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Kite Runner Lit Terms- Tatiana Collins

Terms in this set (23)

ANTAGONIST
The character in a story who opposes the hero, or protagonist. In Kite Runner, Assef is the antagonist. Assef represents the international community and it's effect on the Afghan society. Hosseini puts Assef as the antagonist because of his blonde hair, blue eyes, tallness, the fact that his mother is German, and he looks up to Hitler as a role model.
CLIMAX
The decisive moment and the turning point of the action in the plot of a play or story. The Climax of the story happens when te fight, Hassan went to get the kite that Amir "shot" down, and Assef and his crew tried to take the kite, but Hassan would not let them. As a resultant of that, the raped Hassan, with Amir letting it happen. This was the climax because, Amir's loyalty, and friendship to Hassan went down the drain at that moment, and it was a betrayal with in himself and to Hassan.
CONFLICT
The struggle between opposing forces that provides the central action and interest in any literary plot. The conflict of the story is an internal conflict with Amir and his conscious. He feels guilty about letting Hassan get raped. He also felt guilty because Hassan was always standing up for him, but the one time Hassan needed him, he did nothing.
CONTEXT
Anything beyond the specific words of a literary work that may be relevant to the meaning of a literary work. Contexts may be economic, religious, social, cultural, historical, literary, biographical, etc. Amir and Ba-Ba were highly ranked in the social class of Afghanistan, and Ali and Hassan were their servants, and they were also Hazaras. Postunes and Hazaras were not meant to be "close" as friends, so in order to keep them in a close perimeter, they kept them as servants.
FORESHADOWING
Hints of future events through unusual circumstances in the present. In Chapter six, in the novel Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, he set the chapter in the winter. Referring back to the novel How To Read Lit Like a Professor, Winter represented isololation, bitterness, and coldness. In Chapter 7 of Kite Runner, Hassan got raped by Assef in an ally. Being in an ally fighting for what belongs to you can put you in an isolated state because of the simple fact that you are alone fighting with others.
FLASHBACK
When a character remembers a past event that is relevant to the current action of the story. During the entire story, Amir was the narrator of this whole story which was made up of mostly all flashbacks. It gives the reader a feeling of anticipation because as you read the novel, each chapter ends with you wanting to know more.
FLAT CHARACTER
A literary character whose personality can be defined by one or two traits and does not change over the course of the story. Flat characters are usually minor or insignificant characters. The flat character of the story Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, is Hassan. Hassan is the flat character because he is very loyal to Amir, and he always stands up for himself and others. Hassan's loyalty to Amir and anybody that he looks up to is a good thing and a bad thing because it gives a lot of way for people to take advantage of him. It is important for the author to keep Hassan this way because it would seem right for Hassan to change to be like another character, because then there would be double personalities. Also, it puts the light on Amir's unloyalty
FOIL
A character that by contrast underscores or enhances the distinctive characteristics of another. Hassan is the foil character in Kite Runner. His loyalty and his honesty highlights Amir's conniving ways, and his need to do whatever it takes to get Baba's attention. Even though Amir is the protagonist, and we are supposed to want him to get what he wants, Hassan is turning our views towards him , because of his good ways.
HYPERBOLE
From the Greek; pron.: high-PURR-beh-lee. Exaggeration for effect; e.g. "When sorrows come, they come not single but in battalions" (Hamlet, 4.5)
IMAGERY
The use of words to create pictures. An author can use lively description to create vivid pictures in the mind or appeal to other sensory experience; e.g. "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (Hamlet, 1.4). In the story of Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, I can visualize the rape scence. When they were saying how a boy was holding Hassan down, and Assef raping him, I can mentally see that picture in my head, and I can just picture Amir watching it regretting every minute of it.
MOTIF
One of the key ideas or literary devices which supports the main THEME of a literary work. It may consist of a character, a recurrent image or verbal pattern. In Kite Runner mirrors were the motifs. The mirrors were used to show the fault in others , but not the faults in one's self. Ali would look in the mirror and quote what his mom always told him.
PROTAGONIST
The main character in a drama or literary work. The protagonist is Amir because he tries so hard to get his father's attention. While doing this, he does the worst things to people to get what he wants. At the beginning of the story , his father's attention was his deepest desire, and there was a lot of tension between him and his father, but after the kite fight(which Amir won), he noticed his daddy giving him a standing ovation. From that moment on, they became closer, and the mood became calmer than it was, and their relationship flowed. In one chapter of the book, Amir, Hassan, and Baba was supposed to go on a fishing trip, but Hassan couldn't make it, so his daddy said " Well, it's going to just be me and you."
ROUND CHARACTER
A character who is developed over the course of the book, round characters are usually major characters in a novel. In Kite Runner, the round character is Amir. Amir changes so many times in this book. He started off as being friends with Hassan , but then changes his feelings towards him after the rape. He actually started to resent Hassan.
SETTING
The locale, time, and CONTEXT in which the ACTION of a literary work takes place. "It was a dark and stormy night . . ." is an example of a setting (a cliché). The setting of the story was in Afghanistan. The country started off as being calm and sunny, but then the war began. I think that the author used this to explain everything that was going on between Amir and Hassan. Then, around the middle of the story it moves to be in the United States. This story was set in 1975, but at the beginning, it was the year of 2001( his present day).
SCENIC NARRATION
Narration in which an event or moment of a plot is stretched out for dramatic effect. In Kite Runner, the author Khaled Hosseini used scenic narration during the kite fighting scene. He pretty much detailed the length in time it takes to win the actual fight. He uses this to show the intensity and anxiousness of the event.
STATIC CHARACTER
a figure who remains the same from beginning to the end of a narrative. (i.e. Nick Carraway in the Great Gatsby). In Kite Runner, Assef is the static character because he always hated Amir, and he was always a bully.
SYMBOLISM
The use of words or objects to stand for or represent other things. An example of symbolism from the novel Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini would be the pomegranate tree because they played by the tree, ate fruit from it, and sometime Amir would even read to Hassan. This tree was where they made a bond that we as readers thought to be unbreakable. Amir and Hassan even carved their names in this same tree. This tree is used to symbolize their friendship. After the rape scene, when Amir and Hassan visited their tree, things just was not the same. Amir even threw pomegranates at Hassan to get him to fight back.
THEME
A theme is an author's insight about life. It is the main idea or universal meaning, the lesson or message of a literary work. A theme may not always be explicit or easy to state, and different interpreters may disagree. Common literary themes involve basic human experiences such as: adventure; alienation; ambition; anger; betrayal; coming-of-age; courage; death; the testing of faith; overcoming fear; jealousy; liberation; love; loyalty; prejudice; the quest for an ideal; struggling with fate; truth-seeking; vengeance. One of the greatest themes in literature is the "quest," the search to attain some noble goal or purpose. Examples include the great epics, Beowulf, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid. In Kite Runner, novel by Khaled Hosseini, the feeling of guilt was the theme because Amir only flashes back to all of those events showing that he wanted to get away from the guilt of everything that happened. The author uses the feeling of guilt to show how Amir is guilty of not standing up for Hassan, after all those times Hasan stood up for him.
TONE
The writer's attitude, mood or moral outlook toward the subject and/or readers, e.g.: as angry, cynical, empathetic, critical, idealistic, ironic, optimistic, realistic, suspicious, comic, surprised, sarcastic or supportive; e.g. in Hamlet, when Shakespeare puts these words in the mouth of Polonius: "Brevity is the soul of wit," Shakespeare's tone is clearly ironic and comic, since Polonius is a long-winded fool. The tone of Kite Runner is redemption. Amir is the flawed hero and wants forgiveness after feeling guilty about everything that happened between him and Hassan.
FIRST PERSON PARTICIPANT -
the story is narrated by one of the main characters in the story (e.g. Mark Twain's, Huckleberry Finn). The first person participant of this novel is Amir, partly because he is a main character, and he is the narrator of the whole story. This story is told by flashbacks from his point of view.
lamb to slaughter
a Biblical allusion where innocents are brought to sacrifice. An example of lamb to slaughter is when Hassan got raped by Assef, and Amir just stood back and watched. Hassan was Amir's sacrifice to get the attention of his father.
David and Goliath
a Biblical allusion where David defeats the giant Goliath with a sling shot. An example of David and Goliath in the novel of Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is when Hassan and Amir ran into Assef and his crew in the streets. Hassan pulled out a sling shot and threatened to take out Assef's eye if he didn't back off. Assef was tall making him the Goliath of the story.
antihero
a protagonist who lacks the characteristics that would make him a hero (or her a heroine). Amir is the antihero in the story Kite Runner, by Khalid Hosseini. Amir is a big brat, meaning that he is spoiled, an when he does not get his way, he treats people bad to feel better about himself. Even though all he wants is his father's approval, he goes through the emotions of everyone else to get to his dad who really isn't paying attention to him. Hassan never treated Ali as a servant, but when they got home and Ali started to question Amir about Hassan's wounds, Amir kept saying he didn't know, and Ali got serious with Amir, and he didn't like that. After that day, Amir treated Ali as a hardcore servant.
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