Assignment: Kite Runner Essay Final Draft

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS 10-A (H)
2021-10-28T16:47:36Z

Due: Nov 9, 2021 by 11:59pm

The Kite Runner Unit Essay

Rough Draft Due Sunday, 11/7 at midnight

Final Draft Due Tuesday, 11/9 at midnight

Over the course of this unit, we’ve introduced you to the history of Afghanistan, literary foils, and Kohlberg’s stages of moral development. You have applied these concepts to the Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner in an attempt to make sense of characters whose actions we often find confusing, infuriating, and, ultimately, hopeful.

The essay asks you to do a deep dive into the complexity of Amir’s character: his privilege, his flaws, his suffering, and, ultimately, his desire for redemption. You have a choice of prompts:

A. Trace Amir's moral development throughout the book. (If you’re not sure which to do, I recommend this option. It is very simple to organize)

B. What level of moral development has Amir reached? For this prompt, you must acknowledge an opposing viewpoint.

C. What stage is most important for understanding Amir?

D. What stage does Amir struggle with the most?

E. Create a prompt of your own that addresses Amir and moral development.

This question will assess your understanding of Kohlberg’s moral development as well as your ability to read the book closely and articulate its themes and ideas accurately.

The essay must be at least four paragraphs. If you choose Prompt A I recommend organizing it like this:

1. An introduction, where you provide context for the book and end with a clear, argumentative claim regarding Amir’s stage of moral development.

2. A first body paragraph, where you track Amir’s journey through Stage One: Obedience/Punishment and Stage Two: Personal Usefulness, providing sufficient evidence that he does/does not meet the criteria for both stages.

3. A second body paragraph, where you continue Amir’s path into Stage Three: The Will of the Group, Stage Four: Law and Order and argue whether he reaches Stage Five: Social Contract and Stage Six: Personal Conscience. If you want to be sophisticated, you may include a rebuttal and acknowledge why others may argue the opposite of your position.

4. A conclusion paragraph, where you explore the significance of your topic and leave the audience with something to think about.

For Prompt A, please use Kite Runner Thesis Development.docx to gather evidence and draft your claim. For Prompts B-D, you may develop a more complex structure as you see fit. If you want an outline for the entire essay, you can use either of the following:

Essay Outline (Prompt A Specific).docx

Essay Outline (Any Prompt).docx

Please note:

Amir’s moral development must happen chronologically, meaning evidence for Stage Three cannot come before Stage One.

Quotes are the best form of evidence, but paraphrasing is also appropriate when necessary. You must cite Hosseini and the page number even if you are just paraphrasing.

If you have three body paragraphs, two quotes per paragraph is fine. If you only have two body paragraphs, three quotes per paragraph is required.

Analysis must be entirely your own. If you borrow any ideas or analysis from another source, you must cite it accurately in your paper as well as your bibliography.

Basic Mechanics:

2-3 pages

Times New Roman, 12-pt font, Double-spaced, Page Numbers, MLA style bibliography page

Student examples from years past:

Student Example A.docx

Student Example B.docx

Student Example C.docx

The Kite Runner Unit Essay

Rough Draft Due Sunday, 11/7 at midnight

Final Draft Due Tuesday, 11/9 at midnight

Over the course of this unit, we’ve introduced you to the history of Afghanistan, literary foils, and Kohlberg’s stages of moral development. You have applied these concepts to the Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner in an attempt to make sense of characters whose actions we often find confusing, infuriating, and, ultimately, hopeful.

The essay asks you to do a deep dive into the complexity of Amir’s character: his privilege, his flaws, his suffering, and, ultimately, his desire for redemption. You have a choice of prompts:

A. Trace Amir's moral development throughout the book. (If you’re not sure which to do, I recommend this option. It is very simple to organize)

B. What level of moral development has Amir reached? For this prompt, you must acknowledge an opposing viewpoint.

C. What stage is most important for understanding Amir?

D. What stage does Amir struggle with the most?

E. Create a prompt of your own that addresses Amir and moral development.

This question will assess your understanding of Kohlberg’s moral development as well as your ability to read the book closely and articulate its themes and ideas accurately.

The essay must be at least four paragraphs. If you choose Prompt A I recommend organizing it like this:

1. An introduction, where you provide context for the book and end with a clear, argumentative claim regarding Amir’s stage of moral development.

2. A first body paragraph, where you track Amir’s journey through Stage One: Obedience/Punishment and Stage Two: Personal Usefulness, providing sufficient evidence that he does/does not meet the criteria for both stages.

3. A second body paragraph, where you continue Amir’s path into Stage Three: The Will of the Group, Stage Four: Law and Order and argue whether he reaches Stage Five: Social Contract and Stage Six: Personal Conscience. If you want to be sophisticated, you may include a rebuttal and acknowledge why others may argue the opposite of your position.

4. A conclusion paragraph, where you explore the significance of your topic and leave the audience with something to think about.

For Prompt A, please use Kite Runner Thesis Development.docx to gather evidence and draft your claim. For Prompts B-D, you may develop a more complex structure as you see fit. If you want an outline for the entire essay, you can use either of the following:

Essay Outline (Prompt A Specific).docx

Essay Outline (Any Prompt).docx

Please note:

Amir’s moral development must happen chronologically, meaning evidence for Stage Three cannot come before Stage One.

Quotes are the best form of evidence, but paraphrasing is also appropriate when necessary. You must cite Hosseini and the page number even if you are just paraphrasing.

If you have three body paragraphs, two quotes per paragraph is fine. If you only have two body paragraphs, three quotes per paragraph is required.

Analysis must be entirely your own. If you borrow any ideas or analysis from another source, you must cite it accurately in your paper as well as your bibliography.

Basic Mechanics:

2-3 pages

Times New Roman, 12-pt font, Double-spaced, Page Numbers, MLA style bibliography page

Student examples from years past:

Student Example A.docx

Student Example B.docx

Student Example C.docx