Humor

"He's great with a slingshot." (pg 253).
"John Lennon walked back to the mound" (pg 272).

I feel as if the narrator added a great amount of humor to the novel. This humor especially occurs in very serious situations. This means that the humor plays as a way to lighten the situation that may seem serious or even vulgar. For example, in the first quote we find Amir arriving at the orphanage in Peshawar and the man not willing to let them come inside. It is not until after Amir states that they are not from the Taliban and everything he knows about Sohrab that the man finally invites them in. After the unfriendly welcoming the man states that Sohrab is actually great with a slingshot. This humor also serves as a way for the man to make up for his previous actions and words before. In the second quote, the reader is envisioning a stoning of a Muslim adulteress. This brutal and vulgar scene is somewhat lightened by the idea that the stone thrower is dressed like John Lennon, an allusion. This is humorous because John Lennon would not be stoning a woman for her actions, let alone in Afghanistan. It just happens to be the way the man is dressed that resembles him as John Lennon.