The Purpose of this Blog

Your task on this blog is to write a brief summary of what we learned in class today. Include enough detail so that someone who was ill or missed the lesson can catch up with what they missed. Over the course of the term, these 'class scribe' posts will grow to be a guide book for the course, written by students for students.

With each post ask yourself the following questions:
1) Is this good enough for our guide book?
2) Will your post enable someone who wasn't here to catch up?
3) Would a graphic/video/link help to illustrate what we have learned?


Wednesday 25 January 2012

Aspects of Narrative: KEY MOMENTS.

*identify and analyse key moments in the first half of The Kite Runner.

How do 'Key Moments' help to tell a story?

- changes the narrative (shift in focus)
- changes readers perspective and opinion of characters
- changes setting à when Amir moves to USA
- they pose as milestones, which other aspects help to bring together
- changes the course of the narrative
- 'culminates' à when many smaller key moments lead up to big key moment.

SIGNALLING KEY MOMENTS

Amir's 'mean streak' (20) - STRUCTURE

- A time gap is represented through the spacing between one paragraph and another. This shows the conversation between Baba and Rahim Khan, had been playing at the forefront of Amir's mind over night.
- Among the smaller paragraph, it is set in its own one-line paragraph. The paragraph decrease to this single line. This builds tension, giving a conclusive idea, proving he does have a 'mean streak'.
- Lack of detail in the moment, showing he is reluctant to talk about the conversation.
- Maybe there is more significance in what isn't said than what is said. This shows that he may not want to show emotion, and prove Baba right; that he is weak.
- Lack of description in aftermath of conversation, contrasting with usual vivid descriptions throughout the book. This demonstrates juxtaposition from highly descriptive conversation - "I could see him searching, reaching for the right words" - between Baba and Rahim Khan, signals change.
- Reported speech compared to direct speech, shows a reduction of speech entirely.


Reporting of a Dream (30) - FORM

- In a dream, there are limitless possibilities, anything can happen. This can be a form of foreshadowing as it could give a preview of what could occur later on, what Amir wants to happen.
- Hassan's dream dominates Amir's story. But Hassan firstly mentions Amir showing his priority lies with Amir. This could also show Amir's selfishness as he would probably have cut Hassan short if the dream didn't involve him.
- "I almost apologized, but I didn't". This looks back at the idea of Amir's 'mean streak', showing it is present.
- In the dream, Amir enters the lake first, shortly followed by Hassan. This is a clear indication to Amir's sense of leadership in their relationship, also he sees Hassan as easily manipulated as he adores Amir so much.
- Within the dream, the monster is non-existent. Which shows it is easier for Amir to defeat; it could be just a figure of his imagination.
- The monster is also likened to that of the monster in Amir’s mind represented by the constant guilt he feels, which he battles to keep under control after the rape.


Sign of healing (40) - LANGUAGE

- Hassan's language changes from chatty to barely even responsive. The doctor is always polite but Hassan appears scared, repeating 'oh'. This foreshadows the fact Hassan will soon become mute as a result of the rape ordeal.
- Repetition of 'oh' also shows he finds it hard to adapt to new situations.
- Lack of words within key moment, show his fear and shortness of vocabulary to respond to the kindness of Baba. This clearly highlights Hassan's illiteracy, as usually he can hold a conversation however not so much now.
- Hassan’s naivety and innocence shows itself as he is focused entirely on whether it will hurt.
- He is stunned at the gesture Baba had given to him, with a simple "thank you". Again, saying only a few words when he speaks. Showing Hassan is out of his depth at this point.


Sophie!

18 comments:

  1. Brilliant blog Sophie. I especially liked the section about "sign of healing" as I hadn't covered that in class, this has shown me clear yet interesting interpretations.
    Lisa(:

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a really good blog, very detailed. There's a lot here which has helped me understand the key moments even more.
    Mumtas

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is a great blog! Really helpful and informative, especially considering I wasn't it :)
    Jess.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amazing blog, well done fatgyal :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow! After all I got a website from where I can actually get valuable
    information regarding my study and knowledge.

    Also visit my website - Louis Vuitton Pas Cher

    ReplyDelete
  6. I do agree with all the ideas you have presented for your post.
    They're very convincing and will certainly work. Nonetheless, the posts are very quick for starters. May just you please extend them a bit from next time? Thank you for the post.

    My weblog - Air Jordan Pas Cher

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello! This post could not be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my good old room mate!
    He always kept talking about this. I will forward this write-up to him.
    Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!


    Have a look at my site - Sac Louis Vuitton

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi there just wanted to give you a quick heads up.
    The words in your post seem to be running off the screen in Chrome.
    I'm not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I figured I'd post to let you know.
    The design look great though! Hope you get the issue solved soon.
    Kudos

    Feel free to visit my page Louis Vuitton Handbags

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's difficult to find well-informed people on this topic, however, you sound like you know what you're talking
    about! Thanks

    My web blog ... Oakley Sunglasses

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hello, I enjoy reading all of your article. I like to write a little comment to support you.


    Here is my blog post ... Sac Guess Pas Cher

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hurrah, that's what I was seeking for, what a stuff! present here at this blog, thanks admin of this web page.

    my website ... sell beats fast ()

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's very trouble-free to find out any topic on web as compared to books, as I found this article at this web site.

    Review my blog post - Louis Vuitton Pas Cher

    ReplyDelete
  13. Excellent post. I was checking constantly this weblog and
    I am impressed! Extremely helpful information specially the last phase :) I maintain such information much.

    I used to be looking for this particular information for a very lengthy time.
    Thanks and best of luck.

    Look at my blog post: Air Max

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hello, the whole thing is going nicely here and ofcourse every one is
    sharing data, that's really good, keep up writing.

    My homepage ... Cheap NFL Jerseys

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hello there! I know this is kind of off topic
    but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site?

    I'm getting fed up of Wordpress because I've had issues with hackers and I'm looking at alternatives for another platform. I would be fantastic if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

    Look at my web page ... Sac Louis vuitton pas cher

    ReplyDelete
  16. It's very effortless to find out any topic on web as
    compared to books, as I found this article at
    this site.

    My blog post - Healthy Meal Plan For Weight Loss

    ReplyDelete
  17. Conceived in 2004 by Yuhki Kamatani, Nabari no Ou has all the ingredients for a
    successful series, however with the release of volume 4, are they only now coming together.

    The ubiquity and efficacy of mobile advertising, including mobile gaming, are still at the immature stage; I believe that the real magnitude of
    mobile advertising in the near future could be massive, exceeding current estimates.
    But, you need to consider numerous factors as well
    as things, that might influence required gems along with cheats for clash of clans.


    Have a look at my web site how to install clash of clans on mac

    ReplyDelete