A Psychoanalitic Criticism: Psychological Problem through Sohrab’s Character in Khalled Hossaeni, The Kite Runner

A Psychoanalitic Criticism: Psychological Problem through Sohrab’s Character in Khalled Hossaeni, The Kite Runner

By Noura Nahdliyah

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Psychoanalitic concepts have became the most important part in our daily life. We ever do something conscious or even unconsciously in our half breath. Those are the example of Psychoanalytic concept. But, Psychoanalytic concept does not only concern in those two things. There are so many kinds of it. Sibling rivalry, inferiority complexes and defense mechanism are included in the term of psychological concept. In this analysis, defense mechanism is the most suitable concept which is related to the problem. Defense mechanism is a kind of self denial. Defenses are the process by which we keep the repressed feeling in order to avoid knowing what we feel we can not handle knowing. (Critical Theory Today:15). This defense may break down when we experience anxiety. This anxiety can reveal some core issues like fear of intimacy, fear of abandonment, fear of betrayal, low self-esteem, insecure or unstable sense of self and oedipal fixation.          Some of those defense mechanisms and the core issues are depicted in Khalled Hossaeni, The Kite Runner. The character of Sohrab has some psychological problem which is interesting to be analyzed. This problem is influenced by those kind of defense mechanism and the core issues which follow it.

Sohrab has an anxiety in his life. This anxiety is caused by his guilty, fear of abandonment and fear of intimacy. Guilty is a feeling of shame because of thing that we have done. This problem happens to Sohrab when he feels so guilty after shooting Assef eyes with his slingshot. He feels that it is his big fault.

“Will God put me in hell for what I did to that man?”(The Kite runner:162).

Beside that guilty, there is also fear of abandonment there. Fear of abandonment is the unshakable belief that our friends and loved ones are going to desert us (physical abandonment) or do not really care about us (emotional abandonment). This is depicted in Sohrab when he feels that what he has done is a shame thing if it is showed by his family. In this case, he remember his father, his mother, his grandmother and also Rahim Khan. It leads him to think that his family will avoid him because of his shame action.

“’I miss father and mother too.’ He croacked. ‘And I miss Sasa and Rahim Khan Sahib. But sometimes I’m glad they’re not....they’re not here anymore’.........because I don’t want them to see me.....” (The Kite Runner: 163)

One thing that also happens in Sohrab is fear of intimacy. Fear of intimacy is the chronic and overpowering feeling that emotional closeness will seriously hurt or destroy us and that we can remain emotionally safe only by remaining at an emotional distance from others at all times. This thing is depicted in Sohrab when Amir comes to him in order to hug him and tries to calm him down.

“’....they did things...the bad man and the other two...they did things...did things to me.’.................................I touched his arm and again and he drewd away. I reached again, gently, and pulled him to me.” (The Kite Runner: 163)

This thing shows that there is a fear to Sohrab’s mind when he gets close with a man. He thinks that that man will be do the same thing as Assef has done to him. The other example can be showed in the next page when Amir wants to bring Sohrab back to the orphanage in order to get the certificate which makes him easy to bring Sohrab to America.

“’You promised that you’d never put me in one of those place, Amir agha,’ he said. His voice was breaking, tears pooling in his eyes. I felt like a prick.” (The Kite Runner: 177)

This is not an aesy thing for Sohrab to receive it. He feels trauma. He never wants to come back to the orphanage because he thinks that an orphanage is the same thing as he ever feels before.

“’Please! Please, no!’ he croacked. ‘I’m scared of that place. They’ll hurt me! I don’t want to go.’”(The Kite Runner: 177)

            In conclusion, psychological problem which happens in Sohrab’s life is caused by his own experience in facing his life. His guilty, his fear of intimacy and abandonment have lead him to his unconcious psychological problem.