Shaping and Reshaping Identity in Diaspora: An Analytical View of Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner

Abstract

The present study analysed the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini using Bakhtin’s concept of diasporic chronotopes to highlight the role of the diasporic present and past in shaping and reshaping the present. Bakhtin (1981) talks about memory that initiate the mental chronotope that comes in conflict with the physical chronotope. It results in identity conflict. The subject diaspora is tangled in homeland, hybrid and new-land identity. Moreover, an exploration of the narrative events enables the diaspora critics to understand the nature of problems diaspora experience in the new culture. The study was carried out through an analysis of cultural values of indigenous and the host culture of Amir who represents the problems of identity crisis of the migrant Diaspora communities. The study found that the memory is an unavoidable factor that leads the diasporic people like Amir to live in the present by travelling into the past. Moreover, the study highlighted that the diasporic experiences promote cultural and identity conflict making the Diasporas into hybrid products. The study concludes that the problem resulting from the diasporic experiences are the buy product, but being Diaspora is not always a problem. Amir’s journey subtly stresses that the newly acquired cultural values are compatible with the indigenous culture and values system.

Key Words: Shaping, Reshaping, identity, Diaspora, Chronotope, Identity Crisis