On The Evolution Of Amir’s Home Awareness In The Kite Runner Under Hierarchy Of Needs Theory

The Afghan-American writer Khaled Hosseini(1965-)is a famous contemporary novelist.He published his debut novel The Kite Runner in 2003.Most domestic and foreign scholars interpret this novel mainly from many perspectives such as post-colonialism,cultural identity and new historicism.However,few researchers have paid attention to the changes of Amir’s home awareness in it.After analyzing the whole text,the thesis writer finds that in The Kite Runner Amir’s intense concern and the changes of his complex feelings toward home run through the whole novel,which is actually a strong home awareness.The writer of this thesis thinks that Amir’s home awareness has experienced three stages: the attachment stage,the loss stage,and the seeking and reconstruction stage.The thesis holds the view that these three stages also respectively correspond to the satisfaction or lack of different levels of the protagonist’s needs: gratification of lower needs,lack of belongingness,love and esteem needs,and gratification of self-actualization needs.Therefore,this thesis will use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory to analyze Amir’s home awareness in The Kite Runner from three stages of “attachment--loss--seeking and reconstruction”,and demonstrate the causes that lead to this evolution from needs’ levels.Through the personal destiny of Amir in the state of divergence,it further exposes the emotion of yearning for home and self-realization of the diaspora groups in the age of globalization.This thesis is composed of introduction,main body and conclusion.In the first part of this thesis,a brief introduction to Khaled Hosseini and his works,literature review,thesis statement,theory introduction,and thesis structure are included.The main body contains three chapters.Chapter one explores the attachment stage of Amir’s home awareness.At this stage,Amir’s lower needs have been greatly satisfied by physical attachment to home environment and positively emotional interaction with family and friends.Chapter two aims to analyze the loss stage of Amir’s home awareness.At home(Kabul),Amir feels homeless both physically and psychologically because of the lack of safety,belongingness and love needs.Amir’s homelessness inside an exotic space was caused by the deficiency of belongingness and esteem needs.Chapter three dissects the seeking and reconstruction stage of Amir’s home awareness: steps towards self-actualization.On one hand,at this stage when Amir’s lower needs are greatly satisfied,the confirmation of belongingness is demonstrated by the awakening of home awareness and realization of self-redemption.On the other hand,by pursuit for spiritual home and appeal for the global equity and justice,Amir has constructed his modern home awareness and realized his self-actualization.Through the argumentation of the three chapters,this paper comes to the conclusion that Khaled Hosseini skillfully utilizes the discrete identity and special growth experience of the protagonist Amir in The Kite Runner,further revealing home awareness and self-realization which are commonly found in diaspora groups under the background of globalization.In the dynamics of transnational networks,in order to look for home and get out of the survival predicament,diaspora groups are required to pay attention to their inner needs,establish a habitably fixed place,seek a sense of belongingness,and most importantly construct modern home awareness.Besides,true goodness and inner conscience will promote the reproduction of life and establish the significance of survival.The significance of this research mainly includes two aspects.Academically,throughout the studies on The Kite Runner at home and abroad,few scholars have applied hierarchy of needs theory to study the evolution of Amir’s home awareness.Therefore,this thesis enriches not only the studies on Khaled Hosseini and this novel but also the practice of hierarchy of needs theory in the field of literature.Realistically,under the influence of today’s social background of fast-paced development and the situation of globalization,this thesis helps people realize the importance of close attention to our inner thoughts,emotional attachment,and the inner needs in order to think about how to dig potentials and further complete self-realization.The thesis aims to call for people to realize self-salvation,global equity and justice by good deeds and inner conscience,to protect the warm and beautiful home deep down each of us,to face the challenging life with a positive and optimistic attitude.