|
Have questions?
Contact us
Already a member? Sign in
|
Get every literary device explanation for The Kite RunnerPlus so much more...
Sign up for LitCharts A+Get instant access to every literary device explanation, plus so much more...
Hyperbole
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:
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.
Baba is a “force of nature,” a huge person with a huge personality who absolutely dominates everything around him. The simile comparing people’s reactions to “sunflowers turning to the sun” highlights Baba’s natural ability to command a room. Just as sunflowers instinctively turn their faces toward sunlight, people instinctively focus their attention on Baba. This comparison shows the pull of Baba’s energy. His presence demands attention wherever he goes.
Amir expands on this with hyperbolic descriptions of Baba’s looks. Although it’s clearly an exaggeration, he describes Baba’s hands as strong enough to “uproot a willow tree” and his glare as being powerful enough to “drop the devil to his knees.” These images make the "six-foot-five" Baba seem even larger and stronger than he really is.
Monthly
Annual (Best Value)
$595USD/mo
Charged $71.40 USD every year
Teacher$795USD/mo
Charged $95.40 USD every year
Literature Guide PDFs
LitCharts PDFs for every book you'll read this year.
Instant PDF downloads of all 2251 LitCharts literature guides and of every new one we publish. Try a free sample literature guide.
"Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!"
Quotes Explanations
Find the perfect quote. Understand it perfectly. Then rock the citation, too.
For all 50,202 quotes we cover.
For all 50,202 quotes we cover.
Teacher Editions
Close reading made easy for students.
Time saved for teachers.
For every book we cover.
Time saved for teachers.
For every book we cover.
Common Core-aligned
PDFs of modern translations of every one of Shakespeare's 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 3 longer poems.
Literary Terms and Devices
Definitions and examples for every literary term and device you need to know.
Plus a quick-reference PDF with concise definitions of all 136 terms in one place.
Plus a quick-reference PDF with concise definitions of all 136 terms in one place.
Try a free sample literary term PDF.
Advanced Search
Refine any search. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more.
Related Themes
Comparing and contrasting texts? Find where any theme occurs across all of LitCharts in seconds.
Poetry Guides
Line-by-line explanations and analysis of figurative language and poetic devices.
For every lyric poem we cover.
For every lyric poem we cover.
