Metacognition: Kite Runner Essay

This is the first time in my life where I've had a teacher assign homework that instructs me to "think." I've heard: brainstorm, prepare ideas, outline, create a rough draft, etc.; but I've never been told to just think. Believe it or not, these simple instructions really got me thinking. At first I was elated, I thought to myself, Wow Allen is really going easy on us, all we need to do is think and read this week. Then, as the week progressed, I saw the value in this assignment. To write something well takes time, thought, and effort. Even this blog post will be revised several times, not to mention the rumination that always takes please before my fingers hit the keyboard. 

I believe the success and insight I gain from my Kite Runner essay will be directly proportionate to the amount of high-quality thinking that was put into the fundamental ideas of my essay. A wonderfully corny metaphor fits writing perfectly. The ideas, which serve as the seeds, can sprout into a magnificent tree with deep routes and thriving leaves. This growing, blooming process occurs through writing. However, if the seeds (ideas) are not properly planted, nothing significant will occur. 

Specific to this very essay I went through a series of thoughts. After reading the Essay Questions/Prompts I decided that I had a significant amount to say about Hosseini's mix of memoir and fiction. To be honest, my thoughts frightened me a bit. We spent much of class talking about the purpose of mixing memoir and fiction and how that makes the novel successful. However, the thesis I wanted to use directly opposed the views expressed by the majority of my peers during our discussions. The original thesis I thought of was this:

 Hosseini's technique of mixing memoir and fiction lessons the overall impact of the story.

Although it may sound simple, this was in fact a rather controversial thought. But being who I am, I couldn't dump an idea because I was scared. I let this idea settle for a bit, pushing it to the back of my mind and taking advantage of the several days provided for thinking. 

The evening before my thesis was supposed to be more-or-less final, I sat down for a book talk with my mom. She read The Kite Runner and I decided I would try to explain to her why I felt mixing memoir and fiction didn't turn out too well. Sure enough, by the end of our conversation I was more confident than ever. Although my mother and I both agreed there were countless things to admire about the novel, the mix of memoir and fiction wasn't necessarily one of them. 

What I learned from this entire thinking process was primarily that it cannot be rushed. I greatly appreciate that I was given several days to think about what I wanted my essay to convey. Because I was given so much time I was able to develop an idea I could work with well, and something I was proud of. I enjoyed that my thinking was opinionated; something that would evoke emotion from whoever came across it. 

I would still love to improve so much about my thinking process. I'm still trying to learn about the delicate balance between too simplistic, which I feel was the problem this time around, and over-analysis. On some occasions I tend to underestimate my abilities and settle for something that isn't challenging enough, while other times I can get extremely deep into something so miniscule that I fear I won't grasp the big picture. 

Luckily, I'm confident about the seeds I have planted for this essay. A combination of time to think, meeting with Mr. Allen, and talking to readers of the novel has helped me form a claim and look for evidence that supports it. Hopefully the rest of the writing process will be as rewarding as the thinking that began it.