Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Now Why Did He Do That? The Author, Not the Character.
As you probably noticed, there are many similarities between Kite Runner and Things Fall Apart. Both authors are telling stories that involve fathers and sons, are set in countries/culture seemingly different than our own, and confront cultural conflicts within a culture and between cultures. Of course, in order to tell these stories in an engaging and interesting way, the authors have made some similar "storytelling" choices. What are some of the techniques both authors use to help you as readers better understand what's going on in the story? (Don't be afraid to consider some of the choices we discussed in class with Things Fall Apart.)
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One thing both authors share in common with their writing is their use of foreshadowing. In the novel The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini uses foreshadowing when Amir talks about seeing Hassan smile for the last time. “By the following winter, it was only a faint scar. Which was ironic. Because that was the winter that Hassans stopped smiling” (47). It hints at something terrible that happens to Hassan or to their relationship later in the story. Chinua Achebe, the author of Things Fall Apart, uses foreshadowing in the beginning of his book when he mentions Ikemefuna. He described him as the “ill-fated lad” obviously stating that something bad would happen to him.
ReplyDeleteIn both of the novels, I found that the use of Irony was included in them and it helped me understand them further. Things fall Apart depicted irony when Okonkwo, who was supposed to be this tough, strong, hard working, well known traditional warrior that always followed the rules as written, threw away the rules and ended up committing suicide which happened to be the worst sin/crime of the land bringing shame to his friends and embarrassment to his family and dawning himself with the funeral of an outcast. Kite Runner depicted irony as well so far in chapters 1-9, when Amir watched his closest friend (basically brother) Hassan get raped, by the neighborhood bully, and stood there doing nothing disregarding the fact that Hassan was willing to do anything for Amir without any hesitation because Hassan was a good friend. After watching the forced physical abuse Amir then ran away to avoid being seen; later in the book Amir set Hassan up making it seem like he stole money and Amir’s new watch causing Hassan and his father Ali to quit their job as servants and go away never to return. Those examples of irony in the literature pieces really helped me receive an enhanced knowledge of the text.
ReplyDeleteIn the book Things Fall Apart, the author uses foreshadowing to keep the readers interested in the book and also help them understand what the book was all about. In the beginning, we soon discover that something will happen to Ikemefuna. Ikemefuna was just a boy who was sent to live in Umoufia because of a murder that took place involving his father. In the book, he is described as the ill-fated boy and that’s how we know that he will have a doom-filled fate. The author in the book The Kite runner also uses this technique in his book. Hosseini uses it when he describes Amir’s best friend and servant Hassan. He would describe how it was the last time Hassan smiled or he would describe events according to the winter of 1975. That is how the readers can interpret that something happens to Hassan in the winter of 1975 and it keep them guessing until the end. This technique really generate interest for the readers while not spoiling the end for them.
ReplyDeleteAs I read Kite Runner I noticed that the author uses a lot of foreshadowing. I also noticed the use of foreshadowing in the novel Things Fall Apart. Both Achebe and Hosseini use foreshadowing in their novels and this literary technique helps me as a reader because I have an idea of what will happen next in the story. Foreshadowing also keeps the readers interested in finding out what will happen next in the story. For Example in the end of chapter 5 of The Kite Runner, Hosseini makes a very effective use of foreshadowing, he mentions how after Hassan’s surgery, the wound healed and it was just a faint scar and how he could smile like always, however that was the winter that Hassan stopped smiling. This effective use of foreshadowing makes the readers want to keep reading because they know something bad will happen to Hassan that is going to make him stop smiling.
ReplyDeleteBoth authors do many things that help readers understand what is happening in the story. For instance, both authors provide a great deal of background information, about not only the main character, but also about other characters and how they tie in to the story. Hosseini begins his novel The Kite Runner by giving much detail about the narrator, Amir, and his family and how his servant, or perhaps “friend” along with his father Ali. Achebe uses similar tactics by starting out the story with background information that sets an understanding from the reader early in the novel Things Fall Apart which explains the morals and characteristics of the main character Okonkwo. Achebe explains that Okonkwo is very stubborn, but very valued. He hides his emotions for the fear of being labeled as weak, which he cannot afford because he is at such a high rank within his tribe.
ReplyDeleteAchebe and Hosseini provide us as readers with vivid imagery on the backgrounds of each culture. They both do a great job by using literary devices such as metaphors and proverbs that can change our perspectives the instant we read them. I have found that the cultural conflicts presented in both pieces of extraordinary literature are quite similar, since there are many influences brought about in various chapters. Also, the relationships with the characters and their fathers are alike in that they oppose the views of their parents.
ReplyDeleteBoth stories use foreshadowing a lot. When Assef describes his fascination with Hitler, I thought that was a great example of foreshadowing. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe uses Ikemefuna as a foreshadowing item. In the beginning of that story, it was said that all was well, until Ikemefuna came. Achebe used this as foreshadowing to hint to the reader that something bad was going to happen.
ReplyDeleteSome of the techniques both Chinua Achebe and Khaled Hosseini used were foreshadowing and irony. In the Kite Runner, forshadowing is used all throughout the chapters. We knew something happened in the Winter of 1975, and as the characters were introduced,and the plot was layed out, the setting gave hints to what happened. Achebe used foreshadowing in a similar way,only it was more dramatic.
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