All Evil In The Kite Runner

Does a person have to be all good or all evil? This question is explored in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. As a young boy, Amir is faced with hard decisions and makes choices that no one his age should have to. The consequences of his choices follow him throughout his life, even after he moves from Afghanistan to America to escape his guilt. When the opportunity to make up for his mistakes arises, Amir takes it and atones for his past, starting his journey from shame to redemption. Because Amir is neither all good nor all evil, he is a morally ambiguous character, which mirrors the differences of his life in Afghanistan and his life in America. Amir does many bad things in his lifetime, but especially as a young boy. Amir hiding while Hassan is being raped and failing to tell anyone is by far the worst thing he does as a child. While watching Hassan’s rape, Amir says, “I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan-the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past-and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end, I ran” (Hosseini 77). Amir could have helped, whether it was by directly intervening or comforting him afterwards, but failed to do either out of fear and jealousy. Amir admits afterwards that his actions may have been caused by his desire for Baba’s love and his subconscious

Amir has good intentions, but makes bad decisions, showing that he is morally ambiguous. This makes him a relatable character, as most humans are morally ambiguous as well. Everybody makes mistakes and does cruel things, but that does not mean that they are evil. Amir being a morally ambiguous character mirrors the two places he has lived in and their conflicting morals and beliefs, and how he has changed in each place. Everyone can make up for their sins like Amir has. It is never too late to atone for one’s sins and make the world a better