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Amir wins the kite tournament
In chapter seven, Amir wins the kite torunament, as it is stated; "You won, Amir agha! You won!" (Hosseini 66). The two boys had worked very hard for it and it was a happy occasion when they did. Hassan was very proud of Amir, but Amir did not seem to be the same for Hassan. -
Hassan gets raped
In The Kite Runner, Assef takes power over Hassan by saying "'I've changed my mind. I'm 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" (Hosseini 73). Assef uses that as a threat as maybe a last-ditch attempt to make Hassan give up the kite. However, that does not work and Hassan gets "what he deserves." -
Hassan and Ali leave Baba's house
After the incident with Hassan and Assef, things started to fall apart. The last straw was when Amir blamed Hassan for stealing his watch. Afterwards, Ali said "Life here is impossible for us now, Agha sahib. We're leaving" (Hosseini 106). This was the end of Hassan and Ali's presence in Amir's life, although their legacy still haunted Amir throughout his life. -
The Soviets Invade Afghanistan
Trouble arose when "The first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on December 27, 1979" (NYT 2). -
Period: to
Kite Runner & the History of Afghanistan
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Baba and Amir escape Kabul
Sometime in between Hassan and Ali's leaving, things in Kabul get so bad that the two have to escape. "My innards had been rolling since we'd left Kabul just after two in the morning (Hosseini 110). They think that leaving Afghanistan will fare them better, -
Amir graduates high school
After all his troubles, Amir finally accomplishes graduating high school in 1983. As he says "That summer of 1983, I graduated from high school at the age of 20, by far the oldest senior tossing his mortarboard on the football field that day" (Hosseini 131). Throughout all the moving around and the struggles he had endured all his life, it was a big deal for Amir to finish his primary schooling. -
Baba and Ali start to work at the flea market
In 1984, Amir and Baba start making more of a living by gathering random items and "[driving] to the San Jose flea market off Berryessa, rented a spot, and sold the junk for a small profit" (Hosseini 137). Even though the profits were small, slowly they added up to help Baba and Amir. This also helped them to make a circle of Afghan friends, as over time many Afghan families began to sell goods at the flea market -
Amir and Soraya meet
Amir finally gains the bravery to talk to Soraya a year after he first notices her. "Can I ask what you're reading?" (Hosseini 146). This is a significant event in the story because this is when he meets the woman who he is going to marry. Soraya and Amir both see this as a significant event. -
Baba's cancer is diagnosed
Although Baba had not been feeling well for some time, his cancer was finally noticed when one day, "Baba's cancer was called 'Oat Cell Carcinoma" (Hosseini 155-156). This was somewhat of an embarrassment for Baba. He did not want to be known as a weak man, but soon enought the weakness would begin to take over. -
Baba dies
After the wedding, Baba gets significantly worse and soon dies; as it is stated "Baba never woke up" (Hosseini 173). This is a significant event in the story, because Amir's rock, the one he always looked up to, is gone. The story turns in a whole new direction after Baba's death. -
Soviets Leave Afghanistan
In February of 1989, "the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan" (New York Times 2). -
Amir releases his first novel
"The novel was released in the summer of that following year, 1989" (Hosseini 183). is stated in Chapter thirteen. This is a big accomplishment for Amir, because it had been a dream for him to write stories since he was a young child. This is something that he had wanted to do and now that Baba was gone, he could do it without any flack from Baba. -
Sohrab is born
In Rahim Khan's story, Amir learns about his nephew, Sohrab. "It was Sanaubar who delivered Hassan's son that winter of 1990" (Hosseini 211). This is the birth of someone who turns out to be a major character in the story. -
Power is divided among warlords
It is stated in the article that "by the summer of 1994, power was anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual fifedoms" (NYT 2). -
Mullah Omar has 12,000 followers
By 1994, "Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers and was rolling up the warlords to the north and east" (NYT 2). -
Taliban takes control of Afghanistan
"The Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan" (NYT 3). Movies, music and women in school were all banned by this horrific goernment. -
Osama Bin Laden arrives in Afghanistan
In May of 1996, bin Laden "arrived by chartered jet at Jalalabad Airport" (NYT 3). -
Amir goes to visit Rahim Khan in Pakistan
Rahim Khan calls Amir nearly twenty years after he leaves Afganistan asking for one last visit, which ends with Amir saying, "'I have to go to Pakistan'" (Hosseini 191). Amir feels obligated to, due to being Khan's friend when he was a child. He might think of it as a last duty. -
Sohrab attempts Suicide
After recieving the news that he will have to go back to an orphanage, Sohrab is deeply upset and tries to commit suicide. He almost died, as "they would have lost him if his heart hadn't been young and strong" (Hosseini 348). This shows how scarring the orphanage had been and how badly Assef must have treated him. -
Amir and Sohrab come back from Pakistan
After many upsetting events, Amir comes back to California with Sohrab in tow. Amir says, "I had never been away from Soraya for so long, and when she locked her arms around my neck, when I smelled apples in her ahir, I realized how much I had missed her" (Hosseini 357). After so many years, Soraya and Amir are still in love, which is unusual in this society, where people tend to hop back and forth between different people. Amir and Soraya show love for each other in wonderful ways. -
Planes Crash into the World Trade Center
After the attacks on the World Trade Center, "President George W. Bush gave the Taliban an ultimatum to hand over Mr. Bin Laden" (NYT 3). -
Hamid Karzai is named chairman of an interim govermnment
The Karzai government was introduced in December of 2001, when "Hamid Karzai, a supporter and relative of Mohammed Zahir Shah, the exiled former king of Afghanistan, was named chairman of an interim government that replaced the defeated Taliban, making him the leader of the country" (NYT 3). -
Story Begins
The story begins in December of 2001. Amir gives the background of the sotry and soon begins to tell it. -
Hamid Karzai is president
Hamid Karzai was named interim president in June 2002, "saying he hoped to secure peace in Afghanistan and win the country much-needed international aid" (NYT 3) -
President Obama plans to bring troops home by 2011
In a speech he gave in December of 2009, President Obama stated that "the United States could not afford and should not have to shoulder an open-ended commitment" (NYT 4).