Group items tagged

-Main Idea: Discusses Albom's book, For One More Day. Explains why Albom wrote the book and what he hopes people will learn from reading this story.  -Claims: After he got off the phone with his mother, Albom realized that his mom was getting older and that time was precious with her and close people in his life. Mitch Albom hopes that readers will be influenced to never take people and moments for granted.  -Evidence: "Albom said he wrote the story in honor of his own mother after speaking with her on the phone one day as he was working on another book. The call was nothing out of the ordinary, he said, but it struck him that his mom was getting older and would not always be there" (Elliott). "In real life people don't come back and spend a day with you," Albom said "so you should try to grab that day now" (qtd. in Elliott). 

Argument: The Kite Runner reflects a modern day allegory of humanitarianism. Hosseini's novel shows the shift from race and nation as primary community and national builders to the modern individual shaping to form "the human". Claims: Khaled Hosseini humanized a country (Afghanistan) many in the West find inhuman. The author combined elements of coming to age, culture, and a morality tale to bring a real-life humanization to his characters. The novel discerns between "good Muslim" and "bad Muslim" and the shaping of what it means to be a "good Muslim", especially in today's modern world.  Evidence: "The identification of "universality" in a third world work of fiction has long been a mode of praise and acceptance, and a means of selecting which third world texts are worth reading in the West; this practice clearly 'take[s] the white reader to be the norm'" - "To some degree, the novel's portrayal of Amir's turn to Islam as personal spirituality problematizes the totalizing representations of Islam in western media accounts of the so-called "War on Terror", and, more generally, in a variety of Orientalist discourses. Yet at the same time, by conforming to the narrative expectations of the western reader, and affirming the dominant cultural values of that reader (i.e. religion as personal), the novel translates difference into sameness." - "The Kite Runner opens by foregrounding the themes of sin, guilt, and redemption, which shape the narrative"

-Main Idea: Describing what Albom's purpose of writing the book; how divorce affects the children. Themes: man vs society, and man vs himself. Learn to forgive yourself. -Claims: Makes readers relate to the story, his themes in other books including this one always seem to be universal. Everyone goes through disappointment, sadness, or loss one point or another in their life. "Many people are hanging on the past, so it would be nice to read something that would go back to it and learn the things that you never learned in your past life." -Evidence:  "This book let me explore how children, when their parents split, chase after the love thateludes them. That chase often haunts you right into adulthood" "He always gives inspiration to thereaders and this time an eye opener to the children who always took their parents for granted. " "You can find lessons that arealready seen by your own eyes but not yet felt by your hearts"

Argument: Death is defined not only by what is causing it but how the individual handles the strides of it. Claim: The disease pales in comparison to how the person chooses to live their life. If a person is encouraged and allowed to act negatively, they will be so. Finding the passion in something to throw oneself in is more valuable then giving up or submitting. Evidence: "The real question, though, is whether any lasting strength can be gained from an account like this one--strength that derives from knowing ourselves (as Morrie and Mitch do not) to be the legatees of inviolable traditions, cultural and professional alike, as well as members of a vast and enduring human community that stretches back into history and forward into the experience of those yet to come."

Main Idea: Basic book summary and review. Connects the story-line of this book to his other books (quote#1). Discusses how he writes, and the book's themes. Claims: There is an underlying theme present in the five people you meet in heaven, and for one more day. He uses real emotions and real life stories versus crazy fantasy made up stories, which make it perhaps easier to connect to then other fictional books. His writing style, although not that high of a reading level, seems very genuine and believable due to his is characters always facing hardships and trials just as everyone faces, i.e. death of a loved one, making mistakes..etc.  Evidence: "The underlying message of this book is certainly one that has been tackled before. It explores the notion that we are all connected to another so that an action undertaken by one person is destined to have an unanticipated and drastic influence upon someone else. Along these same lines, the book reminds us of how easy it is to fail to express appreciation or gratitude to those we love until it is too late to do so" "While [in heaven], Eddie gains insight into his life and, for the first time, sees how his actions impacted so many others"