This scene occurs at (what part of the plot) and...... (who is involved) and .....(how it fits into the grand scheme of the entire story)....

2. Explain the importance of this scene in a LITERARY SENSE

This is where you must demonstrate no only your knowledge of the story BUT your true understanding of this in terms of CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, CONFLICT ANALYSIS, POINT OF VIEW, SYMBOLISM OR LITERARY DEVICES, AND THEME. You must go beyond saying "it is important" and EXPLICITLY discuss WHY and offer INSIGHTS into the human condition.

3. Connect this scene to one central theme of the overall work.

This is where you must MAKE CONNECTIONS. First you must elaborate BEYOND mere summary and literary analysis and make links to this particular scene to universal themes and other works of literature.

Let's see a fun example concerning "To Kill A Mockingbird"

      This scene occurs at the exposition and the conclusion. The first time it was said was from Hassan to Amir this is important because Hassan is showing to Amir that he is undeniably loyal to Amir.  The second time it is said Is when Amir says it to Sohrab, this is important because it shows that Amir is taking Hassan's role and redeeming himself from what has happened in the past.

     The importance of this scene in a literary sense is that Hassan is showing to Amir that he is totally loyal to him and will do anything for Amir. And when it is said to Sohrab at the end of the novel Amir is expressing to him that he is also loyal to him just in the same sense that Hassan was to him

     This quote has to do with the central theme of guilt.  When Hassan said it to Amir it showed that Hassan would do anything to help out Amir.  Later on Amir watched Hassan get sexually assaulted by Assef, and Amir knew that if it was him getting raped Hassan would help but Amir did not help Hassan. Amir felt guilt throughout the entire story and wanted to make up for what he had done, so he took Hassan's role and redeemed his guilt by helping his son Sohrab.

Before this quotation, Amir is watching Hassan get sexually assaulted by Assef in the alley, after the kite running competition.  Hassan runs the last kite for Amir, and doesn’t come back for a while.  Amir gets worried, and anxious that Hassan didn’t catch the kite, so he goes out looking for him.  After asking a few people in town, Amir finds out, from a local man selling fish, that a few “bigger boys” were chasing Hassan, and that they ran down into the alley.  When Amir goes to the alley to find Hassan, he finds him standing in front of three boys: Assef, Wali and Kamal. Amir watches them as they ask for the kite, and Hassan doesn't let them take it, that it is Amir's Kite.  Then, Assef pushes Hassan to the ground and pulls down his pants. He asks his friends if they want to join in on sexually assaulting Amir, and they both turn him down.  This quotation is Amir’s thoughts, and is located in the first half of the novel, since the rape was the major crisis. This is clear since Amir says, “the rest of my life may have turned out differently if I had…” This proves that this scene leads into the rising action, and climax. It is the causative incident that sparks the rest of the conflicts within the novel.  This scene reminds the readers to one of the first conflicts of the novel, a bullying conflict between Assef and Hassan. When Hassan, Amir, and Assef talked in the past, the tension built and Assef felt threatened, leading to Assef wanting revenge on the two boys.

This quotation is important because it foreshadows the way the rest of his life turns out, and that if Amir were to have stepped in, his fate would have been much different.  It also proves the type of person Amir is, a coward. He isn’t strong, or brave like Hassan. This incident develops Amir into the person that he is in the future, because he realizes that he was a coward and changes himself to make things okay with Hassan, after leaving him the first time when they were younger. This is a severe turning point in the novel. Hassan and Amir go from being best friends, to barely communicating.  From this, Amir branches off into anger towards Hassan, and eventually they are no longer connected in any way.  Hassan’s personality is changed after this scene as well, from positive, and outgoing, to closed off and silent.  It moves the plot forward, and really gets the readers intrigued into the novel.  In this quotation, we explore the conflicts of bullying, and psychological conflicts. This point in the novel is the starting point of Amir’s psychological conflict, the major conflict in the novel. 

This quotation links to the overall message of ‘by breaking your moral standard, your guilt will stay with you for the rest of your life, until change is made.’ We discovered this because Amir says if he were to have stopped what is happening, he may not have felt the guilt and grief he had dwelling on him. Also, this quote relates to the overall message of: 'people can change’, since Amir was a coward toward the beginning of the novel, for not stepping in and saving Hassan.  Throughout the course of the novel, and towards the end of the novel, Amir’s personality changes and he becomes the brave man his father raised him to be.  Although you cannot be the same after an incident like that happens, you can change to better yourself and improve yourself after the mistake you made. 

This scene occurs at the exposition of the novel, Amir is talking. It has to do with the rest of the story because throughout the rest of the story he is trying to bury what happened. Amir has done something wrong in the past, he failed to help Hassan when he was being raped. He has had to live with this guilt his whole life and it then comes back to haunt him and has detrimental affects on him later on.

This quotation foreshadows the scene with Hassan. That is important because that scene is the causative incident of the novel. It has to do with th human condition because people try to bury their guilt and cover up mistakes they have made in the past, even though it is better to face what you have done. This conflict is psychological between Amir and his inner self. The guil he feels has drastic affects on the way he lives his life.

This relates to overall theme of the novel which is how we deal with our mistakes and grievances. Amir, rather than dealing with his guilt, tries to bury and forget about. The causative incident in most novels is someone making a mistake, and the remainder of the novel revolves around them trying to fix and deal with that mistake

 “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.” -Baba pg 24

This quotation is significant in the novel because Amir lives his whole life not being able to stand up for himself and more importantly his friend Hassan. This is significant to the plot because Amir has the chance to speak out and help Hassan when he is being attacked by Assef. This scene is part of the exposition we are still being introduced to the characters.

The scene where Baba and Rahim Khan are talking about Amir foreshadows the upcoming events of Hassan and Assef. It foreshadows that Amir does not stand up through out the story. This quote foreshadows the events of bulling such as the slingshot indecent and the rape. The quotation symbolizes Amir's personality and how he is more passive than aggressive.

This quote come up twice in the story once when Baba says it too Rahim and when Rahim tells Amir what they said. This relates to the overall theme of the novel that is bulling. Amir does not stand up to his bully as a child so he will be weak as a man. The whole book is about the mistake Amir makes as a child and how he did not stand up for himself.

Assef is the local bully of the neighborhood. He is known to over Hitler and talk about alot. Assef is threatening Amir and Hassan that he is very patient and get them in due time. Assef is having to retreat from the threat of Hassans slingshot. (THIS SCENE IS PART OF THE EXPOSITION. HERE WE ARE INTRODUCED TO ASSEF, WHO IS THE STORY'S ANTAGONIST. ASSEF IS A LOCAL BULLY WHO WE LATER SEE AS A PSYCHOTIC/SOCIOPATHIC KILLER. HE IS CLEARLY A RACIST WHO ADMIRES HITLER. HE GAVE AMIR HITLER'S BIOGRAPHY FOR A BIRTHDAY PRESENT. HERE HE IS THREATENING BOTH AMIR AND HASSAN BECAUSE HASSAN IS HAZARA AND AS MENTIONED BEFORE, ASSEF IS A RACIST.

Assef dislikes Hassan because of his background which is why he acts this way towards Hassan. Assef dislikes Amir because of his relationship with Hassan, AS HE IS HAZARA. Assef is a sociopath and idealizes Hitler, Hossanei wanted a "villainous antagonist" to Amir and Hassan. Assef foreshadows the revenge he will have on Amir and Hassan in the future. the theme of the quote relates back to the overall theme of the novel, which is redemption. THIS SCENE IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT ESTABLISHES RACISM AS THEME, BUT ALSO FORESHADOWS EVENTS LATER IN THE STORY. IN A DISCUSSION WITH RAHIM KHAN, AMIR DISCOVERS THAT HASSAN AND HIS WIFE ARE KILLED IN A TALIBAN RAID. WE LATER FIND OUT THAT THE LEADER IS ASSEF. ALSO, LATE IN THE FALLING ACTION, ONCE AMIR HAS DECIDED TO RESCUE SOHRAB (HASSAN'S SON), HE IS CONFRONTED BY ASSEF. HE HAD WARNED AMIR THEY WOULD MEET AGAIN, AND THEY DO.

THIS SCENE REINFORCES REDEMPTION. IRONICALLY THIS VIOLENT THREAT OFFERS AMIR AN OPPORTUNITY TO REDEEM HIMSELF BY RESCUING SOHRAB. The theme is refrenced in this quote by Assef who rapes Hassan and kills him, and even later in the novel rapes his son, Sohrab. REDEMPTION IS A THEME THAT IS REINFORCED MANY TIMES, SPECIFICALLY WITH BABA'S DECEPTION AND REDEMPTION SURROUNDING THE BIRTH OF HASSAN.

"I opened my mouth, almost said something. Almost. The rest of my life  might have turned out differently if I had. But I didn't. I just watched. Paralyzed." Pg.7

  At this point in the novel we are reading about the causative inc which is when Amir is witnessing is close friend at the time Hassan being raped by Assef. He says nothing. This is taking place during the kite competition and before he finds what is happening he was in the midst of trying to get the last kite. He then begins to get worried and goes back to find Hassan to see him being sexually assaulted.