way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.

If we assume that writers choose details because those details seem appropriate to the writers’ larger purposes, then consider the details chosen here:

• The reference to December 2001 implies that the book will be concerned with facts – with precise dates and details, which presumably will be important in some way. Already, then, Hosseini may be suggesting the historical nature of his work, its concern with the passage of time.
• The opening word – “I” – already implies that this book will have a strong autobiographical flavor and that the narrative will be presented from a personal point of view.
• The first ten words of the opening sentence imply a strong connection between the past and the present, between childhood and maturity. This connection will, of course, be one of the central themes of the work.
• The reference to a “frigid, overcast day” is just the first of several references in the opening pages to symbolic cold and darkness. The narrator has a story to tell about a dark, cold past, and so he sets the tone immediately in the opening sentence of the narrative.  This emphasis on both literal and symbolic coldness is stressed again through the use of such later words as “winter” and “frozen.”
• The fact that the narrator remembers himself “crouching” and “peeking” may already imply some sense of fear and danger, and both of these feelings will indeed be strongly emphasized in the narrative as a whole.
• The reference to a “precise moment” implies that key events can be turning points in a person’s life. We are immediately curious to know what makes this “precise moment” from the past seem so important to the mature narrator.
• The second sentence implies that the narrator is a reflective person who is not afraid to disagree with conventional opinion.
• The fact that the third sentence is actually a sentence fragment gives it all the more emphasis.
• The reference to the past “claw[ing] its way out” personifies the past or compares it to some animal or even monster. The verb here is also memorably vivid.
• The final sentence gives the opening paragraph a sense of symmetry and completion.
• The phrase “crouching behind a crumbling” employs alliteration effectively, while “peeking . . . creek” demonstrates assonance.
• Words such as "it's" and "I've" imply a colloquial tone and make the narrator seem the opposite of stiff and formal.

In all these ways (and others), the opening paragraph of The Kite Runner demonstrates Hosseini’s skills as a writer.

Authors, including Hosseini, often use literary devices to support the plot of a novel. The term "support" is an important one because it means that the literary devices provide assistance to events in the novel and are not themselves the events in the novel. The following are examples from The Kite Runner: 

Imagery: Evoking all the senses

People often make a mistake and assume that imagery refers to descriptions that only appeal to sight. However, imagery is meant to appeal to all senses, and Hosseini uses such holistic imagery to draw the reader into the scene and empathize completely with Amir. Rather than observing Amir, we experience things with Amir, hearing and smelling and tasting and feeling and seeing everything that he does. This helps to develop the plot by investing the reader more fully into its progression. 

Symbolism: The Kite

Kites are a recurring symbol for Amir's childhood and his relationship with Hassan. The novel in fact opens with Amir glancing up and seeing "a pair of kites, red with long blue tails" immediately after a prominent figure from his childhood, Rahim Khan, telephones (2). Kites play a key role in the traumatizing assault that Amir witnesses and then guiltily carries for the rest through to his adulthood. Kites again are present at the end of the novel when Amir has atoned for his sins against Hassan and is cultivating a happier childhood for Hassan's son, Sohrab. In this final scene, Amir asks to "run that kite" for Sohrab, thereby fully completing the circle of his childhood and adopting Hassan's role as caretaker for his son (327). 

Dreams:Characterization

Hosseini uses dreams to better develop the characters in his novels, making them more complex and allowing the reader to understand the motivations behind their various actions. This development also allows the reader to hypothesize about characters' actions, prompting investment in the progression of the plot.