Cliché Short Writing #6 12/8/15 1. List as many clichés as you can in 30 seconds. 2. Do you use these in your own writing? Why or why not?

Cliché On page 197 in The Kite Runner, Amir thinks about a creative writing course that he took at San Jose State University. Amir says that the teacher’s advice about clichés was to, “’Avoid them like the plague.’Then he’d laugh at his own joke” (page 197).   3. Why is this funny? 

Amir says that he, “always thought clichés got a bum rap Amir says that he, “always thought clichés got a bum rap.  Because, often, they’re dead-on.  But the aptness of the clichéd saying is overshadowed by the nature of the saying as a cliché.  For example, ‘“the elephant in the room”’ saying.  Nothing could more correctly describe the initial moments of my reunion with Rahim Khan” (page 197).  4. Who or what is the elephant in the room? 5. What does Amir mean by using this cliché?  Explain. 6. Is the cliché effective in this situation? Explain.