The Kite Runner:3

"I saw something I'll never forget: Hassan serving drinks to Assef and Wali from a silver platter" (page 100).
Literary term: Situational Irony
The scene occuring at the end of Chapter 8 displays situational irony. This is due to the fact that Amir was in awe that Hassan is serving these boys who have scarred him for life. Instead of not serving them or standing up for himself, Hassan is gentleman and goes and does his job. He does not let his emotions show, and it surprises Amir that he can treat those people like royalty when they treated him like dirt. The situational irony here does two things. The first is that it reveals what kind of a person Hassan is. He is not someone who stands up for himself. He bottles up his emotions, and this just intensifies the emotional damage he is holding in since he is facing those who raped him. The fact that he does not retaliate even there shows that he is a person of character. In addition, I think that this scene emphasizes the theme of guilt since Amir sees it. It shows that he lets the injustice affect him more than Hassan does, and he is the one who actually experienced the horror. I think that this shows that the betrayal has an effect on people that cannot be explained.

The Kite Runner:1

"To Hassan's brown corduroy pants lying on the bricks" (page 91).
Literary term: motif
This phrase can be considered a motif because it is mentioned more then once in the story. It is seen on page 84 as well. The phrase is used as a motif for multiple reasons. The first is that it emphasizes the internal thoughts and point of view of the story. It is the thoughts of Amir, and he shares us with the constant thought on his mind. Everyone has had something on their mind and just can't shake it off. In this case, Amir cannot get the picture of what happened to Hassan out of his mind. I think that it makes the story more personal because we see how much it effects the internal being of Amir. In addition, the motif serves as a way to strengthen the theme of the effect of betrayal on a person. Amir betrayed Hassan's friendship by not standing up for him. When Amir realizes how cowardly he is, he cannot rid himself of the constant flashback. The betrayal scarred his thoughts and causes him to continually guilt himself for what he did. In the story, guilt is the most powerful effect on them after betrayal, which is seen through his constant memory of the event. It is obvious that Amir is plagued by the memory and constantly feels guilt from it.