Paradoxical Significance of Living in the New Promised Land in Khalid Hosseini’s <i>The Kite Runner</i>: A Place to Bury or Mourn Memories?

Authors

  • Wigati Dyah Prasasti
  • Putu Suarcaya

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31436/asiatic.v14i1.1836

Abstract

This  paper  explores  in  what  way  forced  migration  experienced  by  the  two  male characters in Khalid Hosseini’s  The Kite Runner (2003), Amir and his father, Baba, shape their respective view of the American dream which is perceived to be closely related to personal freedom. This personal freedom materialises in peaceful living and prosperity,  especially  individual  rights  to  accumulate  wealth.  However,  along  the course of their life in the new land, both Amir and Baba,  have their own individual dream to achieve, emerging from different individual point of views. The different dreams, originating from the ideology each of the characters holds, are formed by how each of them value their homeland, root culture and the sentimental memories they evoke. All the bitterness, contentment, obscurities, regrets, glories and happiness they experienced in their homeland are intermingled in the process of each character’s construction  of  ideology.  To  analyse  the  point  at  issue,  Marxist  criticism  and postcolonial theory will serve as the basis of analysis. Marxist criticism is employed since it views the American dream as a construct of capitalism. Postcolonial theory specifically related to forced migration in the form of refugees is employed as the two male  characters  are  forced  to  leave    Afghanistan  due  to  the  civil  war.  The  two contrasting, ideologically based views of each character, diverged in some ways yet converging in others, amalgamate somehow in their father-and-son relationship, both in their roles as refugees pursuing their better lives and as ordinary human beings.

 

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Published

2020-06-07

How to Cite

Prasasti, W. D. ., & Suarcaya, P. . (2020). Paradoxical Significance of Living in the New Promised Land in Khalid Hosseini’s &lt;i&gt;The Kite Runner&lt;/i&gt;: A Place to Bury or Mourn Memories?. Asiatic: IIUM Journal of English Language and Literature, 14(1), 56–70. https://doi.org/10.31436/asiatic.v14i1.1836

Issue

Section

Section II: Articles on English Language and Literature in West Asia