Irony & Imagery

There was a lot going on from a literary standpoint at the part of the The Kite Runner (by Khaled Hosseini) when Ali decides that he and Hassan needed to leave.  First, there is irony in the fact that Amir set up Hassan to be kicked out of the house by planting his gifts in their hut.  Instead, the opposite happens when Baba forgives them and asks them to stay, almost favoring Hassan over Amir.  When they insist on leaving and the Amir begins to describe their departure, Hosseini uses imagery to describe the sorrowful season.  "Slithering beads of rain sluiced down my window....  I stepped back and all I saw was rain through windowpanes that looked like melting silver (p 108, 109)."  This imagery makes good use of darkness and rain, archetypal symbols for sadness and mourning.  Similarly, Amir's likening the rain to melting silver recognizes the value of Hassan's friendship that is being lost.  The ultimate effect is that the reader senses how much this memory disturbs Amir.  It also points out the great friendship that Amir is losing.  It is one of the saddest scenes in the book so far.