Playing Panjpar

Throughout The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Amir plays the card game Panjpar. Amir first plays the game with Hassan and later with Sohrab. My friend, Ashley, and I wanted to learn how to play Panjpar. To learn the rules, we turned to the Internet. We were not able to find the exact rules for playing Panjpar, but we learned that Panjpar is similar to a Russian game called Prostoy Durak. Naturally, we looked up how to play Prostoy Durak at http://www.pagat.com/beating/prostoy_durak.html. Since we did not have a 36 card French suited pack, we used a regular 52 card deck and took out all of the cards from 2 to 5. Ashley and I had lots of fun playing Prostoy Durak. We added it to the rotation of card games we play along with speed and war. I won 5 out of 9 games. Also, I taught my step-dad Travis how to play. I beat him 2 games out of 3. I decided I might teach my sister that way we can play the game during long road trips.

Quotes from The Kite Runner

Some quotes from The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini stuck out to me. Here I will list some of the quotes and my thoughts about the quote.

Rahim Khan: "Children aren't coloring books. You don't get to fill them with your favorite colors." (pg.21)

I feel that childrens' lives would be easier if all parents knew about this quote. Most rocky relationships between kids and parents arise when colors clash resulting in a messy, troublesome brown. Luckily for me, my mom and I get along pretty well. I think this quote applies to siblings, too. Sometimes, I want my sister to be more like me, but I cannot force her to be anything—only she can.

Baba: "It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime..." (pg.142)

This quote is so true. Sometimes mistakes (like driving under the influence, plagiarizing an essay, missing an opportunity, etc.) can negatively change a person's life. Although not all events have to be bad to change the course of a life. I feel that events (like graduating from college, having a baby, or starting your dream job) can change lives for the better.

"That was when I [Amir] learned that, in America, you don't reveal the ending of the movie, and if you do, you will be scorned and made to apologize profusely for having committed the sin of Spoiling the End." (pg.357)

I laughed when I read this quote. My friend, Ashley, always accuses me of this all the time. I like to read the ending of a book first to make sure the book ends happily or I do not voluntarily read the book. Every time I do it, Ashley rolls her eyes at me and says I am ridiculous. At least, I never give away the ending to anyone; I only spoil the end for myself.

The Kite Runner

Hello. My name is Kali. Over Christmas break, I had the opportunity to read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini for my AP Literature class. I am not going to lie; I really did not look forward to reading this book because I heard some parts were sad. I cry easily. A few days ago, I told myself I would start reading and take a break whenever the book was too sad for me to handle. I started at 1:30 pm and finished at 9:00 pm the same day. The only break I took was for dinner. I was surprised by how much I liked the book (even though I did cry) and was glad I had the chance to read it. I was hooked by the setting taking place in Afghanistan in the beginning of the book. I did not know much about Afghanistan; I could only point it out on a map. By reading The Kite Runner, I was able to learn about the culture, people, and place before and after the wars that Afghanistan was involved in. It was scary to see how much a place can change in a small amount of time. I never realized the how strong tensions were between the Sunni and Shi'a Muslims. The Kite Runner helped me understand that tension and how destructive tensions between religious groups can be. I, also, thought it was interesting that school kid's Afghanistan have winter break instead of summer break. I was stunned. I cannot imagine what I would do if I had a three month long winter break. I would rather swim in a pool than ski, wear flip flops instead of snow boots, and drink fruit smoothies instead of hot chocolate. One of the concepts I struggled most with this book was Amir's betrayal of Hassan. I cried when Amir started pushing Hassan away, framed him, and pretty much thought "good riddance" when Hassan left. I did judge Amir at first, but I was wrong to cast him as a terrible monster so quickly. The things Amir did to Hassan were inexcusable, but everyone makes mistakes. I can never say that I have not hurt someone because I was jealous. I have not sunk to the level that Amir did, but that does not matter— I still hurt someone by words. Everyone has. Everyone makes mistakes every once in a while, but it is how someone reacts and deals with those mistakes that defines him or her. It might have taken Amir years, but he was able to try to redeem himself by saving Sohrab. As Rahim Khan said on page 302, "And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good." The next time I have the opportunity to be kind to a person I have hurt with my words, I will take it. I will always be looking for an opportunity to set things right; I just need to open my eyes.