"The Kite Runner" To Reveal The Humanity: Extreme Circumstances

The Kite Runner is the first literary work of Khaled Hosseini, the American writer who was born in Afghanistan. This work made him became a dark horse in world literature, which was widely praised since its publication and has been the New York Times Bestseller for 2 years. It has been sold more than 7 million copies in America; moreover, it has been translated into 42 languages, global sales more than 20 million copies. The fiction is mainly about two Afghan young men’s betrayal and redemption during their processes of growth. This thesis selects The Kite Runner as the research object, uses textual close reading as the essential research method, aims to analyze the choices of humanity during the wartime and try to discuss how the situational factors influence the choices of humanity.This thesis has five parts. The introduction mainly introduces the writer Khaled Hosseini, his master work The Kite Runner, study methods and the purpose of the research. Chapter one combines the specific situational factors with characters’ experiences to analyze why Aamir, Hassan and Assef make different choices of humanity and aim to seek the essence of humanity by analyzing the characters. Chapter two expounds the defects of humanity leaded by the abnormal education, elaborates the choices of humanity and the betrayal of morality, explores the dark side of human nature, and the lost of Aamir and Hassan’s humanity. Chapter three elaborates the reasons that lead to the lost of humanity during the wartime, including the influences of situational factors、bandwagon effects and the pressures from not only family but also society. Chapter four expounds the glory of humanity from The Kite Runner which are showed by Aamir’s self-quest, Hassan’s self-actualization and Sohrab’s self-rebuild.