A Comparative Study of Gender and Trauma in Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner andA Thousand Splendid Suns

Khaled Hosseini’sThe Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns are about characters who are dealing with psychological trauma in their lives. In both novels, sexual and physical violence, war and natural disasters are evident. The protagonists, Amir and Mariam’s psychological safety are threatened by war and trauma of the Taliban. As a result, both protagonists start to show responses towards the stressors. Since males and females mostly have different reactions when they confront with trauma, the present study aims to explore how gender influence Amir and Mariam’s reactions.