Writing Style of Khalid Hosseini in ‘THE KITE RUNNER’

Prepared by Irshad Hussain 2015-KIUSC-102

Semester 3rd

Content

1. Genre of the work2. Narrator3. Diction 4. Setting 5. Tone 6. Themes 7. Similes8. Metaphors9. Personifications10. Symbols 11. Allusions12. Other literary devices

Types of novels

• Epistolary Novel• Realistic Novel• Philosophic Novel• Epic Novel• Historical Novel• Gothic Novel

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• Bildungsroman

Genre“The kite Runner” is a Bildungsroman.

Bildungsroman: The composition of two German words; bildung = education roman= novel “Novel of formation”“ A novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character” http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bildungsroman

Narrator First Narrator:

• Amir, the protagonist, is getting nostalgic.• He starts the story narrating an event that had

happened in 1975 when he was 12 years old.• We see approximately the whole novel through

the eyes of Amir.• The narrator is very bold and clear and narrates

the story in detail and doesn’t leave any necessary part untouched.

Narrator

Second Narrator:• In chapter 15 the story is shifted toward the second

narrator Rahim Khan about the end of the chapter.• Rahim Khan narrates a brief part of the story about

his experiences after the migration of Baba and Amir.• All the chapter 16 and a half part of 17 is narrated by

Rahim Khan.• He reveals the basterdy of Hassan.• The novel is written in past tense.

Diction • Language and Meaning:• The story is written in English and into simple

language.• Nevertheless, there are some occasional words in

another language.• match of buzkashi, “Shahnamah,” the book of

stories , “I’ll come back with your morphine and a glass of water, Kaka jan.” Soraya said.-For example, Hassan says, “Thank you Agha,”.

Setting

Time: The novel deals with the specific spans of time parallel to the real history of the world.

• The regime of Zahir Shah, 1933-1973.• The empire of Muhammad Daoud Khan,1973-1978.• Invasion of Soviet, 1979.• Rule of Taliban, 1996-2002• 9,11 attack

Places:• Afghanistan ; Kabul, Jalalabad and Hazarajat• Pakistan ; Peshawar and Islamabad• USA; Fremont, California

Tone Fearless and undaunted:• Hosseini didn’t waver to add the bloodshed and massacre.• He didn’t hasitate even to discusse the rape sceneHopeful:• Although major part of the novel is gloomy because of the atrocities

done on hassan yet there is a ray of hope at the ending of the novel.• Sohrab smiles his rare smile it foreshadows his happy prospect life.Ironic :

According to some critics some of the part of the novel is ironic because;

• Baba goes against his words.• Amir ends up being Hassan’s half-brother.

Tone

Emotional:• The novel shakes the emotions of kind hearted people and break the dam

of their tears.• Majorly on the part of Hassan and other innocents being killed ruthlessly

by the cruel.Anger:• The stories mood reached anger when Amir finds out that Baba had lied

to him his whole life about Hassan being his half brother.• He's angry at the fact that Baba had done something that he had told him

not do, which was to be a theft or lie. Guilt:• The whole story, Amir has to live with the guilt of his mistake and the

conscious that he's the reason why something bad has happened.

Themes Universal Themes:• Friendship• Racialism • Sex• Love• Literature Local Themes:• Political Scenario of Afghanistan• Social Scenario of Afghanistan• Internal conflicts in Afghanistan

Similes

– “He looked like someone coming out of a good dream.” (Chapter 5).

– The other two guys shifted nervously on their feet, looking from Assef to Hassan, like they’d cornered some kind of animal that only Assef could tame. (chapter 8)

– My good sir is like the fresh air I breathe.

Similes

• "At least two dozen kites already hung in the sky, like paper sharks roaming for prey".

• "attention shifted to him like sunflowers turning to the sun”."He said it fondly, like a man telling of a great party he'd attended.“

• “The Taliban were looking at the big house like…yes, like wolves looking at a flock of sheep.”

Metaphors• “A sign above his desk read, LIFE IS A TRAIN. GET ON BOARD.”• “After all, life is not a Hindi movie.”• “Baba…I helped him in a clean white shirt…nothing the two inches

of empty space between the collar but thought of all the empty spaces Baba would leave behind when he was gone.”

• “I felt as if I were sitting on a pair of tree trunks.” -Baba.• “From above, Assef’s screams went on and on, the cries of a

wounded animal.”

Personification

• “Then I glanced up and saw a pair of kites, red with long blue tails, soaring in the sky. They danced high above the trees on the west end of the park…”.

• “Sitting cross-legged, sunlight and shadows of pomegranate leaves dancing on his face…”.

• “I ran with the wind blowing in my face…”.• “The gun roared.”• “I won’t bruise her precious ego.” –Soraya.

Symbols • Kite running • The Monster in the lake• The Pomegranate tree• Lamb • The Black Bear

Allusion

• There are a total of nineteen references to American film stars or American films in The Kite Runner – more than the number of references to Afghan politicians.

• In Chapter 3, Baba takes Amir to a game of buzkashi. There is also a scene in Rambo III in which people play buzkashi.

• Khaled Hosseini was a practicing doctor until a year after the publication of The Kite Runner. (Source)

• Khaled Hosseini has a cameo in the film version of The Kite Runner. (Source)

Allusions• In chapter 9 on page 105, after Amir plants his watch and

money under Hassan's bed, he states: "I loved him in that moment, love him more than I'd loved anyone and I wanted to tell them that I was the snake in the grass." This alludes to the snake in the grass in the Garden of Eden, who deceived Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. In the book, Amir deceives his father into believing that Hassan took the watch. This is a biblical allusion. Hope I've helped :)

• Amir often read to Hassan, who was illiterate. Their favorite story was “Rostam and Sohrab,” in which Rostam fatally wounds Sohrab in battle and then finds out Sohrab is his lost son.

Other Literary Devices

• Hyperbole:“But he’s always buried in those books.”

• Repetition:“There is a way to be good again.” page 2,“Now there is a way to be good again.” page 192

• Onomatopoeia:“The earth shook a little and we heard the rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire.”

Thank You………….!