Abstract:
This thesis explores silences among child victims of rape in The Sun Will Rise Again (1999) and The Kite
Runner (2003) basing on the trauma and resilience theoretical framework. The research explores rape as
a source of trauma and silence as heightening the trauma while speaking up is established as a resilience
strategy. The aim of the research was to establish the different kinds of silences associated with child rape
victims, the factors perpetuating these silences, how male and female child victims of rape respond to the
rape experiences and how these experiences endured in silence influences the future of the child victims.
Applying trauma theory to the analysis of the two texts enabled the researcher to establish the effects of
rape and silence on the child victims as males and as females since the selected texts under study each
looked on one specific gender. This also allowed for an objective review of the gendered nature of rape
and rape trauma. The study was a desktop qualitative research guided by constructivist perspectives of
research, following a phenomenological research paradigm. The research focused on the lived
experiences of child rape victims in the two texts and thematic analysis of the two main themes of rape
and silence was thoroughly conducted. The research found that while rape has the same damaging effects
on boys and girls, it is experienced differently, and the degree of damage differs from person to person.
Boys and girls respond to rape differently and the factors perpetuating silence among child rape victims
differ as well. However, despite the differences, speaking up about rape has the same healing effects,
affords justice and forgiveness though these may be attained at different rates. The texts studied are from
different continents, one Asian and the other African thus showing that rape phenomenon cuts across
race, space and time. Recommendations from the research included that this research be pursued further
from an interdisciplinary perspective incorporating literary and sociology and anthropology to further
cement the relationship between literature and society. Another recommendation was the need for an
increase in the amount of trauma literature in Africa especially centered on male child victims of rape and
also told using the child narrative voice.
