\tThe book is told in first person from the perspective of Amir. It begins in the middle of the story, when Amir gets a phone call in San Francisco in 2001 from Rahim Khan calling him back to Afghanistan. It then throws the reader back to Kabul in 1975 where it begins to follow the story of Amir\u2019s childhood. This continues along through the rest of Amir\u2019s life up until the point where he rescues and adopts Sohrab.
\n\tThis is important as it means we look at the events in Kabul through the eyes of a reflective adult rather than the eyes of child. We have an adult reaction to the things that happen, but it also allows us as the reader to understand why the children and young adults react to things the way they do. For example, we understand that Amir feels he cannot stop the rape from happening because he is too cowardly and is afraid of the outcome for himself. We understand that Assef bullies others because he has insecurity issues about his own mixed race heritage.
\n\tIn Chapter 7 there are two unusual points to the tale. There is a strange inclusion of a dream sequence told through Hassan. He is given a huge chunk of text to say. In this dream sequence he predicts the outcome of the kite tournament and his impending abuse at the hands of Assef through the metaphor of the lake monster that he and Amir defeat.
\n\tAt the end of the chapter there is also a descriptive flashback of an Eid sacrifice whilst Hassan is being assaulted. In this scene Amir does not want to watch his friend being assaulted and he does not want to acknowledge that he should really be preventing it from happening. Instead he shuts his eyes and conjures up an image of the Eid sacrifice. During the Eid festival a sheep or goat is sacrificed to represent the loyalty of men to God. Amir remembers this now as Hassan is sacrificing himself out of his loyalty for Amir.
\n\tIn Chapter 16 the narrative shifts to Rahim Khan as he relates the story of Hassan\u2019s life and eventual death at the hands of the Taliban. Rahim Khan was closer than Amir to Hassan at this point and so it gives the story more emotional weight. We expect, because the story of Hassan has a lot of happy points to it, that his tale will end well. It is a shock when Rahim Khan eventually reveals Hassan\u2019s death with the simple statement that the Taliban were committing genocide by \u2018ridding\u2019 Afghanistan of Hazaras. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The book is told in first person from the perspective of Amir. It begins in the middle of the story, when Amir gets a phone call in San Francisco in 2001 from Rahim Khan calling him back to Afghanistan. It then throws the reader back to Kabul in 1975 where it begins to follow the … Continue reading The Kite Runner – narrative style<\/span>