1. Briefly describe the plot of the novel you read.
Amir is the main character and also the narrator of the story. Throughout the novel he is faced with several challenges in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In order to save his sins against Hassaan, Amir has to help a young boy. This story is filled with tragedy but along with all of the tragedy, success followed suit.
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
I'd say the biggest theme would be redemption. The entire novel is based on Amir trying to redeem himself to prove worthy enough to Baba. Amir thought that he had to win the kite tournament in order to prove his worthiness.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include 3 excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
The tone of The Kite Runner is tragic. There are several examples of tragedy but the three main tragedies include: when Amir's inspiration died; Rahim Khan, when Hassan was raped, and when Amir and Baba had to leave Afghanistan.
4. Describe 5 literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the theme and/or your sense of the tone. Include three excerpts that will help your reader understand each one.
Throughout the story, Khaled Hosseini used techniques such as diction, flashbacks, allusions, tone, and mood very effectively. When faced with Hosseini's use of allusions, it made the reader want to research the information in the story that we are expected to know. I cannot even count the amount of times I put the book down to Google something, that way I could understand the background information of the story. When the author wrote in first person as Amir, he often used "flashbacks" as a way of informing the reader the possible reasoning behind his actions and why he might have acted as he did. Like I said earlier, the tone of the story is extremely tragic, but the fact that the tragedies within the story are very realistic makes it all that more interesting for the common reader.
