Kite Runner First Reaction

Hosseini begins his story with 2 pages that contain some grave foreshadowing. He makes references to a past that the main character seems to either fear or regret. I believe Hosseini was clever in doing this because by establishing this foreshadow he quickly draws the reader in. The next few pages after are somewhat slow as Hosseini focuses on describing characters. The way Hosseini goes on to describe these different characters is, in my opinion, genius, and it is also what stood out to me the most from what I have read so far.

For starters, Hosseini uses an analogy to characterize Hassan very effectively. He is compared to a “Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood” and his cleft lip, which seems to be emphasized by Hosseini, is made out to be a mistake by the Chinese doll maker.  Hosseini also does a tremendous job in attesting to Hassan’s character. By mentioning little things that Hassan does, such as his undying loyalty to Amir and unwillingness to hurt anything, Hosseini is able to develop Hassan’s character.

Hosseini then goes on to characterize Ali, Hassan’s father. Ali is described as having congenital paralysis of his lower facial muscles. I think that by doing this and by establishing the idea that the eyes are the windows to the soul, he both describes how Ali looks as well as his personality. His personality is given by his circumstances. In other words, Ali’s condition gives him an honest quality to him.