Kite Runner and the History of Afghanistan

  • Baba born and Ali comes to Baba's Family

    Baba was born in 1933 and sometime during this year two brothers who were high crashes their fathers car and killed a husband and wife. The couple left behind an orphan. Amir said, "As for the orphan, my grandfather adopted him into his own household and tols the other servants to tutor him, but the be kinds to him. That boy was Ali."(24-25) This is one of the most important events in The Kite Runner because if Ali never came to live with Baba then Ali and Hassan would work for Baba and Amir.
  • Assef bullies Hasssn

    Assef begain aserting his power when he and Hassan young. He said things lile "put it done you motherless Hazara".(42) Assef began his strong fearful power at a young age and it only got worse as he got older. The power Assef had was powered by fear and him using his socioeconomic status for the wrong reaseons.
  • Hassan is violated by Assef

    After his victorious win and running the blue kite Hassan is cornered by Assef and his croonies. Assef tells Hassan, "I am letting you keep the kite, Hazara. I'll let you keep it so it will always remind you of what I'm about to do."(73) Assef is being very powerful in this moment. His friends did not even want to help him at first, he had to convince them. Nobody should have this happen to them and this is just one of many examples of Assef's poor but strong morals.
  • Amir and Hassan win the kite tournament

    In the winter Amir and Hassan win the kite tournament and evryone is very proud of them. Hassan is especially proud he tells Amir, "You won, Amir agha! You won!"(66) Hassan is the most proud of Amir because he sees how much Amir wants Baba's attention and fills in giving Amir the attetention. Hassan loves Amir more than Amir could imagine.
  • Amir puts money under Hassan's mattress and Hassan accepts the blame

    Amir can't live with himself and what he saw happen to Hassan so he makes Hassan leave. According to Amir when Baba askes Hassan if he did it "[His] reply was a single word, delivered in a thin raspy voice: Yes".(105) Amir feels guilty and Hassan being there is a constant reminder of his guilt. Since he is young and unconfident in his morals Amir is unable to act on them.
  • Soviet Union Invades

    First troups came "to assist Babrak Karmal, who had become president in a coup within the Afghan COmmunist leadership."(2)
  • Amir and Baba escape Afghanistan and go to America

    According to Amir, "Baba loves the idea of America. It was living in America that gave him a ulcer."(125) In America Amir was able to push away his Afghanistan memories and assimilate to an American lifestyle. Unlike Amir Baba felt alone and confused in America.
  • Amir marries Soraya

    Amir loves Soraya and even after she told him about her past he says, "Nothing you said changes anything. I want us to marry."(169)Even though they don't know eachother that well their bond is strong. Soraya is good for Amir.
  • Soviet Troops still in Afghanistan

    Soviet troops are still in Afghanistan, "fighting a conflict that lost them roughtly 15,000 lives and undisclosed billions of rubles."(2) After this the US supplied antiaircrat missiles to Afghan rebels, and Soviet airforce was useless.
  • Baba dies

    Baba died in his sleep after the cancer took ver his whole body. Amir said, "We closed the door. Baba never woke up."(173) Through their years together in America Baba and Amir became as close as Amir had wished they could be when he was a child. Now Amir's life is completely changed and Amir changes with it.
  • Soviet Union Leaves

    According to the New York Times, after the Soviet troops left "they left behind a country that was not only devestated by the war but that had become a beacon to Islamic extremeist from across the globe who had come to assist in the fighting, including OSama bin Laden and the group he helped found, Al Qaeda."(2)
  • Mullah Omar and the Taliban rise up

    The New York TIme says that, "the Taliban grew out of a student movement dedicated to purifying the counrty". (2)
  • Taliban take control of Afghanistan

    The Taliban took conrol and "impos[ed] strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law, bann[ed] movies and music and forc[ed] women out of schools and into all enveloping burqa clothing." (3)
  • Osama Bin Laden arrives in Aghanistan

    Osama bin Laden went to Afghanistan because "the Taliban provided a haven for Mr. Bin Laden."(3)
  • Hassan and his wife are murdered by the Taliban

    Rahin Khan told Amir "Hassan protested again. So they took him into the street--and ordered him to kneel--and shot him in the back of the head--Farzana came screaming and attacked them--shot her too. Self defence they claimed." This news was heart breaking to Amir. He got to live a nice and safe life in America and Hassan was killed just for living in Kabul. This defintely changed how Amir felt about everything and he felt more guilty for making them leave because maybe they could have gone with
  • Amir goes back to Afghanistan

    After reveiving a call from Rahim Khan Amir decides to go back to Afghanistan. Amir nervously left for Peshawar and when he got there "a thing made of skin and bones pretending to be Rahim Khan opened the door".(197) Amir and Rahim's reunition was a big deal. They hadn't seen eachother in years and now they are both looking completely different. Rahim knows little about Amir's past few years and vice versa.
  • Amir learns that Hassan was his half brother

    Amir learns that Hassan was his half brother by Rahim telling him "Ali was sterile." (223) This was more life changing news that Amir learned from Rahim Khan on this day in 2001. Amir learns more about his father and why he always treated Hassan equally to Amir. Baba wanted to love Hassan as openly as he could Amir and that is why he didn't give Amir the attention Amir wanted because Baba felt it was unfair.
  • Al Queda attacks the World Trade Center in Ney York

    After the attack happened "President Goerge W. Bush gave the Taliban an ultimatum to han over Mr bin Laden."(3) Since the Taliban refused the US sent troops to help the rebel groups in Afghanistan that never gave in to Taliban rule.
  • Amir finds Sohrab

    After finding Sohrab with Assef, Sohrab does the thing Hassan was unable to do many years before, use the slingshot. From Amir's perspective "The slingshot made a thwiiiiiit sound when Sohrab realesed the cup. Then Assef was screaming."(291) Sohrab protects Amir just as Hassan had tried to do before. Due to the fact that Sohrab had grown up in a war zone he was able to use the slingshot and injure Assef.
  • Hamid Karzai is named chairman of interim government

    The New York TImes says, "Hamid Karzai was named chairman of an interim government that replaced the defeated Taliban."(3)
  • Sohrab tries to commit suicide

    Amir found Sohrab and said he was"screaming until I thought my throat would rip and my chest would explode."(343) Amir and Sohrab thought they were going to be able to go to San Fransico together and Soraya and Amir would finally have a child, but the complications of getting Sohrab to America made him feel like a burden but also scared to go to an orphanage, so he tried to solve the problem by killing himself.While Sohrab thinks he is solving problems Amir feels all the pain he has been feeling
  • Sohrab and Amir savely make it to America

    They are greated by Soraya saying "Salaam, Sohrab jan, I'm your Khala Soraya. We've been waiting for you."(358) Soraya is very excited by the prospect of having a child, but Sohrab is not the child she wants. He was seen to much so far in his life and is very scared.
  • Mr Karzai eleced to five-year term as president

    Mr Karzai was elected and "[said] he hoped to secure peace for Afghanistan and win the counrty much-needed international aid."(3)
  • Amir runs a kite for Sohrab

    Before he runs the kite he says the words that Hassan told him "For you a thousand times over"(371) As much guilt as Amir still feels he is trying to remember the happy times he has with Hassan. Kite running is what they did together and he gets to share that with Hassan's son and his nephew.
  • General Petraues took charge of US Central Command

    According to New York Times General Petraus has "responsibility for militaru operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and across the region." (4)
  • All American troops out of Afghanistan

    The Obama administration emphasized "the Unites States will have forces in the country until at least the end of 2014." (4)