#valuesc

By: Sydney F.

Definition:

Courtship- noun

A period during which a couple develop a romantic relationship, esp. with a view to marriage.

• Behavior designed to persuade someone to marry one.

Marriage- noun

The formal union of a man and a woman, typically recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife.

  Courtship and Marriage in Afghanistan:

Usually marriages are arranged by the parents. It is not socially acceptable to have relations before marriage. For the arrangement to be made the parents need to meet and know each other before their children wed. It is usually the groom’s side that asks to marry the bride, then they must shower the bride in gifts and charm the family.

  How applies to The Kite Runner:

By: Sydney F.

Topic I: The Role of Men & Fathers 

“Upstairs was my bed room, Baba’s room, and his study, also known as ‘the smoking room,’ which perpetually smelled of tobacco and cinnamon. Baba and his friends reclined on black leather chairs there after Ali served dinner. They stuffed their pipes—except Baba always called it ‘fattening the pipe’ –and discussed their favorite three topics: politics, business, soccer. Sometimes I asked Baba if I could sit with them, but Baba would stand in the doorway. ‘Go on, now,’ he’d say. ‘This is grown-ups’ time. Why don’t you go read that book of yours?’ He’d close the door, leave me to wonder why it was always grown-ups’ time with him…”  (page 5)

Amir is having a flashback from when he was a little boy. He remembers how his father used to host men over for business purposes and tell Amir that it was “adult time.” By saying something like “adult time,” shows that men had certain dominance in society for example, they ran business. 

The role of men and fathers comes up again on pages 17-23, Baba is teaching his son about life and how the only crime in the world is theft. Amir doesn’t quite get the lesson that Baba is teaching him and feels like he is failing his father. Amir also is very interested in poetry, which is not the most masculine activity so his father is judgmental. Being a boy who likes poetry he is very sympathetic. For example when Baba took Amir to watch a racing horses, a man fell off and Amir cried. This made his father very uneasy about his son and whether he is strong enough to run his business one day.

Baba and Ali are both single fathers raising their son’s Amir and Hassan. Being a father plays a major role in this book. Being a father to Amir is hard because his mother died giving birth to him, this could be a possible reason as to why Baba has neglected his son. While Ali loves his son very much and almost fills the pain of Hassan’s missing mother with love.

Pictures:

1) http://www.aolcdn.com/pmms/productpagemovies/0f/04/2557603

2) http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/movies/kite-runner/014.jpg

3) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C7ZZyE4L8oU/TdAsM0zd-SI/AAAAAAAAAAk/yipDKT01MCk/s1600/Kite_Runner-40.jpg

Topic II: The Role of Women/ Mothers/ Wives

The role of women/ mothers/ wives has revealed itself many times in the book “The Kite Runner.” Especially on pages 7-10, on these pages a soldier is talking to Hassan about his mother and saying how he slept with her. They also discussed Hassan’s ancestry and how it was a shameful one. They called him “mice eating, flat nosed, load carrying donkeys,” because he was of the Hazaras. 

Also considering that Hassan and Amir have both grown up with no motherly figure, they have just lived with themselves and their fathers. Amir’s mother left when Amir was a baby because he was born disfigured. He has polio and a bad lip. Amir’s mom died while giving birth to Amir and is believed that this hurt Baba very much. 

Pictures:

https://files.pbworks.com/download/39diFvJdMG/wardsworld/12621322/SteveMcCurryAfghanGirl.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KZyW4XccUr4/TcjLYh2hnfI/AAAAAAAAAj4/6k8mSFsHHrM/s1600/mother-child-reuters-640x480.jpg

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/08/17/world/asia/17lede_afghan.480.jpg

Topic III: Courtship and Marriage 

“Me a mojarad, a single young man, and she an unwed young woman. One with a history, no less. This was teetering dangerously on the verge of gossip material, and the best kind of it. Poison tongues would flap. And she would bear the brunt of that poison, not me—I was fully aware of the Afghan double standard that favored my gender.” (page 146)

Usually the father arranges marriages and fathers are eager to marry off their daughters, but to respectable men of course. It is usually a deal made by the parents not the children. Marriage is a very formal arrangement over there, the women must cover their faces and the men must be very gracious and treat the family of the bride with the upmost respect. 

courtship |ˈkôrtˌ sh ip|

noun

a period during which a couple develop a romantic relationship, esp. with a view to marriage.

• behavior designed to persuade someone to marry one.

• the behavior of male birds and other animals aimed at attracting a mate.

• the process of attempting to win a person's favor or support : the country's courtship of foreign investors.

marriage |ˈmarij|

noun

the formal union of a man and a woman, typically recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife.

Pictures:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FHES2ilXMFg/TEc_KZt-SQI/AAAAAAAAAeI/M_4WcB2Xkzo/s1600/child-bride-afghanistan.jpg

http://www.aamozgar.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/123.jpeg

By: Jim G.

Kids dress similar to their parents. A boy would wear baggy cotton trousers, with a long cotton shirt. They would wear a wide sash around your waist and a skullcap on your head. If you were a man, you would wear a turban over top of your skullcap. You would take your turban off only when you worked in the fields. If you were a girl, you would wear a long, loose shirt or a high bodice dress with a swirling skirt over your trousers. And you would wear jewelry. Jewelry is collected as a form of family wealth. Women in the villages seldom wear a burqua.

There are five pillars that all Muslims must obey. and they are:

1. You say, "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is a prophet," at least once a day.

2. you have to pray five times a day- at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and after the sun has set. Before you pray, you must wash yourself, because you need to be cleansed physically and spiritually. Then you must kneel on a carpet and face Mecca, which is the birthplace of Muhammad.

3. you must show charity.

4. You must fast during Ramadan, the ninth month in the Muslim calendar. During Ramadan, you cannot eat or drink when the sun is up

By: Jim G.

Afghan loyalty page 4

A)”…But if I asked, Really asked, he wouldn’t deny me.”

(Page 4)

B) The state or quality of being loyal; faithfulness to commitments or

Obligations.

C)