The Kite Runner vividly depicts the lives of the Afghani people before the revolution, and after during the flight many refugees endured. Almost as important to creating the atmosphere of the novel as the characters is the style used by Khaled Hosseini. While realism jumps out as perhaps the defining aspect of the novel's style, it's composed of many more stylistic devices, all of which together create a realistic image of the characters' experiences.
Perhaps the most obvious tool of style in The Kite Runner is the chronological structure of the book. Beginning in December 2001, chapter one takes place after the author remembers a phone call from that June from " [his] friend Rahim Khan […] from Pakistan". The following chapter (number two for you clever counters) has the narrator and reader pulled back to the narrator's childhood in Afghanistan with the characters described in the previous post. From chapter two until chapter fifteen, the narrator recounts his life leading up to where it left of in chapter one. The flashback used for the first half of the book allows the narrator to express his regret regarding how he has acted while he sifts through his memories. Even as Amir establishes his life in America, Hassan exists as a foil in his mind, returning to his thoughts at various points. While attending a wedding, Amir writes "And I remember wondering if Hassan too had married/ And if so, whose face he had seen in the mirror under the veil? Whose henna-painted hands had he held?". Amir's constant stream of memories during the first half of the book sets the stage for him to right his wrongs during the second part. This atonement for Amir appears to be beginning now in earnest as chapter fifteen has the narrator returning to the phone call that beckoned him to his past. Another stylistic benefit of the flashback is that it creates a natural feeling of realism, like one would feel if they were simply listening to Amir tell the story of his life.
In addition to the structure of the novel, the writing methods are also a significant stylistic device used. As it was previously mentioned, the book reads like a recollection of memories, full of opinion, humor, and regret. Further developing the organic feeling of the novel is the sentence structure, which reminds me of translated poetry, and the incorporation of Farsi words. During Baba's funeral, Amir describes his late father, whom he has recently developed a very real, strong bond with, and the style of the sentences is particularly evident:
"As words from the Koran reverberated through the room, I thought of the old story of Baba wrestling a black bear in Baluchistan. Baba had wrestled bears his whole life. Losing his young wife. Raising a son himself. Leaving his beloved home-land, his watan. Poverty, Indignity. In the end, a bear had come that he couldn't best. But even then, he had lost on his own terms."
The sentence structure is not familiar, yet powerful emotions are in the writing. Not only is his poetic nature reflected by the beauty of the sentence, but Amir's intense respect for his father now finally seems connected to an equally intense love between the two.
Your description of the way the Kite Runner is told like a recollection of memories was very intriguing. The way you illustrated how the organization of the chapters allows the narrator to express his regret was quite insightful. I was left wondering if the unusual sentence structure / writing style changes at any points in the book, and how the author's use of Farsi words enhances the reader's understanding of the novel?
ReplyDeleteThe sentence structure and style have remained fairly similar throughout, but I am interested to see how the develop as the narrator returns to the present. I'm beginning to think the use of Farsi words emphasizes the importance of one's language and how it can be an integral part of one's identity. The Afghanis are either in refuge in another country, or occupied by Russians, both of which leave them not being able to speak their own language as freely. I have noticed that most often words such as homeland and honor as well as words that are key parts of Afghani culture like mojarad, which is a single young man.
ReplyDeleteA nice post about the style of the writing, an a well-chosen passage to reflect the style.
ReplyDeleteThe discussion of how the structure enhances the tone is particularly good.
I liked how you described how Hosseini set up the novel. One of my favorite parts of the novel is when the Farsi words are strung though different sentences. I believe Hosseini did this because the words in Farsi mean more to Amir or that there is not a good translation to English for the word. Along with the first chapter being ahead of the rest of the first part of the book, do you think that there is something important about the chapters sometimes skipping years in between? (Like when the book skips ahead to 1981 when Amir and Baba are heading to Pakistan)
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point about the Farsi words. I think the time skip to 1981 in particular was used to emphasize how quickly the days came, and how unmemorable they were, after Amir betrays Hassan. Earlier skips might have been used to emphasize how time flew in their enjoyment together.
DeleteI loved how you incorporated humor into your post with the parenthetical quip about chapter 2. I think it would add something if you continued to do that, as you see the opportunity. I had the same thought as you about the interesting sentence structure, yet couldn't articulate as well. While very unique, the sentence structure really doesn't mess with the flow of the book: it's still very readable.
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