Can Subaltern Be Heard: An Analysis of The Kite Runner and The Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini Freedom

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the marginalized and the oppressed (subaltern) groups. Who are made subaltern socially and religiously and to recover the voices of the gender and the afflicted ethnic group?  Hosseini’s The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns are brimful with such subalternised characters and they express their dilapidated condition through gestures and their actions. The researcher exploits the theory of Spivak’s “subaltern theory” in the postcolonial context. In both novels, the oppressor and the oppressed are transformed into subalterns. Independent life is a dream in a country where stratification is the order of the day.  The article examines how the subaltern individual and the group express their anger and show their reaction against the subaltern-building forces. The subalterns do not lose dignity but celebrate it by joining hands and by sacrifice.  Amir repents and sacrifices himself for the new generation. Baba realizes the differences and pays the price. Miriam, the harami, the outcast bastard, suffers constantly from father to husband and sacrifices for Laila and her children by killing the joint-husband. Laila is the voice of a new generation who bravely challenges the subalternity and speaks loudly. The subalterns remain silent. It is its desire to be heard and recognized. Mariam is the subdued voice but Laila has given voice to the marginalized females. She is the subject and plays the role of the agency and agent who “acts out” (Spivak 1998). She saves the forthcoming generation and constructs the consciousness of the subaltern.