-
Baba's birth
The book goes back to "the year Baba was born and the year Zahir Shah began his forty-year reign of Afghanistan, two brothers, young men from a wealthy and reputable family in Kabul" (Hosseini 24). Even as a child Baba came from a wealthy family and carried that wealth through his whole life. With a high socioeconomic status, determined how much power he has in society. -
Baba's orphanage
Amir talks about how successful Baba, his father, is as he explains, "in the late 1960s when i was five or six, Baba decided to build an orphanage" (Hosseini 13). As Baba is a wealthy man and has high power, he uses his wealth for a good cause. He uses his power to accomplish this task and as a result, to keep to people in his society safe. -
Hassan and Amir's mothers
Amir goes into more detail about his family as he says, "my [Amir] mother hemorrhaged to death during childbirth, while Hassan lost his less than a week after he was born" (Hosseini 6). While Amir feels ashamed for what he put his mother through, he still thinks about her but only with sorrow. Hassan is curious and confused about his mother's disapearance, though it doesn't affect him as much as it affects Amir. -
Hassan and Amir's strong relationship
Amir goes back and talks about the special bond he had with Hassan as he says, "one day, in July 1973, I played another little trick on Hassan. Hassan, of course, was oblivious to this" (Hosseini 30). Though both Amir and Hassan came from different social classes, they still had this connection that strengthen their friendship. Amir played tricks on Hassan as a way of love and to have Hassan react back and that is his sign of love for Amir. -
Hassan's birthday
Amir gets the same feeling every year when he says, "Babs never missed Hassan's birthday" (Hosseini 44). Hassan gets more recognition and respect from Baba more than Amir does. That secretly leaves Amir jealous of Baba's affection towards Hassan. -
Amir's sudden thoughts
Amir has rememberance about his past as he says, "I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of 1975 came along and changed everything. And made me what I am today" (Hosseini 2). This foreshadows that something happened in Amir's life. The outcome of this event took a huge toll in his life, and it is something that he will never forget. -
Amir's foreshadowing
Amir gets closer to talking about what happened in the winter of 1975 as he says, "that was the last time I [Amir] saw Hassan run a kite for the last time" (Hosseini 55). This is another reference of foreshadowing about this life changing event. Amir makes it so specific and personal and slowly transitions into the background of this. We then get an idea that a sudden plot tiwst is going to occur. -
Amir's isolation
Soon after Amir isolates himself from the tragedy that Hassan went through he says, "the restof that winter of 1975 is pretty hazy. I remember I was fairly happy when Baba was home" (Hosseini 87). The pain that Amir goes through results in him being lonely, though this only gets Amir closer with Baba, the thing he wanted the most. Once he got it, he feels more accepted by Baba and more powerful than Hassan. -
Amir's birthday
Those feelings of affection from Baba changes as Amir says, "I [Amir] turned 13 that summer of 1976, Afghanistan's next to last summer of peace and anonmymity. Things between Baba and me were already cooling off again" (Hosseini 93). Though Amir got what he wanted before, he still wasn't accepted by Baba. Even through big events such as Amir's birthday, isn't worth celebrating because of Baba accusing Amir of his wife's loss. Baba is still bitter by that, and feels the needs to isolate himself. -
Troubles in Afghanistan
A sudden breakout scared Amir and his community as "the end, the official end, would come first in April 1978, with the communist coup d'etat" (Hosseini 36). Amir and the people around him are not familiar with this event that could eventually affect their future. Not knowing what to do, they assume that their lives are going to end. -
More troubles in Afghanistan
Amir continues to address us about his worries as he says, "and then in December 1979, when Russian tanks would roll into the very same streets where Hassan and I played, bringing the death of the Afghanistan I knew" (Hosseini 36). Once again, Amir is panicked about these certain groups taking over their power and taking away the lives of innocent Afghani people. He foreshadows that in the future he may isolate himself to get away from the disaster that is about to come in Afghanistan. -
The Soviet Invasion
The New York Times states that "turmoil and extremisn that have dominated its history since then can be traced to the 1979 invasion by the Soviet Union." ( New York Times, 2) -
America
Amir sees a sudden change in Baba's personality as he says, "Baba loved the idea of America. It was living in America that gave him an ulcer" (Hosseini 125). Now that the two got away from their troubled homeland, seems to change their way of live. Baba and Amir are both free and happy, though their socioeconomic status wasn't carried to America from Kabul. -
Amir graduating High School
After living in America, "I [Amir] graduated from high school at the age of twenty, by far the oldest senior tossing his mortarboard on the football field that day" (Hosseini 131). Amir's power and education from Kabul didn't carry over to America. That made life more difficult for Amir to get through school. -
Soviet Union Became Widely Known as Useless
In Afghanistan "after 1986, Soviet Air Force was also rendered largely useless by advanced Stinger antiaircraft missles supplied by the United States to the rebels." (New York Times, 2) -
Amir's last realization
The memory of 1975 never left Amir's head as he says, "there were alot of reasons why I [Amir] went to Hazarajat to find Hassan in 1986. The biggest one, Allah forgive me, was that I was lonely" (Hosseini 203). With Baba gone, Amir became independent, but he is still dependent on others to make him feel powerful. If he finds Hassan, the only person that made Amir powerful, he can hopefully atone for the pain he felt, since 1975. -
Soviet Union Troops Abondoned Afghanistan
Finally, Afghanistan was no longer at war with the Soviet Union as "the last Soviet trrops left Afghanistan in Febuary 1989." (New York Times, 2) -
Northern Alliance in Kabul
Once Amir speaks to Rahim Khan after many years, Rahim Khan explains, "the Northern Alliance took over Kabul between 1992 and 1996, as different factions claimed different parts of Kabul" (Hosseini 199). Though life became hard for Amir in America, he realizes that leaving Kabul was the better choice. He is safe in America and he can set the troubles he faced in Kabul aside. -
Afghan Power was Split
As a result of the Soviet Union destructing Afghanistan when the troops left, "power was anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms." (New York Times, 2) -
Mullah Omar
Mullah Omar promised to restore Islam as "he created a genuinely popualr movement in a country weary of corruption and brutality." (New York Times, 2) -
The Taliban Takeover
The Taliban takeover Afganistan and strict laws such as "banning movies and music and forcing women out of schools and into all-enveloping burqa clothing," (New York Times, 3) are being held. -
Attack on 9/11
Post the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, "the United States joined forces with rebel groups that had never accepted Taliban rule, notably the Northern Alliance, which represented minority tribes." (New York Times, 3) -
The Taliban Resurgence
The Taliban regrouped as they "Spilled over into Pakistan, raising concerns about its stablility, and making Afghanistan Once more a top foreign policy priority for the Western Allies." (New York Times, 4) -
Mr. Karzai as President
The newly elected president, Hamid Karazai, "hoped to secure peace for Afganistan and win the country much-needed international aid." (New York Times, 2) -
Obama's Announcement
Obama announces "to start bringing American forces home from Afghanistan in the middle of 2011, saying that she United States could not afford and should not have to shoulder an open-ended commitment." (New York Times, 4)