Linguistic Analysis of Redemption in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner Through a Critical Discourse Approach

Redemption, as a response to guilt and a path toward self-realization, is a fundamental theme in human narratives. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini poignantly explores this theme through the protagonist’s moral conflict, internal struggle, and eventual journey toward atonement. While prior studies have predominantly examined the novel through psychological and literary lenses, this paper adopts a linguistic perspective by applying van Leeuwen’s Social Actor Network Model within the framework of Critical Discourse Studies (CDS). It investigates how discourse constructs and negotiates guilt, moral responsibility, and redemption through social actor representation, role allocation, and inclusion/exclusion strategies across Amir’s narration, inner monologue, and dialogue. The analysis reveals that linguistic techniques such as association, passivation, and categorization play a pivotal role in shaping the protagonist’s moral transformation. By foregrounding the role of discourse in constructing ethical identity, this study offers a novel contribution to both literary linguistics and trauma narratives. It also adds to global scholarly conversations on how language mediates reconciliation and recovery in postcolonial and transnational fiction.