Students turned in their motif journals and discussed the end of Kite Runner.
Then students had time to work on the following assignment:
Essay Prompts
Directions: Choose one of the prompts below and write a
3-4 page typed essay covering the scope of the novel, The Kite Runner. Support your essay with multiple examples
from the text.
Assignment
Details:
· Paper must be typed, 12 pt.
book font, double-spaced (all drafts)
· About 3 pages long
· Includes at least two
properly embedded quotes; at least three quotes for better papers
Due
Dates
· Rough Draft for peer
editing: May 28/29 (25 formative points)
· Final Draft: June 1 (75 summative
points)
Prompts
Expository
Options:
- At the outset of the
novel, Rahim Khan tells Amir “there is a way to be good again.” What, in your opinion, turns out to be
the road to redemption as the author lays out this thinking—not just for
Amir, but for any individual who has experienced some kind of moral
breakdown?
- Amir says of the
incredibly loyal Hassan on page 55: “That’s the thing about people who
mean everything they say. They
think everyone else does too.” To
what degree are the interactions of characters in this novel constrained
by their very different moral codes?
Who sees “the other” accurately in this novel? What is the key to that accurate seeing?
- When Amir fights Assef
his lip is split in two. This is just one in a long series of deformities
and scars presented in Kite Runner.
How does the motif of deformity help the reader understand the ideas of
guilt in Kite Runner? (Use at least three different characters and their
deformities / scars in you response.)
- How do you think the narrator
of Kite Runner define
redemption? Is redemption something that happens internally or externally?
How does Hosseini symbolize redemption in the book? Where does redemption
come from?
- You may come up with
your own topic, but must have it approved in advance of the rough draft
due date for it to be acceptable. One way to come up with a topic is to
look at the intersection of two different ideas in the novel such as “kites
& friendship” or “kites and dreams.”
The
Kite Runner
Essay Peer Editing Sheet/Check
List
Directions:
While reading your peer’s essay, make comments and check off the list of the
sections below. Attach this sheet to the
back of your drafts.
_____1.
Thesis Statement: Stated or Implied.
Write in the space below.
(Remember a thesis has 2 parts—a subject and an opinion. Example: “The use of trees in this novel is a
clever device for conveying character emotions.”)
A.
B.
_____2.
Introduction: What kind of introduction did the writer use?
Question
Quotation
Anecdote
Wake up call
Other
_____3.
Evidence: Prove your point with specific examples from the novel. On the essay, mark each of the following you
used in a different color.
Block Quotes using the text for
proof
Embedded quotes using the text for
proof
Paraphrase of incidents, language,
characterization, etc that prove your point
Analysis: Why this evidence proves
your point
_____4.
Transitions; Refer back to your thesis.
Keep your essay moving.
_____5.
Conclusion: What kind of conclusion did you use?
Summary
Circle back to the beginning
Possible solution
Restate and emphasize thesis
Further questions to think about
Other? (describe it)
_____6.
Tight Writing:
Active Verbs
Lean Language
Metaphoric Language
Sentence Variety
_____7.
Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling checked and corrected
On
the back of this page, describe two things that need to be revised the most and
two things the author does particularly well.
