Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

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In school, we used to play a game called Sherjangi, or “Battle of the
Poems”. The Farsi teacher moderated it and it went something like
this: you recited a verse from a poem and your opponent had sixty
seconds to reply with a verse that began with the same letter that ended
yours. Everyone in my class wanted me on their team, because by the
time I was eleven, I could recite dozens of verses from Khayyám, Hãfez,
or Rumi’s famous Masnawi. One time, I took on the whole class and
won. I told Baba about it later that night, but he just nodded, muttered, “Good.”
That was how I escaped my father’s aloofness1, in my dead mother’s
books. That and Hassan2, of course. I read everything, Rumi, Hãfez,
Saadi, Victor Hugo, Jules Verne, Mark Twain, Ian Fleming. When I
had finished my mother’s books – not the boring history ones, I was
never much into those, but the novels, the epics – I started spending
my allowance on books. I bought one a week from the bookstore near
Cinema Park, and stored them in cardboard boxes when I ran out of
shelf room.
Of course, marrying a poet was one thing, but fathering a son who
preferred burying his face in poetry books to hunting … well, that wasn’t
how Baba had envisioned it, I suppose. Real men didn’t read poetry –
and God forbid they should ever write it! Real men – real boys – played
soccer just as Baba had when he had been young. Now that was something to be passionate about. In 1970, Baba took a break from the
construction of the orphanage and flew to Tehran for a month to watch
the World cup games on television, since at the time Afghanistan didn’t
have TVs yet. He signed me up for soccer teams to stir the same passion
in me. But I was pathetic, a blundering liability3 to my own team, always
in the way of an opportune pass or unwittingly blocking an open lane. I
shambled about the field on scraggy legs, squalled for passes that never
came my way. And the harder I tried, waving my arms over my head
frantically and screeching, “I’m open! I’m open!” the more I went
ignored. But Baba wouldn’t give up. When it became abundantly clear
that I hadn’t inherited a shred of his athletic talents, he settled for trying
to turn me into a passionate spectator. Certainly I could manage that,
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couldn’t I? I faked4 interest for as long as possible. I cheered with him
when Kabul’s team scored against Kandahar and yelped insults at the
referee when he called a penalty against our team. But Baba sensed my
lack of genuine interest and resigned himself to the bleak fact that his son
was never going to either play or watch soccer.
Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner, 2003.
1. aloofness: distant attitude.
2. Hassan: the narrator’s best friend.
3. blundering liability: (in context) obstacle.
4. faked: pretended to show.
COMPRÉHENSION
a 1. What period of his life is the narrator talking about? Justify your
answer with one element from the text.
2. Approximately when did these events take place?
z Copy the paragraph, filling in the blanks with words from the text.
The story tells us about a young … who was brought up in … by
his …, whom he called …. His mother who was … at that time had
influenced his taste for … because she was a ….
e What made him special at school?
(20 WORDS)
r “I told Baba about it later that night, but he just nodded, muttered,
‘Good.’” (l. 8-9) What does this show about the father’s attitude to his
son’s success?
t Show in your own words the narrator’s love for books, using three
elements from the text. (30 WORDS)
y Choose the significant passage which shows how the father’s
interest differed from his son’s. Quote the text.
u True (T) or false (F)? Justify your answer by quoting from the text.
T F
1. The father and son had a close relationship.
T F
2. As a boy, the father had been interested in sport.
T F
3. Later in life his father showed less interest for football.
T F
4. The narrator was forced to play football.
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5. The narrator was a great fan of the Kabul team.
6. The father’s efforts were successful in the end.
T
F
T
F
i To what extent does the narrator conform to his father’s ideas and
wishes?
Express your answer in your own words. (40 WORDS)
o Why must both father and son feel dissatisfied with their relationship (l. 37-39)? (40 WORDS)
p Traduction (uniquement pour les L)
Translate into French from “In 1970” (l. 23) to “same passion in me.”
(l. 27)
EXPRESSION
m Série
m Série
L : Traitez les deux sujets en 300 mots.
S : Traitez un des sujets en 200 mots.
a “Real men – real boys – played soccer”.
Comment on the father’s point of view.
z How far would you be prepared to go to please your parents?
LES CLÉS DU SUJET
■ Le texte
L’auteur
Khaled Hosseini (né en 1965) est un auteur afghan qui a immigré en
France, puis aux États-Unis en 1980. Il est actuellement interne en
médecine en Californie. The Kite Runner est son premier roman.
Pour en savoir plus : http://www.khaledhosseini.com/
Le contexte
Le narrateur raconte ici sa jeunesse. Jeune adolescent, il se passionnait
pour la lecture et la poésie, comme sa mère avant qu’elle ne décède,
ce qui provoque l’admiration de ses camarades de classe. Par contre,
c’est au grand désespoir de son père, qui préférerait le voir exercer des
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activités plus « viriles », comme le football. Mais il faut bien se rendre à
l’évidence : cela ne présente guère d’intérêt pour le narrateur…
■ Les questions de compréhension
Vocabulaire utile à la compréhension
a verse, l. 3 (une strophe) ; the opponent, l. 3 (l’adversaire) ; an allowance, l. 15 (une allocation) ; a cardboard box, l. 16 (un carton) ; shelf
room, l. 17 (de la place sur les étagères) ; to sign up for, l. 26 (inscrire
à) ; to stir, l. 26 (éveiller) ; to shamble, l. 29 (marcher en traînant les
pieds) ; to squall, l. 29 (brailler) ; the referee, l. 37 (l’arbitre) ; the lack of,
l. 38 (le manque de) ; genuine, l. 38 (authentique).
Vocabulaire utile à la rédaction des réponses
Vocabulaire des goûts, des relations : to be fond of (aimer
beaucoup) ; to read extensively (lire beaucoup) ; to resent (ne pas
apprécier) ; to attract (attirer) ; to come up to someone’s expectations
(être à la hauteur des attentes de quelqu’un).
■ Le sujet d’expression n° 1
Pistes de recherche
On peut considérer ce point de vue comme rétrograde. Il défend le
mode d’éducation des garçons « à l’ancienne » qui veut que les
garçons ne pleurent pas, ne jouent qu’à des jeux virils, s’endurcissent
et soient « actifs ». On peut arguer qu’à l’inverse de nos jours il est
davantage admis d’accepter la part de féminité, de sensibilité, des garçons, qui naturellement pourront poursuivre des études littéraires, ne
pas pratiquer de sports dits violents, etc. D’autre part, le rôle et la place
des filles sont implicitement définis par contraste – mais qu’est-ce qui
peut empêcher une fille qui le souhaite de jouer au rugby ou de pratiquer des arts martiaux, lesquels sont d’ailleurs l’objet d’épreuves aux
jeux Olympiques ?
Vocabulaire utile
manly, virile (viril) ; to become tougher (s’endurcir) ; feminity (féminité) ;
to prevent someone from V-ing (empêcher quelqu’un de) ; to accept
(admettre) ; sensitive (sensible) ; conversely (inversement) ; in olden
days (dans l’ancien temps) ; sissy (mauviette) ; old-fashioned, out-offashion (démodé) ; chauvinistic (machiste).
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■ Le sujet d’expression n° 2
Pistes de recherche
La réponse à cette question très personnelle dépend des relations
entretenues avec ses parents. Certains pourront affirmer qu’ils sont
mûrs, indépendants, et qu’ils ne cherchent plus à faire plaisir à leurs
parents depuis qu’ils ont quitté l’enfance. Cependant, quelle que soit
l’éducation qu’il a reçue, l’enfant cherche à faire plaisir à ses parents, et
se sent perturbé si sa relation avec eux l’en empêche. C’est ainsi que
lorsqu’on éprouve de l’affection pour eux, on cherche à réussir scolairement, on accepte certaines choses, par exemple de participer à des
réunions de famille peut-être ennuyeuses, pratiquer certaines activités
extrascolaire, etc. Cela dit, il y a sans doute des limites, et l’enjeu des
fréquentations ou d’un choix de vie serait alors : peut-on cesser de voir
ses meilleur(e)s ami(e)s uniquement parce qu’ils ou elles déplaisent à
ses parents, au moment de l’adolescence ? Peut-on se résigner à pourquivre des études et choisir le métier qu’ont choisis ses parents ?
Vocabulaire utile
to attend (assister à) ; extra-curricular activities (activités extrascolaires) ; to spend time V-ing (passer du temps à) ; to keep bad
company (avoir de mauvaises fréquentations) ; to associate with
(fréquenter) ; a success (une réussite) ; whether they like it or not (ne
leur en déplaise) ; to annoy (déplaire à) ; childhood (l’enfance) ; mature
(mûr) ; to make concessions (faire des concessions) ; to grow up
(grandir) ; to assert oneself (s’affirmer) ; self-reliant (autonome) ; to pay
attention to (faire attention à) ; a family gathering (une réunion de
famille) ; a field (un domaine) ; on purpose, deliberately (exprès).
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