A Study On The Identity Of Amir In The Kite Runner From The Perspective Of Diaspora

Khaled Hosseini,an Afghan-American writer,has aroused wide attention in American and the world literature.His first novel The Kite Runner has gained overwhelming success since its publication and it ranked the first in the New York Times Bestseller List for two consecutive years.Based on the author's personal experience,The Kite Runner tells the diasporic experiences of Amir,who is forced to move from Afghanistan to America with his father owing to domestic unrest.Amir lives in the gap between the two cultures,experiencing the identity crisis.The thesis explores the identity crisis and identity reconstruction of Amir from the perspective of diaspora based on a close reading of the novel.The thesis is divided into five parts.The introduction sketches out Khaled Hosseini and his book The Kite Runner,then introduces significance of the study as well as the structure of the thesis and reviews studies on The Kite Runner at home and abroad.Chapter One explores the concept of"diaspora""Afghan diaspora"and the connotation of"identity",which formulate the theoretical basis of the whole thesis.Diaspora has a long history,with rich and complex meanings.Based on the variability and mobility of cultural identity,this thesis analyzes Amir's identity as Afghan diaspora under different cultures.Chapter Two focuses on the identity crisis of Amir.In heterogeneous cultures,Amir's original Afghan identity is split,and meanwhile he can not fully integrate into American culture,being"the other"in both cultures.Amir suffers identity crisis under the conflicts between the two cultures.Chapter Three analyzes Amir's identity reconstruction.Amir understands his cultural identity further in the crash of two cultures.On one hand,he strives to adapt himself to American culture;on the other hand,he recognizes Afghan culture.Amir's identity is constantly constructed in the cultural conflict.In conclusion,Amir,representative of the Afghan diaspora,constructs a hybrid cultural identity containing both Afghan and American cultures through a long time struggle for identity.