Aqa English Literature: How Does Hosseini Tell the Story in Chapter 5 of the Kite Runner?

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Chapter five of the Kite Runner begins with the sounds of gunfire, later Amir and Hassan are confronted by three bullies: Assef, Wali and Kamal - but Hassan scares them off. At the end of the chapter Baba arranges to have Hassan's cleft lip corrected. Hosseini introduces chapter five with the simile "Something roared like thunder." This, in conjunction with the use of short sentence length, creates pace within the opening; thus the novel in mention conforms to an Adventure/thriller sub-genre, as there is a build in tension among our main protagonists. Chapter five is also identified to be written in the first person narrative, more specifically the voice of Amir as an adult. Consequently, through the use of retrospection, there are narrative gaps as the audience is only receiving the story through the limited perspective of Amir; for example 'we', the reader, do not hear what is actually said on Baba's radio, other than the word "republic". However, as our narrative voice is Amir, we are instead introduced to the genre; a bildungsroman: through use of introspection, "He's not my friend...Had I really thought that?", Hosseini displays cowardliness in Amir's character - which later in the novel he overcomes by going back to Kabul and rescuing Sohrab. Through the use of the hyperbole "the earth shook", and onomatopoeia "rat-a-tat-tat", 'we', the reader, are again reminded of the harshness of setting - Kabul, Afghanistan in 1973. On the other hand, the harsh atmosphere juxtaposes the setting of Baba's mansion: a home is symbolic for security, more importantly safety, thus Hossseini has purposely used the setting of Baba's mansion, as the harshness is more prominent to the reader as our protagonists are close to home. However, this is also ironic as Baba's mansion is the cause of Hassan's untimely demise; which is additionally foreshadowed by Hassan crying,
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