Changing Masculinities In The Kite Runner In The Transnational Context

This thesis is intended to discuss the issue of changing masculinities of the protagonist Amir in the transnational context in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner(2003).By analyzing the protagonist Amir’s masculinities before and after his migration from Afghanistan to the US,this thesis explores how the transformation from complicit masculinity to democratic masculinity,interwoven with the protagonist’s experience of transnational migration,reflects the author’s call for a more democratic gender order.Firstly,this thesis analyzes how Amir’s complicit masculinity is constructed amid the tension in the father-son relationship and how this construction is based on the performative acts of kite-fighting.When performative acts to prove his masculinity fail,Amir tries to exclude his half-brother Hassan from his life amid crisis in their brotherhood in order to defend his masculinity.In this process of constantly trying to prove his masculinity,his masculinity is marked with obsessive self-control,pretense,escape and cowardice in this period.Secondly,this thesis examines how Amir gradually extricates himself from the burden of proving his masculinity amid introspection after transnational migration.This introspection urges him to embark on the journey of redemption,which contributes to his construction of democratic masculinity based on courage,honesty,empathy and tolerance.In this period,instead of being founded on others’ expectations,the construction of his masculinity is based on his own character.By depicting the changing masculinities of the protagonist in this novel,the author calls for the construction of masculinities on the basis of one’s character,which is a necessary part inrealizing a democratic gender order.