From Here and There: Migration and Return in Colm Tóibín's Brooklyn and Khaled Hosseini's the Kite Runner Open Access

Abstract

This thesis compares Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn and Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner and their presentation of the migratory experience from Ireland (Brooklyn) and Afghanistan (The Kite Runner) to the United States. Ultimately, I argue that both Tóibín and Hosseini dislocate the migration experience from the specific geographies of the novel, using shared themes like dream, memory, and the doubling of the homeland versus home country in order to argue that migration is fixed neither in time nor in geography. As both texts’ protagonists grapple with the results of their migration, such as severed ties to homeland relationships, growing autonomy within the United States, and reformation of familial ties, so too do they return to their homelands both physically and mentally. These literal and figurative returns to homeland serve both to highlight and undercut the progress the protagonists make along their migratory journeys, and ultimately reinforce their migrations as unfixed from a linear and limited framework.

Table of Contents

Introduction....................................................................................................1

Chapter 1: Migration: Brooklyn............................................................................15

Chapter 2: Migration: The Kite Runner...................................................................28

Chapter 3: The Return: Brooklyn...........................................................................39

Chapter 4: The Return: The Kite Runner..................................................................55 Conclusion....................................................................................................65 Bibliography..................................................................................................69

About this Honors Thesis

Rights statement

• Permission granted by the author to include this thesis or dissertation in this repository. All rights reserved by the author. Please contact the author for information regarding the reproduction and use of this thesis or dissertation.

School	Emory College
Department	English
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Literature, English
Keyword	Colm Tóibín Khaled Hosseini Migration
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Dr. Nathan Suhr-Sytsma , Emory University
Committee Members	Dr. Nathan Suhr-Sytsma , Emory University Dr. Geraldine Higgins , Emory University

Last modified

Primary PDF

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions
	From Here and There: Migration and Return in Colm Tóibín's Brooklyn and Khaled Hosseini's the Kite Runner ()	2019-04-09 08:15:59 -0400	Press to Select an action Download

Supplemental Files

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions