Chapters 11-25 close reading Flashcards
What does water associated with the sea, ocean, river ect. traditionally symbolize? What does diving into the water symbolize?
Water symbolizes the unconscious. To dive is to probe beneath the surface for hidden meanings, to learn about one’s submerged desires and emotions.
How does the passage about Amir wading into the water to let his memories go far away when he reaches America relate to Carl Jungs symbolic meaning of water? Why is Amir’s reference to “wading” important?
When Amir gets to America, he debates the fact that he can leave all of his bad memories from Afghanistan in the past when he moves to America. The passage related to the symbolism of water because the “river” is showing the untapped aspects of Amir’s guilt, the things that have fallen into his unconscious by him not thinking about them and trying to get rid of his memories through displacement. The word “wading” is important in how Amir approaches this situation because it shows that he’s not fully prepared to jump in and put his head under the surface to see the true truth of the things in his unconscious. Wading refers that he’s willing to enter the water, but not aggressively enough to confront the things underneath the surface.
What is the simile and it’s significance in the passage, “Baba walked out of the welfare office like a man cured of a tumor.”
The simile is Baba was like a man cured of a tumor. It’s significant because when Baba lived in Afghanistan he donated so extensively to charity, he built an orphanage, and was always with an abundance of money. As soon as he got to America he had to sacrifice most of his material possessions, making him now in need of support through things like food stamps.
