Adverse Elements of Culture

Abstract

The object of this study is to examine elements of culture in two novels; Nuruddin Farah’s Links and Khaled Housseini’s The Kite Runner. The connection between the two novels lies in the cultural and political conditions that the Somali and the Afghan population live in. Respectively both societies share common features. They are Muslim, decolonized, and they live in civil conflicts. The political problems led to an impact on cultural life. The aim of this study is to find two elements of culture to which both novels express such cultural influence on real life, mainly, the women status and religion as a cultural system. The research is divided into two chapters. The first one is thematic. It deals with the two elements of culture that both novels share. The second chapter is technical. It explores the literary devices used to highlight these elements of culture, focusing on their structure and meaning.