The Kite Runner- A Historical Novel or Stereotyping Propaganda against Pashtun Majority of Afghanistan?

Abstract

The researcher investigated about the historical value of the characters and events portrayed in “The Kite Runner“, a novel written by Khaled Hosseini, an American-based Afghan. It is considered a historical novel about the internal conflicts of Afghanistan. BaBa, Amir, Ali, Hassan, Sanauber, Assef, Sohrab and Farid are main characters which represent the familial, cultural and social actors of inter-ethnicity clashes of Afghanistan. The Hazaras-a minority, which is represented by Ali, Hassan and Sanauber are simultaneously oppressed and disgraced by the Pashtuns–a majority of Afghanistan.  Pashtuns are represented by BaBa, Amir, Rahim Khan and Assef and stereotyped as oppressors, hatred, jealous, sociopaths, prejudiced and racists. On the contrary, Hazaraz are depicted as helpless, poor, discriminated, inferiors and victims of Pashtuns´ mastery. This type of portrayal is a techniques employed by propagandists to effect the attitudes of audiences against a concerned group. The novel is full of such type of oversimplifications and overgeneralizations that work as a stereotyping propaganda against Pashtuns. The biased events mentioned in the novel cannot be verified by historical record.