The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini #5 60-75

The beginning of these 15 pages describes the start of the annual kite-fighting tournament. Hassan tells Amir of a dream that places them in front of thousands of people by a lake. The people fear that there is a monster swimming in the lake so they fear to enter. Amir, along with Hassan shows bravery by entering the waters. They swim to the middle of the lake and wave to show no danger. They are viewed as heroes, but Amir thinks nothing of it because it is just a dream. Amir is nervous because he wants to impress his father and fulfill the prediction Baba made the previous day. Hassan calms him down by referring to his dream and reassures him that there is no monster. As the day went on the tournament grew intense. Amir was among the few fighters left. He kept checking on Baba and Rahim sitting on the rooftop to see if they still were interested in his competition. Amir had made it to the final two kites. A single blue kite was left and Amir set his sights on it. The blood on his hands ran thick, but he ignored the pain. With one swoop of his kite, he sent the other kite fluttering down. Hassan and Amir were filled with joy, they could hardly believe what happened, but the tournament was still not over for them. Hassan made a promise to run down the last kite for his friend Amir. Hassan runs off to pursuit the kite. Amir pictured himself showing Baba the prized kite and winning him over finally. Close to darkness, Amir goes to find Hassan. He comes to find him cornered by Assef and his two friends. It ends with Hassan guarding the kite because of the promise he made to Amir.
The word choice and diction in this passage was great. The author does not just quit at telling you what something is briefly. Instead he goes into extensive details like the smells of food coming from peoples houses, and the distinct snow on rooftops . The way he described kites fluttering down from the sky and the look of expression on Hassan’s face when Amir had won the tournament. The overall description of each action by the author was deep and went into great detail. There was no vocabulary that needed defining in this passage.