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Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—San Francisco:
In the novel’s first chapter, Hosseini uses visual imagery of bright daytime beauty and a simile comparing kites to eyes looking over the city to connect Amir’s present life in San Francisco to his childhood memories of Kabul:
[…] I went for a walk along Spreckels Lake on the northern edge of Golden Gate Park. The early-afternoon sun sparkled on the water where dozens of miniature boats sailed, propelled by a crisp breeze. Then I glanced up and saw a pair of kites, red with long blue tails, soaring in the sky. They danced high above the trees on the west end of the park, over the windmills, floating side by side like a pair of eyes looking down on San Francisco, the city I now call home.
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Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—The Lake :
As Amir flashes back to an idyllic childhood picnic with Baba, Hosseini uses visual imagery and a simile to show how fondly Amir remembers the moment:
Unlock with LitCharts A+We sat at a picnic table on the banks of the lake, just Baba and me, eating boiled eggs with kofta sandwiches—meatballs and pickles wrapped in naan. The water was a deep blue and sunlight glittered on its looking glass–clear surface. On Fridays, the lake was bustling with families out for a day in the sun.
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Explanation and Analysis—Thundering Baba:
When he is first describing his father, Amir uses hyperbole and a simile comparing people to sunflowers to show Baba’s overwhelming strength and authority:
Unlock with LitCharts A+My father was a force of nature, a towering Pashtun specimen with a thick beard, a wayward crop of curly brown hair as unruly as the man himself, hands that looked capable of uprooting a willow tree, and a black glare that would “drop the devil to his knees begging for mercy,” as Rahim Khan used to say. At parties, when all six-foot-five of him thundered into the room, attention shifted to him like sunflowers turning to the sun.
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Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Buried Treasure:
After he “reads” to his friend, Amir feels thrilled that Hassan prefers his made-up story over the ones from his favorite book. Hosseini uses two similes to show Amir’s intense excitement and sense of his future unfolding after this happens:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Fascinating, I repeated, a little breathless, feeling like a man who discovers a buried treasure in his own backyard. Walking down the hill, thoughts were exploding in my head like the fireworks at Chaman. Best story you’ve read me in a long time, he’d said. I had read him a lot of stories.
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Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Assef Khan:
As Amir describes his schoolmate Assef, he uses a simile and an allusion comparing the other boy to a Khan to highlight his dominance and sense of self-importance:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Born to a German mother and Afghan father, the blond, blue-eyed Assef towered over the other kids. His well-earned reputation for savagery preceded him on the streets. Flanked by his obeying friends, he walked the neighborhood like a Khan strolling through his land with his eager-to-please entourage.
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Chapter 24
Explanation and Analysis—Sour Apples:
When Amir describes to Sohrab the unpleasant aftereffects of eating too many sour apples, he creates an allegory that illustrates the importance of patience:
Unlock with LitCharts A+One time, when I was really little, I climbed a tree and ate these green, sour apples. My stomach swelled and became hard like a drum, it hurt a lot. Mother said that if I’d just waited for the apples to ripen, I wouldn’t have become sick. So now, whenever I really want something, I try to remember what she said about the apples.
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Explanation and Analysis—Swiss Chocolate:
When Amir describes seeing Dr. Nawaz for the first time, he uses a simile comparing Nawab’s smooth, dark skin to Swiss chocolate:
Unlock with LitCharts A+His skin is dark like the imported Swiss chocolate Hassan and I used to buy from the bazaar in Shar-e-Nau; he has thinning hair and hazel eyes topped with curved eyelashes.
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Explanation and Analysis—Black Sorrow:
After he discovers Sohrab’s attempted suicide, Amir uses a simile comparing sorrow to a black night and describes grief as a physical invasion to describe his overwhelming sadness:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I picture Sohrab’s face, the pointed meaty chin, his small seashell ears, his slanting bamboo-leaf eyes so much like his father’s. A sorrow as black as the night outside invades me, and I feel my throat clamping.
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