The figure of Assef viewed using Karen Horney`s psychoanalytic social theory as seen in Khaled Hosseini`s The Kite Runner

   

THE FIGURE OF ASSEF VIEWED USING KAREN HORNEY’S PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIAL THEORY AS SEEN IN KHALED

HOSSEINI’S THE KITE RUNNER

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Andreas Aris Ardianto Student Number: 051214097

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

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THE FIGURE OF ASSEF VIEWED USING KAREN HORNEY’S PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIAL THEORY AS SEEN IN KHALED

HOSSEINI’S THE KITE RUNNER

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Andreas Aris Ardianto Student Number: 051214097

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

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STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY

I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the references, as a scientific paper should.

Yogyakarta, 20 September 2010 The Writer

Andreas Aris Ardianto 051214097

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This thesis is dedicated to

My beloved Parents:

Ngadikin Antonius & Christina Kusumastuti

My lovely Sisters:

Klara Ade Krisnawati & Lucia Astri Noviyanti

I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

(The Road Not Taken — Robert Frost)

When there is a will,

There is a way

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN

PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma: Nama : Andreas Aris Ardianto

Nomor Mahasiswa : 051214097

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:

THE FIGURE OF ASSEF VIEWED USING KAREN HORNEY’S PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIAL THEORY AS SEEN IN KHALED

HOSSEINI’S THE KITE RUNNER

Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal 20 Oktober 2010 Yang menyatakan

Andreas Aris Ardianto 051214097

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ABSTRACT

Ardianto, Andreas Aris. 2010. The Figure of Assef Viewed Using Karen Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory as Seen in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.

This study is about Assef, one of the characters in Khaled Hosseini’s novel entitled The Kite Runner. In this study, Assef is analyzed using Karen Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory. This study is also concerned with the relationship between Assef’s personalities and social and cultural backgrounds surrounding him. Assef is the one who torments Hazaras rigorously. He is very proud of being a Pasthun. Interestingly, Assef is not a pure Pasthun. He has German origin. It is interesting to see that many factors, especially social and cultural background of Assef, influence his personalities.

Considering aforementioned explanations, this study proposes a problem to be analyzed. The problem is: how is Assef seen through Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory?

This study used psychological approach and sociocultural-historical approaches. As a library study, this study used two main sources. The primary source was a novel The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini. The secondary sources were some books and articles related to the topic, especially those which were about Karen Horney’s theories.

After analyzing the figure of Assef using Karen Horney’s theory, there are five points to be concluded. First, Assef is a person who has moving against people attitude. Second, Assef’s social and cultural backgrounds give a credit to his personalities. Third, Assef’s childhood also takes part in shaping his personalities. Fourth, Assef has particular personalities because he wants to protect himself against loneliness. Fifth, Assef has an idealized self-image and he rigorously wants to be like his idealized self-image. Assef also meets the requirements of a neurotic given by Karen Horney.

This study intends to provide suggestion for the further researchers who analyze the same novel. A possible topic to investigate suggested in this thesis is how Assef’s view of Adolf Hitler (his idol) influences his personality development. Besides, this study is also useful for English teachers. It is because this study recommends the novel to be implemented in English teaching learning activity. This study proposes the novel as one of the materials to teach Intensive Reading II in the English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.

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ABSTRAK

Ardianto, Andreas Aris. 2010. The Figure of Assef Viewed Using Karen Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory as Seen in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. Yogyakarta: Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Jurusan Bahasa dan Seni, Program Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Penelitian ini tentang Assef, salah satu tokoh dalam novel berjudul The Kite Runner karya Khaled Hosseini. Di dalam penelitian ini, Assef ditelaah menggunakan teori psikoanalisa sosial Karen Horney. Penelitian ini juga membahas keterkaitan antara kepribadian Assef dengan keadaan sosial dan budaya di sekelilingnya. Assef menyiksa Hazara secara membabi buta. Dia sangat bangga dengan identitasnya sebagai seorang Pasthun. Menariknya, dia bukanlah murni Pasthun. Dia keturunan Jerman. Sangat menarik melihat banyak faktor, terutama latar belakang sosial dan budaya Assef, yang mempengaruhi kepribadiannya.

Dengan mempertimbangkan hal-hal tersebut, penelitian ini merumuskan suatu pertanyaan untuk dijawab. Pertanyaan tersebut adalah: bagaimana Assef dilihat dengan teori psikoanalisa sosial Horney?

Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan psikologis dan sosial budaya-sejarah. Sebagai suatu studi pustaka, penelitian ini menggunakan dua sumber utama. Yang pertama, sumber primer, adalah novel The Kite Runner yang ditulis oleh Khaled Hosseini. Yang kedua, sumber sekunder, adalah beberapa buku dan artikel terkait dengan topik yang dibahas, terutama yang berkaitan dengan teori Karen Horney.

Setelah dilakukan kajian terhadap tokoh Assef menggunakan teori Karen Horney, ada 5 hal yang bisa disimpulkan. Pertama, Assef mempunyai sikap melawan masyarakat (moving against people). Kedua, Latar belakang sosial dan budaya Assef memberi pengaruh terhadap kepribadiannya. Ketiga, Masa kecil Assef juga berperan serta dalam membentuk kepribadiannya. Keempat, Kepribadian Assef juga dipengaruhi oleh keinginannya untuk melindungi dirinya dari rasa kesepian. Kelima, Assef mempunyai suatu citra diri ideal (idealized self-image) dan dia dengan sangat berlebihan ingin mewujudkan citra diri idealnya. Di samping semua hal tersebut, Assef juga memenuhi persyaratan yang dikemukakan oleh Karen Horney sebagai seorang neurotik.

Penelitian ini diharapkan dapat menjadi acuan bagi para peneliti selanjutnya yang meneliti novel sejenis. Topik investigasi yang dianjurkan dalam penelitian ini adalah bagaimana cara pandang Assef terhadap Adolf Hitler (tokoh pujaannya) mempengaruhi perkembangan kepribadiannya. Penelitian ini juga berguna bagi pengajar Bahasa Inggris. Penelitian ini merekomendasikan novel yang diteliti dalam kegiatan belajar mengajar Bahasa Inggris, yaitu Intensive Reading II di Program Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to present my greatest gratitude to God, Jesus Christ, and Mother Mary, who always guides and bless me throughout my whole life. I also feel very thankful for God’s kindness, as God has given me many great people in my wonderful life.

My deepest gratitude goes to my beloved parents, Ngadikin Antonius and Christina Kusumastuti, for their eternal love, care, and prayer toward me. I am very grateful to my dear parents, especially, due to their great patience and support in bearing my laziness and stubbornness. Furthermore, I earnestly thank my younger sisters, Nana and Astri, for the joy and laughter which always cheer me up and ease my weariness. The same expression goes to my grandparents. I truly thank them for such considerable love, care, and support they sincerely give to me so far.

I owe an immeasurable debt to my sponsor, V. Tripihatmini, S.Pd., M.Hum., M.A., for her care, guidance, as well as her determined support and encouragement in helping me finish this work. I would like to give my special thank her because of her kindness for patiently guiding me until I finish the thesis. I also beg her to have mercy on me because of my laziness in writing the thesis.

To all PBI lecturers who have guided me along these past five years, I do present my deepest appreciation for such worthy knowledge, skill and tireless teaching which eventually shape me to be a more mature person as what I am now. I also present my great gratitude to all USD staffs—especially those who are in Secretariat Office and Libraries—who have given lots of contribution during

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my periods of study as well as the making process of this thesis. My deepest gratitude also goes to the Head of PBI USD, Caecilia Tutyandari, S.Pd., M.Pd., who has made me feel prouder of being a PBI student

I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of my wonderful friends in PBI, especially my beloved friends: Indro, Ruma, Mayang, Wuri, Dinar, Bagus, Chandra, Rindang, Berlin, Patrice, Franz, Bunga, Puri, Molen, Taju, Candra, Pandhu, Arum, Angga, Koko, Shodiq, and Agung. I am very thankful for the grins and tears, for the glitter and gloom, and for the happy moments and sad moments shared throughout the time spent. What a beautiful friendship I have with them!

I would like to thank to Island, Detta, Jimmy, Mbak Diah, Putri, Datia, and Sophie for the most inspiring and insightful conversations I have ever had.

I would like to say deeply gratitude to Mega, who has let me experience splendid times. I also would like to thank to Ari and Asuan for their supports and friendships.

Lastly, I earnestly would like to thank all of the great people—whom I cannot mention here one by one—who have supported me to finish this thesis and who have taught me about life: friendship, determination, forgiveness, and being thankful; who have enriched my knowledge and widened my awareness about life; and who have encouraged me in passing this life; they have been bringing such a light of hope and spirit within my life.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE………... i

APPROVAL PAGES…………..………...…. ii

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY………..….… iv

DEDICATION PAGE……… v

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS……… vi

ABSTRACT……… vii

ABSTRAK……….……... viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………..….. ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS……… xi

LIST OF APPENDICES………. xiv

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION A. Research Background………... 1

B. Problem Formulation……… 6

C. Objectives of the Study..……….. 6

D. Benefits of the Study……… 6

E. Definition of Terms………. 7

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A. Review of Related Theories.……….. 9

1. Approaches in the Study of Literature…...……….. 9

2. Theories on Culture………..………… 11

a. Identity…..…………...………. 11

b. Race and Ethnicity...……..…..………... 12

3. Karen Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory…… 12

a. Basic Attitudes...………. 14

1) Moving toward People...…..……….... 14

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3) Moving away from People……..…………... 15

b. Neurotic...……..…..………..…... 16

c. The Impact of Culture and The Importance of Childhood Experiences……...…...……….…. 17

d. Horney’s Theory on Ways People Protect Themselves against Loneliness………..….. 17

e. The Idealized Self-Image..……….……. 18

1) The Neurotic Search for Glory.……….…….... 19

2) Neurotic Claims……...………... 20

3) Neurotic Pride……….…... 21

B. Review of Related Studies………... 22

C. Review of on Sociocultural-Historical……….…….… 22

1. The History of Afghanistan...………... 22

2. The Pasthuns and The Hazaras…...……….. 25

3. Sunni Islam and Shi’a Islam…....……... 28

D. Theoretical Framework……….….... 30

CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study………. 32

B. Approaches of the Study..……….. 34

C. Method of the Study.……….……….. 35

CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS A. The Figure of Assef Viewed Using Karen Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory………..………… 37

1. Assef’s Basic Attitudes……...……….. 37

a. The Need to be Powerful………...…… 38

b. The Need to Exploit Others…..………... 43

c. The Need to Receive Recognition and Prestige and The Need to be Admired……...………. 46

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2. Assef’s Social and Cultural Backgrounds………… 50

a. Communality and Individuality…………...……. 50

b. Respectable Manner……..…..………... 51

c. Hatred towards Hazaras……...…...………. 52

d. Idol (Hitler)………..….... 54

e. Religion………..…...………. 55

f. Pakhtunwali………..….... 58

3. Assef’s Childhood………...… 59

4. Assef’s Yearning for Protecting Himself against Loneliness……….... 60

a. Affection………..…… 61

b. Submissiveness…………..…..……….... 61

c. Achieving Power, Prestige, and Possession……. 61

d. Withdrawal………..….... 62

5. Assef’s Idealized Self-Image...……….... 63

a. Neurotic Search for Glory..………..…… 63

1) The Need for Perfection…..……….... 63

2) The Neurotic Ambition………..……. 64

3) The Drive towards a Vindictive Triumph ... 64

b. Neurotic Claims………….………..…… 65

c. Neurotic Pride…………....………..…… 65

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS A. Conclusions… ………...…...……. 67

B. Suggestions………..……... 70

1. Suggestion for the Further Researchers.………...….. 70

2. Suggestion for Teaching Intensive Reading II……… 71

REFERENCES………..………... 74

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Page

Appendix 1. The Syllabus of Intensive Reading II….………..….………. 77

Appendix 2. The Lesson Plan for Teaching Intensive Reading II……... 79

Appendix 3. The Student’s Worksheet……….………. 82

Appendix 4. The Summary of The Kite Runner……….… 89

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

This chapter contains five parts, namely, Background of the Study, Problem Formulation, Objectives of the Study, Benefits of the Study, and Definition of Terms. Background of the Study will present a description of the topic and reasons for its selection. Problem Formulation will formulate the problem to be discussed or analyzed. Objectives of the Study will state the purpose of the study undertaken in relation to the problem formulated. Benefits of the Study identify which parties will benefit from the conducted study. Definition of Terms will elaborate on the key words used in order to avoid misunderstanding and misinterpretation.

A. Background of the Study

In this part, the writer elucidates the reason the novel is chosen as the object of this study, the reason Assef is analyzed in this study, and the reason Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory is used in this study.

Hapsari, in her thesis titled The Discriminations toward Hazara People as seen in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, has explained about the characteristics of Hazara, one of ethnic groups in Afghanistan. It includes how Afghanistan people commonly react to them. Then, she explains how those matters prove the existence of discrimination towards Hazara people. Having reading the novel and Hapsari’s thesis, the writer realizes that there is a character

representing the discrimination—even, Hapsari asserts that the character has done the most inhuman action as a form of discrimination to Hassan, as a Hazara: a rape.

The character is Assef, a bully who always confronts Hassan, Amir’s closest friend. Assef is not the main character, though he plays a significant role in the story. He controls the plots. He rapes Hassan. Amir, the main character in the novel, witnesses this incident, but he does not have guts to reveal himself and stop that incident. Later, that situation leads to Amir’s guilty feeling. Furthermore, this feeling serves Amir’s actions in saving Sohrab, Hassan’s only child. Therefore, it is bright that Assef has done something that controls the plots in the story.

Assef is a monstrous figure. He has done many evil actions subjected to Hazaras. The actions represent the discriminations towards Hazaras. When Assef was a child, he always mocks and insults Hassan. He also rapes Hassan and urges his two friends to rape Hassan. In his adulthood, Assef becomes a Taliban leader. He leads many massacres of Hazaras, including Hassan and his wife. Even, he uses Sohrab, Hassan’s only son, to be an entertainer in a Taliban mansion. There, a little and innocent Sohrab experiences many kinds of harassments, including sexual harassment.

Assef treats Hazaras inhumanly. He wants to free Afghanistan from Hazaras. He has an opinion that Hazaras make the country of Afghanistan dirty. He believes that Afghanistan is the land of Pasthuns. Ridiculously, Assef is not a pure Pasthun. He is a mix between Pasthun and Germany (Aryan).

Abovementioned details (Assef’s role in the story, his hatred to Hazaras, his decision to be a Taliban leader, his honor to Pasthuns though he is not a pure Pasthun)—added with Hapsari’s assertion—propel the writer’s curiosity to conduct a study on him.

Discrimination that is followed by actions of violence and killing exists in

The Kite Runner, a novel written by Khaled Hosseini, which becomes the object of this study. The writer chooses this novel because the novel is unique: the novel is written by an Afghan who has grown up in the United States and the setting of the novel is Afghanistan. Besides, the novel is interesting. The novel is about redemption as a payment for guilty feeling. The story tells about Amir who risks his life to find Sohrab. This action is a form of redemption. Amir has done something wrong to Hassan, Sohrab’s father. He betrays Hassan—that makes Amir feel guilty along his life.

The writer of this study has often experienced a guilty feeling. The writer knows how devastating it is. The writer believes that, though, human beings cannot turn back the time, there is still a possibility to fix mistakes which have been made. It is by redemption.

The same case exactly happens to Amir. He has made a mistake. He realizes his mistake, and then he regrets his mistake. Nevertheless, the mistake has been made, the time has been passed by, and there is noting can be done to haul back the time. Consequently, he feels guilty. Then, it appears a chance to fix everything. It is as Rahim Khan, a character in the story, tells Amir “There is a way to be good again” (Hosseini, 2).

Amir does not ravage the chance. It is indeed he wants to repay his past mistake, so he bravely takes the chance, though taking the chance means putting his life in peril. Aforementioned explanations are subjective subjects in the novel which make the novel is interesting to study.

Before going further, the writer is going to exemplify the story of the novel. This novel is about the friendship of two Afghan boys: Amir and Hassan. However, as it is written on the back of the book’s cover, this is 1970s Afghanistan, and Hassan is a low-caste servant who is often mocked at in the street. Meanwhile, Amir is a high-caste boy who is also Hassan’s master. Hassan is a Hazara, a minor ethnic group in Afghanistan which suffers from discrimination. Amir is a Pasthun, the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Although, Hassan has natural courage, loyalty, and honesty which makes Amir jealous of him, the difference of social status takes control.

Although Amir’s father, Baba, loves Amir and Hassan equally, the social conform has its own destiny. Discrimination plays a significant role in Hassan’s life. It influences Hassan’s life. Later, it is told that Sohrab, Hassan’s only child, also suffers from injustice resulting from discrimination. Sohrab has to experience hostile life because of the discrimination.

In the writer’s opinion, discrimination is the root of the problems in the story—the one that determines the plots. If the discrimination did not exist, Baba would not feel worry of admitting Hassan as his son. Then, the story would be significantly different.

This study uses two approaches: the psychological approach and the sociocultural-historical approach. With regard to the psychological approach, Karen Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory is chosen. Karen Horney is one of psychoanalysts who concerns with building the assumption that social and cultural conditions are largely responsible for shaping someone’s personality. Karen Horney’s psychoanalysis is exerted because the writer infers that this kind of psychoanalysis is an appropriate tool to analyze the problem. Besides, there have not been many students of the English Language Study Program at Sanata Dharma University using this kind of theory.

To finish this part, the writer explicates a very brief and short biography of Karen Horney. Karen Danielsen Horney was born in Eilbek, a small town near Hamburg, Germany, on September 15, 1885. As a psychoanalyst, she does not track the mainstream of Freudian psychoanalysis. She believes that culture, not anatomy, is responsible for psychic differences. Feist and Feist state that Horney published her most important work, Neurosis and Human Growth, in 1950. This book sets forth theories that are no longer merely a reaction to Freud but rather are an expression of her own creative and independent thinking (163).

From the previous explanations, it makes sense to employ Horney’s theory in this study. The theory is employed in order to explain the figure of Assef in Hosseini’s The Kite Runner.

B. Problem Formulation

There is a problem formulated in this study, namely:

How is Assef seen through Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory?

C. Objectives of the Study

This study is intended to answer the problem formulated previously. Therefore, the study is to search for explanations of Assef’s behaviors and ways of thinking based on Karen Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory. The study also tries to give explanations on what Assef’s social and cultural backgrounds relating to his personalities.

D. Benefits of the Study

This study is expected to give benefits for many parties. This study gives benefits for the students of Sanata Dharma University who wish to conduct a study on literature, especially those of Hosseini’s works—this study can be used as a reference. This study can be used as a reference for other researchers conducting a research on the field of social sciences or Psychology, including those who want to conduct a research on the social and historical condition of Afghanistan.

This study is useful for the lecturers or teachers who want to use the novel or some parts of the novel, or even, the values contained within the story to teach their students. This study gives worthwhile information to the readers, especially the students of the English Language Education Study Program at Sanata Dharma

University, who are trained to be professional teachers. As professional teachers, they should know that cultural backgrounds of somebody will significantly influence his/her personality development. Briefly, this study provides understanding for anyone who reads Hosseini’s novels.

E. Definition of Terms

In order to avoid misunderstanding, there are several specific terms in this study that need to be clarified.

1. Afghanistan

In Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture, it is described that Afghanistan is a country in Asia, south west of Turkmenistan and Tajikistan and north-west of Pakistan; the capital is Kabul; the population in 1989 was 15,814,000. Someone who is from Afghanistan or whose parents from Afghanistan is called an Afghan (18).

In this study, Afghanistan refers to the country where the characters in the novel, such as Assef, Hassan, Ali, Amir, Baba, and Rahim Khan used to live together. It is a country which was a beautiful country where many festivals, including kite-fighting festivals, held, but, then, becomes a wretched country where stoning punishment and other cruel rules applied. Afghanistan is the country that Baba and Amir has left. Afghanistan is the country where Sohrab lives. Meanwhile, Afghans are the people live in Afghanistan. Afghans also refers to people who come from Afghanistan. Therefore, Assef, Amir, Soraya, Baba, Rahim Khan, Farid, Assef, Hassan, Sohrab, Ali, and Farzana are Afghans.

2. Culture

Pikunas states that the term ‘culture’ refers to “the total patterns of people’s way of life seen in terms of artifacts and achievements distinguishing large but similar societies” (72). King says, “Culture, whether in its material or symbolic form, is an attribute which peoples are said to have” (1). Broom and Selznick sum up the idea of culture as mainly to ideals of enlightenment and refinement in the realms of learning, morality, and art (55). Further, they explain that culture includes ways of behaving derived from the whole range of human activity (56).

In this study, culture means customs or habits. Afghanistan culture refers to all the customs, including arts and moral values which exist in Afghanistan, as well as believed and done by the people (Afghans).

3. Personality

Hofstede and Hofstede state, “The personality of an individual, on the other hand, is her or his unique personal set of mental programs that needn’t be shared with any other human being (5)”.

In this study, personality means someone’s psychic difference, someone’s characteristic, or trait. It is about how someone is different from others in terms of ways of thinking and particular factors which lead to certain behaviors and actions.

9 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter consists of four parts, namely, Review of Related Theories, Review of Related Studies, Review on the Historical-Biographical Background, and Theoretical Framework. Review of Related Theories will review the approaches and theories applied in conducting the study. Review of Related Studies will review other previously done studies on similar topics or related ones. Review on the Historical-Biographical Background will review the social and historical of the place settled in the novel that is Afghanistan. Theoretical Framework will explain the contribution of the theories and reviews in solving the problem: what are needed and how they are applied in the study. In this part, those theories and reviews will be synthesized so as to make them operationally applicable to the problem.

A. Review of Related Theories

1. Approaches in the Study of Literature

Rohrberger and Woods mention five approaches in the study of literature. The approaches are the Formalist Approach, the Biographical Approach, the Sociocultural-Historical Approach, the Mythopoeic Approach, and the Psychological Approach.

The Formalist Approach has a concern demonstrating of the harmonious involvement of all the parts to the whole story. This approach points out how

meaning is derived from structure and how matters of technique determine source. It devotes on the entirety integrity of the literary piece (6).

This Biographical Approach emphasizes the necessity for an appreciation of the ideas and personality of the author to understanding of the literary object. The proponents of this approach believe that a work of art is a reflection of a personality (8). As a result, for those who use this approach, it is vital to learn about the life and development of the author in the attempt to understand the work. Documentation related to the author’s life provides useful data that can help the readers understand the work by putting the readers in a position that can make them understand and appreciate the literary study better.

Literature is not made in emptiness. It has a relationship with the environment and civilization where it has been produced. Civilization is the attitudes and actions of a specific group of people and literature takes these attitudes and actions as its subject matter. The Sociocultural-Historical Approach is based on the previous ideas. Using this approach, investigating the social milieu in which the work was created is necessary in studying a work of literature (9-11). The Mythopoeic Approach aims to discuss certain universally regular patterns of human thought. These patterns are those that found in some ancient myths and folk rites. They are very basic, yet they cover meanings for all people (11-13). The last is The Psychological Approach. This approach entails a kind of attempt to discuss the literature works using theories on a different body of knowledge which is Psychology (13-15). By using this approach, literature works are analyzed using some theories taken from the discipline of Psychology.

In this study, the writer employs the Psychological Approach and Sociocultural-Historical Approach. Psychological Approach requires the use any kind psychological theory to analyze the novel; therefore, in this study, Karen Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory is chosen as a theory for analyzing the novel. Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory states that there is a relationship between people’s personalities and their social and cultural backgrounds. Hence, in order to grasp the understanding of social and cultural backgrounds of the character analyzed, Sociocultural-Historical Approach is used.

2. Theories on Culture

Papalia, Olds, and Feldman say “culture refers to a society’s or group’s total way of life, including customs, traditions, beliefs, values, language, and physical products, from tools to artworks-all of the learned behavior passed on from parents to children (16)”. Further, they explain that culture is constantly changing. It is often through contact with others cultures (16).

Lonner and Malpass state, “Culture is a term invented to characterize the many complex ways in which people of the world live, and which they tend to pass along to their offspring (7)”. Hofstede and Hofstede state that culture is always a collective phenomenon, because it is at least partly shared with people who live or lived within the same environment which is where it was learned (5). a. Identity

Talking about culture, there will be what so called as identity. Rosenthal, as cited by Wong, says that identity is fluid and shaped through experience; identity formation arises in interaction and is a function not only of the individual

and his or her individual relation to the ethnic or racial group but of that group’s place in the wider social setting (96). Thus, the conversations people have, the movies they watch, and the books they read all serve to mediate their identity formation.

b. Race and Ethnicity

Wong says that the concepts of both race and ethnicity include notions of social construction and identity formation (96). The term “race” used to have relationship with a biologically point of view. However, now, people begin to understand that race is the result of a certain social process in which people are differentiated based on what are believed as the genetic inherent.

It is like what Wong explains “though for many centuries people believed that race was biologically based, now, people know that race is really the result of the social process of grouping people who are believed to be different based on the genetic inherent” (96). In addition, Goldberg, as cited by Wong, calls the process as ‘racializing’ (97).

Meanwhile, Wong explains that the concept of ethnicity is based on the notion of collective cultural practices that are part of the socialization of groups in specific isolated geographical communities (97). It means that the term “ethic” refers to a certain group including its cultural practices or its cultural heritage. 3. Karen Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory

Atkinson, Atkinson, and Hilgard say that psychoanalysis is a method for treating mental disorders and a theory of human motivation (319). Feist and Feist claim psychoanalytic theory or psychoanalysis as the most famous of all

personality theories (16). Psychoanalysis has become associated with Sigmund Freud. As Atkinson, Atkinson, and Hilgard also explain that Psychoanalytic theory began with the publication of Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams in 1900 and has evolved gradually (319).

As it is stated by Feist and Feist, Freud says that unconscious part plays greater rule than conscious part in determining someone’s behavior since his famous three provinces of mind: id, ego, and superego (24-25). Further, Feist and Feist explain that Freud believes on the influence of childhood times—Freud state that people’s childhood experiences give significant effects to their adulthood times (31-34).

In conclusion, as cited by Feist and Feist, many people regard that Freud’s psychoanalytic theory determines people’s personalities based on the libido or sexual drives (31). Freud’s theory also seems male oriented and disparages women. Therefore, there are some psychologists examining this theory and then they make some revisions on the theory, or even reject the theory. One of the psychologists is Karen Horney. Horney, as cited by Feist and Feist, agrees with Freud that early childhood traumas are important, but she is different from him in her insistence that social rather than biological forces are paramount in personality development (161).

The psychoanalytic social theory of Karen Horney, as cited by Feist and Feist, is built on the assumption that social and cultural conditions, especially childhood experiences, are largely responsible for shaping personality (161).

a. Basic Attitudes

Horney identifies what she calls as the three basic attitudes: (1) Moving toward People, (2) Moving against People, (3) Moving away from People. The three basic attitudes are also known as Neurotic Trends (168). Horney states that the three basic attitudes constitute not only for neurotic people but also for normal people. The difference is that whereas normal people choose all these three attitudes, neurotics are limited to one of the attitudes. Each of the basic attitudes has a certain needs or Neurotic Needs.

1) Moving toward People

It does not mean moving toward people in the spirit of genuine love. Rather, it refers to a neurotic need to protect oneself against feeling of helplessness—it is about moving toward people in order to get the feeling of security. In order to achieve this want, normal people or neurotic people fulfill the two needs: that is they desperately strive for affection and approval of others, or they seek a powerful partner who will take responsibility of their lives (170).

Besides, for the neurotics, this attitude is the result of their continuous feeling of insecurity—they always feel insecure. Therefore, they have this attitude: they move toward people. It means that the neurotics have a kind of narrow limit of life. They see their life narrow. They have no courage to develop their lives.

2) Moving against People

This attitude is the result of the way of thinking that people are hostile. Horney, as cited by Feist and Feist, says that aggressive people employ this

attitude (170). People with this attitude are motivated by a strong need to exploit others and to use them for their own benefit. They seldom admit their mistakes and are compulsively driven to appear perfect, powerful, and superior.

The needs of this attitude include the need to be powerful, to exploit others, to receive recognition and prestige, to be admired, and to get personal achievement. The neurotics will be obsessed with these needs. They will aggressively fulfill these needs. They may get high personal achievement and admiration; though, Horney, as cited by Feist and Feist, also states the neurotics who possess this attitude will fail to consider the meaning of love, affection, and the capacity of true friendship (170).

3) Moving away from People

In order to be free from isolation, some people behave in a detached manner and adopt an attitude of moving away from people. This attitude is an expression of needs for privacy, independence, and self-sufficiency. Each of these needs can lead to positive behaviors, with some people satisfying these needs in a healthy fashion. However, these needs become neurotic when people try to satisfy them by compulsively putting emotional distance between themselves and other people.

Many neurotics find associating with others an intolerable strain. Consequently, they are compulsively driven to move away from people to attain autonomy and separateness. They frequently build a world of their own and refuse to allow anyone to get close to them. They value freedom and self-sufficiency and often appear to be aloof and unapproachable. If married, they maintain their

detachment even from their spouse. They shun social commitments, but their greatest fear is to need other people (171).

b. Neurotic

Horney believes that people who do not have their needs for love and affection satisfied during the childhood develop basic hostility toward their parents and, as a consequence, suffer from basic anxiety.

Horney, as cited by Feist and Feist, theorizes that people combat basic anxiety by adopting one of three fundamental styles relating to others: moving toward people, moving against people, and moving away from people (161). Further, Feist and Feist explain “Normal individual may use any of these modes of relating to other people, but neurotics are compelled to rigidly rely on only one. (161)”.

In conclusion, Feist and Feist state that Horney’s view of humanity is an optimistic one and is centered on cultural forces that are amenable to change (164).

Neurotic is a term in Psychology, especially in Psychoanalysis. Neurotic means syndrome. Freud, as cited by Davison and Neale, says that neurotic is similar to fear. Concisely, neurotic—as it is stated by Davison and Neale—is a syndrom of anxiety (36).

Speaking to the subject of neurosis, Horney, as cited by Feist and Feist, says that neuroses also relate with the society. She says that someone becomes a neurotic because he or she wants to find ‘a path through wildernesses’ (164). Meanwhile, this wilderness is created by society and not by instincts or anatomy.

c. The Impact of Culture and the Importance of Childhood Experiences Based on Horney’s theory, personality is the impact of culture. According to Horney, as cited by Feist and Feist, the conditions in the society related to cultural influences are what shape someone’s personalities (165).

Further, Horney, as cited by Feist and Feist, also believes that childhood is the age from which majority of problems arise. She says that childhood experiences are primarily responsible for personality development (165). Therefore, children should experience a good environment. This idea is expressed in Horney’s statement that is referred by Feist and Feist: Horney suggests that children need a warm and loving environment yet one that is not overly permissive. Children need to experience both genuine love and healthy discipline (165-166).

Concisely, The Psychoanalytic Social Theory of Karen Horney says that culture, especially early childhood experiences, plays a leading role in shaping human personality, either neurotic or healthy.

d. Horney’s Theory on Ways People Protect Themselves against Loneliness Feist and Feist explain that Horney identified four general ways that people protect themselves against the feeling of being alone in a potentially hostile world. Those are affection, submissiveness, effort to achieve power, power, and possession, and withdrawal (166-167).

The first is affection. It means that the people try to fulfill their affection by satisfying themselves with compliment, material goods, or sexual favors. The

second is submissiveness. It means that people merge themselves to other people or institutions such as organizations or religions.

The third is by achieving power, prestige, and possession. Power is to fight against real or imaginary hostility of others. Besides, power also causes a tendency to dominate others. Prestige is for protecting towards humiliation performed by others. However, prestige also causes a tendency to humiliate others. Possession is for protecting of poverty, though it leads to a tendency to deprive others.

The fourth is withdrawal. It is because by doing withdrawal, the people believe that they cannot be hurt by other people.

Further, Feist and Feist explain that Horney believes that all people use them to some degrees; though, it becomes a problem when people feel forced to rely on them and unable to do others interpersonal activities (167). For this condition, the people are as neurotics.

e. The Idealized Self-Image

People have their own ideal self-image. Unfortunately, what is in mind is not always same with the reality. The differences cause frictions and contradictions. Neurotics believe the reality of the images in their minds.

Feist and Feist state that Horney recognizes three aspects of the idealized image. Those are The Neurotic search for Glory, Neurotic Claims, and Neurotic Pride (173).

1) The Neurotic Search for Glory

As neurotics come to believe in the reality of their idealized self, they begin to integrate it into all aspects of their lives, their goals, their self-concept, and their relations with others. Horney, as cited by Feist and Feist, refers to this comprehensive drive toward actualizing the ideal self as the neurotic search for glory (173).

In addition to self-idealization, Horney, as cited by Feist and Feist, explains that the neurotic search for glory includes three other elements: the need for perfection, the neurotic ambition, and the drive toward a vindictive triumph (173).

Feist and Feist state that the need for perfection refers to the drive to mold the whole personality into the idealized self (174). It means that the neurotics want to be their idealized self. They try to alter his personality to the idealized self.

A second key element in the neurotic search for glory is neurotic ambition. Feist and Feist define it as the compulsive drive toward superiority (174). It means the neurotics have exaggerated need to do what they want. Horney, as cited by Feist and Feist, states “this drive, therefore, may take several different forms during a person’s lifetime (174)”. It means that the compulsive drive may be reflected in various actions during the person’s life. Feist and Feist give some examples:

…while in school, a girl may direct her neurotic ambition toward being the best student in school. Later, she may be driven to excel in business or to raise the very best show dogs. Neurotic ambition may also

take a less materialistic form, such as being the most saintly or most charitable person in the community. (174)

Thus, a neurotic ambition is not always a drive to do bad action. It can be a good action, such as becoming the most charitable person in the community.

The third aspect of the neurotic search for glory is the drive toward a vindictive triumph. Feist and Feist call it as the most destructive element of all (174). They also state that the need for a vindictive triumph may be disguised as a drive for achievement or success. However, Horney, as cited by Feist and Feist, says “its chief aim is to put others to shame or defeat them through one’s very success; or to attain the power…to inflict suffering on them—mostly of a humiliating kind (174)”.

Further, Feist and Feist state “the drive for a vindictive triumph grows out of the childhood desire to take revenge for real or imagined humiliations (174).” It means that the vindictive triumph is a form to take revenge for the pain experienced in childhood. Feist and Feist also state that “No matter how successful neurotics are in vindictively triumphing over others, they never lose their drive for a vindictive triumph—instead, they increase it with each victory (174)”. Therefore, it is clear that the triumph the neurotics achieve cannot satisfy the drive.

2) Neurotic Claims

A second aspect of idealized image is neurotic claims. Neurotics believe that something is wrong with outside world. They proclaim that they are special. Therefore, they deserve to be treated in accordance with their idealized view of themselves.

Feist and Feist explain that neurotics cannot see that their claims of special privilege are unreasonable (174). When normal wishes are not fulfilled, people become understandably frustrated, but when neurotic claims are not met, neurotics become indignant, bewildered, and unable to comprehend why others have not granted their claims.

Feist and Feist also give an illustration example of the difference of normal desires and neurotic claims. It is about a situation in which many people are waiting in line for tickets of a popular movie.

Most people near the end of the line might wish to be up front, and some of them may even try some ploy to get a better position. Nevertheless, these people know that they don’t really deserve to cut ahead of others. Neurotic people, on the other hand, truly believe that they are entitled to be near the front of line, and they feel no guilt or remorse in moving ahead of others. (174-175)

3) Neurotic Pride

The third aspect of an idealized image is neurotic pride. Feist and Feist define it as “a false pride based not on a realistic view of the true self but on a spurious image of the idealized self (175).” Neurotics imagine themselves to be glorious, wonderful, and perfect, so when others fail to treat them with special consideration, their neurotic pride is hurt.

Horney, as cited by Feist and Feist, says about the differences between genuine self-esteem and neurotic pride. She says “Genuine self-esteem is based on realistic attributes and accomplishments and is generally expressed with quiet dignity. Neurotic pride, on the other hand, is based on an idealized image of self and is usually loudly proclaimed in order to support a glorified view of one’s self (175).”

Further, Feist and Feist add that in order to achieve and protect their pride, neurotics also try to become associated with socially prominent and prestigious institutions and acquisitions (175).

B. Review of Related Studies

There are several undergraduate theses of Sanata Dharma University, which scrutinize The Kite Runner. However, there is only one thesis that has a relationship with the issue discussed in this study: Assef. The thesis is written by Hapsari. The title of the thesis is The Discriminations toward Hazara People as seen in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. As it has been sketched previously, Hapsari, in the thesis, has give details about the characteristics of Hazaras. It includes how Afghanistan people commonly react to Hazaras. She also explains how those matters prove the existence of discrimination towards Hazaras. In her thesis, Hapsari glosses that there is a character representing the discrimination— even, Hapsari asserts that the character has done the most inhuman action as a form of discrimination to Hassan: a rape. The character is Assef.

C. Review on Sociocultural-Historical Condition of Afghanistan 1. The History of Afghanistan

As a country in the story, it is a must to have Afghanistan reviewed. The review on Afghanistan is taken from Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East, Volume 1 (43-51). Afghanistan is a country sharing borders with Iran, Pakistan, the Xinjiang province of China, and the newly independent successor Central

Asian states of Turkmestan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. The capital city of Afghanistan is Kabul. It is also the largest city in Afghanistan.

Qandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Jalalabad, and Kunduz are the other cities in Afghanistan. The Hindu Kush Mountains (rising to 24,000 feet) stretch diagonally from the northeast, through the center, to the Herat region in the west, dominating the country’s topography, ecology, and economy.

Industries in Afghanistan are rugs, carpets, and textiles, chemical fertilizers, sugar, plastics, leather goods, soap, cement, natural gas, oil, coal, and hydroelectric power. The people live in Afghanistan are called Afghans. Islam is the major religion—almost 99 Afghans are Muslims. Among them, 80 percent are Sunny and 20 percent are Shi’a. There are also small numbers of Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, and Christians.

Afghanistan has a gloomy history. Between 1800 and 1880, Afghanistan became a battleground during the rivalry between Britain and Russia for control of central Asia. Afghanistan’s government was a monarchy, until 1978. In July 1973, Daud, the former prime minister who was also the king’s cousin and brother-in-law overthrew the monarchy with assistance from the pro-Soviet group. Then, the country became a republic called Republic of Afghanistan.

In April 1978, a communist ousted and killed Daud. Nur Muhammad Taraki, the head of People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), was settled as president of the revolutionary council and prime minister. He renamed the country became the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA), abolished

the constitution, and banned all opposition movements. In spring 1979, a rebellion began.

Then, in September 1979, Hafizullah Amin killed President Taraki and replaced his position. Hafizullah Amin became the president of Afghanistan. During the Christmas 1979, Soviet invaded Afghanistan with his eighty thousand troops. They killed Hazifullah Amin and installed Babrak Karmal as the new president of Afghanistan.

Babrak Karmal was a leader of the Parcham, a Communist Party. Soviet intervention became more intensive and intensive causing riots and strikes in the major cities. It resulted in anticommunist rebellions into a jihad for the cause of Islam and national liberation. Karmal had tried to consolidate his power, reduce factional strife, and promote national unity. Unfortunately, his attempts used to face obstacles. Afghanistan was in chaos. Many Afghans decided to take part in the war. They called as moejahedin which meant Islamic holy warriors.

Moscow asserted that its army had been officially invited into Afghanistan. Though, there was no proof of it and justification killing the supposed inviter either. Through advisers, the USSR brought Karmal’s government to Moscow. Moscow decided that he was a failure, and then replaced him with another ‘puppet’, Mohammed Najibullah in May 1986.

The failure of a Soviet military victory and the ever increasing outside military and financial support from the moejahedin (from 1984 to 1988) led to the signing of the Geneva accords on April 14, 1988, under United Nations backings.

The accords called for withdrawal of 120.000 Soviet troops, which was completed on February 15, 1989.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) stated that 14.453 of its people had been killed in Afghanistan and 11.600 had been left invalids. In the other side, among the regime, the number of Afghans killed, moejahedin and noncombatants, was estimated between 1 and 1.5 million, which tens of thousand of others crippled.

However, ‘the darkness has not been disappeared thoroughly’, after the Soviet War, Afghanistan had experienced civil war. There was also a radical Islamic group called “Taliban” which controlled the society. Afghanistan became gloomier and Afghans became sufferer because of it.

2. The Pasthuns and The Hazaras

Based on the Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Volume III, South Asia

(230) and Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Volume IX, Africa and The Middle East (114), Pasthun and Hazara are ethnic groups. Pasthuns and Hazaras have significant role in the novel. Therefore, discussions on these two ethnic groups are needed. The discussion on Pasthun is reviewed from Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Volume III, South Asia (230-233). The discussion on Hazara is reviewed from Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Volume IX, Africa and The Middle East

(114-115).

a. Pasthun

Pasthun, which is also called as Pathan, or Pukhun, is one of the cultural ethnics in Afghanistan. It is the largest cultural ethnic group in Afghanistan. It constituted from 50 to 60 percent of the population of prewar Afghanistan. They have dominated the society and politics of the country for the past 200 years. The Pasthuns inhabit southern and eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Besides, they also inhabit an area roughly bounded by Kabul in the northeast and Heart in the northwest, it extends as far east as the Indus River and in the south an approximate boundary can be drawn from Sibi through Quetta to Qadahar.

Their language is Pushto (Pashto), except for a small minority. They are Sunni Muslims. Observing the economic point of view, in large towns and urban areas, The Pasthuns have earned reputations as successful traders and businessmen.

Speaking on the subject of marriage, though polygamy is permitted under Muslim law, monogamy is prevalent. Marriages are overwhelmingly endogamous within the clan and to a large degree within the subsection. Moreover, a divorce is very rare among Pasthuns—despite the ease of obtaining a divorce under Muslim law. It is because for Pasthuns, the union is commonly contracted on the basis of bride-price. The bride-price and also the man’s honour are lost if the woman remarries.

A.S. Ahmed, as cited in Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Volume III, South Asia, has identified two principles of social organization among the Pasthuns: nang (honour) and qalang (taxes or rent). Honour is also used in social

control. Traditionally, social control was maintained by a code of behavior and honour called Pakhtunwali. It combines the principles of revenge, hospitality to guests, defense of those who have sought protection in one’s care, the chastity of married women, and restraint toward those considered weak or helpless (Hindus, women, and boys). Pakhtunwali in some cases contradicts and generally takes precedence over Islamic law. The penalty for illegal sexual behavior is harsh, e.g. is death.

Religious practitioners or leaders are called mullahs. The mullah is a man who has attained a religious training.

b. Hazara

Hazara is one of the ethnic groups in Afghanistan. Most of them live in central Afghanistan in an area known as Hazarajat. Others live in areas north or Hindu Kush Mountain. The Hazarajat and other hazara territories are mountainous. The climate is severe in winter, with heavy snowfall; summers are mild but short, particularly at higher elevations. The Hazarajat, considering its harsh terrain, is densely populated.

Hazara people are roughly estimated to number between 1 and 1.5 million in Afghanistan and between 17.000 and 70.000 in Pakistan. They are thought to have several affinities with the Mongols, including physical appearance, language, and kinship system. Hazaragi is the traditional language of the Hazara people. Hazaragi is spoken in the home and, in the more isolated areas.

The term hazara is a Mongol-Persian blend. It means “thousand” in Farsi, and is believed to be the Persian equivalent of the Mongol word for thousand,

minggan. This word was used by the Mongols in order to call a fighting unit because the unit consisted of a kinship group that provided a thousand horsemen. Thus, the word actually means “tribe”. After the Hindu Kush Mongols acquired Farsi, they replaced the word by the Farsi equivalent word.

By the fifteenth century, “hazara” meant “mountain tribe”, and later, it came to refer to the group now known as “Hazara”. Hazara people were traditionally nomads who subsisted by herding sheep and goats. They also raised horses for fighting feuds. Hazara kinship is organized in lineages—descent in traced through the male line. Hazaras seldom marry outsiders, and when they do, it is usually women who are given to men other groups. Hazaras are one of Afghanistan’s most impoverished ethic groups and one of the most resistant to central government control.

3. Sunni and Shi’a Islam

The difference in religion can be problematic. It is because religion is very complex. Religions may have a significant and powerful influence to someone, people, and society. It is in line with what Nakayama and Martin have stated:

Religion can be a divisive and explosive topic, as people often hold very strong feelings about their own religion and those of other people. Religious differences have tremendous implications for intercultural communication. Religion is a powerful force in marking cultural differences, which can lead to both intercultural conflict and intercultural cooperation. Even when not explicitly noted, religion may influence our attitudes about right and wrong and may influence our own behavior. (21)

Further, Nakayama and Martin explains why a religion is able to bring a great influence. They state that it is because a religion has both personal precinct and social precinct.

One of the reasons that religion is such a powerful force is that it is often an extension of an individual’s deeply held values or worldview. However, it is also important to remember that while religious beliefs may appear to be simply a personal matter, these beliefs quickly move from the realm of the personal to the social. Religious differences, for example, can be an important influence in nationalist movements, as they demarcate cultural differences and differences in beliefs, attitudes, and values. (21)

Sunni and Shi’a Islam, each of them is a religion of Pasthun people and Hazara people. The difference also becomes the reason of discrimination. Therefore, it is needed to have discussions on Sunni Islam and Shi’a Islam. The discussions are reviewed from The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World.

a. Sunni Islam

Practiced by the majority of Muslims, Sunni Islam refers primarily to the customary practice of the prophet Muhammad. The term Sunni derives from

sunnah, which has the general meaning of “customary practice”. This practice, this sunnah, is preserved in the hadith, the tradition, which consists of the accounts of what the Prophet said or did sometimes of his tacit approval of an action.

The tradition, in addition to the Qur’an is one of the sources of Sunni religious law. Another source is the consensus of religious scholars, al-ijma. This concept of consensus reflects the emphasis in Sunni Islam on community and its collective wisdom, guided by the Qur’an and the sunnah. Thus, Sunni Muslims

have referred to themselves as ahl al-sunna wa al-jama’ah (“people of the sunnah

and the community”). b. Shi’i Islam

The term shi’ah literally means followers, party, group, associate, partisan, or supporters. Expressing these meanings, shi’ah occurs a number of times in the Qur’an, for example, surahs 19.69, 28.15, and 37.83. Technically, the term refers to those Muslims who derive their religious code and spiritual inspiration, after the Prophet, from Muhammad’s descendants, the ahl al-bayt.

The focal point of Shiism is the source of guidance after the Prophet; although, the Sunnis accept it from the sahabah (companions) of the Prophet, the Shi’is people restrict it to the members of the ahl al-bayt. Therefore, one that distinguishes Shi’i from Sunni Islam is based on two important factors: one sociocultural and the other drawn from the Qur’anic concept of the exalted and virtuous nature of the prophetic families.

D. Theoretical Framework

There are some theories applied in order to answer the problem formulated. The writer applies Karen Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory to describe Assef. In the light of critical approaches of this study, the writer decides to employ the Sociocultural-Historical Approach and Psychological Approach proposed by Rohrberger and Woods.

The reason of using two approaches is because the writer employs the Psychoanalytic Social Theory of Karen Horney. Since the theory relates the

relationship between people’s personalities with their social and cultural backgrounds, so the understanding related to social, cultural, and historical information is needed. The writer applies the theory to explain the relationship between Assef’s socio-cultural backgrounds and his personalities. Besides, the theory is also used to determine what kind of person Assef is.

The information about social, cultural, and historical knowledge is derived from encyclopedias, namely: Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East, Volume 1, Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Volume III,South Asia, Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Volume IX, Africa, and the Middle East, and The Oxford Encyclopedia of The Modern Islamic World.

32 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

This chapter consists of three sections, namely: Object of the Study, Approaches of the Study, and Method of the Study. Object of the Study will describe the work to be studied along its physical description. It will also mention briefly what the work is generally about. Approaches of the Study will present the approaches employed in the analysis, their descriptions, the reasons for the selection, and the procedure taken in the application. Method of the Study will describe the steps taken in analyzing the work, from reading up to reporting the findings. It will include whether the study is a library research or field research, and the primary and secondary sources used in this study.

A. Object of the Study

This thesis studied a novel entitled The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini. The novel, which has 340 pages, is divided into 25 chapters. It was published by Bloomsbury in 2003 and received international bestseller.

An article in Newsweek (January 11, 2010) written by Kolesnikov-Jessop told that The Kite Runner novel had been sold more than 10 million copies until that article was written (46). In the same article, Jo Lusby, a general manager of Penguin China, also commented that The Kite Runner novel had been sold in more than 24 languages (47). Therefore, it is clear that the novel has been widely spread and read by many people.

The novel is about the story of two Afghan boys: Hassan and Amir. The setting is in Kabul, Afghanistan, 1970s. Amir and Hassan are friends. However, Amir and Hassan are different. Amir is a Pasthun and Hassan is a Hazara. These differences lead to many poignant plots.

There is one character functioned like a trigger and an amplifier of the conflicts in the story. Besides, the character also makes the effects of the conflicts greater. The character is Assef. He is a bully who always tries to hurt Hassan. He is the one who has an idea to rape Hassan. After he rapes Hassan, Assef also asks their two friends, Wali and Kamal, to rape Hassan. However, they reject it, so Assef just asks them to hold Hassan down. Amir sees that incident, yet he does not have the courage to do any action. The incident always haunts Amir’s mind and influenced his behavior towards Hassan. Moreover, the friendship between Amir and Hassan has never been the same since that incident.

The novel has a historical content of Afghanistan. In the novel, it is explained the condition of Afghanistan; from the time before Soviet War until the Taliban Era. Many places in Afghanistan are described vividly and lucidly. There is no need to question on the validity of the data because the author, Khaled Hosseini, is a real Afghan who has ever grown in Afghanistan.

There are some words in Pakhtu, Persian, and Hazaragi, in the novel which makes the novel unique and possessing an original taste. In an addition, having reading the novel, the writer realizes there are several words of Afghanistan languages which are similar to many words of the Indonesian language.

The novel is interesting. There are many beautiful matters dwelling in the novel. There are many points to learn in the novel, such as friendship, love, struggle, discrimination, and prejudice. Besides, by reading the novel, people will get knowledge on Afghanistan history. By reading the novel, people are also invited to watch a journey of a country; from a calm and cozy country with its rich cultural heritage to a country of agony which is like vouching no hope to its people. Shortly, the novel is also scholarly worthwhile.

All the aspects stated previously had encouraged the writer to conduct a study on the novel. The novel has fulfilled Ferster’s two considerations in choosing a literary work to be studied: the work has to be rich enough to be scholarly analyzed and the work has to be interesting (208-209).

B. Approaches of the Study

Prentice and Miller state that there is a relationship between people and their environment (3). Human beings are shaped by their environment. Grasping the idea, this study employs Psychological Approach and Sociocultural-Historical Approach. The Psychological Approach would deal with the human beings’ aspects. Meanwhile, the Sociocultural-Historical Approach would deal with the matters influenced the aspects of human beings.

As the paramount aim of this study is to find out the effect of the social, cultural, and historical backgrounds in shaping someone’s personality, in this case is Assef, as it is seen in the novel; therefore, the two approaches were seen as the most appropriate approaches.

Using the two approaches, the writer was required to find some references about some theories in the discipline of Psychology telling about the personality and aspects influenced it. Besides, the writer also gathered information related to social, cultural, and historical points within the scope of the study.

C. Method of the Study

This study was library study. This study was done using references from various sources on the fields of Psychology and Social Science. There were two kinds of sources used in this study: the primary source and the secondary sources. The primary source was a novel titled The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini. The secondary sources were some books, articles, and journals related to the topic researched and the approaches employed in this study.

The writer borrowed the books and read the journals, and the articles from Sanata Dharma University’s library. In order to get the understanding of the novel and the author, the writer read a biography of the author, Khaled Hosseini, taken from the internet and the postscript of Khaled Hosseini’s second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns.

In order to obtain deeper understanding of the topic and scope researched in this study, the writer browsed some articles from internet. Besides, the writer also read and copied several parts of books from UIN Sunan Kalijaga’s library.

The writer had made several steps in order to conduct this study. First, the writer consulted his lecturer and his friends about the novel to discuss and analyze in this study. Then, the writer decided the novel that would be discussed and

analyzed in this study. Second, the writer read the novel carefully and thoroughly until he found the understanding of the content of the novel. This step also required the writer to read some books, articles, and journals related to the novel and the issues lied within.

Third, the writer formulated the research question to be answered in this study. This step required the writer to contemplate and muse on the novel—what the novel was really about. This step craved the writer to have many conversations with others about the novel and the topics existed in the novel. In this step, the writer made an outline about what to write. Besides, the writer also made a note on the references which might be used in this study. Fourth, the writer stockpiled information from books, articles, and journals. The writer also asked for suggestions from his lecturers and friends. This step also obliged the writer to select the most appropriate references for this study.

Fifth, the writer analyzed the sources in order to answer the formulated research question. Sixth, the writer wrote the report. It was about presenting the result of this study in a written form. The writer also drew a conclusion of this study. Seventh, the writer related this study to the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teaching learning in Indonesia.

37 CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

This chapter presents the analysis to find out the answer of the problem formulation mentioned in the first chapter. This chapter will give elaborated explanation on the figure of Assef in The Kite Runner novel.

A. The Figure of Assef Viewed Using Karen Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory

1. Assef’s Basic Attitudes

Horney states three basic attitudes or neurotic trends. The three basic attitudes are Moving toward People, Moving against People, and Moving away from People. Normal people will have these three attitudes in balance. However, neurotic people will be obsessed in one.

Assef, one of character in a novel titled The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini, is obsessed in one of the attitudes: Moving against People. Assef also fulfills Horney’s theory on the neurotic needs occupying this attitude. The neurotic needs are the need to be powerful, the need to exploit others, the need to receive recognition and prestige, the need to be admired, and the need to reach personal achievement.

In the novel, it is clear that Assef is motivated by a strong need to exploit others and use them for his own benefit. He cannot understand that what he has

done is wrong. He is also compulsively driven to appear perfect, powerful, and superior. Assef’s basic motivation is for power, prestige, and personal ambition. a. The Need to be Powerful

Assef fulfills the first neurotic need that is the need to be powerful. In the novel, it is shown how Assef seems wanting to build a kind of image portraying him as a powerful figure.

Assef has stainless-steel brass knuckles which makes other kids living in the Wazir Akbar Khan section of Kabul are afraid of him. It is said in the novel, “If you were a kid living in the Wazir Akbar Khan section of Kabul, you knew about Assef and his famous stainless-steel brass knuckles, hopefully not through personal experience (Hosseini, 35).”

Assef is well known of his savagery. He has several kids who obey him. Other kids have to obey him. It is said that his words are law. The punishment for someone who breaks the law is, of course, savage torments and tortures performed by Assef. The narrator in the novel says, “His well-earned reputation for savagery preceded him on the streets …. His word was law, and if you needed a little legal education, then those brass knuckles were just the right teaching tool (Hosseini, 35-36).”

In the novel, it is described that there is a kid who is beaten savagely until the kid’s right ear cut. After that incident, Assef is known as Assef Goshkhor, or Assef ‘the Ear Eater’; a nickname given by some boys in Wazir Akbar Khan.

I saw him use those knuckles once in a kid from the Karteh-char district. I will never forget how Assef’s blue eyes glinted with a light not entirely sane and how he grinned, how he grinned, as he pummeled that poor kid unconscious. Some of the boys in Wazir Akbar Khan had nicknamed him

Assef Goshkhor, or Assef “the Ear Eater.” Of course, none of them dared utter it to his face unless they wished to suffer the same fate as the poor kid who had unwittingly inspired that nickname when he had fought Assef over a kite and ended up fishing his right ear from a muddy gutter (Hosseini, 35-36).

Assef has done many cruel and inhuman actions. When he was a boy, he has raped Hassan. In his adulthood, when he becomes moejahid, he has ever been jailed. When he is imprisoned, he is always tortured by a commandant who is a

shorawi. Moejahid is a term referred to the common people who fight against Russian soldiers. Meanwhile, shorawi is a term for referred to Afghans who stand on Russian’s side.

Later, it is told that Assef meets the commandant—who used to torture him when he was jailed—in the battleground. At that time, the commandant is wounded severely. His chest is blooded because of a piece of shrapnel. Having that wound, Assef still shoots him—it is not something strange if it is looked from the context that it is in battleground and it is a war—though, it is odd because Assef shoots the commandant at his genital organ. It gives a kind view that Assef is a cruel person, because he does not just intend to kill his enemy but he wants to torture him. Assef wants to give him a miserable pain. Assef wants to show his power. He shows his superiority upon his commandant.

“You know, I ran into that commandant on the battlefield a few years later-funny how God works. I found him in a trench just outside Meymanah, bleeding from a piece of shrapnel in his chest. He was still wearing those same boots. I asked him if he remembered me. He said no. I told him the same thing I just told you, that I never forget a face. Then I shot him in the balls. I’ve been on a mission since (Hosseini, 261).”

Questioned by Assef’s last sentence, Amir asks about the mission stated in Assef’s word.

“What mission is that?” I heard myself say. Stoning adulterers? Raping children? Flogging women for wearing high heels? Massacring Hazaras? All in the name of Islam?” The words spilled suddenly and unexpectedly, came out before I could yank the leash (Hosseini, 261).

Amir says those kinds of words is not without any reason. He has seen Assef’s deeds. Assef has done all the actions Amir has mentioned.

In his adulthood, Assef becomes the leader of Taliban. It is also a way to manifest and extend his power. Assef has led the stoning execution. He has also taken many children from the orphanage to the Taliban mansion. The children are harassed sexually. Sohrab is the one of the children.

Taliban have many strict rules, including rules on prohibiting wearing accessories except burqa for women. For anyone who breaks the rule will receive severe physical punishment. Taliban killed many Hazaras. It is known that Assef is Taliban leader; therefore, those actions are done under his command. Assef has also confessed about it. It is a means to show his power.

Furthermore, Assef implies that he enjoys doing those actions. From Assef’s statement, it is clear that he hates Hazaras very much. He sees Hazaras as garbage that pollutes Afghanistan.

Assef’s brow twitched. “Like pride in your people, your customs, your language. Afghanistan is like a beautiful mansion littered with garbage, and someone has to take out the garbage.”

“That’s what you were doing in Mazar, going door-to-door? Taking out the garbage?”

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and what Amir did in order to get Hassan and Ali out of his life. Amir finally decides to go to Pakistan and visit Rahim Khan.

Amir returns to Pakistan. Amir sees an ill Rahim Khan, who tells Amir about the unbearable life of Afghans under Taliban rule

Rahim Khan found Hassan in 1986. Hassan was married and his wife was expecting a baby. Ali had been killed by a land mine. Hassan’s wife, Farzana, gave birth to a son named Sohrab.

Hassan taught his son to be a kite runner. The Taliban banned kite fighting shortly after taking power. Taliban fighters massacred the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif. A month after Rahim Khan left for Pakistan, Taliban officers came to take the house. Hassan refused to leave. He and his wife were shot dead.

Rahim Khan asks Amir to go to Kabul and bring 10 year old Sohrab to him. He tells Amir that Ali was sterile. Hassan was also Baba’s son. Hassan never knew. Amir feels betrayed and angry. He feels his father is a thief because he stole his brother and dishonored Ali. He realizes that he, like his father, betrayed the one person who would have done anything for him. He thinks about the good life Hassan could have had in America but due to his actions he did not. Amir decides to go to Kabul.

Amir enters Afghanistan with the help of Farid, a man who has contempt for Amir because he was born with privilege. Farid dislikes Amir at first because he believes that the only reason Amir is returning to Afghanistan is so he can sell off property, and ultimately make money. Farid takes Amir to Wahid's house. There, Amir is served a dinner, which he offers to share with Wahid's children. Amir notices that the children are staring at his watch. During dinner, Amir reveals to Wahid and his family that he has returned to Afghanistan in order to rescue his half brother's son. Later on, he overhears Wahid and his wife arguing that they had to give food to Amir since he was a guest, even though they barely had any food for themselves.

Farid and Amir leave the house, and Amir gives his watch to one of the children. However, Amir realizes the kids weren't staring at his watch at all, they were staring at his food. Amir puts money under his matress for the children to

find and buy food with. He also realized it had been 26 years since he had put money under someone's bed; the first time, however, was for a terrible purpose.

Amir enters Kabul and is shocked by the destruction and begging children. Amir and Farid locate the orphanage where Sohrab has been living. Amir convinces the director to help them find Sohrab by referring to his skills with the slingshot. When the director lets Amir and Farid in, he regretfully informs Amir that a Talib Official had come to the orphanage and bought Sohrab. Farid is furious about this, and accuses the director of selling the children to make a profit. He then begins to strangle the director until Amir intervenes. The director informs Farid and Amir that he has no choice but to sell some of the children. He says that if he refused, the Taliban would take as many children as they want instead. He adds that he had spent his life savings on the orphanage, and instead of escaping to Pakistan like many others did, he chose to stay and run the orphanage. The director then instructs Amir and Farid to go to Ghazi stadium, and look for the Talib official with the black sunglasses, this man will know where Sohrab is.

The next day, they go to Ghazi Stadium to find the official who bought Sohrab. The stadium is filled with people watching soccer. During halftime, a man and a woman are stoned to death for adultery on the field by a man in white and wearing "John Lennon sunglasses," the Taliban official. Amir and Farid arrange for a three o’clock appointment with the official.

Amir goes in alone to see the official, who lives in a palatial home. There, Sohrab is dressed almost like a court jester, wearing make-up, and forced to dance whenever music is played. The official asks Amir where “babalu” is, in reference to Ali. He removes his glasses, and Amir realizes the official is actually Assef. Assef says he can have Sohrab, but first he has to earn him. Assef tells his guards not to come in the room, no matter what they hear. He and Amir have unsettled business. Only one of them will come out alive. If it is Amir, then the guards will have to let Amir and Sohrab go.

Assef beats Amir badly, breaking his nose and teeth. Amir starts laughing. He believes it is funny how just now that he is being beaten up he finally feels comfort. His laughing angers Assef more. The fight ends when Sohrab points his

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slingshot at Assef, who lunges at Sohrab. Sohrab’s shot takes out Assef’s eye. This fulfilles the taunt of Hassan of calling him a "One Eyed Assef". Sohrab helps Amir out of the house. Farid drives them away.

Amir fades in and out of consciousness. He wakes up two days later in a hospital with a broken jaw, punctured lung, ruptured spleen, and other injuries. Rahim Khan has left town, leaving a letter for Amir. He tells Amir that he should forgive himself for what happened to Hassan and he should also forgive Baba someday.

Amir calls his wife and tells her about Hassan, what happened in Kabul, and his desire to adopt Sohrab. Unfortunately, the American Embassy in Islamabad says adopting Sohrab is impossible, due to the fact that Amir would need death certificates of his parents (Hassan and Farzana), when most people in Afghanistan hardly had birth certificates. Also, he would need to prove that Sohrab is really his half nephew, which was nearly impossible as well. However, he still gives them the name of an immigration lawyer. Amir meets with the lawyer who says Sohrab may have to wait in an orphanage. He is willing to help. Soraya arranges for a humanitarian visa to get Sohrab into the U.S. Later, Amir tells Sohrab that he would need to go to an orphanage again. Terrified, Sohrab becomes very upset. Later that night, Sohrab was taking a bath; Amir enters to talk with Sohrab, but finds that he has slit his wrists with a razorblade.

Sohrab tries to commit suicide rather than be put in an orphanage. He survives, but he tells Amir he wishes that he had died. Sohrab does not speak for a year after that. Amir and Sohrab go home to America. Sohrab remains silent.

At a party thrown by the American Afghan community, Amir buys Sohrab a kite. The two of them kite fight together and win. Just as he and Hassan had done years earlier. Amir is Sohrab’s kite runner, and for the first time Sohrab smiles for Amir.

95 Appendix 5

A Biography of Khaled Hosseini

Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan and moved to the United States in 1980. He is a doctor and lives in California. His first novel, The Kite Runner, was an international bestseller, published in thirty-four countries. In 2006, he was named a US goodwill envoy to the United Nations Refugee Agency. He is married to Roya and has two children (a boy and a girl, Haris and Farah). They live in Northern California. His second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, has been published by Bloomsbury, the same publisher of The Kite Runner, in 2007.

Hosseini admits that he began writing like the boy in The Kite Runner, Amir. He grew up in Kabul in the 1970s. He wrote poems and little plays that he would coax his siblings and cousins into staging for their own parties. He also

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wrote short stories, which he recalls were dark, intense, even unabashedly, proudly melodramatic and, in their own childish way, dealt with issues of loyalty, friendship and class struggle. They made up for what they lacked in subtlety and style with a big, winning, expansive heart, which are words that some people have used, maybe with some justification, to describe The Kite Runner.

The language in which he has written has changed. He began to write in Farsi, then he wrote in French and now he mostly writes in English, but one thing remains constant: He has always written for an audience of one. Hosseini confessed that, for him, writing has always been the selfish, self-serving act of telling himself a story. He said that it happens when something grabs his interest and compels him to sit down and see it through: this is how The Kite Runner was written. He had two boys in mind, one who was conflicted and on very unsure moral ground, the other pure and loyal and rooted in integrity. He knew that their friendship was doomed, that there would be a falling out and that this would impact the lives of those around them in a profound way. He says that the how and why that would happen was the compulsion that led him to sit down and write that novel in March 2001.

He reported that he never intended to get the novel published. Even when he was as far as two-thirds of the way through writing, he says that it never crossed his mind that anybody would actually read it—though he thought that his wife probably would because she loves him. Therefore, he was very surprised when The Kite Runner has received worldwide reception since its publication. He received letters from India, London, Sydney, Paris, Arkansas, all over the world

from readers who expressed a passion to him. Many of them wanted to know how to send money to Afghanistan. Some of them told Hosseini that they wanted to adopt an Afghan orphan. He states that in those letters, he saw the unique ability that fiction has to connect people who dress differently or practice different religion, and he saw how universal some human experiences are, like friendship, guilt, forgiveness, loss, and atonement.

Further, he says that in those letters, he also saw how he had unwittingly placed himself in a daunting position—that of following up The Kite Runner, and writing a book that, through no fault of its own, would bear the burden of comparison to The Kite Runner, while the ink was still wet on its pages. The reading of every fan letter he received was punctuated by a loud and anxious gulp and a feeling of pity for this as-yet-unwritten novel. He feared for the sanity of his family who would have to bear with him as he set about his second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Regarding his second novel, he announced that he had further complicated matters by deciding on a narrative that demanded not one but two central characters, both of them women. He declared that this was a decision that he had made when he was putting the final edits on The Kite Runner—a father and son story set exclusively in the world of men. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, he writes another love story set in Afghanistan: a mother/daughter tale and about the inner lives of two struggling Afghan women.

Adapted from postscripts taken from The Kite Runner novel and A Thousand Splendid Suns novel.