The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

Significance
As one of the great works of the aesthetic genre, The Picture of Dorian Gray, presents a common struggle of the maturing human mind. Age. Loss of beauty. Wilde presents this novel as a dark, surrealistic, and hopeless depiction of the battles of vanity and hedonism that capture and poison the human mind.

Perspective
The novel told from the perspectives of Dorian, a perfect-looking, well-to-do young man with the potential to be a top aristocrat in his society, and Basil, Dorian's best friend (maybe more) and the single voice of honor offered in the work.

Evidence
Dorian's struggle to remain beautiful (as he is a perfect example of a man), leads him to make a "deal with the devil". He wishes that his portrait would bear the burdens and aging of his life while he remains young and handsome forever. As Dorian ages the picture begins to reveal the weathering of his life. The portrait shows age, evil and injury while Dorian's person reammins unchanged for years.

Connections
The affluent society that dominated Victorian England in the 19th century gave birth to Dorian. He was the product of a world that did not care for the poor, weak, or meek. In modern America we are faced with a similar problem. A small percentage of the population controls a majority of the resources and the economy, and a very large number of people are seemingly unvalued and unloved. The outcome of Dorian's greed and vanity may end up being a prophetic metaphor for the outcome that our society arrives at when we come to rest.

Supposition
Dorian Gray is beautifully written. Wilde has a gift for characterization and the shaping of a novel-product. The area where I see the most potential improvement being made is in his scene-setting. The novel is told from the static perspectives of a couple of homes and the playhouse, but there is very little travel (not necessarily trips, but narration while character is in motion) in his writing style.

Kite Runner - Khalid Hosseini

Significance
Kite Runner tells the story of true platonic love in the midst of a culture in turmoil. From birth its two main characters are seemingly destined to be best friends, but the pressures of war and survival lead them to period of betrayal and distrust.
Even today, this theme of loyalty, love and trust amidst turmoil rings true. We live in a world that aches and begs for these qualities to be apparent. Friendships are constantly tested by differences that should be seen as good, but are treated as negative qualities.

Perspective
The novel is told from the perspective of Amir, a well-to-do Afghan boy, and follows his life as a sort of bildungsroman, or "coming of age" story. His family is forced through a rags to riches to rags lifestyle that is catalyzed by the ethnic war in Afghanistan.

Evidence
Amir's relationship with his best friend Hassan, who happens to be the son of his father's servant, is the parallel plot of the novel. As the boys' world in Afghanistan crumbles, so does the closeness of their relationship to each other.
The title of the novel comes from kite fighting competitions that were once commonplace in Afghan communities. Multiple boys would fly kites with glass-filled kite string and try to cut the lines of their competitor's kites. When a kite was cut their servants would "run" to grab the kites as prizes for their master's who cut them loose. This sort of "joy-filled" servitude is the background for the relationship between Amir and Hassan.


Connections
Kite Runner takes place in an Afghanistan that is on the brink of being taken over by the Taliban. The Soviet reign over the region has been destroyed and the war with the west has not yet begun. We know see the product of this hostility, a war-torn country that has been abused by terrorism and genocide. We can also see why American presence in Afghanistan has been more welcomed than that in Iraq.

Supposition
I believe the novel was well-written, but could be very graphic for some adolescent audiences. The experiences of Amir and Hassan strike a chord that is still very effective in our world, and I believe that the story would carry an equal power if it were cast upon another time period or setting.
The one necessity of the book is that the plight of the country runs parallel to the journey of its hero(es). The art of Hosseini's writing is that he carries the two story with equal attention and importance.

Here is a link to website for the upcoming motion picture: http://www.kiterunnermovie.com