Book Post 3 A Dog In The NightTime

The final section of the book was full of conflicts. Chris meets his mom again but also meets Mr. Shears and  Unlike Chris's mom, Mr. Shears does't know that Chris is autistic so he treats him like any normal kid. Because of his misunderstanding, Mr. Shears thinks that Chris doesn't really care about the people around him when he actually can't. Another conflict that erupted was Chris's Math A classes. In the already difficult time with his mother, Chris tells his mom that he needs her to come back to Swindon with him so he can take his Math A tests without living with his dad again. By saying so, Chris starts a new conflict because he creates a new hurrying worry in his mother's heart. In the end Chris gets what he wants but his parents and everyone else are still unhappy.
In our 3rd Lit Circle Discussion, me, Aakash, and Susan discussed about many things. First we clarified out understanding on the story, and then we discussed out thoughts about the main character Chris. In my opinion the whole story is made out of one major conflict- the parent to parent conflict. I think that if the parents sorted out their conflict and let everything go, then the life Chris went through would have been better. His mom may still have left, but if his dad got over it then he wouldn't have hidden the letters. Also, if his dad got over his mom leaving then he would have probably not have killed Wellington over anger and scared Chris. Everything would have worked out fine, Chris living with his caring dad and sending letters to his mom who still loves him.
The book A Curious Incident of A Dog In The NightTime has a writing style that is very unique that hooks the reader right when the first page is read. The whole autistic point of view is the one that really catches the reader's attention and the author really connects to it as he writes the book. I think that the main conflict traces all back to the parents after adding fragments of his parents's conflicts throughout the story. I'm glad that i have chose this book and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good story to read to pass by time.

Thoughts continued...

In the first 7 days in Hong Kong, we saw a bunch of old buildings, a bunch of new building, and a bunch of mountains towering over the buildings. We were invited to stay in my aunt’s apartment building and it was awfully small to house 6 people. aside from that our stay in Hong Kong was really fun. My mom would take me and my sister shopping and buy us stuff. Sometimes I would find something i wanted really bad like this glow stick and it was pretty expensive and useless to begin with, but i would drag my mom to that certain store and ask her to buy it for me. When she refused my offers I would cry on the spot, and throw a mini-tantrum while we were walking. The whole store was probably watching us in disgust while closing their ears to my sorrowful cries. Our visit in Hong Kong was short though. We moved onto our next destination Guangzhou.

During our stay in Guangzhou, my 6th uncle drove us to a far away village. While we drove to the village we passed by numerous patches of green colored plants growing high from the ground. They were muddied with water and there were people in these patches with no shoe and examining the green plants. I asked my mom what they were and she said they were rice seedling; my sister scoffed at the sight of it. When we reached the village I stepped out of the car, and a foul stench flowed into my noes. I jumped back and sniffed the air a little before deciding i should guard my nose. I looked up and saw a couple of kids kicking a Chinese water company water bottle around like they were playing soccer. I walked up towards them and stopped as i saw the sun shining on a brown colored thing that was just between two cliffs. At first i thought it was a pile of mud stacked up on each other, but when i saw kids jumping into it and making a splash sound i figured out what it was. I nearly barfed of the thought of how it got brown. My mom walked up to me and stared at the river.

Book Post 2 A Dog In The NightTime

In my groups second Lit circle discussion we talked about out our personal views on the main character, Chris. In the second part of the story Chris's dad finds Chris's book and he gets really mad at Chris and grabs him. Because Chris dosen't like being touched, he hits his dad back and they start to fight but Chris blanks out. After Chris wakes up he hears his dad walk to the trashcan and dump something inside.... A few days later, Chris decides its o.k to go and write in the book again because hi dad never said that its not o.k o write in the book. Chris searches in the trashcan, but he dosen't. He then looks around the house and arrives at his dad's room after looking everywhere else. He finds his book on top of a bunch of letters in a secret shoe box. He picks up the letters and notices that they are addressed to him so he opens some of them and reads them. The letters reveal the secret that his mom is actually still alive and she's living with Mr. Shears. His dad then catches him and he explains to Chris about why his guilty actions of saying Chris's mom died. He also reveals that he kills Wellington and Chris pushes him away. That night, Chris runs away..
One thing that catches my attention in this section of the story is Chris's reaction to his dad's grab. Chris punched his dad when his dad grabbed him, and to me this is an unexpected moment. Chris's reactions is kid of the one at fault for why Chris got hurt in the end. But his dad's sudden grab on his Chris is also at fault. Chris's dad knows how Chris feels about being touched and despite of that he still grabbed Chris. His dad pretty much deserved that punch, but he shouldn't have a started a fight. I think this fight was the true start of the story, because everything steps up a whole new level after it.
Overall, after reading the second part of the book I am still hooked onto the story and i can't wait to find out what happens next.

Response To Luis's Substitute

When i was looking around in Google reader, i found an rant on Luis's blog that I can relate to. In his story Luis talks about substitutes and the ups and downs of having one. In the following quote, he mentions his own feelings to how students behave toward a substitute and i can relate to them.

I hate it when people try and take advantage of substitutes like if they do not even know the rules of the school. In my old school, taking advantage of substitutes continuously happened throughout the year. I admit it I also used to take advantage but sometimes there is a limit. Some people take it too far. Some people try and impress their friends to think that they are hard (as in tough). Kids play tricks on substitutes that makes them look like fools. To me it is funny how some people try and be tough but fail at it. I believe it would be more embarrassing to fail at being tough than being completely quiet. Another thing that I find weird is when a person is concentrated at doing their work so much that they are alone or are not talking. This is weird to me because school is also about having some fun and not work all the time.

 In my middle school, substitutes were also taking advantage of. Sometimes the substitute wouldn't know how the class works and people would making fun of them because of that. Usually the making fun part advantage wouldn't go to far, and the substitute would leave the day happy. But sometimes some students take it too far.  Sometimes an addicting feeling would come up and it's like they have to make fun of the substitute or they won't live happy. It's also like Luis said, about how some people try to impress their friends by doing so. It might be funny to the students but to the substitute, I think, it's really painful. Back when I was in 8th grade, I was part of a painful experience for a substitute.
It was a seemingly normal day, that 3rd of May except their was a chubby substitute who was thought to have aids. Students in her class would make fun of her behind her back and in front of her so much she got mad. She screamed," shut the **** up" threw a chair across the room, and went on her way. The next day, we were informed that she got fired and guilt crossed my heart as I knew that i was also at fault for her loss because I had also made fun of her. I learned a lesson that day and i swore that i wouldn't make fun of a substitute ever again.
I'm really happy I'm in Asti now because the students here don't make fun of the substitutes.

Book post 1 A Dog In The Night-time

The book A Dog In The Nighttime is a very inspiring book to read. The author  Mark Haddon writes the story in the views of an autistic boy. The main character is an austistic boy called Christopher and he is the one who is telling the story. Christopher writes the book in first person and it's like a small section of a fictional biography. 
As i read the first section of A Dog In The Nighttime, i found many interesting things to annotate on. Christopher has a very bright mind, but he has problems dealing his "behavioral problems." For example, Christopher does like to be touched and if he is touched he punches the person who touches him like on page 7. On page 7 a policeman touches him, because the police was being really mean and angry at Christopher, because he thought that he killed the dog. Since the policeman was so furious, Chris couldn't stand him and he put his face onto the grass. Then the policeman grabbed him and Christopher punched him. In my opinion this was both Chris's and the policeman's fault. The policeman should have been nicer to Chris and not forced so many questions into Chris's head. He was acing like a bad cop instead of a good cop. This is also Chris's fault, because he could have added more detail to the answers he answered instead of just replying in a single sentence. Chris's autism is one thing to really notice and interesting to read about as it goes through the story.
After I read the first section of the book, I thought to myself  'is it possible for chris's mom to still be alive?' It really seems like his dad was lying about the heart attack because it's really unnatural for her to get a heart attack. Chris said that his mom was healthy and heart attacks aren't that common with middle aged people who are healthy. I also found it suspicious that his dad hadn't brought him to see his mom on weekends or holidays. It was kind of like his dad was avoid going to the hospital with his son. Therefore i had also thought that of the idea of Chis's mom could actually be alive.
Something that bugged me was when Ms. Alexander said that Mr. Shears and Chris's mom had sex. Chris's reaction to that was very unlikeable, because he didn't seem to freak out or anything our start hating on his mom. I mean i would get mad at my mom for cheating on my dad if that were to happen. Instead Chris called her a stranger and left.

Response Post To Colin

I found an interesting quote on Colin's blog about the story A Dog In The Nighttime.:

I had many questions after i read the first section. First; Will his attention to detail help him in the investigation? Also; What is the difference between autistic people and people with OCD? Also, Did his dad use Chris's mother's death as an excuse to get her away because she was cheating? We talked about this in our discussion. Elton said that he does not believe that she really died but that was just a way for his dad to not tell chris that his mom cheated. I agree with him but they made it very believable that she died because it was from Chris's perspective. I also think that because Chris's mom had an affair with Mr.Shears, that maybe Chris's dad killed the dog.

First off, I had the same question as Colin about the difference between autistic people and people with OCD. i think that  autistic people are not the same as OCD people because being autistic is not mental disorder. Autism is a new way to look, and think of things. I also don't think that autism is caused by the same thing as mental disorders
Another concept i found interesting in Colin's quote is that he mentioned that his mom is actually alive. I had thought the same thing when i read about his mom's heart attack. Chris said that his mom was healthy and heart attacks aren't that common with middle aged people who are healthy. I also found it suspicious that his dad hadn't brought him to see his mom on weekends or holidays. It was kind of like his dad was avoid going to the hospital with his son. Therefore i had also thought that of the idea of Chis's mom could actually be alive.
Something that bugged me was when Ms. Alexander said that Mr. Shears and Chris's mom had sex. Chris's reaction to that was very unlikeable, because he didn't seem to freak out or anything our start hating on his mom. I mean i would get mad at my mom for cheating on my dad if that were to happen. Instead Chris called her a stranger and left.

Kite Runner Final

8. Pick a character that interested you and write about them in depth. You can also analyze a relationship between two different characters.

After reading the book Kite Runner, I am completely captivated by Khaled Hosseini’s story. I liked how the story was told in Amir’s point of view and gave details on mostly everything, because I felt as if I was Amir and experiencing his life myself. Not only that, but what i found really interesting was the bond between the two characters Amir (son of baba), and Hassan (also son of Baba). Amir and Hassan’s fathers are connected with a 40 year relationship from when Baba’s father bought Ali and loved him like his own son till now as Baba’ friend/servant. Not only that but Hassan was believed to be born by Ali so he is also a servant to Baba and Amir. Hassan and Amir share an unbreakable bond, but Amir loses it after a fatal incident. I find this bond a wonderful subject to behold, for it is broken several times in the story, and the character Amir in this bond is one to never forget.

Throughout the childhood of Amir and Hassan’s life, they played together, read together, kite ran together, and did many other things together. Then on a beautiful winter day Amir and Hassan attended a Kite running contest, and won it with the help of Hassan. While Amir was celebrating his victory Hassan went to retrieve the blue kite that flew away from the runner ups hands. After Amir celebrated his victory he went to find Hassan, and saw him holding onto the blue kite with some mean kids they had encountered before, Assef and his lil’ gang. They threatened him to give him the blue kite, but Hassan refused holding the blue kite close to the body like a parent protecting their child. Because Hassan was not the same as them, he was a Hazara and they were the discriminated ones like Jews to German, was beat up and raped while Amir was in the corner watching the whole incident and stood their and trembled like a coward. Despite their whole friendship, and despite the fact that Hassan’s first word was Amir, Amir just stood their imagining that he’s helping Hassan in his head. In the end, after Assef and them left, Amir went to the beat up Hassan and mustered a “What happened?, I looked all over for you.”

   At the end of the rape numerous conflicts had erupted in Amir’s life. Their bond starts to break and Amir falls into darkness, feeling boundless regret for the nonetheless he had done while his friend was getting raped.
In the dialogue,

“I hit him with another pomegranate, in the shoulder this time. The juice splattered his face. “Hit me back!” I spat. “Hit me back, goddamn you!” I wished he would. I wished he’d give me the punishment I craved, so maybe I’d finally sleep at night. Maybe then things could return to how they used to be between us.” (92)

But Hassan did nothing as he pelted him again and again.

“You’re a coward!’ I said. “Nothing but a coward.” (92)

He even tries to regain himself by letting Hassan beat him up, but of course Hassan was to nice to do so. Is  ‘nothing but a coward’ really what Amir thinks? Amir has done nothing to help Hassan, but Hassan would risk his life for Amir’s safety. Also from this you can see how Hassan is loyal to Amir. He treats Amir as a true friends and tries to help Amir calm himself down. Hassan however does not stoop down to Amir’s level. He is not  fool who takes other people’s love for granted but the other way around. Hassan is a loving companion and a friend to Amir. Amir jan doesn’t deserve Hassan’s love.

After that Amir and Baba move away from Kabul and go to America and here their bond is completely broken. Amir finds himself graduating high school at the age of 18, and Baba finds himself a manager job at a local gas station. Over their life in America, Baba mentions Hassan’s name a few times over and Amir  immediately dismisses the idea of a conversation about him. After a few day/months, Baba passes away peacefully in bed after he bestows his last kiss on Amir. Amir then receives a call from Rahim Khan, a friend of his and Baba’s, asking him to meet with him in Pakistan. Amir accepts Khan’s greeting and flies to Pakistan to meet with Rahim Khan. In Pakistan Rahim Khan tells Amir the life Hassan has lived after he left with Ali. He then asks Amir to save Hassan’s son Sohrab.

Then Amir goes senile. He rejects Rahim Khan’s saving Sohrab proposal and his true nature awakens.
It is shown in the dialogue:

“Rahim Khan , I don’t want to go to Kabul. I can’t!’ I said.....

“Why me? Why can’t you pay someone here to go? I’ll pay for it if it’s a matter of money.”

“It isn’t a matter of money, Amir!”  Rahim Khan roared. “I'm a dying man and i will not be insulted! It has never been about money with me, you know that. And why you? I think we both know why it has to be you, don’t we?” (221)

In the quote Amir goes to his selfish side. After all that Hassan has done for him, Amir still shows resistance to help him back,  how pathetic can he get?  Amir is nothing but a coward. Rahim Khan is giving him a generous offer to redeem himself. but he refuses. He dosen’t deserve Hassan’s friendship nor Rahim Khan’s generosity.

However, this refusal starts a new life for Amir. After he leaves Rahim Khan’s home and thinks about it for a while, he realizes that that he can’t escape his guilt. Hassan’s son is at stake and he couldn't leave him just like he had done to Hassan. It was not the proper nor right thing to do. Those thoughts in Amir begin in the quote:

“ I can’t go to Kabul, I said to Rahim Khan. I have a wife in America, a home, a career, and a family. But how could I pack up and go back home when my actions may have cost Hassan a chance at those very same things?” (226)

Here their bond starts to recover. In the quote, Amir convinces himself that his family is just as important to him as to Hassan and his son. Amir knows that if Hassan was in the same situation Amir was in he would not hesitate to save this boy. The guilt cycle surrounding Amir and Baba will end with this boy ,Hassan’s son, if Amir would save him. He knows that his boy is the only way for him to be good again. In the end Amir saves Hassan’s son and brings him to America with him. His bond with Hassan is fixed and he is free of guilt.
To wrap the bond up, Hassan finally recieves Amir’s love and Amir is finally able to let the past go. Their bond is recovered and so the story is complete.
Overall this story was a great one and everything that Hosseini has written about was clear. A great book to read with a ‘moving and unexpected’ twist to the plot. I would recommend this book to everyone who enjoys a good story.