I belive the "best of week" was by far our discussion and view of how paragraph structure can be effective in literature. Honestly, people's commments about "kite runner" went in all different directions inn terms of craft. But, whether they knew it or not, all those comments could not escape one essential tool, that of Hosseini's craft. The structure of his sentences permeates with tension and drama through even the most boring of moments: he has perfected what other writers either never understand or take a fery long timeto grasp if they do not practice this writing law well. I, myself, am a fiction writer in my spare time (if it can be said that I have much anymore) ann so maybe that is why this topic is the most important to me for this week. I have always seen the power in short, punching sentences, but never thought that they were part of a grander formula; but rather that they were either happened upon with great luck or overused, maing every other sentence or plotline exaggerated unneededly. But, through our study of "Artful Sentences" and "Kite Runner", I've learned that, if one is trying to add drama, be it of high or low intensity, this is one of the many rules to follow in constructing a (and please, dont be afraid to be angry at me for saying this) "juicy" sentence.
I went to work writing again this weekend and tried to focus on using this rule to take the self-conciousness induced boredom I believe my writing has, and began to see just how important this rule was. It's not one that comes easily, or that is used without effort. The tendency to construct long sentences is hard to brealk through. It is not that us writers want to drag on our sentences, it is just a stream of thought that is hard to be broken.
And know I know how.
That is why I find this jem of instruction to be the best of the week.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Carry It Forward, Kite Runner
One idea represented in Kite Runner, that I am choosing to incorporate into my life, is that, in most moments, even the moments that lead you to the moments when you have no control and no voice, what we do in that moment of truth and how we react is choice. Yes, there are parts of our brain that may inhibit us from doing certain things, but which path we do take is because of the choice we've made in that moment.
Many of the reviews of Kite Runner talk about how it is a brilliant narrative for the social situation of Afghanistan, and some people even suggest that the characters' decisions are made because of their position in this grand social hierarchy. I would like to represent those firmly against that argument- no matter what standing in society one has, no matter how low or high or out of your league or "under you" your fellow man in need is, it is choice, not social standing, views of others upon you, or environment that makes that final decision on who we will become and what life we will live.
This is an idea that I have had previously, but, with the aid of Kite Runner, I have been able to flesh out and realize the full importance of. By saying that most, if not all, of what we do in life, is choice, I am not stating that these choices are all easy. I am saying, that in the moment of truth, there are only two things holding us back: our instinct, and our possiibly faltering will to go against our instinct. Amir's instinct was to run when he saw Hassan being raped. He did. Yet, it was not because of their relationship or how people woull view him if he ran in to save a Hazara boy. It was not because of how the German boy would have laughed at him for trying to save a Hazara boy. It was not because he knew that the way to make his father proud was to come home with the kite, and not beaten up and ashamed. It was because he could not get over that immensely powerful, yet beatable part of his brain that told him, "Run, you coward!"
And yet, he could have. Not all of our decisions in life are this hard-- very fiew are constantly forced with the decision to save a fellow man being beaten in an alley, yet every decision is still a matter of choice. It sounds foolish, but even the decision, after watching a man walk in the torrential rain while we wait inside lying on our stomachs, comfortable and really not wanting to waste our enegy opening the door for the poor soul, to open the door is a situation where it is all based on choice. In that case and as displayed in Kite Runner, it is the decision to break the comfort zone and just get up and do it, and face what is inconvenient or downright terrifying, that we all have to make. And, it is a decision I pray to be able to make every time. One should not say that their environment at home decides their political view--it is their decision to get up out of their biased environment and find out which way to be biased or unbiased by themselves, and a decision they should make, if they ever want to take pride or fault in the direction that they led their country with their vote. It is their decision, if their high school is ever under seige by a crazed gunman, to get out from under their desk and confront the menace, possibly ending their life for good. These are in no way eaasy choices, but no matter how daunting they seem, we always have the ability to stand up and make them, for better or for worse.
It is not the duty, but my great suggestion to everyone in the world to, when their convenient surroundings are threatened, to get up and allow life to be inconvenient, to be the one that buries themself in a prblem until it is solved, be that in a matter of seconds or a matter of years. For Amir, it was his personal decision to keep his physical life convenient, intact and in one piece, when he decided to flee from the boys raping Hassan. That was his choice. Now, it is mine to promise the willingness to never falter under that weight of fear, and to jump into what is right, be it as laughably easy as opening the door for an old lady or as dangerous and perilous as to confront a criminal robbing someone within plain sight, even with the immense possibility of not succeeding.
If I want to live a relatively guilt-free life that Amir was not priveledged to, that he doomed himself to never enjoy, then that is what I must promise and I encourage others to promise to do: get out of your comfort zone and do what is right, because the only thing that's holding you back is you.
Many of the reviews of Kite Runner talk about how it is a brilliant narrative for the social situation of Afghanistan, and some people even suggest that the characters' decisions are made because of their position in this grand social hierarchy. I would like to represent those firmly against that argument- no matter what standing in society one has, no matter how low or high or out of your league or "under you" your fellow man in need is, it is choice, not social standing, views of others upon you, or environment that makes that final decision on who we will become and what life we will live.
This is an idea that I have had previously, but, with the aid of Kite Runner, I have been able to flesh out and realize the full importance of. By saying that most, if not all, of what we do in life, is choice, I am not stating that these choices are all easy. I am saying, that in the moment of truth, there are only two things holding us back: our instinct, and our possiibly faltering will to go against our instinct. Amir's instinct was to run when he saw Hassan being raped. He did. Yet, it was not because of their relationship or how people woull view him if he ran in to save a Hazara boy. It was not because of how the German boy would have laughed at him for trying to save a Hazara boy. It was not because he knew that the way to make his father proud was to come home with the kite, and not beaten up and ashamed. It was because he could not get over that immensely powerful, yet beatable part of his brain that told him, "Run, you coward!"
And yet, he could have. Not all of our decisions in life are this hard-- very fiew are constantly forced with the decision to save a fellow man being beaten in an alley, yet every decision is still a matter of choice. It sounds foolish, but even the decision, after watching a man walk in the torrential rain while we wait inside lying on our stomachs, comfortable and really not wanting to waste our enegy opening the door for the poor soul, to open the door is a situation where it is all based on choice. In that case and as displayed in Kite Runner, it is the decision to break the comfort zone and just get up and do it, and face what is inconvenient or downright terrifying, that we all have to make. And, it is a decision I pray to be able to make every time. One should not say that their environment at home decides their political view--it is their decision to get up out of their biased environment and find out which way to be biased or unbiased by themselves, and a decision they should make, if they ever want to take pride or fault in the direction that they led their country with their vote. It is their decision, if their high school is ever under seige by a crazed gunman, to get out from under their desk and confront the menace, possibly ending their life for good. These are in no way eaasy choices, but no matter how daunting they seem, we always have the ability to stand up and make them, for better or for worse.
It is not the duty, but my great suggestion to everyone in the world to, when their convenient surroundings are threatened, to get up and allow life to be inconvenient, to be the one that buries themself in a prblem until it is solved, be that in a matter of seconds or a matter of years. For Amir, it was his personal decision to keep his physical life convenient, intact and in one piece, when he decided to flee from the boys raping Hassan. That was his choice. Now, it is mine to promise the willingness to never falter under that weight of fear, and to jump into what is right, be it as laughably easy as opening the door for an old lady or as dangerous and perilous as to confront a criminal robbing someone within plain sight, even with the immense possibility of not succeeding.
If I want to live a relatively guilt-free life that Amir was not priveledged to, that he doomed himself to never enjoy, then that is what I must promise and I encourage others to promise to do: get out of your comfort zone and do what is right, because the only thing that's holding you back is you.
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