Inmates%20at%20Risk%20in%20Isolation%2C%20Lawsuit%20Says&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=N&ic=N.

Pam Belluck is a writer for the New York Times. She doesn’t seem to focus on one main topic, she writes about a variety of them. This article is also intended to raise awareness about the mental issues solitary confinement causes, written for the entire public to read. This article relates to “Does Separation Equal Suffering?” In this article the man succeeds in killing himself after many attempts. The boy in the first tried to kill himself many times but never did. This article focuses more on the mental issues that come up for a person living in solitary confinement. This article shows many of the negative affects of solitary confinement. One man says ''How many more men will have to die?'' and ''how many more men will be driven to harm themselves before this problem is fixed?'' This author is biased against solitary confinement and is trying to convince the public to agree with her.

eclipse

This week for outside reading I read Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. I finished the second book of the series and started this one right away. In this book Bella learns all about the history of the La Push tribes when she goes to the bonfire with Jacob. There's been a lor of killings in Seattle and and Charlie becomes very overprotective. Jasper says it is because there are new vampires. He tells Bella all about how he became a vampire with the armies in Texas and this is what's going on now in Seattle. The Cullens are going to join together with the werewolves to fight them. Bella notices stuff from her room is missing and realizes someone is trying to track her scent. Jasper teaches everyone how to fight the newborns. The wolves can't talk so Edward has to read their minds to translate what they are saying. While he is doing that he finds out about all the other problems and things they are thinking about. He relates their minds to a soap opera. He then tells Bella everything and she learns Leah is a werewolf, and the only girl one. That is why she looked so sad during the stories at the bonfire when they told about all the sacrifices many males made in becoming werewolves. The day of the fight comes and Bella's taken far out in the forest to hide her scent. Edward agrees to stay with her the whole time because she is afraid he won't come back if he joins in the fight. Seth also stays so Edward can read his mind and find out what's going on in the fight. Victoria and a newborn find them and Edward and Seth find and then kill them. Seth sees that Jacob has been hurt because he had to save Leah. Then they all meet up and the Volturi come. They kill the one newborn who is left. Jane says Arturo might come visit because Bella hasn't been turned into a vampire yet. This book was really good and I'm planning to start Breaking Dawn soon.

new moon

This week for outside reading i read New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. I finished Twilight and then started this book right after. It was so good i finished it very quickly. This book started off slowly and not so exciting, but in the second half i just couldn't put it down. I didn't like the part when Edward was gone. I didn't like it becuase Bella was all depressed and nothing very exciting happened. I liked how Edwards voices Bella heard everytime she was about to do something dangerous all lead up to them ending up back together. I thought this was an interesting and unexpected way for them to get back together. I think it's interesting that she would jump off a cliff just to hear Edwards voice. This part also shows how the Cullen's special talents can get them into trouble. If Alice hadn't seen that vision Edward wouldn't have tried to kill himself. I think Edward should let Bella become a vampire because that's what she really wants, and also for him i don't think he would ever want her to die. However one reason I wouldn't want her to is becuause it's not fair to her parents. Especially for Charlie, he already doesn't like Edward at the moment and Bella leaving Charlie for Edward forever seems a little unfair. If I was her parent I think I would want whatever made my daughter happy, so even if she did change into a vampire I would want her to still come see me and not just leave forever. Another part i really like was how Rosalie is more accepting now, before she was the only one who really wasn't. The thing I like most about this series is how the author ties everything together and makes it very exciting. I'm excited to start the next book and also for the movie on Friday. It will be interesting to see how the two relate.

twilight

For this quarter i decided to read Twilight. I heard a lot about them and a lot of people recommended them to me. I also wanted to read them because of the movie coming out in 10 days. I just recently started the first book of the series and I'm already almost finished with it. Once I start reading it's almost impossible to quit. I'm hoping to finish the first one tonight after i write this. I usually don't like books that are so unrealistic, but this is definitely an exception. If these books had not been recommended to me I don't think i would have ever started reading about vampires. Right now I am at the part where Bella is in the hospital after being attacked. That part was very exciting because they make you want to think she's going to die, but she really can't because there's still three more books. I'm also really wondering what will happen next. Like where Bella is going to live? I feel bad for the dad because she told him how much she hated it there and he didn't do anything wrong and then she just left. Another thing I'm still wondering about is what happened to the girl vampire? She might want to take revenge on the Cullens, but that would really be a stupid idea because they're so strong and they could kill her easily. Because of the foreshadowing in this book i think Bella will become a vampire in one of the later books. I think this because she already got bit once and she asked why they didn't let her just become a vampire. This would make life a lot easier for her because she wouldn't be in so much danger and also she could be with Edward forever. The only problem would be her parents. I'm excited to finish reading and see what happens next.

post seven

This week for outside reading I read a poem called "The Man in the Glass" by an unknown author. My mom hung this on our refrigerator a while ago, probably about a year ago, and I never really took the time to read it. Today I decided I would. It’s about how it’s not important what other people think about you, it’s just important how you see yourself. “For isn’t your father or mother or wife whose judgment upon you must pass, The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life is the one staring back from the glass.” (5-8). If you cheat yourself to make others see you as a better person it only ends up hurting you in the end. “You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years and get pats on the back as you pass but your final reward will be heartache and tears if you've cheated the man in the glass.” (17-20). A person who cheats through their life won’t think of them self in a positive way and that’s what matters the most. People come and go throughout life and the only one who’s always with you is yourself: “(…) the man in the glass says you're only a bum if you can't look him straight in the eye. He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest for he's with you clear to the end” (11-14). This poem uses simple language to convey a complex meaning. The words and phrases are simple and easy to understand, but the whole poem together has deep meaning. Another important aspect I think made the poem better was the rhyme scheme. I like when poems rhyme because I think it makes them more interesting to read. “The Man in the Glass” followed the rhyme scheme: a b a b c d c d e f e f g h g h i d i d. This made the poem comfortable to read because it wasn’t so random.

post six

This week for outside reading i read The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. The author wrote this story about his own life and he is the main character in it. He lives in Afghanistan with his father and two servants. Ali, the first servant was adopted by Khaled's grandfather when he was just a baby. The other servant is Ali's son Hassan, who is Khaled's age. Neither of them have mothers. Khaleds mother died during child birth, and Hassan's ran away. The boys play together, but Khaled doesn't consider them friends because they are from different parts of Afghanistan. They spend every day together. Hassan doesn't go to school because he helps out around the house, but when Khaled returns every day he reads to him. Sometimes Khaled will tell Hassan to do something, like shooting things out of his sling shot, but Hassan always takes the blame. Also Khaled sometimes plays tricks on Hassan because he is not as educated as him. Ali often worries about Khaled because he doesn't stand up for himself and he doesn't like sports. He would rather read and write. Khaled enjoys the time he gets to spend with his father, even though it doesn't happen often. There are some things Hassan is better at than Khaled, and he gets very jealous. One day Khaled writes his own story about a poor man whos tears turn into pearls and it makes him very selfish. Then at the end of the story the man is standing on top of a pile of pearls holding a knife with his dead wife at his feet. Then Hassan asks why he would make himself cry for real when he cut just cut an onion to get tears. This makes Kahled very angry because Hassan is illiterate and he doesn't think he should question him.

post five

This week for outside reading i read about separation anxiety. I read the article at http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/feelings/separation_anxiety.html. This was all about the separation anxiety in children, the causes, how to prevent it, and what to do when it does happen. Many children develop this disorder. The most common age for it to begin is 8 months old and the peak is at age 12-24 months. When a child is experiencing separation anxiety it could because they are tired, sick, or have experienced a change in their normal routines. The most common symptoms are crying and becoming worried when separated from a caregiver. There are many ways for a parent to deal with this issue. They should always remain calm, and never get angry. The parent should never try to sneak away while the child isn't looking, because this will just upset the child even more when they realize their parent has left. The parent should also try to familiarize the child with their surroundings before leaving. This topic relates to me because when I look back I can remember times I experienced separation anxiety. Whenever my parents would leave me I would cry and give my babysitter a hard time. I would worry my parents weren't coming back. This is normal in children, but it also can become a serious problem, but for the most part it can be controlled. If it becomes too serious a parent needs to see a doctor about it.

post four

This week for outside reading i started reading "The Wedding", by Nicholas Sparks. It was about a man who forgets his anniversary and his wife gets very upset. She then decides to go visit her son in New York. She doesn’t make it clear how long she’ll be gone, she just says a couple weeks. Wilson is very afraid that his wife, Jane, has fallen out of love with him. When she returned home everything was still the same. They both went about their normal daily routines, barely saying a word to each other. He knows he needs to do something, but doesn’t know what. Jane’s parents had always been very romantic, while Wilsons never showed any sign of affection. Wilson decides to go talk to Noah, Jane’s father, to figure out what to do. Noah and Wilson are good friends and enjoy each others company. Noah is sitting by the pond watching a swan, just as he is everyday. Wilson tells Noah what happens and asks what to do. Noah begins to tell Wilson about what he did while his wife Allie got Alzheimer’s. He would read her the story of their lives everyday to make her re-fall in love with him. Then Wilson realizes what he needs to do. Then the chapter ends.

post three

This week i read a blog by Joe Brooks. This blog is titled "Monday morning blues." Joe woke up at his normal time and began a normal day of writing in London. The trip is about a four hour round trip train ride. This is a normal day for Joe, combining his music with business, which are two of his favorite things. He decided to play his guitar before he left just to practice new ideas for some of his songs. His throat was hurting and he decided to stop before he made it worse, but then as he was putting his guitar down, a string snapped. He had no replacement for it. By then he could just tell it was "one of those days." Then he left to catch the train just like every other day, but this would turn out to be no ordinary day. As Joe was getting on the train he just had a gut feeling that something bad was going to happen. Something just felt strange, and not right. As they got to the second stop he was reading e-mails and trying to get some work done, when all of the sudden a lady screamed and then started shaking and crying. Joe looked up and saw bloody flesh and the debris of an elderly man. The man had calmly walked in front of the train in order to end his life. Joe couldn't move when he saw what had happened. He froze and couldn't speak. Millions of questions flooded his brain about why he would do this. The emergency services came and they found out the man was 75 years old and the train had been traveling at 90mph. This really made him realize how life can be so easily taken for granted and how he will try his best to live life to the fullest. I agree with him, because many people take life for granted, and don't realize that it could be ended at any time. This was written by Joe Brooks. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=10656908&blogID=323632739

post two

This week for outside reading, I read an article called "Fugitive Mom: 14 years on the run are over for Minnesota woman." This article is about a mom who took her kids and left the country for 14 years, and just recently returned. The woman, Holly Collins, will not go to jail for this crime. Holly and her husband got a divorce in 1990 and her husband, Mark Collins, received full custody. He had claimed that Holly suffered mental problems and she was only allowed to visit under supervision. Holly had claimed that her ex- husband had abused the children, and that's why they fled. In 1994 the two children met their mother at a local video store. The three left together and never came back. Holly said that her children were in danger and she would do whatever she needed to do in order to protect them. The next day charges were pressed against Holly for violating custody rights. Although Mark denies ever abusing his children, they say they are so grateful that their mother got them out of there in time. One key quote is: "Everyone has to figure out what's best for their kids, but if a mother believes your kids are in danger, you do anything to protect them. You have to figure out what that is, and for me it was running with them, it's the best thing I ever did," Collins said after her guilty plea. Holly says this when she's explaining why she left with the children. I think this is true because the most important thing is for them to be safe. Overall it's a good thing Holly left with her children because she was able to keep her children safe from their father, and she doesn't have to face any jail time. This article is from http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=525262&catid=2. And i couldn't find the name of the author.

post one

This week outside of class i read an online article called "Adopting from Russia: One Family's Story." This article was about 3 pages. It was about a family that went to Russia to adopt one child and ended up getting two. The two parents were not able to have children on their own so they decided to adopt. Soon after sending an application they got a call saying there was a 4 year old girl available for them. After finding out about the girl they learned she had a brother. The two parents decided they wanted to adopt him too. After the girl, Nastia, began to learn English she would tell stories about her life before. She would talk about her brother and began to pray for him. The two parents decided they would definitely adopt him too. They called the adoption agency and a picture was sent to them. The boy was named Vanya and he was 10 years old. He looked like a troubled boy with a shaved head and emotionless face. The family did not change their mind about adopting him though. The mom went to Russia to meet the boy that would soon become her son. He was standing with a group of boys and they were on their way to smoke a cigarette. When Vanya saw his future mom he ran and jumped in the van. He was happy and smiling the whole time. The picture seemed to prove a false image. They went to see his old house and it was exactly as Nastia described it. The kids grandma was their and she asked to hug her grandson one more time. So they brought him over and after a sad goodbye left for the airport. Vanya and Nastia's reunion was one of the happiest moments for them all. Everything went well and they never saw the troubled boy they thought they would. The kids are now 14 and 19 and the family is happy and everything is going well for them.