Hassan's Letter

Dearest Hassan,

I am writing to you because I am sorry. I know it has been twenty years since our friendship, our bond, has deteriorated but I feel as if you deserve an apology. You did not deserve the horrible things that I did to you. I should have stopped what happened in that dark alley on the night of the kite flying competition. I should have saved you from the excruciating pain that Assef caused. I should have owned up to putting the watch and money under your bed. Believe me Hassan, I wish I could go back in time to fix my mistakes, and I don't expect you to forgive me, but you need to know that I am truly apologetic. I hope that some day we could again be the brothers that we once were. I wish to know how you are doing, if you're married, if you have children, where you live. I want to make up for all of the years that we lost. I love you Hassan. You will forever be in my heart.

Your old friend,
Amir

The Power of One Chapter 13

Chapter thirteen, along with the entire novel, demonstrated racism. Page 264 and 265 specifically show discrimination against Geel Piet. Lieutenant Smit expressed to Peekay and Doc that Geel Piet isn't worthy of their presence: "At my piano lesson on Monday, Doc found an excuse for Geel Piet to come into the hall..." (pg 264). Because Geel is black, he needed special permission to go places. He was despised by all races and is a prime example of South African racial problems. People called him names and wouldn't even look him in the eye while talking to him. When Smit talked to and about Geel Piet he referred to him as a "yellow kaffir": "Geel Piet, you just a yellow kaffir, but I got to hand it to you, you a good coach." Even when being complimented, he was called names. This racial problem was carried out all throughout South Africa.

Peekay is not like most men in South Africa. He doesn't seem to view race. When Peekay sees a person, the doesn't see their race. He tries to see their personality. Everyone else in South Africa seems to have racial views. It would be hard to be Peekay, a young boy growing up in a racist world, to have non-racist views. Somehow Peekay does it anyway. I think one of the reasons that Peekay doesn't view race is because he was once beaten up for his background. I think that when the Judge beat up Peekay in boarding school, it changed his view on society. Peekay was not abused for his race, but his ethnicity. The German kids at boarding school abused him for being English. I think this is what changed Peekay's outlook on racism.

The majority of the racist people are not the victims of racism. Almost every white South African was racist and almost every white South African had never been a victim of racism. The point is that, it is easy to be a racist when there are no personal consequences. When the people around you are racist, it is not easy to grow up any different. It would be extremely hard to grow up in South Africa, a country with extreme racial problems, as a non-racist. Especially during World War II. I think that the chances that a person in the mid 1900's grows up with equal views is slim to none. 

This picture demonstrates race equality. No matter what color a persons skin is on the outside, they can get along and be friends.

Patria and Pedrito

Patria and Pedrito

       In Chapter 8 specifically, a lot is told about Patria Mirabal. It's 1959 and Partia is 35 years old. She is married to Pedrito Gonzales and has two children Nelson and Noris. Throughout the chapter her love for her children is portrayed. She shows her overprotective characteristics on New Years when her son is out and about until the early hours in the morning. She is always worrying about her kids because she says if she was to lose another child, she would not be able to go on again. When Patria says "another child" she is referring to her miscarriage. She thought that God was punishing her for losing her faith and that is why her baby did not live. Throughout this chapter, Patria Mercedes' true personality came out.

       Prior to reading chapter eight, my feelings for Patria were lukewarm. I did not particularly like her and I did not particularly dislike her. After reading chapter eight, I decided that Patria was a favorable character. I feel as if I know Patria because her way of parenting reminds me of my father. She is a bit over protective the same way that my parents are over protective. My father, like Patria, gets nervous when he doesn't know where I am or what I am doing. Since I am familiar with this characteristic, I feel familiar with Patria. 

       Along with Patria being overprotective, I enjoy how Pedrito is not particularly overprotective. When Nelson asks to go to University, Pedrito, although not a fan of the idea, allowed him to go. Pedrito reminds me of my mother. She is not always a big fan of my ideas but she usually allows me to follow through with them. Pedrito and Patria remind me of my mom and dad which gave chapter eight a personnel feel to it. Because I personally connected with these characters, I really enjoyed reading this chapter.

Sinita

In chapter 2 of In the Time of the Butterflies, Sinita is introduced. Sinita is a young girl who is attending the same school as the Mirabal sisters. She instantly became friends with Minerva Mirabal when Minerva gave her a friendship button. So far in the book, Sinita is my favorite character. She's had such a tough life because of Trujillo. Trujillo killed Sinita's family. He killed her three uncles, her father, and most recently her brother. Her life hasn't been the same since. A family friend offered to send her to boarding school for free. This is why she is known as the Charity Student. Sinita won my heart over when I learned all of this about her. She seems to be such a sweet girl who doesn't deserve all the things that have happened to her and family. She is my favorite character in the book because I have sympathy for her.

My Favorite Maxim

"28. Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances."

This maxim from Sun Tzu's The Art of War stands out to me more than any other maxim in the story. In most circumstances, if something works, you stick to it. For example: if studying with flashcards helps a student get an A on their test, they will always study with flashcards. This is not the case with an army at war. If a specific strategy leads an army to a victory, they cannot use that strategy again because their enemy will expect it. If an army decides to attack their enemy at night and that leads them to success, they can never attack at night again because their enemy will be on higher guard at night from that point on. An army has to use different strategies at every battle if they want to win.

I added this picture to my blog because it says "Be Original" which is what a good army has to do if they want to continuously win battles. They have to think of original tactics so the enemy cannot predict their moves.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns Commentary Topic: How the Book Was Written

Khaled Hosseini, the author of A Thousand Splendid Suns, used very interesting writing tactics for this book. The book was written in four parts, with different points of view, and multiple plot lines. Another thing that Hosseini did that I found intriguing was how he made the separate plot lines intertwine. Most people love this style of writing since it’s less common but I think that there are ups and downs with Khaled’s writing strategies.

            Although the fact that A Thousand Splendid Suns is written in four parts is exciting, I think it can confuse readers. Because each part starts with a different persons point of view, I was easily confused while reading this book. I think that the author could have made it a bit clearer who was narrating each part of the book. Otherwise I found that having four parts made the book more fun to read.

            In A Thousand Splendid Suns, the story lines intertwine. Mariam and Laila’s lives are separate at the beginning of parts one and two but the two girls’ lives crossed at the end of part two. I actually have nothing negative to say about how Khaled made the plots interweave. It did not seem like it was forced or unnatural. The way that Hosseini made Mariam and Laila come together felt very believable and normal to me. I really enjoyed how Mariam and Laila worked together despite their differences. Overall Khaled Hosseini’s novel was very impressive to me and I highly recommend reading it.

Book Cover^^

Life of Pi Ending Analysis

The ending of Life of Pi was one that no one would expect. At the end of the book, Pi washes up on the shore of Mexico. He is later interrogated by Japanese investigators, Mr. Chiba and Mr. Okamoto, on what actually happened. He tells them the story that the readers have all come to believe; the story of him on the life boat with the animals. Then he tells the story of the people on the boat. I find the story of the animals quite hard to believe. I think that Pi wanted to believe the story with the animals to make it easier for him to cope with his feelings. I think that telling the story of the animals on the lifeboat was easier for Pi than telling the story in which he observes his mothers death. Pi's story of the animals is also a bit far fetched. Why would Pi be the only person that escapes the ship on the life boat? In my mind, that doesn't make any sense. Yann Martel leaves the ending of the book open to readers so they can choose which story they believe is true. For the reasons I have stated above, I believe that the story of the people on the life boat is the true story.