A Comparative Narrative Analysis of Freedom Writers and The Kite Runner for Culturally Responsive Peace Education

Zumrotus Sa’adah

Abstract


This study investigates how narratives in literature and film can serve as pedagogical tools for culturally responsive peace education. The research aims to compare the narrative mechanisms of the film Freedom Writers and the novel The Kite Runner using a qualitative descriptive–comparative design supported by comparative narrative theory. Data were obtained through close reading, structural narrative mapping, and thematic coding of both texts. The analysis shows that Freedom Writers employs collective-empathy storytelling through safe-space pedagogy, dialogic interaction, and reflective journal writing. Meanwhile, The Kite Runner constructs individual moral awareness through a redemption arc shaped by guilt, trauma, and ethnic conflict. The comparative findings demonstrate that cross- media narratives not only depict social realities but also function as structured pedagogical models that foster empathy, critical reflection, and cross-cultural understanding. The study concludes that integrating comparative narrative analysis into language and literature classrooms offers a concrete, culturally responsive framework that supports peace-oriented learning. This research contributes theoretically by strengthening narrative-based peace education and practically by offering applicable instructional models for educators.

Keywords: culture; education; empathy; literature; narrative


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