LOVE HUNGER: CONTRASTING DYNAMICS OF LOVE AND BELONGINGNESS NEEDS IN THE KITE RUNNER

Abstract

In The Kite Runner, KhaledHosseini masterfully portrays the enduring nature of pain and longing as a crucial element in the complex interplay of human relationships. This paper aims to see how Khaled makes use of this complex interplay to develop a wonderful story to demonstrate the role of love and belongingness, as explained by Abraham Maslow in his theory of hierarchy of needs, in one’s life. Maslow’s construction of the love and belongingness need helps us frame these characters in all their psychological moods and gives us a handle on a thorough understanding of the characters’ internal, psychological cavities that can only be filled with love and belongingness. It is found that a mix of love, esteem, and belongingness needs, that branch out from these needs, motivate much of the actions of the characters in TKR,and they carry a deep stamp of this need that shapes their lives in many a profound way.