The Politics of Representation and the Psychology of Marginality in Hosseini’s Novel

Abstract

Aim: This paper examines The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini in the context of the intertwined themes of guilt, redemption, ethnic marginalization, and the politics of psychological voicelessness in a Pashtun-dominated Afghan society. Through the lens of three Hazara characters—Hassan, Ali, and Sohrab—the paper seeks to investigate how ethnic subordination begets silence across generations and how this silence is mobilized not as passivity but as a survival tactic.

Methodology and Approaches: In terms of methodology, the paper pursues an interdisciplinary approach that combines literary analysis with psychoanalytic theory. The paper engages with Freud’s notion of repression, Frantz Fanon’s theory of internalized oppression, and Cathy Caruth’s model of intergenerational trauma in order to decode the psychological aspects of marginality in the text.

Outcome: The findings of the paper indicate that the Hazara community’s apparent silence is the result of systemic domination and psychic erasure rather than inherent submissiveness. Their silence is a manifestation of resilience under oppression. Moreover, Amir’s journey towards redemption indicates not only a moral trajectory but also a belated acknowledgement of the erased voices of the ethnic minority.

Conclusion and Suggestions: The paper concludes that The Kite Runner reveals the ways in which political domination is internalized at the psychic level. It proposes further research into comparative trauma narratives in postcolonial literature.