Question

Discuss how the author uses language techniques to develop a main character in the novel, and how this character helps you understand one or more significant themes/ideas.

Techniques could include figures of speech, syntax, word-choice (Islamic and Farsi words), style, symbolism, structure, foreshadowing, or narrative point-of-view.

Intro

“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime”. the award winning novel ‘The Kite Runner’ written by Khaled Hosseini glides through the action and drama filled life of a young boy from the Wazir Akbar district named Amir jan and his close family and friends  . Khaled Hosseini uses many effective language techniques such as symbolism, foreshadowing and narrative point of view to propell the reader through the action packed life of Amir Jan and his friend and family battling through life in Afghanistan.

The first effective language feature that khaled Hosseini uses in the kite runner is foreshadowing. foreshadowing is used as a pre warning and a  indication of what’s going to happen in the future. Foreshadowing is used in kite runner a lot mainly towards the start. it was used by Old Amir to set the tone of the rest of novel to be a dark and sad tale in the first chapter. Amir stated in chapter one that ” I became what i am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realise I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.” this foreshadows a dark event that is about come into life in the lives of the young Amir and Hassan being the future rape scene where Amir stands and does nothing while his best loyal friend hassan gets raped while trying to retrieve the last kite from that years annual kite  fighting tournament as a gift for Amir to show his worth to his father.  the word choice in the foreshadowing is also very effective. Khaled Hosseini used dark and cold words such as when he said  “on a frigid overcast day,” this hints at the event that is in the near future is a dark, bad and unforgettable one. the use of the  negatively emotive language in the foreshadowing also builds to the suspense and builds up tension leading up to the event making the book a more exciting read for the reader. Foreshadowing is also used in many other occasions as well to build up suspense for example When Amir notices Hassan’s facial expressions and notes “That’s when it happened again: Hassan’s face changed…I had the feeling I was looking at two faces, the one I knew, …and another second face, this one lurking just beneath the surface. I’d seen it happen before – it always shook me up a little…it just appeared, this other face, for a fraction of a moment, long enough to leave me with the unsettling feeling that maybe I’d seen it someplace before. this is foreshadowing into the future where amir finds out that hassan was his brother.Amir states “I had the feeling I was looking at two faces, the one I knew, …and another second face, this one lurking just beneath the surface,” this shows foreshadows that there is a second side of hassan, there is something more to him, he’s not just Amir’s best friend, he’s his brother. he talks about the second face being his brothers face as the being “just beneath the surface,” of truth. showing that he’s always been so close to him and so close to the truth but it’s just beneath him.

The second effective language feature used in The Kite Runner is symbolism. symbolism is present in many aspects and parts of the novel The Kite Runner, a very important symbol is the kites. In The Kite Runner kites are used of a symbol of amir’s betrayal to hassan to earn respect from his father.  Kite running was a very fun activity that helped hassan and amir become closer friends as they needed each other to fly the kite one being the  charka gir who holds the spool and the other being the gudiparan baz who controls the movement of the plane. no matter how close kite running bought them together amir proving himself to his father baba was still more important then their bond as friends. this is proven by the quote ” We won! We won!” was all I could say. This wasn’t happening. In a moment, I’d blink and rouse from this beautiful dream, get out of bed, march down to the kitchen to eat breakfast with no one to talk to but Hassan. Get dressed. Wait for Baba. Give up. Back to my old life. Then I saw Baba on our roof. He was standing on the edge, pumping both of his fists. Hollering and clapping. And that right there was the single greatest moment of my twelve years of life, seeing Baba on that roof, proud of me at last.” this shows that even though hassan is a very important and key person in his life he would do anything to earn the by respect of baba this is shown when he ” saw Baba on our roof. He was standing on the edge, pumping both of his fists. Hollering and clapping.” And  proceeded to say that “that right there was the single greatest moment of my twelve years of life, seeing Baba on that roof, proud of me at last.” this showed that amir would do anything to get his fathers approval and this is once again shown as he goes to find the last fallen kite where he gets cornered and raped. amir watches and does noting as he knows that if he steps in he will lose the kite and therefor the respect and approval from his father and if he does step in he will have to keep fighting for the respect from his father. he decides to not step in and just watch as his best friend gets raped. this is how the symbol of the kite in the kite runner is used to symbolise the betrayal between amir and hassan.

The last and final language feature used in “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini is narrative point of view. the novel is in a first person point of view from amir jan. this is a very useful and effective way of laying out the novel as it allows the reader get to know and understand amirs feelings and thoughts of all topics in the novel everywhere from his excitement winning the kite flying tournament to his guilt and sadness during his betrayal to hassan. having the novel told through amirs point of view also helps to create a bond between the reader and amir, this makes the novel more emotional and personal for the reader as they see amir not just as book character but as a real person and almost as a friend as you know him from his point of view. The First person point of view also makes a major theme of the book being amirs personal redemption more meaningful and effective as we read through amir trying to reverse and atone for his past mistakes. a example of when the first person point of view from amir brings emotion to a scene is when amir sees “Assef knelt behind Hassan, put his hands on Hassan’s hips and lifted his bare buttocks. He kept one hand on Hassan’s back and undid his own belt buckle with his free hand. He unzipped his jeans. Dropped his underwear. He positioned himself behind Hassan. Hassan didn’t struggle. Didn’t even whimper. He moved his head slightly and I caught a glimpse of his face. Saw the resignation in it. It was a look I had seen before. It was the look of the lamb,”. through reading this in the eyes and the point of view of amir, hassans best friend it  makes the scene all the more unbearable and horrible as its as if we are there not just being told about it. this is how narrative point of view increases the readers connection between themself and Amir Jan in The Kite Runner.

To conclude, Khaled Hosseini’s use of language features in the kite runner specifically being the symbolism of the kites and amir betraying hassan, how amirs first person point of view helps the reader connect to the novel and amirs personal redemption better and lastly the use of foreshadowing to effectively add tension and suspense towards the novel all together add  with each other to improve the read and overall read and connection the reader has towards the book.