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

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

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School	Emory College
Department	English
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Literature, English
Parola chiave	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

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