Distant Similarities

Naswar is a very popular form of tobacco in Afghanistan. It is similar to the dip that is popular in America, the only difference being that Naswar is put in the jawline. It is sold in a powdered form and sealed with a rubber band to keep the air out. Some of the ingredients found in Naswar are sundried tobacco, flavoring agents, ammonium chloride, and more. It is believed by many users of Naswar that it is a safe drug to use. Ironically, Naswar was found to have a minimum of 28 cancer causing ingredients. It is an extremely addictive drug, users feel the need to constantly have some in their mouth, if not in their pocket. 

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The reason I decided to research Naswar is because it was a new word to me. When I looked up the word, it seemed interesting to me. Researching Naswar showed me how similar it is to the dip used in America. It just goes to show that somewhere across the world, people are doing the same things we are doing. Other cultures are more similar to us than we realise. It’s a good life lesson, not to judge a book by its cover. You may be more similar than you think.

Khattak, Sohail, et al. “Naswar: Tainted Love.” Magazine 22 Sept. 2013. Web. 4 May 2016.

The Wall of Kabul

In Afghanistan, the city Kabul is built next to a mountain range. It is called the Shirdarwaza mountain range. Around this mountain range is the walk of an old city called The Great Wall of Kabul. The wall is now old and frail, easily falling apart. There is a story behind this wall, that the King of Kabul was very cruel. The legend is that the King would bury anyone who defied him in the wall. A heavy rain began in April 2013 that washed away parts of the wall, crumbling it more. Under the crumbling building, a skull and several bones were found. This made the tall tale seem realistic, exciting everyone who knew of the story. Unfortunately, the bones came from a time period much after the King had ruled.  

I chose this topic because it seemed interesting to me. Nature is one of my favorite things, so I decided to research the mountain of Shirdarwaza. I was glad to find this interesting story behind it. Before researching, I had no clue there was a wall built into it. I have always enjoyed stories, so it was interesting to me. It’s always good to do research, even if it doesn’t seem very exciting. Everything has a story behind it, and you just might end up enjoying it.

Bibliography Miller, Michael E, and Washington Post. Mysterious skull adds new twist to old legend of Kabul’s “cruel king.”chicagotribune.com, 23 Feb. 2016. Web. 28 Apr. 2016. Citations, Quotes & Annotations Miller, Michael E, and Washington Post. Mysterious skull adds new twist to old legend of Kabul’s “cruel king.”chicagotribune.com, 23 Feb. 2016. Web. 28 Apr. 201

The Evil Empire

In The Kite Runner, Baba believes that the Shorawi are horrible. They invaded Afghanistan, and that’s why Baba and Amir left for America. The Shorawi is actually a name for the Russians. During the winter season of 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. It became a mess to live in Afghanistan, there was always gunfire and attacks going on. It was no longer a safe place to live. The Russians didn’t leave Afghanistan until 1994. Many of the Afghans had a sour taste for the Russians after that. Even long after Baba and Amir had left for America Baba still felt negatively towards the Russians. Ronald Reagan called the Russians “the Evil Empire” so Baba hung up a picture of him in the house. 

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Naturally I was curious of a word I didn’t know. I decided to research the word Shorawi, especially since it was described as “the Evil Empire.” I am glad I decided to research this word. It helped me understand more about what was happening in the book, and I learned some things I never would have known without researching this word. This is helpful knowledge if you are interested in history, or if you just like learning new things. It’s always important to learn about history, and you never know when it may come up in a conversation.
“Russia and Afghanistan.” Institute for the Study of War. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

The Peri

In the novel The Kite Runner, Amir has a very strong bond with his fathers friend Rahim Khan. During Amir’s birthday party, they both sneak away. Rahim Khan tells a story about the time he was almost married.  He describes her as “She was as beautiful as a pari, light brown hair, big hazel eyes…”(98). Pari was an unfamiliar word, so I decided to look it up. Merriam-Webster has two definitions for peri. The first explains “a supernatural being in Persian folklore descended from fallen angels and excluded from paradise until penance is accomplished.” Definition two states that peri is “a beautiful and graceful girl.” Putting these two definitions together shows that Rahim Khan was calling Homaria a beautiful angel. This seems to be a common word in Afghanistan that is used to describe women.

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The reason I picked pari to research is because I didn’t know the word. I was drawn to it because of the way Rahim Khan used it. Since he was using the word to describe a woman he wanted to marry, I wanted to know what he has used. It could be useful to know this word for the future. It may be a word someone comes across in a different book. It could pop up anywhere, and now you know what it means!

Tapestries Throughout History

Tapestries have been around for centuries. They started out simple, and slowly grew into complex designs. When tapestry was first designed, it was to keep the inside of castles protected from cold harsh weather. They were also used to help insulate large rooms. Soon after, tapestries were being bought as a sign of wealth and power. The larger the tapestry,the wealthier it looked. Intricate designs were beginning to become popular. They showed pictures and told stories. They can depict modern day stories or stories from the past. 

This image was originally posted to Flickr by Internet Archive Book Images at https://flickr.com/photos/126377022@N07/14783518195. It was reviewed on 26 July 2015 by the FlickreviewR robot and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the No known copyright restrictions.

 I decided to research tapestries because they all have a story behind them. There’s a wide variety of tapestries to choose from. Tapestries are now coming back and starting to become trendy. Even though in The Kite Runner Baba most likely has his tapestry to show his wealth, today they are used as decorations. Tapestries have been used for many years, and still are used, to decorate homes.
http://www.millefleurstapestries.com/en/history-of-tapestries

“History of tapestries”Mille Fleurs Tapestries, n.d. Web 5 April 2016.

Teenage Anxiety

Farewell Fairy Tales?

“So now do you see why books are hated and feared? They show the pores in the face of life. The comfortable people want only wax moon faces, poreless, hairless, expressionless.” -Faber. Pg. 85

Podhoretz, John. “Unhappy Ending” http://www.weeklystandard.com/unhappy-ending/article/14504

The movie Zodiac, a true story, is about a serial killer from the 1960-1970’s. It occurred in Northern California. It shows that much of the evidence was compromised because of inexperienced police officers at the scene. The different police departments can’t communicate easily because they must send updates through the mail. The more mistakes made, the easier it is for the criminal to get away. The criminal would even write letters to newspapers to scare the community. He threatened to attack school buses that were filled with children. The killer even believed that all of the people he killed would follow him to the afterlife and become his slaves. In the end, the killer is never caught. This movie was highly criticized because of its unhappy ending. Some believed that the movie made them “think too much.” This article instantly connected to F451 in my brain. Just how closely do our society’s match?

Since childhood, we are taught that “good always wins.” The older I get, the more I realize reality is giving me a big slap in the face. Good definately doesn’t always win. In F451, Montag goes to Faber for help. He doesn’t understand why books are burnt. Part of Fabers response is “So now do you see why books are hated and feared? They show the pores in the face of life. The comfortable people want only wax moon faces, poreless, hairless, expressionless.” What Faber is saying doesn’t just apply to F451’s society, it compares to modern society. Many times I hear people complain about the ending of a book. “Why did they die? Why would the author do that? They were supposed to get married and be happy!” I can’t say I’m innocent here, because I do it too. Although, many of my favorite books don’t have “fairytale endings.” Much of society doesn’t agree. Like F451, we are sucked into our TVs, our technology, like a place to hide from reality. The reality that good won’t always win. The problem is, humans can relate to the bitter endings of books, and that’s something we don’t want. We would rather disappear into a fairytale than face the reality we live in.

Happiness Lost?

F451 Quote: “I don’t know. We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy. Something’s missing. I looked around. The only thing i positively knew was gone was the books I’d burned in ten or twelve years. So I thought books might help.” -Montag. Pg. 84

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/searching-happiness-find/story?id=23486216

“It may be that the easiest way to kill happiness is to pursue happiness.” says Lee Dye. Humans try to hard to be happy. They look for happiness in all the wrong places. Some say that money is happiness. Although money can improve happiness, it can’t do it on its own. Many people look for happiness in objects. Objects are bad places to find happiness also. Spending your time trying to make the people around you happy and bring you down. Often after trying to make somebody happy, you feel as if you didn’t succeed at it, and it brings your own mood down. The key to happiness, says Dye, is making someone smile. When you make the people around you smile, it not only brightens their mood, but yours also.  

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 In F451, Montag is becoming more aware of his lifestyle. He tells Faber “I don’t know. We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy.” He realized that he isn’t happy with his life. On F451, all people care about is objects and possessions. It seems that they care more about their “families” on tv than their actual families. We live in a very similar world. Constantly pursing happiness, trying to find something to satisfy it. Society tells the world to do what makes you happy. The problem is, the happiness society points us to is temporary. If the world continues on the path it’s currently following, it could become a F451 society. People will begin to trick themselves that they are happy with the technology in the world. Cellphones can be compared to the tvs in F451. It’s only a matter of time before the world gets sucked in completely.

Social Changes?

F451 Quote: “Oh, they don’t miss me,” she said. “I’m antisocial, they say. I don’t mix. It’s so strange. I’m very social indeed. Is all depends on what you mean by social, doesn’t it?” -Clairisse Pg. 33

Blog Quote: “With today’s world so connected by social media and the internet; it’s easy to assume we have A LOT of friends and close-knit buddies. Yet, are they true friends? Or are they simply online connections?” – Pink Punk Blogs http://www.pinkpunkactive.com/blogs/pinkpunkblog/57279299-finding-true-friends-in-todays-social-world

Today’s society has changed so much from the past. People used to talk face to face constantly, and now humanity has it’s face buried into technology. The blog Pink Punk talks about online friends. It’s easy to get caught up in today’s social media. Many teens are concerned about how many followers they have, or how many friends they have. Teens believe that in order to be social, you need to have lots of friends online. The problem is, many teens haven’t even met their “friends” in person. Today’s society has twisted the definition of social.  

 

In F451, Clairisse talks about how she is an outcast in society because the believe she isn’t social enough. This easily relates to society today. Many teens these days believe that in order to be social, they need social media. If a teen isn’t on social media, they are often outcast and seen as antisocial. This is common with Clairisse. She doesn’t spend all her time with the TV wall, so she can’t talk to the other teens her age about it. Since Clairisse doesn’t talk about the same things other teens do, she was outcast. Today’s society is relatable to a F451 society. People who are different seem to be outcast.

The Right of Scilence

 
This article is showing that the police don’t always share all of the information of a crime with the public.