Well, I think Mr. Hosseini is very skilled in this chapter (chapter 22), because when I first read the book, I remember literally being like "nooooo" as soon as I realised Assef was back (I appreciate that I am a lot slower than all of you so I wont embarrass myself by telling you the point when I realised).
Hosseini uses foreshadowing to suggest that something bad is going to happen - "unaware that it would be the last bit of solid food i would eat for a long time". Further on in the chapter, Hosseini foreshadows that something bad is going to happen because of the way that Assef acts around Sohrab; the way that "his hands slid down the child's back, then up, felt under his armpits". This also makes it very uncomfortable for the reader to read, which I suppose allows the reader to feel more involved in the story.
Also, Hosseini implies to the reader before Assef actually says anything that he is the 'baddy' in this chapter by subtly dropping echoes of Assef beforehand, the vulgur description of when he had a dried blood spot on his left sleeve and "he hadn't changed clothes after executions earlier that day", instantly reminds the reader of the previous bad character, Assef.
From page 249 onwards, the dialect becomes a lot more broken and sharp; Hosseini doing this to create tension and suspense. Also, just like throughout the whole book, when times get tough for Amir, Hosseini lets us know this by suddenly going off subject through Amir's thoughts. Even after the italics on page 251, the narration is slightly faded as Amir can't remember everything that has happened - for the first time in this book. By Hosseini doing this, it emphasises the reader just how brutal this chapter was as the memories stand out.
The last point I'm going to talk about today is symbolism. Earlier in the chapter Assef tells a story to Amir about when he was so unfairly beaten up, to the point where he burst out laughing - as if he was cured. This also happens to Amir in where he was so unfairly beaten up and he got to the point where he was laughing. However, Hosseini makes this happen to both characters to demonstrate the contrast in personalities. Assef realises he can become even more powerful, for the worse. But, Amir becomes cured of his weakness, and is no longer afraid.
TOODLE PIP - see what I did there?
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