In his book The Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini uses violence as a means of connecting with readers on a universal level. While every person's experiences are unique, there are common emotions and reactions that stem from human instinct rather than personal experience. For example, a smile is reciprocated with a smile regardless of language spoken. |||||||| HIDDEN IN PREVIEW MODE ||||||| For instance, the changing political climate in Afghanistan marks the arrival of violence in the country, and the rape of Hassan by Assef introduces violence into the lives of the main characters. |||||||| HIDDEN IN PREVIEW MODE ||||||| Witnessing violence against a Hazara at the hands of a Pashtun tears Amir apart. |||||||| HIDDEN IN PREVIEW MODE ||||||| Similarly, Hassan returns from the alley a changed person, having suffered physical, emotional, and mental torture. |||||||| HIDDEN IN PREVIEW MODE ||||||| This single act of violence fractures their relationship and shatters their innocence, leaving both characters to grapple with internal battles. |||||||| HIDDEN IN PREVIEW MODE ||||||| The reader is left to imagine the terrifying internal aspect of this tragedy. |||||||| HIDDEN IN PREVIEW MODE ||||||| Hosseini deliberately portrays Sohrab as a victim of continuous violence, to offer insight into how a child of war-torn Afghanistan thinks and feels amidst such circumstances. Instead of explicitly describing the pain and agony that Sohrab experiences, Hosseini uses external violence to mirror the bleak internal state of the young boy. |||||||| HIDDEN IN PREVIEW MODE ||||||| Sohrab's bleak state of mind is also reflected in his suicide attempt, which he makes when he realizes that he may have to go back to the orphanage. |||||||| HIDDEN IN PREVIEW MODE ||||||| Only a child tormented by his surroundings would consider suicide an escape to a better place.

Hosseini uses violence to represent the characters' internal state and to call upon the reader's instinctual response to such violence. |||||||| HIDDEN IN PREVIEW MODE ||||||| Hosseini's novel impacts the reader deeply by pushing them out of their comfort zone and into a realm of brutality and uncertainty. |||||||| HIDDEN IN PREVIEW MODE |||||||

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