Notes Heroes Journey Ray Nazir

Question 1: How do we define the personality traits of a hero? Every hero follows a process called the Heroes Journey There are many steps in the journey A hero is also Brave, Courageous, Selfless, Fearless a great speaker and etc. (Joseph Campbell) ( Cassady)

Question 2: How do the setting, conflicts, and antagonists influence the development of literary heroes ? Setting: Setting affects the development of literary heroes greatly. If a hero grows up in a warrior society similar to Beowulf they take in those warrior customs and tend to be warriors when they grow up. If a hero grew up in Athens during its golden years then they might tend to be more scientific and might go into philosophy. I Amir Khan was influenced by his setting greatly from the clashes going on in the social hierarchy, to what was acceptable in his culture ( rape) and to the filal piety he had, (Hosseini) (Barry) ( Garcia) ( "Beowulf." Shmoop ) (Hemminger )

Conflicts Conflict influences the development of heroes in many ways The entire Kite Runner book is centered around one major conflict in which Amir witnessed the rape of Hassan and did nothing and all actions after this are influenced by this This will later present him with the call to the heroes journey because he wants redemption for his sins “Near the middle of the story, the hero enters a central space in the Special World and confronts death or faces his or her greatest fear. Out of the moment of death comes a new life”. - Joseph Campbell ( Hosseini) ( Cambell)

antagonists Antagonists influences the development of a hero in many ways In The Kite Runner the young phastun that rapes Hassan played a large part in the heroes journey. Amir had to fight the young phastun to get his nephew out of the Taliban's control ( Hosseini) ( Cambell)

Citations "Afghanistan Online: Culture." Afghanistan Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb "Beowulf." Shmoop: Homework Help, Teacher Resources, Test Prep. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb "Heros Journey : Summary of Steps." Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction | Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb "Islamic Muslim Culture - Islamic Clothing, Muslim Clothing, Islamic Customs." Hilal Plaza Islamic Clothing - Muslim Clothes, and Arabic Clothing Online Shopping Store. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb "Kakar, Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response." University of Michigan, Center for the Study of Complex Systems. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb

: How does a hero reflect his/her particular culture and society? A hero greatly reflects his or her cultures particular culture and society For example in Beowulf's case he grew up in a warrior society in which glory in battle was the ultimate goal in life. This is why Beowulf became such a great warrior. In Amir's case growing up in Afghanistan he showed a lot of Its culture ( filial piety, Islamic customs etc) (“Afghanistan - Language, Culture, Customs and Business Etiquette”) ("Beowulf." Shmoop )

Question 4: How does a hero represent his/her time period and geographical area ? If a hero lives in the south during the 1800s for example he will most likely be racist or pro slavery, he reflects his surroundings due to social learning ( psychology) Each region in the world has its own cultures and customs. What is acceptable in Japan is not acceptable in America Growing up in Afghanistan Amir had Islamic customs influence him. ("Slavery." ThinkQuest ) ( Hemminger )

Question 5: How do various cultures reward or recognize their heroes? Warrior cultures for example honor or recognize there heroes by glory in the battlefield. The Aztec sacrificed there heroes to the gods In Islam heroes are recognized by great stories poems and by gossip, word spreads about peoples good deeds and a reputation will follow Amir's baba had a reputation for being an honest hardworking and good man and because of these the general accepted Amir's hand in marriage to his daughter (Pettifor )Pettifor (Jaffer) (Hosseini)

Question 6:What are the steps Amir took in this book that was his " Threshold" and " revelation"? The threshold Amir took in this book was when he left Afghanistan to escape the soviets and went Pakistan the Afghanistan. He left his known and entered a world of unknown ( western culture) He also faced another threshold. He had been situated in Freemont California for many years and even was on the verge of marrying his love. He had received the letter to go Afghanistan which was under the Taliban occupation. He left his known world and left to go to war torn Afghanistan The Taliban had made Afghanistan into a radical Islamic nation in which people were shot and killed on the street for no reason at all and all forms of human rights were banned ( Hosseini) “The Crossing of the First Threshold This is the point where the person actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known. “ - Cambell

Question 7: How did Amir's past experiences as a refugee escaping the war shape his future? Amir had a lot of things in Afghanistan. He had a beautiful house unlimited wealth and his best friend / servant and half brother Hassan at his side. This was all taken away from he when he left Afghanistan due to war This strengthened Amir's relationship with his father greatly, were as he was not living up to his fathers expectations in Afghanistan when he want to America he respected and loved his father much more. He became a stronger person for going through all of this and he began to forget about the “rape” This also gave him the strength to overcome many of the challenges he faced in life from financial to family ( Hossieni) (Kakar )Kakar

Question 8: Why do you think Amir planted the watch in Hassan's room? He later regretted doing this. Does this action not make him a hero why or why not? Does he make amends for this ? Amir could never forget himself for witnessing Hassan getting raped and not doing a thing to help him. Every time he saw Hassan he was reminded of this sin, so he thought planting the watch would get rid of Hassan and the constant reminder of his sin This action at first does not make him a hero it makes him the complete opposite of it. He was a coward He does make amends for this. When later in life he finds out Hassan was his half brother and his son Amir's nephew is in an orphanage in the Taliban controlled nation of Afghanistan he leaves everything he has spent many years building in California and goes to Afghanistan for a boy he has never meet before ( the call) (A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia.) ( Hossieni)

Question 9: How did Amir's father play a part in his journey ? Amir's father played a huge role in Amir's journey. Amir always looked up to his father at a young age and aspired to be like him His father always expected more from Amir and winning the kite tournament was the first time he ever impressed his father His father always seemed to like Hassan more then Amir. In America he took care of his sick father and his father was the one that helped him marry the generals daughter ( Hossieni) (Sahar, MD)

Question 10: Why does Amir feel obligated to go to Afghanistan and find Hassan's son ( the call)? When Amir was little his hazara servant ( half brother) was raped getting the final kite for Amir in the tournament Amir watched and said and did nothing He got Hassan kicked out of the house He feels obligated to go to Afghanistan to make amends and get his nephew ( Hossieni) (Burgess )