本校高二2楊詠晴參加書林全國高中職英文讀書心得比賽獲得第五名。
http://www.bookman.com.tw/2013reading/index.html

書林讀書心得比賽已經舉辦三屆，每一屆投稿人數都上千人，能在眾多稿件中脫穎而出實屬不易，以下為楊詠晴同學參加比賽的得獎作品。

The kite runner

     This is a story about love, honor, guilt and forgiveness. Since an accident happened after a kite tournament in 1975, Amir started to live in guilt. He could never forget that deserted alley where his loyal friend, Hassan, got raped, but what he could do at that time was to run away like a coward.

     When I read this book, I’ve cried several times. In fact, Amir and Hassan were half siblings. They had the same father. However, because Hassan’s mother was a servant’s wife, Amir’s father chose to keep this scandal as a secret to keep his reputation. This decision stole the right of Hassan to live like his brother, but maybe it was the only way that was acceptable by most people in Afghanistan. This secret had been hidden for 26 years, and finally, it was still uncovered by Amir. Unfortunately, Hassan had already died, because he wanted to protect his master’s house from the Talibans, the last time he devoted himself to Amir and his father. Amir heard this news from his father’s best friend who later asked him to find Hassan’s son, Sohrab. On the way to find Sohrab, Amir experienced the most dangerous thing. The guy who took Sorhab away from the orphanage was the one that raped Hassan 26 years ago and he was a Taliban, too. Fortunately, Amir brought Sohrab back safely to America in the end.

     I found the seriousness of discrimination in Afghanistan after reading this book. I wonder what the difference between Hazaras and Pashtuns is. Hassan was a Hazara and he had no choice but to be a servant since he was born. Reading this, I think I’m very lucky to live in Taiwan because I don’t need to worry about somebody hurting me just because of racial inequality.

     I think Amir’s characteristic reflects most people’s psychology. Amir envied Hassan because Hassan always gained more praise from his father than Amir did. When Amir was in face of danger, he chose to run away and lied to himself that nothing had happened even though the one who was harmed was his best friend. He regretted when he betrayed Hassan and lived in guilt for a long time. Don’t you think those emotions and struggles seem familiar? In my opinion, this book not only talks about the emotions of the characters but shows the true humanity to us, and I believe this is the most successful part of this novel.

     In this book, the most powerful role to me is Hassan. Although he knew his “Amir Agha”, Master Amir, betrayed him, he still tried to rebuild their relationship. He used his whole life to love the word “Amir”—the first word he said after he was born. When I read this part, I could not help but let the tears roll down my cheeks. Why did he keep devoting himself until he died? Why should such a good person be treated like that? If I were him, I would be disappointed at this world and might retreat, having no urge to make progress. I appreciate Hassan’s courage and wish myself could learn something from him.

     The most important thing that I’ve learnt from this book is forgiveness. Forgiving others and forgiving ourselves is the only way that could keep life moving. Amir had lived in pain for 26 years. When he closed his eyes, he dreamed that he was the monster pulling Hassan down to the water. I think Amir gave himself too much pressure. He forgot that when he saw Hassan being bullied, he was just a 12-year-old boy. I believe it would be better for everyone if he forgave himself.

     In this novel, Hassan was Amir’s kite runner. He was willing to do everything for Amir simply because he thought they were friends. Everyone has a kite runner who would do anything for you a thousand times over, be it your parents, friends or even your dog. Therefore, we should be grateful to everyone around us, and appreciate for whatever they do for us.