The Psychological Development of the Afghan People in Khaled Hosseini’s Selected Novels
Keywords:
Khaled Hosseini, Trauma, PsychoanalysisAbstract
The decade-long conflicts in Afghanistan—particularly during the Soviet invasion and the Taliban regime in the 1990s—have resulted in severe humanitarian crises and profound psychological trauma for its population. This study examines how Khaled Hosseini’s selected novels (The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and And the Mountains Echoed) depict the lived realities of Afghan people navigating trauma, displacement, systemic violence, and survival. Utilizing Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic framework, specifically the structural model of the Id, Ego, and Superego, this research analyzes the psychological and emotional development of the major and minor characters across the three texts. Through qualitative textual and narrative analysis, the study demonstrates how physical abuse, war induced displacement, patriarchy, and ethnic persecution serve as external psychological triggers (Id and external reality) that shape the characters' coping mechanisms, identity formation, and mental trajectories (Ego and Superego). The findings reveal that Hosseini’s narrative accounts closely mirror the historical and psycho-social realities of Afghan war victims, highlighting the role of literature as both a reflective medium for collective trauma and an exploration of human resilience.
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