Deciphering the Postcolonial Discourse: An Oriental Reading for The Kite Runner by Khaled Housseini and The Parisian by Isabella Hammad

Abstract

Postcolonial literature explores the effects of colonialism and its aftermath, shedding light on the complex relationships between colonizers and the colonized. It challenges dominant narratives, gives voice to marginalized perspectives, and examines themes of identity, power, and cultural hybridity. It also addresses issues of nationalism, representationalism, opposition, ethnicity, and feminism. Postcolonial dialogue in literature refers to the discourse that emerges in the aftermath of colonialism, encompassing various elements such as the reshaping of identities, power dynamics, cultural exchanges, and responses to historical colonial narratives. It is often a space where writers and intellectuals from formerly colonized societies engage with and respond to the legacies of colonialism. A wide range of post-colonial novels has been published during the 1990s and the first years of the 21st century, including The Kite Runner by the Afghan-American novelist Khaled Hosseini and The Parisian by the British-Palestinian novelist Isabella Hammad. These novels provide insight into the postcolonial experience, offering nuanced portrayals of the impacts of colonization on individuals and societies. This article aims to deciphering the postcolonial discourse in Khaled Housseini’s The Kite Runner and Isabella Hammad’s The Parisian using oriental lenses. An oriental perspective seems to offer a unique examination of the different experiences of those from oriental cultures, shedding light on the nuanced complexities of postcolonial discourse. Thus, the oriental perspective adds depth and nuance to the analysis of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and The Parisian by Isabella Hammad.