The Interplay of Speech Acts and Sociocultural Elements in Khaled Hosseini’s Novel “The Kite Runner”

Abstract

By applying the speech act theory of John Searle to the complicated domains of characters’ utterances, the study examined and analysed the novel “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini. The subject of this analysis was the interplay between the speech acts and sociocultural elements in “The Kite Runner” novel. The study has qualitative nature as qualitative content analysis has been used to collect the data. The data has been analysed through textual analysis by focusing on the text of the novel. The study begins with an in-depth study of the speech acts rich in sociocultural nuances in “The Kite Runner”. In the novel, the directive speech acts highlight the social hierarchies and power dynamics. On the other hand, the expressive speech acts represent feelings and emotions of the characters. The commissives show the promises, vows and commitments of the characters while the assertive speech acts represent the social and cultural norms and identities. At last, the declarations mark the transitions in the novel. The Findings indicate that there is a strong interplay of speech acts and sociocultural elements because speech acts acted as a powerful tool to represent social and cultural elements. The implications of this study lies in cultural studies, linguistics discussions and literary studies. Through this study, academics can seek a deeper understanding of the relationship between speech acts and sociocultural elements.