Split Selves and Silenced Voices: Point of View, Othering, and Epistemic Violence in The Kite Runner and The God of Small Things

Abstract

This article examines how the narrative point of view in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner and Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things helps represent the processes of exclusion and the denial of knowledge or voice in postcolonial settings. Using insights from postcolonial and psychoanalytic theory, the study explores how narrative voice, memory, and silence influence the way readers understand power, identity, and belonging. In The Kite Runner, the use of a personal, first-person narration allows the main character, Amir, to shape the story through his own memories and interpretations. This control is not without bias. It supports existing social divisions related to class, ethnicity, and guilt by pushing aside less powerful voices, especially those of Hassan and other Hazara characters. By choosing which perspectives to include or leave out, Hosseini’s storytelling contributes to a quieter form of harm, where marginalised people are talked about but rarely get to speak for themselves. In contrast, Roy’s The God of Small Things uses a fragmented, third-person narrative that avoids straightforward storytelling, which gives control to a single viewpoint. The narrative shifts across periods and characters, bringing attention to voices and experiences that are usually ignored or hidden. This break from traditional storytelling is intentional. It challenges accepted ways of understanding the world and gives space to people pushed to the edges of society, especially due to caste, gender, and colonial history. The article argues that Roy’s narrative style disrupts one-sided storytelling and asks readers to engage with complex, layered truths. By comparing these two narrative approaches, the article shows that the way a story is told can be a powerful tool in either maintaining or challenging systems of control. Who tells the story, who is allowed depth, and who is silenced are not just stylistic decisions. They are closely tied to how power is created and maintained. Ultimately, the study shows how the narrative point of view can either support or push back against exclusion and silencing.