An Analysis Of The Relations Between Trauma And Identity Through The Differences Between Amir And Baba In The Kite Runner

Trauma and identity have been two recurring themes in contemporary world literature, particularly in ethnic literature. In The Kite Runner, the debut novel of the Afghan-American writer Khaled Hosseini, trauma and identity are also the most significant threads throughout the novel. Set in Afghanistan which suffered from wars and political chaos between 1970s and 2001, the novel described an Afghan father and son's complex life situation and changes. Combining the related content in the novel with the two theories, the thesis focuses on the differences between Amir and Baba and reveals the critical relations between the two themes. The key argument is that traumatic experiences lead to identity crisis, and trauma healing contributes to identity construction.The thesis is composed of four chapters in addition to the introduction and conclusion. The main body is unfolded by the two major threads:trauma and identity. By analyzing and comparing the protagonists Amir's and Baba's different identity crises and traumas, the thesis further explores into their different approaches to traumas and the opposite results in identity construction. Amir's individual identity crisis lied in two aspects-identity confusion concerning his father and Hassan. Confronting the traumas, though firstly trying to avoid them, Amir managed to heal traumas and complete the identity construction. Baba's racial identity crisis stemmed from two other respects-identity confusion concerning Hassan and after immigration to America. Trying to escape traumas, Baba ended up with failure in identity construction.The thesis comes to a conclusion that trauma and identity are cause and effect. Traumas can be healed with appropriate methods. The course of trauma healing and the identity construction contribute to each other. Through Amir and Baba's different traumatic experiences and identity crises, it can be safely concluded that trauma healing makes it possible to construct the identity. And in turn, identity construction promotes the process of trauma healing.