The Ironical Discourse of War in Yasmina Khadra’s The Swallows of Kabul (2002) and Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007)

Abstract

This dissertation is a comparative study of two outstanding works: Swallows of Kabul(2002) by Yasmina Khadra and A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007) by Khaled Hosseini. The main purpose of this study is to show that both authors have used irony to speak about war and its consequences in Afghanistan, despite their geographical distance and language differences. Taking the theoretical concepts from Paul Fussell’s work The Great War and Modern Memory (1975), the study has revealed this ironical discourse at the level of the setting, characterization and themes. The setting in the two narratives has revealed that, the two authors share the same view about the devastating effects of war on space and socio-cultural environment, through an ironical paradigm of thought: “pastoral/ anti-pastorl” and “theatricality” and the analysis of characterization has revealed that both writers have inscribed the portrayal of the characters through the contrast of “the binary vision”. This is seen in their physical appearances, different backgrounds and different perceptions of life. Thus, this part has revealed how the “Demonic environment” shaped the behaviours of the characters to result in being either a “tyrant pole” or a “scapegoat”. The thematic study has highlighted the awful consequences of war, like the religious extremism of the Taliban and the disenchantment of people in Afghanistan.