成长和救赎：《追风筝的人》的成长小说解读英语分析

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction to the Author and His Works
1.1.1 Introduction to the Author
Khaled Hosseini was the eldest of the five children in his family, and he wasborn on March 4, 1965. Besides, he was an Afghan-born American, physician andnovelist. His father worked as a diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and hismother worked as a language teacher at a girl’s high school. Under the influence ofhis mother, he developed great interest in and affection for literature. When Hosseiniwas 11years old, his family moved to France. They were unable to return toAfghanistan because of the Saur Revolution breaking out in 1978, during which thePeople’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan was in power. His family had to leave forthe United States after the soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. In 1980, theyapplied for political asylum in the United States and settled down in San Jose,California.
1.1.2 Introduction to Hosseini’s Works
Hosseini was admitted into San Diego’s School of Medicine of University ofCalifornia. After completing his studies, he worked as an internist. He published hisfirst stunning work The Kite Runner in 2003. The novel is mainly about atonementand redemption. The story starts with a sin committed by the father against Ali(Hassan’s father) and other sins committed by Amir against Hassan and it ends upwith acts of redemption and atonement of Amir. Four years later, his second novel Athousand Splendid Suns was published, in which he focused on female characters andtheir roles in Afghan society. In 2013, his third novel And the Mountains Echoes wasreleased. These three novels reflected the sufferings and pains of ordinary family in aturbulent society.
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1.2 Introduction to the Novel and Amir
1.2.1 Introduction to the Nove
lAfghanistan is a country with blue sky, white cloud, beautiful birds and flowers.People in Kabul live a peaceful life. The children enjoy carefree childhood, and theycan fly and run the kite freely. On Friday, they gather on the lakeside and have apicnic at parks. When it comes to Lesser Bairam, people visit each other in theirfinest attire and children open their presents and play the egg. It is the daily life inKabul, Afghanistan. However, the idyllic life is smashed by the war. Hosseinidescribes clearly the horrible scene of Afghanistan after the war. Herds of childrenbeg on the streets. Walls collapse and the city lies in ruins. The kite shop and therotisserie are all gone. The stark contrasts strike a chord with the readers.
In The Kite Runner, Hosseini the author, as an Afghan-American, faithfullyrecords the unfairness and outrage occurring in Afghanistan. He brings the readerinto the real Afghan world, presenting the pain which Afghanistan and local peoplesuffered; the author puts the personal fate under social-historical background—aspersonal fate is always closely linked with the country’s fate.
Set in Afghanistan in 1970s, the story was concerned with betrayal andredemption. Growing up together, Amir, a rich young Afghan child, made friendswith his loyal servant Hassan who was even more like a brother. When they were 12years old, both of them took part in a traditional kite game. In order to clinch the lastvictory, Amir not only defeated his opponent, but also retrieved the last kite. LoyalHassan was good at fighting the kite. In order to protect child Amir’s kite and helpAmir to win the game, loyal Hassan rushed off to get the fallen kite but was bulliedand raped by Assef. Seeing the tragedy, Amir, rather than help his friend, ran away ina coward way. He witnessed the whole rape incident but did not step out to rescueHassan, because of his selfishness, cowardice and feebleness. Haunted by an intenseguilt and self-accusation, Amir expelled Hassan by framing him for theft. Soonafterwards, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. When the war broke out, Amirand his father escaped to Pakistan. On the way to Pakistan, an invasive Russia soldierwanted to rape the woman in the same car, however, all the people in the car,including the husband of the woman, did not dare to fight against the soldier;however, Amir’s father stood out bravely from the crowd and he confronted thesoldier and saved the woman.
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CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Studies aboard
Since The Kite Runner was published in 2003, a lot of book reviews have beenreleased concerning this novel. Researches on it mainly focus on such perspectives asethical problems, humanitarianism, social function, education, exotic identities,multiculturalism and post-colonialism.
Ron Givens as the first author concerning The Kite Runner has written articlesrelated to the book. In 2003, he released his book review in a famous Americanmagazine— People, which marks the prelude to an in-depth study of The Kite Runner.He introduces the image-building of Amir and Amir’s growing experiences; besides,he holds a belief that The Kite Runner is the most significant masterpiece since thepublication of Gone with the Wild.
Among these masterpieces published, the earliest work related to Hosseini isCalifornia Uncovered: Stories for the 21stCentury, which was compiled by Chitrapakaruni. This book is the first work to research California authors’ works, selectingrepresentative California authors and their works from 1900 to 2005. Two chapters ofthis book give a brief introduction to Hosseini’s life story, the background and themesof The Kite Runner. In addition, this book also emphasizes reading experience andreaders’ feedback. As an immigrant writer, Hosseini and his work—The Kite Runnerwere selected into the book, which reflects the importance and influence of this work.
Afghanistan is a religious country, so some scholars focus on the ethical problemsand humanitarianism in The Kite Runner. Dr. Jefferess David released his thesis To beGood again, The Kite Runner as Allegory of Global Ethnics. In this thesis, he tells thedifferences between the “good Muslim” and “bad Muslim”, and holds a belief that“The Kite Runner reflects a change from the supremacy of race and nation as the mainmarker of political community and identity to the idea of the ‘modern’ and determiningof the ‘human’”(Miao 6).
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2.2 Studies at Home
The Chinese version of The Kite Runner was published in 2006 and it got famousquickly among readers. The researches about Hosseini and The Kite Runner in Chinamainly focus on the following aspects including the themes of betrayal and redemption,humanity, post-colonialism, translation and narrative strategies, the miserable endingof Hassan and the symbolic meaning of the kite.
Zhang Xue and Yin Xiaoming illustrate the themes of The Kite Runner in theirthesis Analysis of persified Themes of The Kite Runner. They explore the themes ofthe novel in terms of the humanity under criticism, self-redemption and confession, aswell as social gaps. They draw a conclusion that with the cowardice and selfishness inhumanity, choosing to escape and keeping silence are wrongdoings, which will causethe tragic ending of the two protagonists. The wrongdoings can’t be eliminated withthe protagonist’s growth. On the contrary, these will be remembered until the end oftheir lives. Not only is The Kite Runner a moving story, but also it reflects the kindnessand sins of humanity, and illustrates the traditional values and calls for the return tohumanity.
Thematic analysis is also a common direction in academic field respecting thisnovel. In To be Good again, Exploring the Themes of The Kite Runner—Growth andSelf-redemption, Lei Ji discusses the themes of the novel in terms of the protagonist’spersonal growth, character depiction and the analysis of the cause of fate. The thesis ASpiritual Journey to Redemption—A Bildungsroman Perspective to the Kite Runner,written by Jiang Xiaoqing, centers on the protagonist’s experiences of sins and self-redemption, depicting how the protagonist’s sin haunts and tortures him for manyyears as well as how the self-redemption can release him and bring him inward peace.
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CHAPTER III BILDUNGSROMAN AS A LITERARY GENRE.............................. 13
3.1 The Definitions of the Bildungsroman…...................................13
3.2 The Origin and Development of the Bildungsroman………………...…………14
3.3 The Characteristics of the Bildungsroman……………………..18
CHAPTER IV GUIDES AND COMPANIONS IN INITIATION…………………...21
4.1 Positive Spiritual Guides…………………………….21
4.1.1 Rahim Khan: a Friend and Guide……………………….22
4.1.2 Father: a Kind, Complex and Contradictory Man……………………...…...23
CHAPTER V A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY TO REDEMPTION …………………..33
5.1 The First Stage of Initiation: Moral Choices………………………...33
5.2 The Second Stage of Initiation: Moral Torture.………………...….36
5.3 The Third Stage of Initiation: Epiphany and Self-redemption............................ 37

CHAPTER VI BETRAYAL AND REDEMPTION THROUGH LOVE

6.1Betrayal in Life Journey
In Bildungsroman, the betrayal and redemption are the themes which have beenlong discussed. Betrayal is not welcomed and accepted, because it brings the mentalpain and physical anguish to the inpidual who are betrayed. Betrayal takes placeamong couple, lovers and friends.
Betrayal pervades almost every corner of The Kite Runner, which can beclassified into two kinds: first, Father’s betrayal of the family; Second, Amir’s betrayalof the friendship. Therefore, this section of the present thesis will focus on how Amirand his father commit the betrayal and on what they have betrayed.
6.1.1 Father’s Betrayal of the Family
In The Kite Runner, Amir’s father is a successful businessman and charitarian inAfghanistan; Amir and his father live in a house which is regarded as the mostbeautiful house in Kabul. Father has a perfect reputation and image in the local districtand among the public. He married Amir’s mother—Sofia Akrami, and she is abeautiful, excellent woman. Hosseini writes that “Sofia Akrami, a highly educatedwoman universally regarded as one of Kabul’s most respected, beautiful, and virtuousladies.”(Hosseini 9). Unfortunately, she died while she gave birth to Amir. At the sametime, Ali’s wife—Sanaubar appeared, who is a beautiful but unscrupulous woman who
possessed a terrible reputation. Hosseini writes that “I have heard that Sanaubar’ssuggestive stride and oscillating hips sent men to reveries of infidelity.” (Hosseini 5)Due to the innate desire of human beings, Father could not control himself and hadaffairs with Sanaubar, and then they gave birth to Hassan. Thus, Father betrayed hiswife who had passed away. Many years later, Father’s best friend—Rahim revealed thetruth and secret, which gave a great shock to Amir:
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CHAPTER VII CONCLUSION
A Bildungsroman is a novel that portrays the realistic and gradual development ofits main characters. It features a clash between the inpidual and expectations set forthby societal norms. As a novel in the Bildungsroman genre, the narrative of The KiteRunner carries readers through the development of Amir’s psychology and his identity,which makes the readers realize what growth is in life. Therefore, The Kite Runner, asa typical Bildungsroman, has been analyzed from the following aspects in this thesis：
First, in the Bildungsroman, the guides and companions in initiation are theimportant components. Under the influences of the surrounding people, the protagonistcan find his or her social position. From the perspective of characters, this thesisintroduces the guides and companions in Amir’s Initiation. In The Kite Runner, RahimKhan, Father, Assef, general people in Afghanistan, Hassan and Soraya are the guidesand companions in initiation, and these guides and companions help Amir to finish hisgrowing process and release his inner guilt.
Second, the German word “Bildungsroman” means “novel of education” or“novel of formation”, so it is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological andmoral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood, therefore, character’s changeis extremely important. From the perspective of structure, The Kite Runner follows thetypical plot patterns of the Bildungsroman: innocence—temptation—leaving—puzzlement—Ordeals—loss of innocence—epiphany—knowledge of life and discovery,which are typical traits of the Bildungsroman. In The Kite Runner, based on the typicalplot pattern, Amir’s perception of the world, his moral development and his return tohumanity are portrayed. After undergoing a series of ordeals and sufferings, Amir getsrid of innocence, reaches epiphany and becomes a mature, brave man.
Third, in the end of the thesis, the paper highlighted the themes of The KiteRunner: betrayal, love and redemption. The Kite Runner has a profound meaning forthe youths who confront betrayal and redemption. This part of the thesis explores anew understanding of The Kite Runner to the readers and encourages them to pursuethe beauty in humanity.
This thesis examines how to define the novel is as a Bildungsroman by studyingAmir’s gradual development, composing of a change in behavior, actions, thoughts andnarrative. From what have been discussed, the conclusion can be drawn that The KiteRunner is definitely a Bildungsroman. In addition, this thesis enlarges the researchfield of the Bildungsroman and creates a new kind of Bildungsroman that still adheresto set guidelines and characteristics of the genre. This thesis encourages the youthswho are trapped in confusions to confront and bravely overcome their weaknessesexisting in humanity and form the right views of live.
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