American Culture and Afghan Identity in Khalid Hosseini’s The Kite Runner

Abstract

This article contends that the political implications of Khalid Hosseini’s The Kite Runner are more complex than many critical assessments have recognized. Careful consideration of representations of America and Americans early in the book, as well as its depiction of the struggle of Amir, the novel’s protagonist, to define his identity in the United States, suggests a greater degree of ambiguity than the prevailing post-colonial critique allows. This interpretation requires sensitivity to the Afghan dimensions of Amir’s life in the United States, which makes it difficult to identify him as simply “westernized” or to define him as the embodiment of American influence. Hosseini’s rendering of America, both through the narrative’s cultural and material references and through its account of Amir’s life as an Afghan immigrant, imbue The Kite Runner with an intricacy that undermines simplistic claims that the novel advances a quasi-imperial perspective.