“If only it were so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy the piece of his own heart”(Alexander Solzhenitsyn). No discussion of the theme of good and evil in literature can avoid beginning and ending without examining to what degree an individual choices and actions can influence the direction of his/her life. Many writers had attempted to define morality as absolute or relative. Comparatively, a black and white view on good and evil is not useful In understanding post- modern morality, however, Paulo Coelho…show more content… Previously, Tim has been on a university campus, and he has been writing editorial articles pointing out the evil influence that the war has had divided Americans, so there is no unity of purpose. In addition, Tim is opposed to killing innocent civilians like women and children who are casualties of this war. Now that Tim is finished with his university studies, he has switched to his home community that supports the war and his parents believe that the war is good. It shows that there is an inner conflict as to what is good and what is evil. This conflict causes Tim to crack, and run away to Tip Top Lodge, which is close to the Canadian border. At this point, Tim has almost made his mind to become a draft dodger and this decision that the war is evil has a heavy penalty. That is by running away; he will never see his parents ever again. Furthermore, his parents would suffer from the social rejection of others in his town. They would believe that Tim had been a coward, and a runaway. Eventually, Tim appears to be good by enlisting and fighting in Vietnam. His moral values had not changed. However, he believed that he could appear to do more good than evil. Actually, he considered himself a coward who did not embrace his own values as to good and evil. His narrative describes the fears in a world where Tim is afraid of expressing ideas that run contrary to his family and town. In fact, his fear caused him to run away and to keep his secret from everyone. When Tim stops believing in a picture of absolute good and evil, it leads him to understand that it is not because he believes in nothing, but instead he believes that everything is possible, including, that he is a