Friday, March 28, 2014

Blog 2: The Kite Runner

  • Why is childhood such an important time of life?  When does it end?
                      Childhood plays a huge role in this book. The beginning of this book is all about what Amir and Hassan used to do for fun when they were children. There fun would range from sitting in trees with a sling shot flinging things at the dogs to climbing popular trees and roaming through the fields to read books. Here’s a quote that shows some of what they used to do "…we taught each other to ride a bicycle with no hands, or to build a fully functional homed camera out of a cardboard box. Never mind that we spent entire winters flying kites, running kites."(Hosseini25)This shows that they have great imaginations and they are very creative. By using their imagination and creativity, Hassan and Amir are escaping reality but at the same time they are starting to understand reality. In the "Wall Street Journal" there was a page on child imagination; the title is "The power of magical thinking". It states, "For years, imagination was thought of as a way for children to escape from reality, and once they reached a certain age, it was believed they would push fantasy aside and deal with the real world. But, increasingly, child-development experts are recognizing the importance of imagination and the role it plays in understanding reality. Imagination is necessary for learning about people and events we don't directly experience, such as history or events on the other side of the world". Hassan and Amir use their imaginations when thinking about their mothers. They imagine what she would be like and by doing that they are using their imagination to learn about people that they haven't directly experienced. I think childhood ends when you "Push fantasy aside and deal with the real world". Going into adult hood brings many responsibilities that you never had as a child. Childhood ends because you finally understand your responsibilities and act on them. According to studies done by ABC news, childhood is very brief. Half of British parents believe childhood ends at 11 years old; they think of 11 year olds "young adults". On BBC news they say that children that are under peer pressure tend to have a shorter childhood. Overall, I think it’s different for every child. The end of childhood depends on the child's environment, home life and the different circumstances that they have to deal with at an early age; some situations require children to grow up faster.

Coughlan, Sean. "Modern Childhood 'ends at Age 12.'" BBC News. BBC, 5 Mar. 2013. 
     Web. 28 Mar. 2014. <http://www.bbc.com/news/education-21670962>. 
Ibanga, Imaeyen. "When Does Childhood End?" ABC News. ABC News, 5 Mar. 2008. 
     Web. 28 Mar. 2014. <http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4388308>. 
Wang, Shirley S. "Children's Imagination Important for Cognitive Development." 
     The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 22 Dec. 2009. Web. 28 Mar. 
     2014. <http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/ 
     SB10001424052748703344704574610002061841322>. 

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