Irony
Irony is a literary technique that is a way to use words so that the meaning is opposite of it's literal meaning. It is used in many pieces of literary work and is seen in The Kite Runner.
Examples
Examples
- One example of irony in the novel is in Chapter 22 when Assef and Amir are fighting. Assef is beating up Amir very badly and suddenly, Sohrab asks them to stop with his slingshot aimed at Assef. They shout back and forth until Sohrab releases the slingshot and hits Assef in the eye. This situation is ironic because years before Assef hurt Hassan very badly but now Sohrab, Hassan's son, in a way gets back at Assef for how he hurt Hassan. Also, Hassan used to stand up for Amir with his slingshot and now Sohrab is protecting him years later.
- Another example of irony in this story is how Assef wanted to "take out the garbage." When he says this he is talking about removing the Hazaras from Afghanistan. The irony from this scene is while his ultimate goal is to rid Afghanistan of Hazaras, he is taken out by a Hazara child. Assef wants to get rid of the Hazaras because he views them as lessers, but in fact they are strong enough to take him down.