What is literary criticism?
Literary criticism describes the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Literary criticism is made up of a number of different types of critical approaches. Critical approaches are very much like the lenses through which we view and understand a piece of literature. Critical literary theories can bring certain qualities of a work of literature into focus or call attention to particular issues.
But Why Do I Need To Know About Different Theories?
Literary criticism is an extension of this social activity of interpreting." As we read a text, we are constantly engaging in the practice of interpretation as we attempt to understand a particular work's significance and meaning. The critics purpose may be to make value judgments on a work, to explain his or her interpretation of the work, or to provide other readers with relevant historical or biographical information. As readers we use criticism as a way to communicate with other readers our ideas regarding a particular text. Literary criticism helps readers understand the intricacies of a text and communicate with other readers about those intricacies
But Why is Criticism Important for Students?
We will soon start our reading of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. You may find it useful to look at the reviews other critics give the text in order to inform your own interpretations of the text. It is important to understand how a particular form of literary criticism may help you understand a text more clearly. However, criticism from other sources should never be a substitute for your original ideas regarding a text. Instead, reading other critics may help you to clarify your own understanding and ideas.
What is NOT literary criticism?
- An article about the life of the author (this is a biographical essay)
- A summary of the plot (Literary criticism goes beyond a simple retelling of the story; it judges the quality of the original work, analyzes meanings, compares the work to others, and/or examines the authors ideas within the context of the times.)
Let's get started!
Explore of the ideas about critiques in each link below. READ each thoroughly and look at the examples. The examples are from Chapters 1-4 of Kite Runner.
#1 - Historical Criticism
ASSUMPTIONS:
Applying Historical Criticism to The Kite Runner:
“There was a pomegranate tree near the entrance to the cemetery. One summer day, I used one of Ali’s kitchen knives to carve our names on it: ‘Amir and Hassan, the sultan of Kabul’” (27).
Having this background helps us better understand why the pomegranate tree might be also an important symbol.
"I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me what I am today." (2)
It is important to know what is going on in Afghanistan during this time. There is oppression taking place against the Hazaras because they are shia and they are more strict and tradition and the Pashtuns are Sunni. But their religious differeneces is only one reason for the harshness. These two groups have a long standing history of fighting. On page 34 it says, "what does he know, that illiterate Hazara. He'll never be anything, but a cook. How dare he criticize you?" This cause problems for the friendship between Amir and Hassan because they are from two different religious groups.
- When reading a text, you have to place it within its historical context.
- Historical refers to the social, political, economical, cultural, and intellectual climate of the time.
- Specific historical information will be of key interest: information about the time during which an author wrote, about the time in which the text is set, about the ways in which people of the period saw and thought about the world in which they lived.
- Research the fundamental historical events of the period in which the author wrote.
- Consider the fundamental historical events of the period in which the literary work is set if it is different from the period in which the author wrote.
- View the text as part of a larger context of historical movements, and consider how it both contributes to and reflects certain fundamental aspects of human history.
Applying Historical Criticism to The Kite Runner:
“There was a pomegranate tree near the entrance to the cemetery. One summer day, I used one of Ali’s kitchen knives to carve our names on it: ‘Amir and Hassan, the sultan of Kabul’” (27).
- Historical criticism helps readers understand the allusion to the pomegranate tree. In Christianity, the pomegranate can be seen as a symbol of resurrection and life everlasting in Christian art, the pomegranate is often found in devotional statues and paintings of the Virgin and Child.
- In medieval representations the pomegranate tree, a fertility symbol, is associated with the end of a unicorn hunt. The captured unicorn appears to be bleeding from wounds inflicted on him by the hunters.(see note) The “wounds” are actually pomegranate seeds dripping their blood red juices on his milk white body. Wild and uncontrollable by nature, unicorns can be tamed only by virgins. Once tamed, the unicorn was held in an enclosed garden and chained to a pomegranate tree, symbolizing the impending incarnation of Christ.
- The pomegranate also figures into Islamic stories. The heavenly paradise of the Koran describes four gardens with shade, springs, and fruits—including the pomegranate. Legend holds that each pomegranate contains one seed that has come down from paradise. Pomegranates have had a special role as a fertility symbol in weddings among the Bedouins of the Middle East. A prized pomegranate is selected and split open by the groom as he and his bride open the flap of their tent or enter the door of their house. Abundant seeds ensure that the couple who eat it will have many children.
- "According to the Quran, the gardens of paradise include pomegranates. It is important, tradition says, to eat every seed of a pomegranate because one can't be sure which aril came from paradise." And pomegranates protect the eater from envy and hatred.
Having this background helps us better understand why the pomegranate tree might be also an important symbol.
"I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me what I am today." (2)
- In order to put this in a historical context, the reader must know what the events that occured in the winter of 1975 were.
- The reader must have some background knowledge on Afghanistan in order fot this quote to have the significance that it was intended to have.
- The reader must wonder why one season would change the person telling the story so drastically that he would recognize it as a major turning point of his life.
It is important to know what is going on in Afghanistan during this time. There is oppression taking place against the Hazaras because they are shia and they are more strict and tradition and the Pashtuns are Sunni. But their religious differeneces is only one reason for the harshness. These two groups have a long standing history of fighting. On page 34 it says, "what does he know, that illiterate Hazara. He'll never be anything, but a cook. How dare he criticize you?" This cause problems for the friendship between Amir and Hassan because they are from two different religious groups.
#2 - Feminist Criticism
ASSUMPTIONS:
Applying Feminist/Gender Criticism to The Kite Runner:
"...Hassan lost his [mother] a week after he was born. Lost her to a fate most Afghans considered far worse than death: She ran off with a clan of traveling singers and dancers." (pg 6) The fact that a woman would rather be happy alone than with her own child (or even a WEEK after child birth) is a social faux pas around the world. It is assumed that women will want to stay home and raise the family, even though they are miserable. When she takes her life into her own hands, the community is aghast and the woman is shunned and their family shamed.
"You're angry because you're afraid he'll never take over the business for you." (pg. 23)
Amir's father wants his son to take over the business and starting defending himself when we get in fights, but Amir would rather be writing books. Amir's father assumes he will take over the business because he is his son, he doesn't take into accout Amir's personal goals, for he believes that Amir shares his father's goals.
- The work doesn't have an objective status, an autonomy; instead, any reading of it is influenced by the reader's own status, which includes gender, or attitudes toward gender.
- In the production of literature and within stories themselves, men and women have not had equal access.
- Men and women are different: They write differently, read differently, and write about their reading differently. These differences should be valued.
- Consider the gender of the author or the characters: What role does gender or sexuality play in this work?
- Specifically, observe how sexual stereotypes might be reinforced or undermined. Try to see how the work reflects or distorts the place of women (and men) in society.
- Look at the effects of power drawn from gender within the plot or form.
Applying Feminist/Gender Criticism to The Kite Runner:
"...Hassan lost his [mother] a week after he was born. Lost her to a fate most Afghans considered far worse than death: She ran off with a clan of traveling singers and dancers." (pg 6) The fact that a woman would rather be happy alone than with her own child (or even a WEEK after child birth) is a social faux pas around the world. It is assumed that women will want to stay home and raise the family, even though they are miserable. When she takes her life into her own hands, the community is aghast and the woman is shunned and their family shamed.
"You're angry because you're afraid he'll never take over the business for you." (pg. 23)
Amir's father wants his son to take over the business and starting defending himself when we get in fights, but Amir would rather be writing books. Amir's father assumes he will take over the business because he is his son, he doesn't take into accout Amir's personal goals, for he believes that Amir shares his father's goals.
#3 - Archetypal and Mythological Critiques
ASSUMPTIONS:
Applying Archetypal/Mythological Criticism to The Kite Runner:
"Lore has it my father once wrestled a black bear in Baluchistan with his bear hands" (Hosseini 12)
"I can never tell Baba from the bear" Hosseini 12
The black bear symbolizes power that the father gained. He feels he has the same power and strength as a bear would have.
"One summer day, I used one of Ali's kitchen knives to carve our names on it: 'Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul" (Hosseini 27)
When Amir and Hassan are young they carve their names in the pomegranite tree. This symbolizes their strong and close friendship and the innocence with which it begins.
- Meaning cannot exist solely on the page of a work, nor can that work be treated as an independent entity.
- Humankind has a "collective unconscious," a kind of universal psyche, which is manifested in dreams and myths and which harbors themes and images that are hard-wired in all of us.
- These recurring myths, symbols, and character types appear and reappear in literary works.
- Consider the genre of the work (e.g., comedy, romance, tragedy, irony) and how it affects the meaning.
- Look for story patterns and symbolic associations, such as black hats, springtime settings, evil stepmothers, and so forth, from other texts you've read.
- Consider your associations with these symbols as you construct the meaning from the text.
Applying Archetypal/Mythological Criticism to The Kite Runner:
"Lore has it my father once wrestled a black bear in Baluchistan with his bear hands" (Hosseini 12)
"I can never tell Baba from the bear" Hosseini 12
The black bear symbolizes power that the father gained. He feels he has the same power and strength as a bear would have.
"One summer day, I used one of Ali's kitchen knives to carve our names on it: 'Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul" (Hosseini 27)
When Amir and Hassan are young they carve their names in the pomegranite tree. This symbolizes their strong and close friendship and the innocence with which it begins.
#4 - Marxist Criticism
ASSUMPTIONS:
Applying Marxist Criticism to The Kite Runner:
“In it, I read that my people, the Pashtuns, had persecuted and oppressed the Hazaras. It said the Hazaras had tried to rise against the Pashtuns in the nineteenth century, but the Pashtuns had ‘quelled them with unspeakable violence.’ The book said that my people had killed the Hazaras, driven them from their lands, burned their homes, and sold their women. The book said part of the reason Pashtuns had oppressed the Hazaras was that Pashtuns were Sunni Muslims, while Hazaras were Shi’a. The book said a lot of things I didn’t know, things my teachers hadn’t mentioned” (9).
Understanding some of the history of these two groups, their differences, their shared history, helps readers better understand the power differences between Amir (Pashtun) and Hasan (Hazsra). Without this historical background, Western readers may struggle to understand why Amir treats Hasan as he does, why he struggles with their friendship and differing status. This is particularly evident in chapter 4 when Amir gets pleasure from exposing Hassan’s ignorance (28).
"Then, Baba and I drove off in his black Ford Mustang- a car that drew envious looks everywhere" (27).
This quote shows how the wealth of Amir's family affects how they are seen socially, affected by economic standards. Amir wears western clothing and is more fortunate then many, Hazan included, and because of this he is treated better then those with less then he. Amir remains untouched by the other children of the neighborhood, while Hassan, a servant who dwells in a mud hut, is terrorized by others daily, not only because he is Hazara, but because he is poor. The way the two are treated differently because of their economic class sets up the atmosphere for later events thats change their relationship, beginning with the mistreatement of Hassan and whether or not Amir will stand up for his companion. Changes in their friendship are in part to their economic standings
- Karl Marx argued that the way people think and behave in any society is determined by basic econimic factors.
- In his view, those groups of people who owned and controlled major industries could exploit the rest of the population, through employment and by forcing thier own values and beliefs onto other social groups.
- Marxist criticism applies these arguments to the study of literary texts.
- Explore the way different groups of people are represented in the texts. Evaluate the level of social realism in the text and how society is portrayed.
- Consider how the text itself is a commodity that reproduces certain social beliefs and practices. Analyze the social effect of the literary work.
- Look at the effects of power drawn from economic or social class.
Applying Marxist Criticism to The Kite Runner:
“In it, I read that my people, the Pashtuns, had persecuted and oppressed the Hazaras. It said the Hazaras had tried to rise against the Pashtuns in the nineteenth century, but the Pashtuns had ‘quelled them with unspeakable violence.’ The book said that my people had killed the Hazaras, driven them from their lands, burned their homes, and sold their women. The book said part of the reason Pashtuns had oppressed the Hazaras was that Pashtuns were Sunni Muslims, while Hazaras were Shi’a. The book said a lot of things I didn’t know, things my teachers hadn’t mentioned” (9).
Understanding some of the history of these two groups, their differences, their shared history, helps readers better understand the power differences between Amir (Pashtun) and Hasan (Hazsra). Without this historical background, Western readers may struggle to understand why Amir treats Hasan as he does, why he struggles with their friendship and differing status. This is particularly evident in chapter 4 when Amir gets pleasure from exposing Hassan’s ignorance (28).
"Then, Baba and I drove off in his black Ford Mustang- a car that drew envious looks everywhere" (27).
This quote shows how the wealth of Amir's family affects how they are seen socially, affected by economic standards. Amir wears western clothing and is more fortunate then many, Hazan included, and because of this he is treated better then those with less then he. Amir remains untouched by the other children of the neighborhood, while Hassan, a servant who dwells in a mud hut, is terrorized by others daily, not only because he is Hazara, but because he is poor. The way the two are treated differently because of their economic class sets up the atmosphere for later events thats change their relationship, beginning with the mistreatement of Hassan and whether or not Amir will stand up for his companion. Changes in their friendship are in part to their economic standings
#5 - Reader Response Criticism
ASSUMPTIONS:
Video: Reader Response Criticism
Applying Reader Response Criticism to The Kite Runner:
Having just talked about allegory in class yesterday, I'm wondering about Amir's story and the myth of Rostam and Sohrab (29). Both of these tales seem to be allegorical. The story of Rostam and Sohrab seem to be an opposite version of Oedipus Rex. In the tale of Oedipus, the son unknowingless kills his father. The story of Rostam and Sohrab is opposite in that the father kills the son. This seems significant since Amir seems to be in the midst of an Oedipal crisis, both fearing and jealous of his father. The story of Rostam and Sohrab seems to be an intentional pick on the part of the author to highlight this crisis.
Similarly, the story that Amir writes about a man killing his wife to be wealthy, seems to be allegorical. I have a feeling I've read a similar fable, but can't seem to place it. What do you think? Does this story sound familiar?
- An author's intentions are not reliably available to readers; all they have is the text.
- Out of the text, readers actively and personally make meaning.
- Responding to a text is a process, and descriptions of that process are valuable.
- Move through the text in super-slow motion, describing the response of an informed reader at various points.
- Or describe your own response when moving through the text.
- React to the text as a whole, embracing and expressing the subjective and personal response it engenders.
Video: Reader Response Criticism
Applying Reader Response Criticism to The Kite Runner:
Having just talked about allegory in class yesterday, I'm wondering about Amir's story and the myth of Rostam and Sohrab (29). Both of these tales seem to be allegorical. The story of Rostam and Sohrab seem to be an opposite version of Oedipus Rex. In the tale of Oedipus, the son unknowingless kills his father. The story of Rostam and Sohrab is opposite in that the father kills the son. This seems significant since Amir seems to be in the midst of an Oedipal crisis, both fearing and jealous of his father. The story of Rostam and Sohrab seems to be an intentional pick on the part of the author to highlight this crisis.
Similarly, the story that Amir writes about a man killing his wife to be wealthy, seems to be allegorical. I have a feeling I've read a similar fable, but can't seem to place it. What do you think? Does this story sound familiar?
#6 - Psychoanalytic Criticism
ASSUMPTIONS:
Applying Psychoanalytic Criticism to The Kite Runner:
The father/son relationship
The father/son relationship is strained. Baba seems to have high expectations for Amir, so high that he does not acknowledge Amir’s individuality. It almost seems as if Baba does not “see” Amir. A psychoanalytic interpretation might help us see Baba’s actions as a way of repressing something (a fear or a guilt) concerning his son. Perhaps this is foreshadowing .
On the opposite side, Amir seems to secretly wish that Baba was not his father. This is a classic example of the Oedipal complex. Freud’s theory of the Oedipal complex was the idea that young boys harbor a secret rivalry with their father. That rivalry is usually for the mother’s affection. However, for Amir, with his mother not present, Amir seeks acceptance from where ever he can find it (Rahim). Many psychologist believe that it is impossible for a boy to become a man without going through this Oedipal crisis, without resolving their secret rivalry with their father.
"After all, didn't all fathers in their secret hearts harbor a desire to kill their sons?" - pg. 29this talks about the way he thinks all fathers feel about their children
"He'd close the door, leave me to wonder why it was always grown-ups' time with him. I'd sit by the door, knees drawn to my chest. Sometimes I sat there for an hour, sometimes two, listening to their laughter, their chatter." - pg. 5 Here, the author talks about how Amir feels when he is being rejected by his father.
- Creative writing (like dreaming) represents the (disguised) fulfillment of a (repressed) wish or fear.
- Everyone's formative history is different in its particulars, but there are basic recurrent patterns of development for most people. These particulars and patterns have lasting effects.
- In reading literature, we can make educated guesses about what has been repressed and transformed.
- Attempt to apply a developmental concept to the work, or to the author or characters (e.g., the Oedipus complex, retentiveness, anxiety, gender confusion).
- Relate the work to psychologically significant events in the author's or a character's life.
- Consider how repressed material may be expressed in the work's pattern of imagery or symbols.
Applying Psychoanalytic Criticism to The Kite Runner:
The father/son relationship
- “The problem, of course, was that Baba saw the world in black and white. And he got to decide what was black and what was white. You can’t love a person who lives that way without fearing him too. Maybe even hating him a little” (15)
- “Of course, marrying a poet was one thing, but fathering a son who preferred burying his face in poetry book to hunting…well, that wasn’t how Baba had envisioned it, I suppose. Real men didn’t read poetry –and God forbid they should ever write it!” (20).
- “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything” (22).
- The story of Rostam and Sohrab, where the father accidentally kills his son. “Personally, I couldn’t see the tragedy in Rostam’s fate. After all, didn’t all fathers in their secret hearts harbor a desire to kill their sons?
- When Baba does not ask to read Amir’s first story, Amir is crushed. “I worshiped Baba with an intensity approaching the religious. But right then, I wished I could open my veins and drain his cursed blood from my body” (32).
- Later, “…I sat on my bed and wished Rahim Khan had been my father…I was overcome with such sudden guilt that I bolted to the bathroom and vomited in the sink” (32).
The father/son relationship is strained. Baba seems to have high expectations for Amir, so high that he does not acknowledge Amir’s individuality. It almost seems as if Baba does not “see” Amir. A psychoanalytic interpretation might help us see Baba’s actions as a way of repressing something (a fear or a guilt) concerning his son. Perhaps this is foreshadowing .
On the opposite side, Amir seems to secretly wish that Baba was not his father. This is a classic example of the Oedipal complex. Freud’s theory of the Oedipal complex was the idea that young boys harbor a secret rivalry with their father. That rivalry is usually for the mother’s affection. However, for Amir, with his mother not present, Amir seeks acceptance from where ever he can find it (Rahim). Many psychologist believe that it is impossible for a boy to become a man without going through this Oedipal crisis, without resolving their secret rivalry with their father.
"After all, didn't all fathers in their secret hearts harbor a desire to kill their sons?" - pg. 29this talks about the way he thinks all fathers feel about their children
"He'd close the door, leave me to wonder why it was always grown-ups' time with him. I'd sit by the door, knees drawn to my chest. Sometimes I sat there for an hour, sometimes two, listening to their laughter, their chatter." - pg. 5 Here, the author talks about how Amir feels when he is being rejected by his father.