Conclusion

Hosseini uses many literary devices such as imagery and symbolism in order to help communicate social and cultural values in Afghanistan. Hosseini primarily uses imagery to help illustrate the relationship between Hassan and Amir. Hassan and Amir are friends but due to Afghani culture Hassan will always be below Amir because he is a Hazara. Hassan is illiterate but one of the ways Amir and Hassan bond is when Amir reads him stories. Amir sometimes even creates stories to tell Hassan because he knows Hassan will believe him. Hassan would wait all day to listen to his stories, “We sat for hours under that tree, sat there until the sun faded in the west, and still Hassan insisted we had enough daylight for one more story, one more chapter.” Hosseini also uses symbolism to help communicate the social values in Afghanistan. For example the pomegranate is a very important symbol in Islam, it symbolizes fertility. Both Hassan and Amir do not have mothers, which are also signs of fertility yet they bond when they are under the pomegranate tree. The pomegranate tree significant in the story when Afghanistan is in a more peaceful state but once Afghanistan is under war there are no more trips to the pomegranate tree again.