Literary Techniques in The Kite Runner (Free Essay Sample)

The author Khaled Hosseini uses strong literary techniques in his novel The Kite Runner, to convey the immense theme of inequality in Afghanistan. The novel goes through a timeline of what living in Afghanistan was like in the late 1900s with the Taliban in reign and their strict ruling. Specifically, it investigates the life of the main character Amir before and after moving to America, while regarding all of the tragedies that he faces. Moreover, the book is about the power of forgiveness and the impact it has. The author utilizes strong literary techniques like metaphors, imagery, and foreshadowing to emphasize the importance of his message.

Metaphors are presented countless amount of times throughout the book, they help the author showcase the depth of the inequality in Afghanistan. For more context, a metaphor is “A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.” To explain the situation the following quote it’s when Amir’s nephew runs away in the middle of the night and confesses what happened to him and how he feels to Amir. “Because -” he said, gasping and hitching between sobs, “because I don’t want them to see me. . . I’m so dirty.” He sucked in his last breath and let it out in a long, wheezy cry. “I’m so dirty and full of sin.” Hosseini ( 319). Sohrab, the boy talking feels as though since he’s been assaulted he’s dirty by using the word dirty to describe how he feels about himself. Nevertheless, this ties into the theme of inequality because a little boy shouldn’t have to subdue the torture or malice that he went through in an orphanage or anyone for that matter, that goes to show how kids are unprotected over there with no safety net. The author uses strong connotations to help create very distinguished metaphors and words to help the audience envision situations, by imagery. 

The literary device imagery is used to emanate injustice in the novel as well. Imagery is “visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work. The author uses imagery to avail the readers to help them understand the depth of the scene and its significance.” He uses imagery by giving us a visual of what Amir was doing when He found Sohrab, “Suddenly I was on my knees, screaming. Screaming through my clenched teeth. Screaming until I thought my throat would rip and my chest explode. Later, they said I was still screaming when the ambulance arrived.” Hosseini( 343). Sohrab, Amir’s nephew had just tried to kill himself and Amir had walked in, the quote is describing what Amir was doing when he found Sohrab, and we got a mental image of what happened to Sohrab. This continuously demonstrates the inequalities the various societies in Afghan face. A little kid would rather try to take his own life than have to go back to an orphanage and live under the rash circumstances that they are put under by the Taliban. Using imagery also demonstrates the use of foreshadowing and how the author uses a quantity of hints that give us a visual image that leads to what may happen later in the story. 

Foreshadowing is a literary device that’s often used to keep the readers invested, it helps with the unraveling of stories. To add some background the definition of foreshadowing is “a literary device used to give an indication or hint of what is to come later in the story.” Hosseini uses this device to keep the readers on edge about what’s to come next in the novel, keeping his audience’s attention. The following quote comes from when Amir, the main character and narrator of the novel, is telling us about how the winter of 1975 changed everything in his life. He says “I sat on a park bench near a willow tree. I thought about something Rahim Khan said just before he hung up, almost as an afterthought. “There is a way to be good again.” I looked up at those twin kites. I thought about Hassan. Thought about Baba. Ali. Kabul. I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me what I am today.” Hosseini (2).  Foreshadowing is used by revealing that the novel is going to lead up to how the winter of 1975 changed his life. Amir is reflecting on how the kite running competition in 1975 left a deep-rooted sense of guilt for him. Conversely,  the theme of inequality ties into this becuase what happened to Hassan Amir’s loyal friend was sexually assaulted becuase he was trying to save Amir’s kite, while Amir hid in a corner because he was too scared to do anything because he might not get his kite back and of what may have happened to him. Foreshadowing is definitely a great way to keep the audience attentive and on their toes about the unraveling of the novel.

The way Hosseini utilizes metaphors, imagery, and foreshadowing really emphasizes the unfairness of inequality, which is one of the many themes throughout the novel. He gave the audience an insight into which the circumstances that the Afghan people live under and what their living conditions are like with the Taliban ruling. These literary devices really help kindle the moods and emotions of the characters and often help the readers commiserate with the text on a different level. The story of many Afghan people has yet to be told and many have been silenced, the novel was a voice for those people but what can be done to make sure that everyone is heard?