Abstract: Simple as the plot is, Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner has attracted millions of readers all over the world. The main reason for its popularity is, this paper believes, the novelist’s successful revelation of human nature. Whether man is good or evil by nature is an issue that has been argued about by people for thousands of years. By describing and analyzing the “good”, “evil” and the “redemption” of the main characters of the novel, the author of this paper hopes to help the reader get a better understanding of the theme of the novel—human nature. The author believes that man is good by nature, although he may deteriorate in the “bad” surroundings and commit all kinds of sins. But once he realizes that, he will try his best to get his soul redeemed and return to good again.

Key words: human nature, good, evil, redemption

摘要：《追风筝的人》故事情节简单，但卡勒德·胡赛尼的这本小说吸引了全球数百万读者。本文认为小说畅销的主要原因是胡塞尼成功地揭露了人性的本质。几千年来人们对性本善还是性本恶这一问题争论不休。本文通过对小说主人公的“善”、“恶”及“赎罪”的描述与分析，以期帮助读者更好地理解小说的主题—人性。本文认为虽然人会在“不良”环境中变坏，犯下各种罪行，但人的本性是善良的。一旦认识到自己的罪行，他将会尽力完成心灵的救赎，最终回归善的本性。

关键词：人性，善良，邪恶，赎罪