In the Hands of Change and the Eyes of Guilt
"All the great themes of literature and of life are the fabric of this extraordinary novel" (Allende). The Kite Runner was a largely successful first-book, winning a San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year award, as well as many positive reviews from notable organizations such as, The New York Times Book Review, Entertainment Weekly, and Chicago Tribune. In the novel, The Kite Runner, the author Khaled Hosseini uses characterization and diction to create themes of guilt and change because guilt is one's everlasting scar and the only constant thing in peoples' lives is change.
Hosseini's use of detailed characterization creates the theme of guilt through the main character's remembrance of …show more content…
For example, the two combine when Amir, "wondered when [he]'d become capable of causing this kind of pain," (105), after he had betrayed his best friend. Change is shown through the use of the word 'become' describing that a change was made in the way he acted, from a kind friend to a deceiving traitor. Change can also be detected in the word 'capable,' implying that he once was not able to inflict pain. Guilt is characterized through the remorseful tone of Amir's comment, specifying in the type of pain and implying that it was caused by him. When Amir returns to Afghanistan, his friend warned him that, "Kabul is not the way you remember it" (244). This quote ties closely to change through the fact that the statement clearly implies that Kabul has changed specifically through the phrase 'not the way you remember.' Guilt is further emphasized when he sees what his hometown had become. There was, "rubble and beggars. Everywhere I looked that was all I saw" (245). This begins to characterize Amir as guilty for leaving that place and everyone he had known. It also further describes change through the use of the phrase 'all I saw' implying that was all that was left of Kabul. Both the themes of guilt and change are demonstrated through specific quotes in The Kite Runner using diction and
"All the great themes of literature and of life are the fabric of this extraordinary novel" (Allende). The Kite Runner was a largely successful first-book, winning a San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year award, as well as many positive reviews from notable organizations such as, The New York Times Book Review, Entertainment Weekly, and Chicago Tribune. In the novel, The Kite Runner, the author Khaled Hosseini uses characterization and diction to create themes of guilt and change because guilt is one's everlasting scar and the only constant thing in peoples' lives is change.
Hosseini's use of detailed characterization creates the theme of guilt through the main character's remembrance of …show more content…
For example, the two combine when Amir, "wondered when [he]'d become capable of causing this kind of pain," (105), after he had betrayed his best friend. Change is shown through the use of the word 'become' describing that a change was made in the way he acted, from a kind friend to a deceiving traitor. Change can also be detected in the word 'capable,' implying that he once was not able to inflict pain. Guilt is characterized through the remorseful tone of Amir's comment, specifying in the type of pain and implying that it was caused by him. When Amir returns to Afghanistan, his friend warned him that, "Kabul is not the way you remember it" (244). This quote ties closely to change through the fact that the statement clearly implies that Kabul has changed specifically through the phrase 'not the way you remember.' Guilt is further emphasized when he sees what his hometown had become. There was, "rubble and beggars. Everywhere I looked that was all I saw" (245). This begins to characterize Amir as guilty for leaving that place and everyone he had known. It also further describes change through the use of the phrase 'all I saw' implying that was all that was left of Kabul. Both the themes of guilt and change are demonstrated through specific quotes in The Kite Runner using diction and