How Does Hosseini Present the Character of Asseff

How Does Hosseini Present the Character of Asseff

  • Submitted By: howlettjr
  • Date Submitted: 02/09/2011 1:51 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 738
  • Page: 3
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How does Hosseini present the character of Assef?
In the novel, The Kite Runner, the character of Assef is presented as the villain and the bully of the novel. The character is a complete sociopath who feels no empathy or conscience towards the pain he inflicts on others. The character even worships Hitler for how he treated the Jews in the Second World War. Hosseini uses many linguistic techniques to show this characters behaviour.
We first see the character of Assef in the fifth chapter of the novel. Hosseini straight away shows us what the character is like when he throws a rock at Hassan’s back. We also see the fear and intimidation the characters carries around with him ‘We whirled around and my heart dropped’. The verb ‘dropped’ is used very fittingly to how Amir fears Assef. It straight away makes the reader understand what the character is like and we know from the quote that Amir knows straight away he is in trouble when he sees Assef.
Hosseini uses other lexis to help present the character of Assef. In the same chapter, the reader gets a sense of power and importance that people see Assef to have. Hosseini uses the verb ‘Flank’ to describe how Assef and his friends approach him; he also uses the verb ‘obeying’ to describe how Assef’s friends behave around him. These choices of words really help emphasise the power that Assef has on others around him as even his friends obey every command he gives them. We also see how important he and other characters seem to think he is. ‘He walked the neighbourhood like a Khan…’ Hosseini uses the noun Khan, which represents the importance of the character and how important he believes he is. A Khan is someone of great importance, and to be signified with that shows the importance he has.
Hosseini also uses alliteration in the fifth chapter very successfully. When talking about Assef using his brass knuckles on a boy, the narrator talks about how he ‘pummelled the poor kid unconscious’. The strong, aggressive...

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