The Kite Runner: Flashback

"We find the little turtle behind tangles of sweetbrier in the yard. We don't know how it got there and we're too excited to care." (p. 261) Hosseini includes many flashbacks throughout the novel. This serves to reveal more about the character's personalities. The book is also told through the perspective of Amir who is looking back into the past on his memories. Many times when looking back on our lives, it comes to us more in spurts of stories instead of chronological events. Therefore, the flashbacks make the novel more realistic. Flashbacks allow the reader to understand the characters more and make them more life like. The flashbacks can help the reader to better understand the reason behind certain actions that take place as well as learn how things turned out the way that they did. Flashbacks give the novel more description and help depict the changes that have taken place through the course of the novel.

The Kite Runner: Diction

"We're a melancholic people, we Afghans, aren't we? Often we wallow too much in ghamkhori and self-pity. We give in to loss, to suffering, accept it as a fact of life, even see it as necessary. Zendagi migzara, we say, life goes on." (p. 201) H osseini floods the pages of his book with colloquial diction. He uses many Afghani words and includes context clues to allow the reader to discover the meaning of the foreign words. The diction in the novel allows the reader to experience a closer relationship to the setting of the book, Afghanistan. Hosseini's use of foreign words is an indication to the reader that the novel describes a very different lifestyle than that of the majority. The foreign diction mirrors the foreign culture. The colloquial words and phrases not only give a sense of identity to the characters, but to the author as well. Hosseini reveals a little about himself through his novel. The colloquial diction throughout the novel serves to emphasize the setting.

The Kite Runner: Amir and Baba's relationship

"We looked at each other. I burst into giggles. Baba joined in." (p. 162)

Amir and Baba's relationship goes through some changes throughout the novel. The novel starts out with a boy longing to receive loving recognition from his father, the only true family he has in the world. Then in the thirteenth chapter, Baba begins to befriend his son. The two begin to understand each other after all of the difficult experiences they have been forced to endure. Baba begins to understand his son, and forms a true father/son relationship with him. Baba seems to let go of his pompous attitude after he gets 'settled' in America. He loses some of his pride and realizes that his son needs him to be his friend and a positive role model. Through their journey, the two realize that they really only have each other.

The Kite Runner: Amir

"I treated Hassan well, just like a friend, better even, more like a brother." (p. 41)

I could be mistaken, but I don't think Amir is lying to himself by thinking this. He stands by and watches as his 'friend' is being raped in an alley. He mocks him by taking advantage of Hassan's illiteracy. He throws pomegranates at Hassan until the boy's clothes are stained red. He frames Hassan for stealing money and a wristwatch, which results in great pain for his father. Amir says that he is friends with Hassan, but the only relationship that really exists between the two is Hassan's unbelievable loyalty to Amir. Amir uses Hassan when it is convenient for him. Whenever thier friendship was tested, Amir failed to stick up for his friend. He let him take the fall in every opportunity that arose.

The Kite Runner: Point of View

"I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975." (p.1)

The novel is written in the first person point of view. The story is written from the perspective of one of the characters, Amir. This allows the reader to know all of Amir's thoughts and get to know the other characters better. Much of the characterization is revealed through Amir's thoughts and experiences in the first person point of view. Not only does the first person point of view give the reader an inside look into the life of an Afghani person, but it also gives the story credibility. Because of the life Amir has lived, he has the experience to look back and realize what each of the characters were going through and why they acted in the manner that they did. Hosseini's use of first person gives the reader a stronger understanding of a foreign land and a foreign way of life. The point of view is important when considering how the audience will convey the meaning of the work.

The Kite Runner: Syntax

"Our first touch. I took it. Brought it to my face. My eyes. I let it go." (p.161)

Hosseini uses a unique sentence structure throughout the novel. Short phrases serve as sentences beginning and ending many paragraphs. These short sentences serve to draw attention to the action occurring in the novel. The short sentences, or in some cases thoughts, give the flow of a book a more choppy feel. This creates suspense and makes the reader want to keep reading. Hosseini's short sentence syntax is often present in scenes of high action. The structure of the sentences gives a more raw/abstract idea of Amir's thoughts. The reader is able to better know Amir through the short phrases and thoughts.

The Kite Runner: Characterization

"...even in birth, Hassan was true to his nature: He was incapable of hurting anyone." (p. 10)

Amir, the narrator, characterizes Hassan with this line in the second chapter of the book. Throughout the following chapters, this line proves true. Hassan is abused, mentally and physically even by the one person that he is most loyal to. Amir. However, he never lays a finger on anyone. Even when his best friend throws pomegranates at him and begs him to throw one back, Hassan smashes a pomegranate on himself. He refuses to break his loyalty to others. After being brutally attacked by a group of bullies, Hassan says nothing to get the boys in trouble. Hassan knows that Amir framed him for stealing and still admits to taking the money and the watch. Hassan proves that he is loyal beyond what many could even imagine.