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Baba Build's an Orphanage
Baba was going to build an orphanage for children in Afghanistan who aren't as fortunate as Amir. Baba decided to draw "the blueprints himself" ( Hosseini 13). Baba is a very outgoing person who is very highly looked upon in the community. He wants to make sure that everything is done the way that he likes it, once the orphanage was finished he was very excited about the grand reveal. -
Hassans Birthday
Baba never missed Hassans birthday and for his 11th birthday Baba got him "'an unusual present ... and probably not what you ha in mind, but this present will last you forever"' (Hosseini 46). Baba had given Hassan a plastic surgeon to fix his cleft lip. Getting Hassan a present every year for his birthday is Baba's way of being a good father toward Hassan. -
The Winter Kite Contest
Amir and Hassan make the best kite tournament team, Amir fly's the kite and Hassan runs them. This year, they wanted to win, Rahim Khan and "Baba [were] on the roof watching [us]" (Hosseini 60). Amir feels the pressure from Baba to win the kite tournament.This would show Baba that Amir could be a son that he can be proud of and not the son who sits in his room all day reading books. -
The Rape
While Hassan was running the kite for Amir, he was confronted by Assef and his friends. Amir aspired to be a coward as he watched he "felt paralyzed" (Hosseini 71). Amir will always feel guilty for what he let happen in that ally. He watched his best friend get rapped in front of him and he was to much of a coward to do anything about it. -
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Kite Runner and the History of Afghanistan
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Ali and Hassan leave
Ali has noticed the change in Hassans behavior and has decided that "'[they] are leaving, ... [they] can't live [there] anymore"' (Hosseini 106). Baba has no idea why Ali and Hassan feel like they have to leave. He feels betrayed by Ali knowing that Hassan is his son. -
The first Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan
In 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan they stayed there for "more than 9 years, fighting a conflict that cost roughly 15,000 lives" (2) -
Baba and Amir in America
Baba decided that it was unsafe for him and Amir to live in Afghanistan and "Baba loved the idea of America" (Hosseini 125). To most people living in America is seen as a fresh start filled with freedom and a hope for the future. Baba was no different, he turned a bad situation into a good one and tried to do what was best for his son. -
Amir's High School Graduation
Amir was determined to graduate form high school even though he was "by far the oldest senior tossing his mortarboard on the football field that day" (Hosseini 131). Amir wanted to acheive this dream and didn't care how long it took him to do it. This was an important bonding moment for Amir and Baba because Amir felt like Baba was finally proud of him. It as also the next step towards Amirs dream of becoming a writer. -
The Swap Meet Princess
Amir and Soraya met at the swap market where both their family's have stands, The night Amir meet Soraya he laid "awake in bed that night, [he] thought of Soraya ... [his] heart stuttered at the thought of her. Soraya Taheri" (Hosseini 142). From the moment that Amir met Soraya he couldn't get her out of his mind. This foreshadows the wedding between Soraya and Amir and how Amir will go outside of his comfort zone to respect Soraya's family and have Baba ask for her hand in marriage. -
Baba's Death
Baba had been sick for a while and just a few months after the wedding Soraya "pulled up his blanket. [They] closed the door. Baba never woke up" (Hosseini 173). The days that followed Baba's death were very difficult for everyone involved but they were most taxing on Amir. It was the first time that he was going to be on his own without Baba, without his hand to watch over him, and for Amir, that was a scary thought. -
Rahim Khan Finds Hassan
After Amir and Baba left Afghanistan to go to America Rahim Khan started living in their house, Rahim Khan "wasn't alone for all of them. Hassan lived their with [him]" (Hosseini 203). Rahim Kahn need someone to help him tend to the house but ore importantly he was lonely and needed some company. Hassan was very respectful and didn't want to live in the house, him and his wife lived in the little shed where he was born. -
The Wedding
Amir and Soraya had a beautiful wedding ceremony that was full of many emotions, Amir "whispered to her for the first time that [he] loved her. A blush, like red henna, bloomed on her checks" (Hosseini 171). This was a very special day for Amir, Soraya and and both their families. It was a day where they could start their new lives together, the first time they said they loved each other and the night that they made love together for the first time. -
Amir's First Novel
Amir was so excited when he found out that he "was going to be a published novelist" (Hosseini 183). This was an exciting time for both Amir and Soraya because of how hard Amir had to work to get their. All of his life their were people who didn't believe that he could become a writer and that summer he prove them wrong. -
The Soviet troops left Afghanistan
After 10 years of fighting the Soviet troops left Afghanistan and "left behind a country that was not only devistated by the war but that had become a beacon to Islamic extremest" (2). -
Amir and Soraya's Fertility Issues
Amir and Soraya had both wanted kids and when they started trying Soraya couldn't get pregnant. After hundreds of doctors visits and test they were able to get an answer, the doctor "'explained that he couldn't explain why we couldn't have kids ... it was called 'Unexplained Infertility'" (Hosseini 185). After they found out that they couldn't have an children Amir and Soraya were crushed. Amir felt as if he had let Soraya down by not being able to get her pregnant. -
Farzana and Hassan's Son
Once Saunabar returned and was nursed back to health, she "delivered Hassan's son that winter ... [and] he became the center of her existence" (Hosseini 211). One of the reasons that Saunabar was bonding so well with Sohrab was that she was making up for lost time with Hassan. She wanted him to know that she was trying to atone for her mistakes and bonding with Sohrab was the only way she new how. -
Power Divide
Power was becoming something that was hard to get and even harder to hold on to, before "the summer of 1994, power was anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms" (2). -
Taliban gaining followers
The Taliban was beginning to increase in size, "by the end of 1994 Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers" (2) -
Safe Haven
The Taliban provided shelter for "Mr bin Laden, who arrived by the chartered jet at Jalalabad Airport" (3). -
Taliban Takeover
The Taliban were gaining followers and the end of 1996 "had taken control of Afghanistan" (3) -
Taliban Gains Control
The Taliban began to gain "control in 1996 after year of civil war"(1) -
Amir and Hassan are Brothers
During Amirs talk with Rahim Khan he finds out that "'Ali was sterile"' (Hosseini 222). After hearing the news Amir felt betrayed, he felt like everyone had betrayed him by hiding this secret. Amir felt like his life wasn't his own anymore, he felt as if everything he had ever known had just come crashing down around him and the worst part was, Hassan had died not knowing the truth. -
Former Afghanistan King was Exiled
Hamid Karzai "was named chairman of an interim government that replaced the defeated Taliban, making him the leader of the country" (3) -
9/11 Terrorist attack
In 2001 the Taliban "attack[ed] the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001". (3) -
A New President
Mr Karzai, a new Afghanistan president "was elected to a five-year term as president" (3)
