Traumatic Memories In Land Of Afghanistan

As the first Afghan novelist writes in English,Khaled Hosseini has received worldwide attention since the publication of The Kite Runner in 2003.The novel with rich cultural connotation and profound life theme has won widespread praise from the critics and readers.It tells a moving story of a young boy who betrays his loyal friend in his childhood and makes the journey of salvation in his adulthood.The Kite Runner,based on the civil war in Afghanistan and history,shows the reader true friendship and traditional customs of Afghans,opening a new window for people to understand Afghanistan-a mysterious country.It can be said that his work includes theme of growth,human nature as well as religious belief,taking readers into a warm world with exotic colors.Most of the critics at home and abroad analyze this novel from the perspectives of Freud and Lacan's psychological theory,biblical archetypes,cultural identity,neo-historicism and ecocriticism,while few have researched from the perspective of trauma.As a consequence,this paper aims to explore the theme of the trauma in The Kite Runner,mainly from three aspects: the psychological trauma,ethnic trauma and trauma in gender,and analyze the causes of trauma as well as the ways to heal trauma.It points out that by revealing the trauma of Afghans,Hosseini,on one hand,expresses his deep sympathy for Afghan women and ethnic minority;on the other hand,he condemns cruel Taliban and religious extremism,which proves Hosseini's concern for future of his motherland.