Identity Crisis and Violence in the Select Novels of Yasmina Khadra and Khaled Hosseini A Comparative Study

Abstract

The identity crisis has been considered as one of the significant theme in literature. Conflict is a major cause of identity crisis in American literature. Conflict between a person or a group and another person, group or natural force is what drives one into change. Due to identity crisis, there is the characters confusion about their identity and their designated roles in society. Identity crisis is the process which causes the people to think about who they are and what they are. The first obstacle to overcome when experiencing an identity crisis is the loss of person s perception of self usually occurring when catastrophic events have taken place. Identity crisis is the common theme found in the novels of Yasmina khadra and Khaled Hosseini. Both the authors show considerable similarities while dealing with the theme of identity crisis but at the same time there are notable differences given in the portrayal of internal and external struggle in the lives of their characters. newlineThe thesis analyses the identity crisis in Afghanistan, Israel, Palestine and Iraq by an examination of a couple of characters both male and female related to the select novels of Yasmina Khadra and Khaled Hosseini. Both the writers have focused on male dominance over women, forceful marriages, lack of freedom, identity crisis. They also have depicted the exploitation and discrimination of women in the patriarchal social system newlineof the Afghan society as well as in the Muslim society of Islamic countries. Racial discrimination towards the Hazara and Pashtuns, the two different races and ethnics of Afghanistan are also reflected. Their cultural identity has been revealed. Yasmina Khadra and Khaled Hosseini both captivate their readers through an adherence to displaying the reality of gender roles in Afghanistan. Mussarat, Zunaira, Sihem,Nana, Mariam, Fariba, Laila, Aziza, and other minor female characters enable the reader to understand the distress and turmoil that women must face on a daily basis. While the women struggle for survival, war