The Birthday Party

When a wife surprises her husband on his birthday,an ironic turn of events occurs.Katherine Brush's "The Birthday Party" is a short story about relationships,told from the perspective of a nearby observer.Brush uses the words and actions of the married couple to assert that a relationship based on selfishness is weak.

Immediately,the narrator stereotypes the couple by saying "they looked unmistakably married". The couple symbolizes a relationship.Because marriage is the deepest human relationship,Brush chose a married couple to underscore her message and strengthen the story.The husband's words weaken their relationship.When the man rejects his wife's gift with "punishing...quick,curt, and unkind" words,he is being selfish.Selfishness is a matter of taking,just as love is a matter of giving.Her has taken her emotional energy, and she is left "crying quietly and heartbrokenly" .Using unkind words,the husband drains his wife of emotional strength and damages their relationship.

The husband was also selfish in his actions.With good intentions,the wife had planned a surprised for him,but he was not pleased."Instead,he was hotly embarrassed, and indignant at his wife for embarrassing him". When the narrator describes the husband at the beginning,he was a "self-satisfied face". Embarrassment is a result of feeling self-conscious.Because of his self-conscious nature,he assesses first how the few people in the restaurant will view him because of his wife's actions.He does not prioritize appreciation for his wife's effort and care,but rather sees the worst in her misguided actions.The husband's selfishness causes him to be prideful,which in turn causes him to destroy his relationship with his wife through his actions.

In a subtle way,Brush also makes the wife's actions selfish.Even though her husband was wrong to react in the way that he did,she was also selfish in her cations.Clearly,her husband has a shy personality because "he was hotly embarrassed" in front of "such few people as there were in the restaurant". Using a couple of this age,Brush asserts that the wife should have known her husband's preferences and been sensitive to them.The author also uses the seemingly opposite descriptions the couple:"There was nothing conspicuous about them" and the "big hat" of the woman.The big hat reveals the wife's desire to be noticed.That is why she "planned a little surprise",but the kind of surprise she would enjoy.She was selfish in taking his private dinner celebration and making it public when he would prefer it not to be,weakening their relationship and breaking his trust.

Brush only needs a short story to prove her message.Perhaps Brush was also implicating something about the quality of marriage relationships in 1946 (when the story was written). However,there is a very clear message that any generation can understand.The woman cries "heartbrokenly and hopelessly",displaying the consequences of both of their actions on that evening.Through the actions and words of the couple,we see that a relationship based on selfishness is weak.

Social Class in the Kite Runner

The Good,the Bad, and the Ugly,Of the Upper and Lower Class
Some may find it hard to believe,but life as an upper-classman, and as a lower-classman,have a lot in common.Whether it be education,living conditions,or even physical or psychological abuse,both classes have to deal with most of the same problems.Granted lower-class people may not have a problem such as which car they would like to take out for the day,or an upper-class citizen how they are going to survive the next month with what little money they are making,but nonetheless they share an equal amount of problems as human beings.In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini,there are plenty of examples that prove this to be correct,walking through the life as an upper or lower class citizen,dealing with tough situations.As upper class citizens,it is much easier to receive a proper education due to the fact that it is not necessary for one to get an occupation to help support their family because no additional support is needed.Since upper class citizens can have the luxury of being able to read and write,they are more likely to become successful,for example,
Amir,a young boy who is born into the wealth of his father,Baba,talks about how he is using his education to excel in language arts,"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 with yours.Everyone in my class wanted me on their team,because by the time I was eleven,I could recite dozens of verses...One time,I took on the whole class and won". This example shows how Amir has the advantage over most kids,who are not as fortunate to receive an education and is able to excel by becoming one of the most prominent students in poetry of his class.It also shows that Amir has a good chance of being a success by using this education to advance him for when he is older.Rahim Khan,Baba's best friend, also notice that Amir is becoming more knowledgeable in language arts when he reads Amir's first story,I enjoyed your story very much.Mashallah,God as granted you a special talent.It is now your duty to hone that talent,because a person who wastes his God-given talents is a donkey.You written your story with sound grammar and interesting style.But the most impressive thing about your story is that it has irony.You may not even know what that word means.But you will someday.It is something that some writers reach for their entire careers and never attain.You have achieved it in your first story". This again further displays that because Amir is able to receive a good education,he is able to write impressively.Not only does this example show that he is a good student,but it also shows that if one is given the chance to be educated and takes advantage of it they can become successful.People in the upper class have the opportunity to gain an education because they have the wealth to be able to do so,however people in the lower class are not as fortunate.People in the lower class are forced to work hard for what they have because,they have not been blessed with the luxury of being born into a wealthy family.

Islam and Christianity

Islam

Islam was founded by the prophet Mohammad (PBUH) who was born on CE 570,sometimes during the 6th century A.D,he founded Islam.It is a very widely spread religion and has many customs and traditions in it that have to be followed.To be considered a Muslim,one has to follow the "Five Pillars of Islam".These are:

Shahadah(Belief-one has to believe that there is only one God,by the name of Allah and that Allah has a single messenger by the name of Mohammad(PBUH).

Salah(Prayers)-All Muslims above the age of 12 have to pray 5 daily "Namaz".These are called Fajr,Zuhr,Asr,Maghrib and Esha.

Zakah(Almsgiving)-All Muslims have to 2.5% of their annual savings to a charity of their choice.

Saum(Fasting)-All Muslims have to fast for the holy month of Ramadan.They have to fast from sunrise to sunset everyday for the month.After the month there are Eid celebrations.

Hajj(Pilgrimage)-All Muslims have to try to visit the Holy city of Mecca and the Kabah at least once in their life time during the holy month of Hajj.If they visit Mecca anytime apart from that month,it is called Umrah and they still have to perform Hajj.

Christianity

The Christian religion was founded in C.E. 0 by Jesus.Christian believe that Jesus in the son of God and that he was born to the Virgin Mary.Jesus was crucified by the Romans after being betrayed by one of his followers-Judas.Christians believe that after Jesus 'died,"Jesus returned to our earth.The Christian Holy Book is called The Bible.The Bible is divided into two halves-The Old Testament and The New testament.In the Old Testament,there are stories of prophets such as Noah,Issac,David and others,along with tales of how the earth was created,whereas in the New Testament are tales of the life of Jesus and his teachings.

There are many Christian Denominations such as Protestant,Roman Catholic and others.Denominations are people of the same fundamental belief of Christianity,but slightly differing views on things such as Divorce(which will be covered later in this book) and other teachings.

When two people love each other,they decide to get married.When two people marry each other,it is a symbol of their love for each other and a statement to everyone else.By being married,the bride and the bridegroom mutually agree to love each other, and only each other for the rest of their lives.They can then live together and have children together as a married couple.

If one of the spouses cheats on the other,it is called adultery and is a major sin in most religions-except Mormons,who believe in monogamy- and can result to the break up of the marriage, i.e. divorce.When to people divorce each other,it is a way for them to no longer be married to one another and can allow them to see and marry other people.

Christian Marriage Traditions

Traditional Christian marriages usually take place in a church and the two people who want to marry each other are married by a priest.This is how a traditional marriage takes place.

Islam Marriage Traditions

A marriage in Islam involves a simple marriage contract which is just the giving of a gift to a wife and the singing of a contract with repeating of Quranic verses before an Imam.But traditionally,other customs and traditions,which are not compulsory,are performed.