Contents
Abstract...... ................................................................................................................................................ 1
Chapter One Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter Two Traumatic Narrative Theory .............................................................................................. 2
Chapter Three The Origin of Traumas in The Kite Runner ..................................................................... 3
3.1 Individual trauma ............................................................................................................................... 3
3.1.1 Amir—soul salvation of guilt and remorse ................................................................................... 3
3.1.2 Baba—self-splitting ...................................................................................................................... 4
3.1.3 Soraya—salvation from elopement ............................................................................................... 5
3.2 Collective trauma ............................................................................................................................... 5
3.2.1 Cultural trauma—racial and gender oppression ............................................................................ 6
3.2.2 National trauma—mingled love and regret ................................................................................... 6
Chapter Four Recovery from Traumas .................................................................................................... 7
4.1 Amir: way of redemption ................................................................................................................... 7
4.1.1 Forgiving Soraya’s elopement ...................................................................................................... 8
4.1.2 Accepting Baba’s sin ..................................................................................................................... 8
4.1.3 Process of rescuing Sohrab ........................................................................................................... 8
4.1.4 Narration of his own trauma ......................................................................................................... 9
4.2 Baba: bondage by the trauma ............................................................................................................. 9
4.2.1 Traumatic experience .................................................................................................................... 9
4.2.2 Failure of achieving integration .................................................................................................. 10
4.3 Soraya: release of soul ..................................................................................................................... 10
Chapter Five Conclusion....................................................................................................................... 11
References ................................................................................................................................................ 11
Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................... 12
Analysis of The Kite Runner from the View of Trauma Theory Li Pei English Class 2 Grade 2011 1007102034 Tutor: Liu Jingyu A. Professor 李培 英语2班 2011级 1007102034 指导教师:刘靖宇 副教授
Abstract: The Kite Runner is undoubtedly a piece of memoirs—in order to compensate a minor error in his childhood, the protagonist Amir faces his mistakes and pursues for soul salvation in the rest of his life. In this novel, Mr. Hosseini narrates to us a story of love and redemption, on the background of Afghan misery history. After the protagonist Amir and his father had both experienced painful traumatic event, they choose to escape and resist their trauma memory. As the trauma theory indicates, only if we integrate the past and the present can we be able to heal trauma. From the point of view of the trauma theory, this article will analyze the origin of traumas and trauma-healing of three characters—Amir, Baba and Soraya. Through Soraya’s and Amir’s narration and redemption, they successfully break away from their guilt and remorse, and achieve their humanity elevation. Nevertheless, Baba resists the past history all the while, and is never able to start a new life.
Key Words: The Kite Runner; Khaled Hosseini; trauma narrative; soul salvation
Chapter One Introduction
Khaled Hosseini was born in 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he spent the first years of his childhood and then immigrated into America following with his father. He graduated from the Santiago medical school of the University of California and now lives in California. Before 1973, Hosseini lived a peaceful and happy childhood. Afterwards, Afghanistan began to suffer from a series of subsequent devastating catastrophes. The fall of monarchy, Soviet invasion and the horrible tyranny of Taliban faction followed one by one, which put an end to Hosseini’s delight life. In order to escape from the war and political coup, his father decided to apply for the American political asylum. After then, Hosseini’s whole family immigrated into San Jose, in California. For the first years of their immigration, the family lived in absolute poverty and even asked for the welfare payments and food stamps from the US government. However, life became better after Hosseini got his MD in 1993. Though safe and secure in his new country as a doctor, Hosseini couldn’t help thinking of his motherland that is left behind. In 2001, he determined to expand one of his stories into a novel in memory of his motherland—Kabul, it is how his virgin novel The Kite Runner came into being. As soon as The Kite Runner was published, it became popular all over the world, which undoubtedly won Hosseini worldwide reputation. Following the success of The Kite Runner, Hosseini returned to his motherland for the first time after 27 years’ leaving. His sight and experience during his visit finally drove him to work on a second novel about Afghanistan. There comes A Thousand Splendid Suns in 2007. Six years later, his third novel The Mountains Echoed was published in the USA.
The Kite Runner is the first novel and also the first English novel written by an Afghan writer. The Kite Runner was published in 2003, and soon ranked to the top position in the list of bestsellers. It received the South Sfrican Boeke Prize in 2004 and became the first 2005 best seller in the United States, according to Nielsen BookScan. It was also voted the “Reading Group Book of the Year” for
2006 and 2007 and headed a list of 60 titles submitted by entrants to the Penguin. The Kite Runner narrates to us a story of love and redemption between Amir and Hassan. The two protagonists live in entirely different backgrounds, one is the son of a wealthy merchant, the other is the son of a servant. In 1963, Amir was born in a rich family in Kabul. His father Baba was a Pashtun, and also a very successful carpet businessman. Nevertheless, Hassan’s father Ali was just a servant in Baba’s house. What’s worse, Ali was a Hazara, which means Hassan was a Hazara either. In Afghanistan, the Pashtuns are the most privileged race in Afghan society while the Hazaras live in the bottom of the social hierarchy. Like many other Hazaras, Hassan and his father Ali lead a miserable life under the oppression of the privileged Pashtuns. Although Amir and Hassan belong to different world, they are very good playmates in daily life. As they grow up day by day, Baba shows special affection to Hassan while disdains Amir for his cowardice and weakness. As a result, the seed of jealousy is planted in Hassan’s heart. Since then, Amir’s betrayal to Hassan begins. After a series of redemption, Ali chose to leave with Hassan. Before long, the war took place and Amir immigrated to America with Baba. Many years later, Amir suddenly received a call from Baba’s friend Rahim Khan. Amir was told that Hassan was his half-brother and Hassan’s son Sohrab was now in an abyss of suffering. Until then, Amir decided to search for his nephew Sohrab and went into the way of self-redemption.
During the past few years, with the popularity of the novel among readers, an increasing interest has been poured to The Kite Runner and its author. Most of the studies concentrate on its moral and cultural context, and the psychological study on it proves to be comparatively new and inspiring. This thesis is meant to interpret the novel from the traumatic point of view and to analyze types of trauma and ways of working-through it in the novel, thus offering an alternative approach to viewing both the novel and traumas in life.
Chapter Two Traumatic Narrative Theory
Deriving from the Greek “traumatize”, trauma originally represents “a piercing of the skin, a breaking of the bodily envelope” (Garland, 1998, 9), which is, a kind of physical wound. The concept of trauma is originally accepted in medical filed, but it is gradually introduced into psychological, cultural, historical and racial field since 19th century. Up to this day, traumatic theory has experienced a hundred years’ development process and all sorts of traumas are derived from it. Trauma roots both in mental and physical damage that modern society has made to normal people in the sense of families, races, wars, cultures and so on. Tao Jiajun believes that trauma can be divided into the following categories: psychological and cultural trauma, individual and collective trauma, family and political terrorism trauma, industrial accident and war trauma, children and adult trauma, sexual violence and racial trauma, direct and indirect trauma. (Tao Jiajun, 2011, 117-125)
The origin of contemporary studies on trauma could be dated back to the 1980s, within the political context of the anti-war movement after the Vietnam War in America and the feminist movement in Western Europe. In daily life, all kinds of disasters caused by human or by nature will lead to the appearance of trauma. For example, the loss of loved ones in an accident or natural catastrophe, encounter with the sexual assault, and witness the terrorist event can all push people into trauma.
Because of the traumatic memory, people will have to struggle between the illusion and reality that are produced by the past and present.
According to the above traumatic theory, the thesis will analyze the individual and collective trauma in The Kite Runner and their healing of it after the characters experienced traumatic events. Chapter Three The Origin of Traumas in The Kite Runner
Trauma can happen everywhere and every time. Even in daily life, trauma exists in many cases. Earthquake, the death of a family member, rape and the witnessing of some horrible things can all result in traumas. Besides, lasting exposure to intractable situations can also lead to trauma, such as poverty and lack of parental love. Kai Erikson has proposed the distinction between “individual trauma” and “collective trauma” in the following statement:
“By individual trauma I mean a blow to the psyche that breaks through one’s defenses so
suddenly and with such brutal force that one cannot react to it effectively…By collective trauma,
on the other hand, I mean a blow to the basic tissues of social life that damages the bonds
attaching people together and impairs the prevailing sense of communality.” (Erikson, 1959,
153-154)
In The Kite Runner, two kinds of traumas are depicted by the author: individual and collective. Though all characters in this novel have experienced traumatic events, not all of them can go through with their traumas and even heal them.
3.1 Individual trauma
3.1.1 Amir—soul salvation of guilt and remorse
Amir is both the story-teller and protagonist of the novel. The story unfolds with a call from Rahim Khan, an old friend of Amir and Amir’s Baba. When Amir was thirty, he received the call and it drew back what happened 26 years ago. “I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975.” (Hosseini, 2003, 1-2) As the fact of the story gradually appears to us by the narration of Amir, we finally realize how the past things have influenced Amir’s whole life and how his trauma came into being.
Amir had been brought up in a rich family, whose father was a businessman and philanthropist enjoying great reputation. Amir should have been happy in his childhood, whereas actually he is growing under the circumstances of absence of paternal love, and suffers from his father’s indifference and contempt. His prolonged desire for paternal love and feeling that he is unwanted by Baba subject him to depression. Therefore, psychological trauma begins to root in his heart.
Amir’s extreme hunger for Baba’s love and recognition is derived from the absence of maternal love. However, suffering from his own sin, Baba struggles to present his love for Amir. When Amir goes all out to impress him with his talent of writing what returns is just coldness, indifference and even contempt. That’s a great hurt to Amir’s young and sensitive heart. What’s worse, Baba seems to appreciate Hassan and shows special care towards him.
“One time at Ghargha Lake, Hassan and I were skimming stones and Hassan made his stone ship
eight times. The most I managed was five. Baba was there, watching, and he patted Hassan on the
back. Even put his arm around his shoulder.” (Hosseini, 2003, 5)