A LITERARY CRITICAL STUDY OF CULTURAL (MIS)REPRESENTATION OF PASHTUN AND FARSI SPEAKING CHARACTERS IN KHALED HOSSEINI’S NOVELS Researcher Supervisor Waheed Ahmad Khan Dr. Ayaz Afsar 70-FLL/PHDENG/S13 Professor. DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD To my great parents and loving wife ii iii ABSTRACT The study analyzes (mis)representation of two ethnic groups of Pashtun and Persian (Farsi- speaking) characters in the novels of an Afghan-American writer, Khaled Hosseini. His novels included in the study are The Kite Runner (TKR), A Thousand Splendid Suns (ATSS) and And The Mountains Echoed (ATME). The ethnic groups belong to Afghanistan which has been pushed into a new war after the event of 9/11. The characters are analyzed in the framework of Mahmood Mamdani’s theory of “good” vs. “bad” Muslims and Fernando Ferrara’s ‘Theory and Model for the Structural Analysis of Fiction’ which has three layers of analysis i.e. surface structure, middle structure and deep structure. The analysis shows that Pashtun characters are portrayed with traits of cowardice, selfishness and immorality. Some Pashtun characters are portrayed as “good” Muslims due to Americanization/Westernization and hostility toward Taliban. Others having sympathy with Taliban are depicted as “bad” Muslims. They are more under influence of their code of life called Pashtunwali. They are shown as rich who exploit other ethnicities. Many Pashtun and Farsi-speaking characters challenge Pashtunwali for the reason that Pashtun cultural values are the main factors of disturbance and backwardness of people in the country. Farsi- speaking characters are depicted as brave, loyal, victimized, exploited and oppressed (traits). They are shown as poor and helpless people who suffer under dominating influence of Pashtuns in Afghanistan. They are depicted as “good” Muslims either because of being modern and Westernized or due to their hatred for Taliban. The presence of Americans is justified in the name of civilizing “bad” Muslims through Westernization and Americanization. However, Westernized/Americanized characters misrepresent cultural values of Afghanistan. Key Words: Pashtunwali, Ethnicity, Good Muslims, Bad Muslims, Nang and Namus. iv Acknowledgement I am grateful to Almighty Allah who gave me inspiration to complete my dissertation. I also thank my supervisor Prof. Ayaz Afsar for providing me with guidance and research material throughout the course of my research. His thorough examination of my dissertation on regular basis enabled me to complete it on time. I greatly admire his commitment to my research as a supervisor. I am also thankful to Prof. Munawar Iqbql Ahmad, Dean FLL, International Islamic University Islamabad, for providing me guidance. I am also thankful to Prof. Shaheena Ayub Bhatti, Director, Women Research and Resource Center, Fatima Jinnah Women University, the Mall, Rawalpindi, whose valuable suggestions improved my dissertation. I would also like to express my gratitude to Prof. Nadeem Haider Bukhari, department of English, the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, for his valuable comments. I am also grateful to Prof. David Jefferess, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, the University of British Columbia, whose valuable comments refined my dissertation. I also thank my friend Furqan Ali for his help in the skillful use of computer. He helped me generously whenever I contacted him. Besides him, I also thank my friend Ihsanullah who provided me with relevant research material. I am also thankful to my colleague friend Hasham Khan who helped me with his research skills. Last, but by no means least, I must say that I owe my family a debt of gratitude for supporting me throughout my research. My wife motivated and facilitated me for completing the dissertation. v DECLARATION I, Waheed Ahmad Khan s/o Haji Muhammad, Registration No. 70-FLL/PHDENG/S13, student of PhD English (Literature), do hereby declare that the matter printed in the thesis “A Literary Critical Study of Cultural (Mis)Representation of Pashtun and Farsi-speaking Characters in Khaled Hosseini’s Novels” submitted by me in partial fulfillment of PhD degree, is my original work and no part has been copied from any published source. I also solemnly declare that it shall not be submitted by me in future for obtaining any other degree from this or any other university or institution. I also understand that if evidence of plagiarism is found in my thesis/ dissertation at any stage, even after the award of a degree, the work may be cancelled and the degree revoked. This work was carried out and completed at International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan. Dated: November, 2018 Signature of candidate WAHEED AHMAD KHAN vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ii ACCEPTANCE BY VIVA VOCE COMMITTEE iii ABSTRACT iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v DECLARATION vi TABLE OF CONTENTS vii LIST OF KEY WORDS x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii CHAPTER: 1 INTRODUCTION 1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1 PASHTUN PEOPLE AND PASHTUNWALI 5 FEATURES OF PASHTUNWALI 7 FARSI-SPEAKING PEOPLE AND THEIR WAY OF LIFE 11 THESIS STATEMENT 14 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 15 METHODOLOGY 15 THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK 16 DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY 22 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 22 vii CHAPTER: 2 PASHTUNS AND FARSI-SPEAKING PEOPLE: A CRITICAL STUDY 23 AFGHANISTAN AFTER 9/11 23 PORTRAYAL OF PASHTUN CULTURE IN POETRY 27 CRITIQUES OF THE TEXTS UNDER STUDY 31 CHAPTER: 3 HISTORY OF PASHTUNS AND FARSI-SPEAKING PEOPLE 39 PASHTUNS FROM HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 39 HISTORY OF FARSI-SPEAKING PEOPLE 44 CHAPTER: 4 ETHNIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PASHTUNS AND HAZARAS IN THE KITE RUNNER 47 OVERVIEW OF THE PLOT 48 SURFACE STRUCTURE 50 MIDDLE STRUCTURE 102 DEEP STRUCTURE 117 CONCLUSION 127 CHAPTER: 5 PASHTUNWALI AND WOMEN IN A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS 128 OVERVIEW OF THE PLOT 128 SURFACE STRUCTURE 129 MIDDLE STRUCTURE 183 DEEP STRUCTURE 206 CONCLUSION 212 viii CHAPTER: 6 ELITE PASHTUNS AND OPPRESSED FARSI-SPEAKING CHARACTERS IN AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED 214 OVERVIEW OF THE PLOT 214 SURFACE STRUCTURE 215 MIDDLE STRUCTURE 247 DEEP STRUCTURE 261 CONCLUSION 268 CHAPTER: 7 CONCLUSION 270 WESTERNIZED AFGHAN CULTURE: ELIMINATION OF ANTI-MODERN PASHTUNS AND PASHTUNWALI 276 BIBLIOGRAPHY 280 ix List of Key Words Afghan: The term referred to only Pashtu speakers of Afghanistan until the early twentieth century. However, now the term refers to all citizens of Afghanistan. Surface structure: It is terminal string and consists of traits. Fictional Model Type: The established tradition of fiction for a character portrayed. Middle structure: It is transformational zone and consists of social model image. Social Model Image: Personality of a character in the dominant culture. Deep structure: This is the zone where values originate. Intrinsic trait: It refers to the physical or mental characteristics of a character. Functional trait: It refers to relation that a character has to its contexts and to its function in relation to them. Homodiegetic narrator: It is the narrator who is also character in the story. Heterodiegetic narrator: It refers to the narrator who is not character in the story. Direct Definition (characterization): A character is defined in terms of nouns, adjectives or adverbs. Indirect Presentation (characterization): A character is defined in terms of speech, action, appearance, environment and landscape. Focalization: It refers to perspective or point of view. It shows what a character sees or thinks. x Pashtunwali: It refers to the code of conduct and cultural unwritten law of life of Pashtun people. Nang and namus: Nang means the honor of women and namus refers to the man’s responsibility of protecting his woman’s honor. Ethnicity: Ethnicity refers to common, or shared, characteristics which are attributed to common descent. It plays a crucial role in formation of identity. “Ethnicity, for Hall, is a ‘project’, something that we continually shape and through which we position ourselves.” (as cited in Hartley, 2002, p. 84) Modern Hero: It refers to the traits of Hero found in the novels of Graham Greene (modern English novelist). Defining trait of his heroes is cowardice. He does not have inspiring qualities like those of ancient times heroes. Wise fool: A character type who is wise but is made fun of due to physical deformity. Hero: A character type known for bravery, selflessness, patience and sincerity. He is the one who evokes sympathy of readers. Villain: A character having all the evil traits such as selfishness, deception, hypocrisy. Heroine: A female character having qualities of courage, sincerity and loyalty and who evokes readers’ sympathy. Femme fatale: A character type of seductive woman who possesses exquisite beauty which she uses to trap her lovers. Bad boy or rake: A character especially a man having lustful nature. His main interest is to seduce women. xi List of Abbreviations TKR= The Kite Runner ATSS= A Thousand Splendid Suns ATME= And The Mountains Echoed SS= Surface Structure MS= Middle Structure DS= Deep Structure FM= Fictional Model Type SM= Social Model Image t= trait C= Character xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Background to the Study: Pashtuns and Farsi-Speaking People in Afghanistan The present study aims at an in-depth analysis of (mis)representation of Pashtun people, their way of life called Pashtunwali and Farsi-speaking people in the novels of Khaled Hosseini. The novels included in the study are The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns and And the Mountains Echoed. These novels are written after 9/11. The novels portray characters of Pashtun ethnic group and Farsi-speaking community. The research focuses on comparison of Pashtun and Farsi-speaking characters’ values since characters from the two different ethnic communities are depicted in the novels. The two communities are of key importance in the novels. Aim of the study is to know if Hosseini’s novels truly represent Pashtun and Farsi-speaking characters and their cultural values by using Fernando Ferrara’s Theory and Model for the Structural Analysis of Fiction and Mahmood Mamdani’s theory of “good” vs.