Khaled Hosseini Creates Suspense Throughout The Novel Using Several Different Techniques

Khaled Hosseini creates suspense throughout the novel using several different techniques: from foreshadowing to metaphorical inputs that makes the reader’s imagination run wild. A tantalising mixture of all of the techniques and a contrast of good and evil, hot and cold and an extremely significant contrast of lifestyles and personalities makes the reader feel on edge after every chapter, every stanza, and every line.

The novels most critical part is in chapter seven with some important parts within the dramatic but deliberately sluggish build up to the breath taking climax. The author does this to test the reader’s strength and determination to read on without feeling frustrated at the fact that the climatic suspense is presented to us in the very first paragraph of the novel.

The story is written by Khaled Hosseini but is commonly misjudged and interpreted in a specific way in which deceives the reader and persuades them to believe that Amir is writing the story, as the story is in a form from his point of view.

The very first paragraph of the entire novel is vital in creating suspense and giving a basic overview of the most critical part of the novel. The way in which Hosseini represents this paragraph is exceptionally well conducted in a sense of structure and lexical choices. The words ‘frigid’ and ‘frozen’ gives the environment a feeling of innocence in a contrast to an additional feeling of anxiety. These words are used by Hosseini to create pathetic fallacy to make the reader feel on edge as the atmosphere portrays the action or instance that is about to take place. The theme of eyes is apparent throughout the novel and is immensely symbolic, whether they are being compared to kites, being used to display a feeling of pain, isolation, neglect or to watch an event through Amir’s point of view. The verbs that are used in this paragraph are cleverly elected to portray a level of insecurity and uncertainty in what Amir is experiencing, ‘crouching’ and ‘peaking’; these words provide evidence that Amir is somewhere he shouldn’t be. The fact that he is ‘crouching behind a crumbling mud wall’ gives the surrounding a sense of dirtiness, without even know what horrific experience is taking place.

Guilt is a major factor within the text weather its Amir feeling guilty for letting Hassan get raped without doing anything, telling anyone or even talking to Hassan about it; or Amir feeling constantly blamed for the death of his which occurred at the birth of Amir. He consistently feels at blame for this due to the consistent negation disposed by Baba toward Amir. Amir feels wounded mentally by this uninterrupted importance of Baba within the community, which gives Amir no time to spend with his Father. Amir feels privileged when his Father decides to involve him within his lifestyle and to allocate a small amount of time with him, although, when this time is spent together, Hassan was continuously involved, which angered Amir making him feel unimportant causing him to act with stupidity and feel jealous toward the relationship between Baba and Hassan.

Chapter seven goes from a thrilled, upbeat start to the chapter to a disheartening end that makes you feel anger and frustration toward Amir. The kite contest is jubilant and you believe that this could be a changing point with Amir’s life, finally his Father would accept him, and he would be the best at something and make everyone proud. Hassan is known as a loyal friend, servant and kite runner at all times in the novel, so when Amir cuts the last opponents kite, Hassan runs the kite for him without hesitation even when Amir shows he’s worried about what might happen. ‘For you a thousand times over’, this quote is one of, if not the most relevant quote in the whole of the text. It portrays Hassan’s loyalty even when all is lost for him and he has nothing to love for anymore, even when he could keep his innocence instead he doesn’t betray Amir, he keeps the kite in exchange for the most brutal of punishments that could be given to any single individual. The scene of which the rape took place was cold, snowy and dirty. ‘Tiny drops that fell from between his legs and stained the snow black’, this quote shows the difference between the purity of the snow before the rape and the blood stained snow after being brutally raped.

In conclusion, Amir is arguably a young boy who maybe didn’t know what to do when placed in a situation as difficult as this. However, Amir could’ve spoken with Hassan or Baba after the rape took place, but instead, he decided that the best thing to do was take a selfish action and hope his Father would accept him. Moreover, Hassan wouldn’t hesitate to step in if Amir was in trouble as he did when he held the slingshot towards Assef’s face. Many symbolic features, contrasts and metaphors make this novel such intriguing books to read, annotate and look deeply at every word Khaled Hosseini appoints.