The Kite Runner Essay on Literary Value Essay Example for Free

The Kite Runner Essay on Literary Value Essay Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner relies too heavily on coincidence; consequently, surrealism masks the novel. Though the novel portrays the cruelty of the Taliban and poverty in Afghanistan, Hosseini’s reliance on coincidence lessens its literary value as the novel descends into ridiculous and unrealistic plot twists. As critic Edward Hower notes, such plot twists are â€Å"better suited to a folk tale than a modern novel.† Hosseini thickly foreshadows the plot line and in doing so, uses coincidence as a form of simplicity. He thus not only insults the intelligence of the reader, but also lessens the novels literary value by using contrived plot twists. When Amir randomly starts talking to a homeless man in the street of a devastated Kabul, for example, he learns that the homeless man was a former university professor who, coincidentally, taught with Amir’s long deceased mother. Amir learns more about his mother’s characteristics from the homeless man – that she was â€Å"profusely happy† – than he did from Baba, his father. This coincidence consoles Amir during his archetypal night journey through Kabul, and further lessens the novels literary value because it uses a ridiculous incident in an attempt to relieve the reader’s anticipation of absolute chaos and turmoil. Instead, the plot transforms into a surrealistic story in which the reader still anticipates a typical â€Å"night journey.† Hosseini even attempt to excuse his writing flaw through Amir, who explains that while the incident may seem coincidental, such random meetings occur often in Afghanistan. When Amir learns his former childhood nemesis, Assef – now the emblem of Hitler, who ironically was Assef’s childhood role model – keeps Sohrab hostage, the plot line spirals into â€Å"a folk tale.† Reality seems even more surreal. Just as Assef threatens and molests Hassan, he now ironically threats and molests Hassan’s child. When Assef and Amir fight, Sohrab defends Amir by skillfully using his slingshot to injure Assef’s eye; similarly, Hassan uses a slingshot to threaten Assef and protect Amir from Assef. After Amir’s surgery due to injuries from the fight, a scar appears above his lip; this parallels Hassan’s scar after a surgery that fixed his hare-lip. Ultimately, these ironies and coincidences demonstrate little literary mastery. Amir finally redeems himself from betraying Hassan when he selflessly flies a kite for Sohrab. He does so in an attempt to give Sohrab the â€Å"will to live again.† Before he runs a kite for Sohrab he echoes Hassan’s words by saying â€Å"for you, a thousand times over.† This scene ultimately draws too many parallels; the novel ends on a surrealistically happy note which devalues the overall Afghani â€Å"tragedy.† The tragedy ends on a ridiculous note by suggesting Amir redeems himself by acting like, and having the characteristics of, Hassan. The plot twists throughout the novel present more literary flaws than literary value.

Critical Reviews of Brave New World Essay -- essays papers

Critical Reviews of Brave New World Since the original publishing of Brave New World, the book has stirred up a brew of controversy. It has received many reviews both positive and negative. In this paper I will provide examples of both and look at the reasons behind them. My first review is a negative one. In the review the reviewer states as his main reasons for disliking the book are the obnoxious characters and plot holes. A few examples of this are that Bernard Marx is unhappy with his life and wants to expand his mind yet all he does is take random vacations to the Savage Reservation. The author of the review compares this to saying, â€Å"I’m having a bout with depression. I’m going to Iran,† then jumping on a plane and going. It just doesn’t seem to make sense. The author believes that there are many other more exciting plot possibilities if Bernard just stays home and actually does something. Also, the circumstances surrounding Linda annoyed the author of this review also. He feels Linda is obnoxious and feels that the savages would have either gotten her out of the reser...

My First School Memories

My first memory of school is the first day of primary school. It is my first day without the toys and a dress with a nice style. Primary school was far larger than my small kindergarten had been. It was a nice day, with hope and happiness and a lot of fun. I pretended to be a good kid, sitting on my seat carefully. Listening to the teacher, a kind beautiful woman called Miss Zhou talking softly to us.I observed the small tables and the small chairs change into the desks, without the colors; the piano in the classroom had disappeared, the big screen and the computer is in the front of the classroom. Suddenly, a girl with a Snow White style dress was pushed into the classroom, crying loudly, by her grandparents, and made the classroom’s serious mood become funny. The teacher gave us a card with our name and gave us some stickers for the prices. I thought, †It is just like our kindergarten. † Then, the teacher brought us to look around the school.  Like read about m emories? Read also  Flashbulb memory!It was an interesting trip, though it’s was tiring. The feeling of the new place and new life is the most valuable thing. Though lunch began later than the kindergarteners’, and there was no teacher to give us rice and soup, the lunch was still delightful. We can have an adventure in the school after lunch, though at that time we were not familiar with each other, but we still played happily and found some interesting places like the small garden to hide behind the teaching building and the sandy land beside the bike shed.I remember Angle saying that the small shells in the sand were put there by her. We had lessons in the afternoon; the textbooks were new, not like the old fairy tales books on the shelf in kindergarten. With the smiles and laughs, we left our school. This is my first school memory, it is full of new things and happiness, when I think about my first day in school, I feel that day is one of the most interesting thi ngs happened in my life.

Essay on Comparison of Modern Day Heroes and Beowulf

Comparison of Modern Day Heroes and Beowulf Most of us have heard of modern day heroes such as Spiderman, Superman, and the Hulk. Each is a hero to many children. Heroes are introduced to people early on in life usually as fictional characters, but as children grow older their perceptions of heroes alter. The characteristics of a hero are usually based around the ideas of a society or culture. In the epic Beowulf, the main character is thought of as a hero. Beowulf, a pagan warrior and the main character of the epic, shows certain characteristics such as bravery, loyalty, and generosity, which portray him as a hero. It is interesting how modern day heroes show the much of the same qualities as Beowulf. Bravery is a trait that†¦show more content†¦Loyalty is defined in Merriam Webster dictionary as â€Å"faithful in allegiance to ones lawful sovereign or government†. Also known as comitatus, Beowulf declares But if battle should claim me, send this most excellent coat of mail to Hygelac, this best of corslets that protects my breast; it once belonged to Hrethal. the work of Weland. Fate goes ever as it must! In this passage Beowulf is saying that what ever may happen to his body, send his coat of mail to his leader, for that is where his loyalty belongs. United States soldiers are often thought of as heroes, and travel to parts of the world where they might face death, and instead of burying their body in foreign lands they choose to be brought back to their homeland to be buried, showing their loyalty to their country. Generosity another trait of a hero is depicted by Beowulf on many occasions in the epic. When hearing of Grendel terrorizing Herot, Beowulf ventures off to see if his assistance was needed. He does this out of generosity, and when much treasure was rewarded, he gave it to his kingdom rather then keeping it for personal profit. After the September 11th tragedy occurred people came form far and wide to help out or donate money. Generosity is also displayed every year at Christmas when people go out of their way to help needy familiesShow MoreRelatedModern Hero vs. Anglo Saxon Hero Essay814 Words   |  4 PagesTodays modern day hero has similarities and differences than the Anglo-Saxon hero. The two heroes each have different values they believe in. Also, they are motivated to fight for different reasons. An Anglo-Saxon hero also fights differently than a modern day hero. An example of this comparison is Bono from the band U2 and Beowulf. Both modern day heroes, like Bono and An glo-Saxon heroes, like Beowulf, try to improve their societies, but do it in different ways and for different reasons. Anglo-SaxonRead MoreHeroism : Beowulf And Cuchallain928 Words   |  4 Pagesqualify to be called a hero, many people have done some heroic things at some point in their life; Beowulf and Cuchallain demonstrated heroism through their actions. A hero in the medieval times is considered to be someone that is a noble character that fights for his honor or the honor of his kingdom or community and also someone that is willing to risk his or her life for the greater good. Beowulf was a brave man that volunteered to fight a monster that was terrorizing the people of Herot. He heardRead MoreBeowulf : A Modern Epic Hero1595 Words   |  7 Pagesare saving the day. What comes to my mind is a tall, muscled, and good-looking man. The abilities epic heroes hold are without a doubt unspeakable. In common heroes today, they hold the ability to be strong, courageous, and have superhuman features. For example, the Anglo-Saxon heroes were always prepared to put their own lives in jeopardy for the g reater good. Heroes always have target goals they must achieve in order to accomplish significant objectives in society. Majority of heroes have superhumanRead MoreCritique Analysis Of Beowulf753 Words   |  4 PagesCritique Paper – Beowulf In the epic Beowulf, the main character Beowulf possesses all the qualities of a hero during the Anglo Saxon Era. He demonstrates his courage, loyalty, wisdom, and strength but are these qualities enough to consider him a hero by the standards of today? Beowulf has qualities that strong heroes have but didnt struggle to get them because he was born with it. He has many adventures, like fighting Grendel and other monstrous creatures but was very sure of himself. He wasRead MoreThe Four Characters Of Beowulf And Modern Day Heros738 Words   |  3 PagesThere are two basic types of heroesheros. Some heroes Heros take the direct approach and overcome obstacles with raw power and strength, both physical and moral. Others use their intelligence along with trickery and ruthlessness. It is hard for a hero to take a more direct approach than Beowulf. For example, he rips Grendel’s arm right out of its socket! He also shows moral strength by being champion of the values of his society. There are also some other things that can differentiate two types herosRead MoreBeowulf vs. Gilgamesh1212 Words   |  5 PagesBeowulf Vs. Gilgamesh The two cultures I chose to compare heroic values for are the ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Anglo-Saxon cultures. The texts I used in the comparison are Gilgamesh for Mesopotamia and Beowulf for Anglo-Saxon. Although they posses many similar heroic characteristics they also differ greatly. Beowulf is the earliest surviving epic poem written in a modern European language. It was written in Old English sometime before the tenth century A.D. The poem describes the adventuresRead MoreA Critical Appraisal of: Beowulf and Gilgamesh Essay examples1640 Words   |  7 PagesA Critical Appraisal of: Beowulf and Gilgamesh There are many differences and critical comparisons that can be drawn between the epics of Beowulf and Gilgamesh. Both are historical poems which shape their respected culture and both have major social, cultural, and political impacts on the development of western civilization literature and writing. Before any analysis is made, it is vital that some kind of a foundation be established so that a further, in-depth exploration of the complex natureRead MoreUnderstanding The Modern Medieval Hero Essay1872 Words   |  8 PagesUnderstanding the Modern Medieval Hero While the heroes themselves were crafted in time periods far apart, the foundation for Batman’s character can be traced back to Beowulf. This ‘character’ of The Hero is considered to be the ever-evolving foundation for many of the super-heroic characters prevalent in modern media. Batman and Beowulf in particular; as heroes they are strong, swift. As men they are sought after and considered the would be pinnacle of ‘attractive’ for their times. Being born ofRead MoreLiterary Vs. Real Life Heroes1618 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"What makes a hero different in literature compared to real life heroes?† The heroes in literature works can be traced back through centuries of stories. A hero is usually seen as the â€Å"good† guy or the savior. They exhibit heroic behaviors. A literary hero can be critiqued into many different forms of literary heroes. Real life heroes are people in everyday life that do nobel exhibits in everyday life that people see as heroic. Both literary and real life heros have some similarities and differencesRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Beowulf 3700 Words   |  15 PagesJames Quimby Mrs. Morris AP English 2 September 2014 Summer Reading Assignment Beowulf 1. This epic poem is one of the first works composed in the English language. It also tells us about the Anglo-Saxon people who lived in England and their culture. What values did these people support? What ideals did they try to live by? How do their values compare to our values today? Try to find similarities between our culture and this ancient culture. Use examples from text to support your points. The Anglo-Saxon