Harvard Psychologist Dan Gilbert's Character Analysis Of Good Samaritans

In a TED talk given by Harvard Psychologist Dan Gilbert, it is addressed that we humans are under the constant “illusion that our. . . personal history has just come to an end, and that we have just become the people that we were always meant to be and will be for the rest of our lives.” Gilbert backs this statement through research he conducted that shows that “people vastly underestimated how much change they would experience over the next 10 years.” It is true that rate of change in personality, values, and basic preferences decrease with age, but it is not as great a drop as one might think. In fact, people change at a rate of twice what we think which means ne 'er-do-wells can transform into Good Samaritans and vice versa. This constant

For Amir, his mistakes reveal his character and the flaws he must overcome in order to be honorable. Amir is affected by other people’s opinions as he gets older. He is no longer oblivious to the racism against Hazaras and becomes aware of his socially unacceptable friendship with Hassan when Assef remarks that Hazaras “pollute our homeland, our watan. They dirty our blood" (Hosseini 44). Amir’s eyes have now been opened to the racism, and he begins to treat Hassan poorly, which eventually leads him to stand by, doing nothing while Hassan is raped. Even when he is given the opportunity to tell Baba what happened to Hassan, he keeps his mouth closed, fearing Baba likes Hassan better. Amir has the thought that “maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba” (Hosseini 77). Ali, Hassan’s father asks what might be wrong with Hassan, and Amir lies and asks “how should I know what’s wrong with him?” (Hosseini 81). Amir’s reason for being unkind may have deep roots, starting with the fact that Baba has never been a warm, loving father to him. They are very different; Amir is more like his mother, interested in books and history and writing, while Baba is more like Hassan, courageous and quick acting. Perhaps another reason why Baba is cold to him, is that his wife died while giving birth to Amir. After overhearing a conversation where his father talks about how Amir is weak and

Amir’s character continues to change after he has escaped war ridden Afghanistan and has arrived in America. He becomes stronger and shows will power, even standing up to his father’s insults towards his wish to follow his dreams and to become a writer of fiction. Another example of Amir’s character changing is when he shows guts and is persistent in pursuing a relationship with Soraya. At the flea market, Amir is caught scandalously talking to and giving Soraya a story he had written when General Taheri appears and warns that “everyone here is a storyteller” (Hosseini 153). Amir has changed and becomes bolder, evolving into a more likeable character as the novel goes on. He realizes that he cannot erase his past and he will be haunted with guilt for the rest of his life if does not do something to right the wrongs he committed during his childhood. He envies Soraya when she comes clean about her marked past, wishing he could come to terms with his faults. He narrates that “I suspected there were many ways in which Soraya Taheri was a better person that me. Courage was just one of them” (Hosseini 165). Though Amir may still feel like a coward, he is able to recognize that he has made mistakes, which I believe is a huge step in the direction of gaining honor and redeeming