what scenes in the novel support the claim that sohrab is experiencing learned helplessness?
Learned helplessness occurs when someone feels trapped in situations that they can have control if they just take it. This occurs when people "inappropriately generalize from an experience with noncontingency in one situation to subsequent situations where control is possible" (Graham). Learned helplessness stems usually stems from one of two different situation, either a traumatic event that could not be changed or the persistent failure to succeed.
In Sohrab's case, he grew up facing inescapable situations such as being put in an orphanage where he had little freedom and then being controlled and raped by Assef. When Amir came and saved him from Assef, Sohrab finally felt a little at ease, as if maybe he could escape what seemed like a never ending cycle of pain. Then when Amir told him he had to go back to the orphanage for some time, Sohrab felt helpless yet again and therefore cut himself. He felt as if he could never escape the orphanage, the abuse, and the rape, despite the fact that he knew he would go to America soon. Even once he "escaped" his situation by moving to America to live with Amir and Sorarya, he would simply not take advantage of the opportunities he had right in front of him. Soraya and Amir would peak into Sohrabs room and see "books sitting unopened in the wicker basket, the growth chart unmarked, the jigsaw puzzle unassembled, each iten a reminder of a life that could have been. A reminder of a dream that was wilting even as if was budding" (Hosseini 362). Hassan would not take advantage of what he had, because he had simply felt helpless for so long that he could not take control even when he had it.
Learned helplessness is often "accompanied by passivity, loss of motivation, depressed affect, and performance deterioration," which is obvious in Sohrab's situation (Graham). Sohrab would not talk to others and would act as if he was indifferent to all of his surroundings. Amir noted that "The color still hadn't seeped back into his [Sohrab's] face, save for the halo of dark circles around his eyes. He was looking at us now in the impassive way he looked at the plates of boiled rice the hospital orderly placed before him" (Hosseini 358). Sohrab's learned helplessness led to his apathetic state.
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In Sohrab's case, he grew up facing inescapable situations such as being put in an orphanage where he had little freedom and then being controlled and raped by Assef. When Amir came and saved him from Assef, Sohrab finally felt a little at ease, as if maybe he could escape what seemed like a never ending cycle of pain. Then when Amir told him he had to go back to the orphanage for some time, Sohrab felt helpless yet again and therefore cut himself. He felt as if he could never escape the orphanage, the abuse, and the rape, despite the fact that he knew he would go to America soon. Even once he "escaped" his situation by moving to America to live with Amir and Sorarya, he would simply not take advantage of the opportunities he had right in front of him. Soraya and Amir would peak into Sohrabs room and see "books sitting unopened in the wicker basket, the growth chart unmarked, the jigsaw puzzle unassembled, each iten a reminder of a life that could have been. A reminder of a dream that was wilting even as if was budding" (Hosseini 362). Hassan would not take advantage of what he had, because he had simply felt helpless for so long that he could not take control even when he had it.
Learned helplessness is often "accompanied by passivity, loss of motivation, depressed affect, and performance deterioration," which is obvious in Sohrab's situation (Graham). Sohrab would not talk to others and would act as if he was indifferent to all of his surroundings. Amir noted that "The color still hadn't seeped back into his [Sohrab's] face, save for the halo of dark circles around his eyes. He was looking at us now in the impassive way he looked at the plates of boiled rice the hospital orderly placed before him" (Hosseini 358). Sohrab's learned helplessness led to his apathetic state.
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