e-ISSN: 2348-6848
p-ISSN: 2348-795X
Vol. 12 Issue 09
Sep embe 2025
In e na ional Jou nal o Resea ch (IJR)
Recei ed: 20 Sep embe 2025 426
Re ised: 25 Sep embe 2025
Accep ed:28 Sep embe 2025
Copy igh au ho s 2025 DOI: HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.5281/ZENODO.17094712
A Re iew on Hidden G ie and Un oiced Emo ions in Khaled Hosseini’s
“Sea P aye ”: A C i ical S udy
D . G.V.S. Anan a Lakshmi
P o esso & Head, Dep . o English,
Anu ag Uni e si y, Hyde abad, Telangana, India-500088
anan a. [email protected]
Ou o many li e a y o ms, poe y wi h i s c ispy and c unchy o m always occupied he
op posi ion and i poe s su ace u h o ac as heale s channelize g ie , su e ing, and silence
in o wo ds ha com o and console he eade s.
Being a p oli ic w i e wi h his unpa alleled exp ession o deep hough s, Khaled Hosseini
h ows a ligh on he a e ma h o a wa . He po ays wi h sub ili y he li le desi es which a e
supp essed o young child en who a e in e ugee camps in a coun y. The long poem o ‗Sea
P aye ,‘ is he e lec ion o childhood by a a he si ing in on o he sea while explaining o
his son be o e emba king he boa .
The coun y a ec ed by wa and he den ed childhood o child en is pic u ized o he
eade . E en hough he child cha ac e Ma wan ne e speaks up, he eade can unde s and
he anguish and he conce n o his a he and h ough his wo ds a he makes he child o di e
deep in o he days o happiness wi hou wa . Fa he akes Ma wan back in o his own
childhood. explains li le Ma wan ha when he was a boy, how hey used o sp ead hei
ma ess on he oo o hei g and a he 's a mhouse.
Fa he 's desc ip ion o na u e s ands like a beau i ul pain ing c ea ed by an a is and
c ea es a good eeling in he eade 's mind. Men ion o he local ui s like Pe simmon p o es
ha he w i e s ne e all om he sky, bu hey a e bo n om he socie y and s and as
e lec ion o he na u e a ound hem and con empo a y socie y o hei ages. Though i is
men ioned as an illus a ed no el by Wikipedia, i appea s like a long e se wi h i e o six
lines wi h a pic u e on each page illus a ed by Dan Williams.
I happens like a di ec con e sa ion be ween a he and he son using pe sonal p onouns
like ‗you, I,‘ e c. I makes he eade in ol ed in he e se and au ho akes he eade o a el
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Vol. 12 Issue 09
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along wi h him as i he is he di ec spec a o wa ching he hings happening in on o him.
In e e y pa o he alk, a he s ongly desi es ha his son Ma wan would ha e been o a
li le mo e o age o emembe he childhood hings.
The ex uses e oca i e language and image y o depic a child's pe spec i e on wa , loss,
and he sea ch o home amids he backd op o con lic and displacemen . The exp essions o
ph ases like ―a housand boyhood dams‖ akes he eade o he imagina y wo ld o child en
and how easily hey cons uc he dams. By using he p onouns like ‗us‘ e e s o ‗Muslims‘
au ho ela es himsel wi h p o agonis h ough he wo ld o he p aye place ‗mosque‘ and he
Muslims eligion ole ance is explicable when a he 's cha ac e says ‗ou Ch is ian
neighbo s.‘ The p o agonis a he men ions he mo he 's cha ac e o en in he no el bu he
di ec dialogue wi h he son is no ound and a he ies o c ea e good image o mo he in he
eyes o his son when he alls in o he ecollec ion o pas memo ies.
The lines ‗bu ha li e seems like a d eam now e en o me like some long-dissol ed
umo ‘ sounds sad and eels melancholic abou he d eam ha had aded ou long back. The
p o agonis akes he eade o a li le se ious scene o p o es and siege which ea lie saw he
pleasan , bus ling and ado ned old ci y s ee s selling Spices, F ui s, F esh p oduce b ead
and he bs. The only h ee lines in he nex page wi h only six wo ds akes in o he change in
he scena io. As he wages o wo ds like bombs, s a a ion, bu ials gi e a e y deep pic u e o
he wa s ewn coun y whe e he au ho comes om, he o de ga e e e y clea and eal
pic u e o he si ua ion in ha coun y because o bombs blas led o s a a ion and he pe son
died will be bu ied and he numbe o bu ials will inc ease.
The child Ma wan is e y well awa e o all he wa s ela ed hings. Fa he is clea ha he
son knows wha is a bomb c a e . The poem in he wo ds holds a candle o he inhe en
meaning ha a bomb c a e which is a big hole can be u ned as a swimming hole. The child
is lea ning abou da k blood inding ou he classma es, mo he and sis e in he na ow gaps
which is no a no mal scene and sounds abno mal. The si ua ion in he e ugee camps, he
li ing condi ions and he wa s ewn coun y, men like A ghans, Somalis, I aqis, E i eans and
Sy ians a e b ough in on o he eade 's eyes. The ―sun ise‖ in Sea P aye is a symbol o
hope and peace, showing he d eam o a new beginning wi hou wa . I sugges s he
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Vol. 12 Issue 09
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possibili y o no malcy e u ning o e ugees who ha e los e e y hing. The line ―all o us in
sea ch o home‖ e lec s he su e ing o displaced people. I shows how wa des oys houses
which a e blas ed and de as a ed by bombs and o ces amilies o wande in sea ch o sa e y,
shel e , and belonging. Toge he , hese images highligh he deep pain o e ugees who long
o peace and s abili y bu ca y he hea y bu den o losing hei homes and no mal li es.
"Sea P aye " explo es he uni e sal hemes o hope, despai , ai h, and he e ugee
expe ience h ough he lens o a a he 's lo e and a child's pe spec i e. The au ho mi o s ha
he e ugees a e he unin i ed, i hin s ha e ugees a e ne e allowed in o he socie y and
hey a e ea ed as ou side s and he go e nmen s and local people a e suspicious o e ugees
and people li ing in e ugee camps. Re ugees a e unin i ed gues s acing closed bo de s due
o economic conce ns. Au ho Khaled men ions ha we a e he unin i ed, hence ha coun ies
a e no eady o gi e shel e o e ugees and people om wa coun ies as hey a e wo ied
ha e ugees a e bu den on coun y's economy. Taking he mis o une somewhe e else
indica es he coun ies no opening ga es o e ugees and we a e unin i ed.
The a he 's cha ac e plays c ucial ole in gi ing hei con idence o his son and i is
implied ha o e e y pa en , hei sons and daugh e s look beau i ul and cu e likewise
Ma wan's a he also eels ha his son eyelashes a e like callig aphy which a e ca e ully
ca ed, ‗asking he son o hold my hand no hing bad will happen‘ indica es he uni e sal he
gamu o child en eeling con iden and s ong belie ing i mly ha no o he pe son in he
wo ld is mo e s onge han his a he he ph ases like ‗a a he 's icks‘ will hin he eade
ha cha ac e is ic ea u es o a he a e uni e sal. Re ugees c ossing he sea in a boa is
o e loaded, boa s agains all odds and s o ms is depic ed by Hosseini h ough he exp ession
‗how deep he sea and how as , how indi e en he powe s o p aye and belie in God u ns
ou as he ul ima e des iny, ‗ he hope in he God is e ealed as he p o agonis says he
assumed ha he essels a e s ee ed by God himsel because he oyage is in he oubled
wa e s, is o be sa egua ded by he Almigh y because he sho es a e in isible. The las lines
‗how I p ay he sea knows‘ i sounds philosophical and he sea is ea ed as i i go he hea
o eel, he sea wa e s can easily swallow he huge ships pe manen ly in o i s belly whe e no
aces a e a ailable and he eminiscence emain unde wa e o e e .
e-ISSN: 2348-6848
p-ISSN: 2348-795X
Vol. 12 Issue 09
Sep embe 2025
In e na ional Jou nal o Resea ch (IJR)
Recei ed: 20 Sep embe 2025 429
Re ised: 25 Sep embe 2025
Accep ed:28 Sep embe 2025
Copy igh au ho s 2025 DOI: HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.5281/ZENODO.17094712
When he human being loses his hope and becomes despe a e his las hope will be he
God and he s ongly belie es ha some mi acle will happen o he sa io will appea o ake
him away om oubles. The ‗Sea P aye ‘ a long poe ic piece o exp ession s ands as a mi o
o he a el made by e ugees how he li e o child en in he wa p one coun ies is a ec ed
is desc ibed e y well. The au ho depic s he mind o a a he in simple lines and he wo ds
s and as b icks o build he cas le. The wo d ‗p aye ‘ s ands as he p e- unne h oughou he
li e a y wo k om he i le o he las line he ‗sea p aye ‘ i le is symbolic o he li e's
jou neys o a human being and also can be in e p e ed as p aye by he sea and i is jus i ied as
he au ho exp esses in he las lines ha how I p ay he sea knows and po ays his s ong
ai h in God.
The wo k u ns ou as a philosophical piece o a is y ca e ully sculp ed by he au ho
Khaled, no ex a aganza o wo ds o desc ip ions a e ound in he book as simple lines and
simple wo ds gi e e y deep meaning, e en hough he en i e wo k sounds li le melancholic,
wo con adic ing eelings a e exp essed by he au ho a a ime ha is hope and he despai .
Au ho ies o laye is pe mission wi h a ay o hope while ins illing con idence in his child
whe e all he jou ney o li e is depic ed in a pic u esque way. On he whole Hosseini‘s
expe ise is expe ienced in aking he eade along wi h him om he wa s ewn places o he
sea oyage o each he des ina ion a land o hope. The sea is pe soni ied and glo i ied by he
au ho .
Wo ks Ci ed
Hosseini, Khaled. Sea P aye . Illus a ed by Dan Williams, Ri e head Books, 2018.
— P ima y sou ce. The sho illus a ed ex se ing as he main li e a y basis o you c i ical
s udy.
Hosseini, Khaled. ―S o ies Remain Ou Bes Teache s o Empa hy.‖ Time, Sep . 2018,
h ps:// ime.com/5382582/khaled-hosseini-sea-p aye /.
— In e iew whe e Hosseini discusses he inspi a ion o Sea P aye and he Sy ian e ugee
c isis.
e-ISSN: 2348-6848
p-ISSN: 2348-795X
Vol. 12 Issue 09
Sep embe 2025
In e na ional Jou nal o Resea ch (IJR)
Recei ed: 20 Sep embe 2025 430
Re ised: 25 Sep embe 2025
Accep ed:28 Sep embe 2025
Copy igh au ho s 2025 DOI: HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.5281/ZENODO.17094712
Çe ik, Yasemin. ―T auma in Re ugee Na a i e: Sea P aye by Khaled Hosseini.‖
T ansyne gy Jou nal, ol. 2, no. 1, 2020, pp. 22–30.
— Schola ly a icle analyzing auma and displacemen h ough a psychological lens.
Kada an, A. S. ―Jou ney o Dea h: Fic ionalizing he Sy ian Re ugee C isis in Khaled
Hosseini‘s Sea P aye .‖ In e na ional Jou nal o English Language, Li e a u e and
T ansla ion S udies (IJELTS), ol. 8, no. 3, 2021, pp. 145–51.
— Academic discussion o Sea P aye as a ic ional ep esen a ion o eal-wo ld agedy.
―A Re iew o Sea P aye by Khaled Hosseini.‖ In e na ional Jou nal o English Language,
Li e a u e and T ansla ion S udies (IJELTS), 2023,
h ps://www.ijel sjou nal.o g/.
— Con empo a y c i ical e iew o e ing pe spec i es on g ie and empa hy.
―Teache Re iew: Sea P aye by Khaled Hosseini.‖ Fi e Senses Educa ion, 2024,
h ps://www. i esenseseduca ion.com.au/.
— Pedagogical pe spec i e on how he ex con eys e ugee g ie o younge eade s.
Hamil on, I. J. ―Unde s anding G ie and Be ea emen .‖ B i ish Jou nal o Psychia y, ol.
208, no. 1, 2016, pp. 88–89.
— Founda ional a icle ou lining key models and unde s andings o g ie and be ea emen .
Guldin, Ma i a B. ―The In eg a ed P ocess Model o Loss and G ie .‖ Dea h S udies, ol. 48,
no. 2, 2024, pp. 150–62.
— Mode n heo e ical amewo k explaining g ie as a con inuous p ocess; use ul o
psychological g ounding.
Küble -Ross, Elisabe h. On Dea h and Dying. Macmillan, 1969.
— Classic wo k in oducing he i e s ages o g ie ; ounda ional bu open o c i ique.
