Again, this prompt is homework for my English class, but anyone may comment. “I cringed a little at the position of power that I’d been granted, and all because I had won at the genetic lottery that had determined my sex” (148-149).What does this quote tell you about Amir? Is he showing growth? Also refer to pages 178-180. What does Amir realize about why he is okay with Soraya's past? Use specific quotes and examples to support your response.
18 comments:
Amir understands his position in life as a male. He has matured enough to know that "idle talk could prove lethal to a woman's prospects of marrying well" (148). This being so, Amir makes it a point not to judge Soraya's mistakes. Besides, Amir has had his share of mistakes too. Even though Amir's wife has been with another man, he casts this truth aside and loves her. Amir's simple answer to Soraya's past is "just forget it...f*** 'em" (178-180). He is no longer the selfish boy who lived for himself and his father.
Amir realizes that "[he], of all people, [could not] chastise someone for their past" (165), as he has his own horrendous past full of secrets and shame. Amir cannot condemn Soraya without condemning himself.
Amir made this remark after realizing his power and freedom of being a man, in regard to the Afghan marriage rituals. Amir acknowledges for the first time that women have no civil rights in courtships and their fate is determined by a young man, his father and the approval of her father. This shows significant growth in some ways, yet from a different angle it doesn't show growth. This quote shows growth in Amir because he is displeased with the Afghan traditions, while earlier they shaped his life, regarding the aspect of social class and servitude.
However, this quote also shows how Amir hasn't shown any growth since that infamous winter day. In this quote, Amir realizes that he and Baba have the power to determine whom he marries; this new sense of power scares Amir. Amir is frightened by power, but more importantly by responsibility. Amir never takes responsibility for his actions, like when he abandoned Hassan, and when it is thrust upon him, he becomes frightened. This can be seen when he learns of Baba's limited time to live, and he is filled with apprehension as he ponders a life without the guidance of Baba.
When Amir learns the complete tale of Soraya's past, she is amazed at his acceptance of her dishonorable deeds. Amir is moved and unsettled by the fact that Soraya has been with a man already, but is comes to terms with it. Amir understands Soraya's pain and is okay with her past because he too can relate to the festering wound that is regret. However, as Amir accepts Soraya's past, he also realizes that he admires Soraya for it. He admires Soraya for her courage to tell him the truth of her troubled past. This results in his jealousy of Soraya as he hears the relief in her voice as she finishes the story and he longs for this relief. Overall, I believe that Soraya will help Amir grow as well as help him to understand what he must do to redeem himself to help heal the blemish in Amir's past.
-Cam
Amir is starting to realize that he is blessed because of who his ancestors are. He is not just a normal person, he is a more respected one because of who his family is/was.
Amir also does not care about Soraya's past because of his own. He knows his past was just as bad as hers, and that is why he is not hurt by hers. "But I think a big part of the reason I didn't care about Soraya's past was that I had one of my own. I knew all about regret" (180). This is the last Amir says about the subject of Soraya's past and how it does not have any effect on him.
I think that quote does show that Amir is growing. He cringes now at the thought of being in a position of power but with Hassan he didn't mind so much.
Amir realizes he is okay with Soraya's past because he knows how it feels to have regret in his life and he can relate to her.
The quote shows how Amir realizes that women are treated unfairly in the Afghan society. In this situation, he notices how a man make poor judgement calls, such as being with a girl before marriage, and get away with it, while a women would be the center of gossip for nearly the rest of her life. Amir realizes that it is a "genetic lottery," or all luck. He realizes that women should not be discriminated against merely because they were born with two x chromosomes, while men have more freedom. I do not see Amir showing growth with regards to his repect for women, but he shows growth in the fact that he is beginning to put his past in the past, and live for the present.
On pages 178-180, Amir is learning about and forgiving Soroya's misdeeds back in Afghanistan. Amir speculates that he may be forgiving her merely because he wishes to be pardoned for his past as well.
I think this shows that Amir is not showing growth because he just happened to get lucky n finding this girl who is single and in need of a certain suitor. I do not think he showing growth because all his life things have been handed to him and he ha never truly had to work for something like others. He did not really work hard at getting Soraya, it just so happened she needed a husband and he was perfect for her. Also because Amir is a guy he gets to do whatever he wants and not get yelled at for it however that is not the case girls in his culture. Because he was born a wealthy guy he lucked out. He has not grown because he does not take responsibility for his actions and still is afraid to admit to those actions even though Soraya had admitted hers to him.
-krista
This quote shows a lot about how Amir has grown up from since his childhood. By understanding how he has an advantage and by being grateful of it, he is showing how he does not take as much for granted as he used to. If this had been taking place in his younger years, he would have taken complete advantage of this as he had taken complete advantage of his relationship with Hassan. Also, Amir does feel completely comfortable having this extra power. In his younger yeras, he enjoyed having power. When Hassan did not know what certain words meant, Amir tricked him due to his lack of literacy. It is clear that Amir is showing much growth as he grows older.
When reflecting about why he is okay with Soraya's past Amir says, "Maybe it was because I had been raised by men; I hadn't grown up around women and had never been exposed firsthand to the double standard with which Afghan society sometimes treated them". If Amir grew up with both a father and mother, he might not have been so accepting of Soraya's past.
Amir doesnt like that he ahs power over everything. he is not your typcal Afghan male. he is afraid of the power he holds. Amir doesnt mind Soraya's past becuase he has to live with guilt also. He remebers watching Hassan get raped while she tells he story of what happened. He knows how it feels to live with regret. They obth have that in common and he wouldnt turn her away for something like that.
-Cassie Boulay
Amir has grown a lot ever since he moved away from Afghanistan. He will never forget what happened to Hassan and he will also never stop blaming himself for just sitting there and watching. Amir has lived with the guilt and he will continue to for the rest of his life. Not only is Amir living with this guilt, he has learned to try and move on with his life and he has grown from that experience. “I cringed a little at the position of power that I’d been granted, and all because I had won at the genetic lottery that had determined my sex”. This quote shows that Amir does not act like he can control women just because he is a man. Being a man does grant him special powers, like being able to talk to whomever he wants and when he wants, but Amir sees past all of that. He does not really care about receiving special treatment because he is a man. Instead, he acts like men and women should be treated equally. Amir does not crave all of the attention that he used to. He has grown into a man that is reliable and kind and when his father became ill, he was there to help him whenever he needed it. Not only did he make sure that Baba was okay, after Amir married Soraya, she also took care of Baba all of the time. Before Amir and Soraya got married, Soraya came clean about her past and to her surprise, Amir did not care and still decided to marry her. He did not care because he also has a past that he is ashamed of, and who is he to judge her for a mistake that she made. After all, doesn't everyone make mistakes?
Ashlie
I think that this doesnt exactly show that amir is growing. This quote shows that he realizes his role as a man in the society that he lives in. Men are superior to woman and him and his father could decide who he married with the approval of the woman's father. The men were the only ones who had a say in this process. The girl and girl's mother had no say even though in this situation she was pleased. Also, Amir understands that he cannot judge her for sleeping with another man when he himself has some incidents that he is not proud of.
This quote gives us some evidence that Amir has matured throughout the course of this novel. He shows appreciation and understanding of the fact that he is a man, and because of that he is granted certain freedoms that women of his ethnicity are not. Earlier in the novel, Amir was more consumed in himself to realize or care about the hardships of anyone else, so the fact that he realizes this shows growth.
Although Amir is ashamed at the behavior that Soraya took part in, he makes a point not to judge her for that. Amir looks to his past and remembers, "How could I, of all people, chastise someone for their past?" This reflection back to Hassan shows that he is still very sensitive and guilty to what he had done. The fact that he does not come clean with Soraya and tell him his secret, shows that there is still some room for growth in Amir's future.
This quote signifies Amir's acknowledgement that he has certain natural qualities/responsibilities of being a man. Amir understands that he has much more freedom due to the fact that he is male. Soraya is judged just because of her past relationship with another man. In the church for the wedding, a couple makes a remark about her being unpure due to her other relationship. This shows that woman are held more accountable for their actions than men.
-Chris Jordan
This quote shows that Amir recognizes the fact that women are looked down upon in Afghanistan. He has matured and seen that he has great responsibility in being born a male.
Amir relaizes that he accepts Soraya's past because he has a past of his own that he is ashamed of. "The reason [he] didn't care about Soraya's past was that [he] had one [his] own" (180). Anir's past with Hassan is very shameful and he doesnt open up to Soraya about it. This shows that he has grown enough to accept Soraya but not enough to admit his embarrasments...
Amir knows his role as an Afghan man but he does not find it fair. The quote that you used shows that he feels he should not have more power than women because he nor they chose their sex. I don't really think that Amir is growing because he doesn't refuse to be more powerful or at least try to be less than society sees him as. Yes, he's aknowledging the fact that it is not right but he is not doing anything about it.
Amir is okay with Soraya's past because she had the courage to share it with him, while he was still holding in what he saw happen to Hassan and whatnot. She was braver and stonger than he. Amir respected that but he was a bit envious because she was a woman after all, but appeared to be much stonger than he.
This quote tells me that Amir is noticing the power he has in being a man and that the power isnt taking over but nor is it going unnoticed. He classifys himself being a man as the " genetic lottery" this shows me that he doesnt only view being a man as power but as the top of the list, he views it as a valuable way of life, something that is comparable to money, it is a lottery of life for Amir. I think that hes showing growth because he does recognize the lack of limitation he has in being a man. His growth is definitly evident in the text, like i said before he is realizing and comparing being a man to a common thing such as lottery.
In the text on page 180 it says, "But the big part of the reason I didn't care about Soraya's past was that I had one of my own. I knew all about regret". This quote stuck out for me mostly because it shows the mental growth that Amir has gone through, from being the little boy who wanted Hassan to fight him and hurt him for the fact that Amir wasnt man enough or strong enough to stand up for him. This young boy that Amir was, this young boy who was weak minded and spirited is now seeing that he regrets what he didnt do. He regrets not being a man. To me it seem that this quote is showing Amir as a man now, it is showing us that Amir has regretted his actions and it almost comes across that forgetting Soraya's past is a way in which Amir can forget his own past. It seems like its Amirs way of finally releasing the pain and guilt he has carried around with him.
I think the quote is Amir acknowledging the fact that he is a man and that means something in his society. Womenm are not treated with the greatest respect.
I think it shows that Amir is showing growth because he understands that he can't really judge Soraya for her past as he has one of his own.
I think that this quote shows that Amir realizes the power that he holds because he is a man, and women are not held with the same respect. there are also different standards for men and women. I think Amir is changing, he's not the same boy he was in Afghanistan, he's a different, more mature person.
Amir realizes that they both have a past and have regrets, so he can't be mad at Soraya for her past, because he as one of his own.
Amir does not care about Soraya's past because he doesnt feel he should judge if his is just as bad.
Amir is begininng to acknowledge that he is very important and should realize how much his ancestors were so helpful to him. Because of who his family is he has become more respected and very much looked up upon. Noone should judge or point fingers, if their own life is not perfect either. "But I think a big part of the reason I didn't care about Soraya's past was that i had one of my own. I knew all about regret" (180).
MARIA FRAZIS :)
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