The Kite Runner:8

"My body was broke-just how badly I wouldn't find out until later-but I felt healed. Healed at last. I laughed." (page 289) There are multiple literary devices used in this single instance. The first is irony. It is completely ironic that when he is being beaten Amir laughs. Most people would not be laughing. Also, the instance is ironic because Assef just talked about how he laughed at the guy he hurt, and now Amir was doing it to him. Even though he is being hurt, Amir does not care because he is feeling relief. This brings me to my next literary device, which is paradox. This statement is paradoxal because Amir is broken yet healed. Once thought about, the reader can infer that Amir is referring to being healed from the guilt that had long been harping on his life. He had stood and watched Hassan get hurt by Assef. He had begged Hassan to hurt him after. Finally, Amir is feeling the redemption he has long desired. With Assef beating him up, he feels that he is finally getting what he deserves. The redemption is freeing him of the guilt he could not rid of. He is healed.

The Kite Runner:6

"like father like son. But it was true, wasn't it? As it turned out, Baba and I were more alike than I'd ever known." (page 226) The literary device used here is the cliche "like father like son". This phrase is used many times regarding the similarities between sons and fathers. Sometimes it is like they are a minature version of the father. This cliche is used to provide contrast to the past Amir. He used to find himself as as complete opposite as his father. On page 22-23, even Baba doubts that they are even related. They are so different, that this phrase would have been seen as irony if used earlier. As the story plays out, this phrase becomes the truth. Both Baba and Amir have guilt, have lied, and both wanted redemption. It was a burden on them their entire life. This cliche also affects the theme of the lies that bind the father and son together. Amir finds them to be related once he learns of the fact that his father also lied and had guilt. The guilt that each faced in the end was a way to see that the father had an unconcious influence on the son. The realization of the similarity brought to light by the lies reveal that the two are related and have a weird, but present connection.

The Kite Runner:5

"America was a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past. I could wade into this river, let my sins drown to the bottom, let the waters carry me someplace far. Someplace with no ghosts, no memories, and no sins." (page 136)

This entire excerpt is very important to the entire story. It is a metphor used by Amir to share with the reader his feelings towards America. I think that this contributes to the theme of possibility of redemption. Amir was burdened by his memory of betraying Hassan and the guilt that followed him. He was constantly reminded of this guilt where he lived before because he saw Hassan, or saw the places they used to play and have constant memories. America is the possiblity of starting over, of having a new beginning. Unlike his father, Amir rejoiced in the fact that he had the chance of a new beginning. His father (seen as 'crazy' by the Americans on page 128) did not like America and resented a new way of living. Amir wanted to make himself new and become a better person in America, which is seen when he graduates and tries so hard to be an American. Amir merely wants to clan the slate of his guilt. He longs to rid himself of the feelings that have kept him for so long, and America is where he finds this chance for the first time.