Chinese Seamstress

Red Scarf Girl

What's on your mind?

Kite Runner has so many events that are memorable (not always for good reasons), themes that are universal, and lessons that are timeless...what is on your mind as you read?

Redemption & Regret in Kite Runner

One of my biggest concerns when I was considering teaching Kite Runner was whether 9th graders could really understand the concept of regret and redemption. Perhaps somewhat naively I think not many of us have done something we spend a lifetime regretting like Amir does in the course of this book. Sure, there are things I wish were different in my life but I don't think I can pinpoint one action that I did or did not take that changed the lives of the people closest to me forever. Amir can do that without hesitation...and he is not proud of that fact.

I feel sorry for Amir--I understand his feelings of confusion and regret even if I haven't been in a similar situation. I think sometimes in class discussions many of you don't empathize--you don't understand his feelings or his point of view. We seem quick to judge because we claim we would never have done what he did. Easy to say as an outsider sometimes.

So if we as readers have judged Amir as cowardly and disloyal how do we bring ourselves to forgive him? What does Amir need to do to earn forgiveness and get redemption? Is it even possible for him to recover from his childhood full of regret?

Essay Topics

You will be able to choose your own final essay topic for Kite Runner. Begin a discussion here of what you think might make an interesting area to explore and write about...

Irony in Kite Runner

Where have you found good examples of dramatic irony, situational irony, and verbal irony in Kite Runner?