Morally Ambiguous
At the heart of many works of literature are characters that are morally ambiguous, characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely good or purely evil. Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, presented his main character, Amir, as morally ambiguous. Amir is a morally ambiguous character because he’s a coward, he’s selfish, he betrays his friend and lies, but he also finds courage to face what he had done wrong and ultimately finds redemption.
Amir spent a large portion of his childhood with his close friend hassan. Although Amir and hassan were close, amir often looked down upon him because he is a hazara, and a son of servant who works for his father. Although Hassan holds Amir in high esteem, amir does not feel the same way. Amir often expresses his annoyance with hassan,and he also mocks the fact that he can’t read. Hassan is a good example of why Amir is morally ambiguous. When Thuggish bullies led by the main antagonist of the boys childhood, Assef, confronts them, Hassan is the one who wards them off, protecting Amir. when hassan is cornered and in need of assistance while being harassed by the same bullies, Amir hides and lets them molest hassan, showing how much of a coward he is. after the incident,Hassan was never truly the same, and Amir resented him for it. Amir was selfish and didn't consider hassans feelings or how it would affect his life, he just wants to get rid of his own guilt. Without ever confronting hassan about what happened, amir believes that the only way to get rid of his guilt is to not see hassan for as long as possible. He is selfish because he is only interested in making himself feel better, instead of consulting Hassan. Amir then distances himself even further by framing hassan for stealing, force him and his father to leave. By betraying his friend and lying he only damages an already frail connection with his only true friend.
Although Amir has lied to, and even betrayed those close to him, he is morally ambiguous