In what ways is chapter one, of The Kite Runner, an interesting way to open the novel? Language The language used in chapter one is very mysterious and invites a reader to continue further into the book and the use of pathetic fallacy in the first sentence sets the mood for the rest of the chapter. Words such as crouching and peeking suggest the character is somewhere they shouldn’t be. As well as this, the phrase about the ‘past clawing its way out’ gives the impression that what happened there is a monstrous thing that the character has locked away and doesn’t wish to relive like a memory.
However, the second paragraph is the opposite of the first and begins with summer whereas the first begins with winter and the calling suggests that it isn’t Just Ihram Khan calling him, it is his unattended sins and they are enticing them back to their past to pay for whatever it is that they have done. The use of the word unattended produces a semantic field of religion and the way in which someone should be punished when they sin. Phrases such as sun sparkled and crisp breeze are the complete contrast of the frigid, overcast day which is described in the first paragraph.
In the last arcograph of the chapter the use of the words there is a way to be good again makes me want to find out what it was that happened in the past that was so bad that someone has to return there and face their punishment for something that happened a long time ago. The twin kites could have been used as a way to relate to the characters relationship and friendship with Hosannas and the last line of the first paragraph is almost a repetition of the first line, mentioning again the theme of winter and 1975.
Structure The structuring of the first chapter is good because it switches from negative to positive and then back to negative again which suggests how things for the character have changed from when they were bad, to how good they got and then how they got back again. Chapter one’s structure tells us of how what happened to the character in the past has affected his entire future and that the past cannot ever be forgotten.
The two main quotes from the first chapter which set up for the rest of the novel are the character, who we later learn to be Emir, remembering Hosannas and how he said “For you, a thousand times over” and what Ihram Khan tells Emir when he calls him UT of the blue and tells him “there is a way to be good again”. I think that the structure of chapter one is a very interesting way to open the novel because of the words and techniques which are used.
Cross-Referencing Each chapter leads onto the next and ends with a line which often puzzles the reader and makes them want to carry on reading in order to solve the question. For example, the first chapter talks about how Emir watched Hosannas get raped and did nothing – however, this isn’t actually explained, in detail, until chapter seven. Throughout the novel, from what I have read so far, there is a lot of pressure on Emir to make his ether proud and he finally does this by winning the kite competition.
However, he later relives the moment and realizes that what Safes said to Hosannas about everything having a price is true because if Emir had to sacrifice his friendship with Hosannas in order to improve his relationship with his father, although this improvement is snort lived. I like the way that the book constantly keeps the reader guessing about what will happen next although I have found parts of it very emotional because of how descriptive they were. This also raises the issue of how true the story is and how much it relates to the author.
