Use Your Voice

As I continue to read The Diary of Anne Frank, I have realized she talks about her personality a lot.  While she likes to say what's on her mind, and stand up for what she believes in, the rest of the hidden people in the Annex look down upon her for that.  They say, "Why can't you be quieter and not talk back like Peter and your sister?"  However, Anne looks down upon people like her sister because she thinks them cowardly for not standing up for what they believe in.  Overall, I agree with Anne.

I agree with Anne because I think people who never talk back or push for things they really want will be tossed about in society.  If they don't speak up, they can get taken advantage of and end up being unhappy.  For example, Margot is quiet but then in the end she does whatever others tell her to do.  Though Anne doesn't describe Margot's feelings, I can only imagine that Margot often does not want to do these things or agree with others.  Thus, many unhappy feelings may be bottled up inside of her.  Anne later mentioned how everyone is depressed, and Margot complains about headaches.  Maybe this is the affect of not expressing her true feelings.

Another example in everyday life is when others make a mistake about what each individual is supposed to do.  For example, they might think they volunteered to do something, when they didn't.  A lot of times when this happens, I notice that the person has a confused look on their face but then slugs off to do the task without informing the person who made the mistake.  They often end up doing something they don't want to do.  Sometimes it annoys me that they didn't just speak up and tell the person that they made a mistake.

In conclusion, I think that standing up for yourself is a really powerful tool in life.  Though I'm not saying you should talk back to everyone who disagrees with you, I think we shouldn't always back down and let others command our lives.  I think being a little agressive or a "go getter" can really help you lead your life.

War, Violence and History

In the previous book I read, Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, much of the second half was about how the war and the Taliban had changed the city of Amir's childhood: Kabul.  It had also torn apart his nephew, whose parents were shot.  His nephew Sohab had said to Amir, "I want my old life back."  And Amir said he couldn't give it to him.  And now, as I read the Diary of Anne Frank, I see the reality of Amir's answer.  This is because as both books deal with war, I have noticed a theme.  It is that peace can never be completely restored after war.

I think this because in both books, war tears families and happy lives apart.  In the Kite Runner, Sohab's parents will never be given back to him.  The horrible executions he witnessed and the sexual harassment he faced will never go away.  Because of these events that war and violence created, Sohab had even tried to commit suicide and afterwards, became mute.  In the book, he was just ten years old.
For Anne Frank, she war forced her to live in fear for months and months, hiding in a cramped annex.  Later, most of her family and friends were killed in concentration camps.  Though it is joyful when wars finally come to an end, there is still so much suffering that the lives of people can never truly be restored.  War has so many effects on individuals and nations as a whole.  However, though these horrible events can never be erased, it makes me think of the importance of history.  It helps us learn through our mistakes what we should and shouldn't do.  I believe that one of the things that history has taught us is that we shouldn't spark war.

Hassan's Form of Revenge

As I continue to read Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the actions of Hassan troubled me.  His "best friend" Amir had betrayed him in numerous ways, and yet Hassan refused to turn him in.  And in the end, Amir felt worse about his actions.  This is because he felt Hassan was so much better than him.  Because if this, Hassan's acts of loyalty to his traitorous friend make me think about the importance of being a good person.

In the book, Amir had run away from Hassan being sexually harassed rather than stick up for him.  All Amir wanted was for Hassan hurt so they'd go back to being friends.  Amir threw fruit at Hassan and begged Hassan to throw one at him, but Hassan refused out of being a loyal friend.  This made Amir feel worse.  Amir then framed Hassan for stealing his birthday presents.  After Hassan told his father what happened, he begged him not to turn Amir in out of being a "good samaritan." In turn, this was his revenge.  Amir realized he loved Hassan "more than anything," and realized how he let such a valuable person slip through his life.  Because Hassan stayed on the side of loyalty and friendship, he proved to be a much stronger and better person than Amir.  While Amir ran and willingly hurt his friend, Hassan stood up for him.  He was actually able to take revenge on Amir unwillingly by showing his good side.  In conclusion, I think this book gives a great example of how you should always try to be the best person you can be.  In the end, it might turn out best for you in some way.

Parental Figures

Amir is an Afghanistani boy from the book, Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.  Throughout his teen years he is faced with war, bullies, school and more.  But one thing that really caught my attention in the book is the relationship between him and his dad who he calls Baba.  This is because even though Amir longs for the fatherly figure his friend Hassan has, he is also extremely proud of Baba and is often jealous of the attention he gives to others.  This makes think that Amir craves his father's love and often denies the absence of it.

For example, in the book Amir thought that, "In some ways all father's want to kill their sons."  This is based off of Amir's personal experience because Baba was disappointed by him because he killed his mother during birth.  And also, when Baba realized Amir was not athletic as he was when he was a young boy, Amir overheard him saying, "If I hadn't seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I'd never believe he was my own son."  Another way Baba didn't provide a strong parental figure was after Amir had written his first novel and Baba just stared blankly at him and said, "That's good."  It was his friend Rahim that actually wanted to read the story.  Overall, it has come to my attention that Baba is not always the best parent.

Amir also becomes jealous at the attention Baba gives to others.  For example, he said that sometimes he wished Baba hadn't opened the orphanage because those kids got more of Baba's attention than him.    Also, when Baba put his arm around Amir and gave him expensive presents Amir said to himself that he didn't care, which implied that he actually did.

However, despite these things, Amir strongly admire his father and cherishes every nice action given to him.  For example, when Baba told him to hold his hat while he gave his speech at the orphanage he was opening, Amir was thrilled because everyone would know that Baba was his father.  Also, when he got to sit on Baba's lap, Amir scolded himself for annoying Baba by asking questions because he ruined the rare occasion that they were alone and talking.

In conclusion, I believe that Baba does not always offer Amir the love and care he craves.  However, despite this, Amir strongly admires his father and become jealous when others are given the attention he lacks.  This makes me think about how important parental care can be to a child.  Without it, it can lead to the kid thinking that all fathers wanted to kill their sons in some way, as Amir did.  I think the book paints an accurate picture about how many crave and cherish things that they may lack.  I think that these kinds of things occur in other scenarios such as the want of friendship, etc.  But overall, I think that Amir secretly desires Baba's approval though it is not always given.