Readers will often think about characters long after a text has been finished.
Analyse how the writer made a character or characters memorable for you in a text you have studied.
In the novel The Kite Runner, the author Khaled Hosseini used a range of techniques to portray
Amir as a memorable character. With the use of techniques such as symbolism, foreshadowing,
first person narration and contrast with other characters, Khaled Hosseini succeeded in creating
a memorable character with whom I could relate to and ably understand the reasoning behind
the decisions he made.
Amir’s biggest desire is for Baba to love him and acknowledge him with pride as his son. He is
willing to go to huge extremities to earn affection from Baba and this desperate longing is
something Khaled Hosseini fluently explores while accurately using the technique of symbolism
to make Amir more memorable. This is evident when Amir stumbles across Hassan being
threatened by the local bully Assef who threatens to rape him for the treasured blue kite and
says “Behind him was the blue kite. My key to Baba’s heart.” The symbolism of the kite in
particular to Amir meant acceptance and love from the one person that he desired it from
most, his father, Baba. This personally enraged me and caused feelings of disbelief to arise as to
how Amir could be so blinded by getting the kite that he could disregard the grave danger that
Hassan was facing. Symbolism was used effectively by the author to show the reading audience
just how despicable, self-centered and cowardly Amir was which ultimately made him a
memorable character.
Foreshadowing was another technique Khaled Hosseini used to portray Amir as an
unforgettable character. He hinted at things in such a way that the audience knew Amir and
Hassan would come across extreme conflict in their friendship and suspected betrayal would be
the driving force behind this divergence. Amir was constantly belittling Hassan to lessen his
own insecurities which derived from lack of affection from his father, Baba, and it was evident
to me from the use of constant foreshadowing that it was only a matter of time before he
would betray Hassan in an unforgivable way. When Amir says “The next time I would see
Hassan smiling unabashedly like that would be twenty six years later, in a Polaroid
photograph.” This evoked a feeling of dread in me as I knew Amir would play a contributing role
in an event that would see Amir and Hassan separated for a long period of time, which without
doubt made him a memorable character. The technique of foreshadowing was significant in
showing Amir’s importance because this technique created suspense for the audience as he left
them contemplating exactly how and why Amir would betray Hassan.
Khaled Hosseini used first person narration to illustrate Amir's inner feelings to the readers
making him an important character with whom the audience could relate with. This narration
technique enabled readers to see Amir’s reasoning for the decisions he made and develop
more of an understanding as to why he often opted for the cowardly way out. A prime example
of first person narration allowing the audience incite into Amir’s rationale is during the scene
when Amir witnesses Hassan’s rape and does nothing to intervene. He does not intervene
because he is desperate to keep the winning kite that Hassan is protecting, so that he can gain
praise from his father. During this scene we hear Amir’s inner thoughts when he says “Nothing
was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay…to win Baba.” Khaled Hosseini
successfully captures our interest in Amir, as he is a character who is freely able to accept that
he is sacrificing his loyal friend in order to gain the love of his father. Although Amir’s behavior
is undesirable at this point in the novel the audience are able to form their own opinion of him
rather than instantly dislike him due to the betrayal. I was surprised that I was able to
sympathize with the young boy who is incredibly desperate to win the heart of his father,
rather than feel disgust in a person who is willing to stand by and allow their friend to be
abused in such an appalling manner. The technique of first person narration was key in creating
a memorable character because it portrayed Amir’s raw emotions and enabled the audience to
see what he was thinking and feeling as he made the life-altering decision to sacrifice his friend
in order to gain praise from his father.
Amir’s contrast with other characters was exceedingly important in making him memorable in
the novel. After Amir witnesses Hassan's rape without doing anything to intervene, he is racked
with guilt and confronts Hassan by pelting pomegranates at him desperately wanting a reaction
from him to ease his insufferable guilt. When Amir says “I wish he would give me the
punishment I craved so I could finally sleep at night.” It intensified my feelings regarding him, as
once again he demonstrates just how self-involved he is as opposed to considering the pain and
anguish that Hassan must be feeling after his rape. As of that one moment when he
uncontrollably pelts Hassan his true character comes to light and the audience is forced to
reevaluate their previous conceptions about him. When Hassan squashes a pomegranate
against his own head and says “Are you satisfied? Do you feel better?”, Khaled Hosseini
contrasts Hassan’s perceptive nature against Amir’s self centered personality. Hassan
understands that Amir is acting bizarrely because he feels immense guilt yet Amir in return
does not realise the humiliation he is inflicting on Hassan as he fights for redemption. This
showed me that Amir will never be completely free from his guilt until he learns to commit a
truly selfless act and start thinking of the needs of others instead of just himself. Khaled
Hosseini’s technique of contrasting Amir with Hassan succeeded in making him memorable
because it enabled us to see him at his extreme worst and gave the audience a true
representation of Amir.
Khaled Hosseini used a wide range of techniques that all contributed to conveying Amir as a
memorable character in The Kite Runner. The use of symbolism, foreshadowing, first person
narration and contrast with other characters showed both the extremes of Amir’s personality. It
enabled us to see both the terrified young boy and the manipulative coward he could be
according to circumstance. These factors that make up Amir’s character, both admirable and
despicable, divide the audience onto opposite sides of the spectrum about how they feel
regarding his likeability yet I’m sure all readers can agree that he was indeed a memorable
character.
1) Go through and underline any sophisticated vocabulary that illustrates the maturity of
the writer’s ideas.
2) Now underline any sentence starters that show that the writer has personally engaged
with the text.
3) Has the writer demonstrated a clear structure? If so, how do you know this?