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Kite Runner and the history of Afghanistan
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Amir and Hassan win a Kite Flying contest
Amir closed his eyes right before cutting the last kite, then opened them to see "the blue kite spin wildly like a tire come loose from a speeding car" (Hosseini 66). Amir had been waiting for a win in the kite tournament, and had finally won his father's trust by doing so. This day was an unforgettable one, and was the last thing that he later would remember Hassan by. -
Hassan gets raped
Amir looked into the alley to see 2 of the most important things in his life, "one was the blue kite resting against the wall...the other was Hassan's brown corduroy pants thrown on a heap of eroded bricks" (Hosseini 75). In this scene, Amir is stuck having to compare 2 of the things that mean the most to him, with the kite being the key to his father's heart. It is this comparison that ultimately leads to Amir doing nothing, even though Hassan had stood up to Assef for Amir earlier. -
Amir turns 13
Amir says "I turned thirteen that summer of 1976, Afghanistan's next to last summer of peace and anonymity." (Hosseini 93). Amir turning 13 marks the end of an era in his lifetime; after this, his life stops being easy and happy, as he and Hassan drift away and their country falls apart. After he turns 13, life is much harder for Amir and his personality will need to become tougher. -
Stable Times
Before 1979, Afghanistan was "a stable, relatively prosperous and relatively secular country" ("Afghanistan, an Overview"). -
Start of War with Soviets
Soviets competed with Britain for "Influence in Central Asia ("Afghanistan, an Overview"). -
Amir and Baba leave Afghanistan.
Amir recalls after he left from Kabul, saying that his "innards had been rolling since [they] had left Kabul" (Hosseini 110). Here Amir leaves Kabul because the Russians had invaded it, and so it was no longer safe. Amir would not return for a long time. The fact that Amir had been sick is a subtle reference to Amir not wanting to leave Kabul, and being frustrated of what had become of it - a feeling that would only worsen. -
Baba and Amir arrive in America
Amir says that Baba "loved the idea of America" (Hosseini 124). Amir recalls not loving the idea of going to America, but eventually realizes that he has to. Moving to America will distance Amir from his country, both affecting him by making him sad of what it has become, but also shameful that he left the country in favor of another. -
Amir meets Soraya
from the moment he meets her, Amir thinks of her and her "gently hooked nose, and the way her luminous eyes had fleetingly held [his]" (Hosseini 142). Soraya is the love interest in The Kite Runner, and reveals some of Amir's most lacking traits. For example, she is able to very quickly trust Amir enough to tell him her deepest regret and mistake, while Amir takes a much longer time to tell her. -
Baba dies
Shortly after Amir and Soraya get married, Baba decides not to take his morphine, saying "'there is no pain tonight'...Baba never woke up" (Hosseini 173). -
End of War with Soviets
After peace talks, "the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989" ("Afghanistan, an Overview"). -
Taliban Rise Up
The Taliban gain a following "out of a student movement dedicated to purifying the country" ("Afghanistan, an Overview"). -
Taliban Take Control
The Taliban got enough influence and following that they took power, and started "imposing strict - enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law" ("Afghanistan, an Overview"). -
Hassan and Farzana get shot
After his house gets taken over, Hassan protested the Taliban but they "'took him to the street...and ordered him to kneel...and shot him in the back of the head"' (Hosseini 219). Hassan was loyal and stood up for Amir and his family up until the very end, when he gets shot. The death of Hassan was important due to the fact that it would mean not only that Amir had lost who was once his dear friend, but also that he would not get any closure with him before death. -
Fall of the Taliban
After 9/11, the U.S. joined with rebel groups in Afghanistan and "drove the Taliban out of the major Afghan cities by the end of the year" ("Afghanistan, an Overview"). -
Amir fights Assef
Amir recalls when he fights Asef, saying that all that he could mutter was "I think I gave him a good fight, I think I gave him a good fight" (Hosseini 287). Amir tries to fight Assef but he is too strong and ends up only escaping when Sohrab shoots a brass ball at his eye. The significance of the fight with Assef is that it served as a cleansing for Amir, as he thought that it was what he deserved after all of the years of wrongdoing, which is why he was laughing. -
Amir is treated in the hospital
After the fight with Assef, Amir escapes but with many injuries, and the doctor says that he is "'very lucky to be alive"' (Hosseini 296). Amir being injured and hospitalized makes it so that he has to stay in Afghanistan for a longer time, meaning that the Taliban would have more time to come after him, and he would not be able to see the rest of his family. The other thing is that he would have to leave the hospital prematurely, affecting his ability later to find Sohrab. -
Amir breaks his promise with Sohrab
Amir thinks that his only option to adopt Sohrab is to adopt him, and in order to do that, he tells Sohrab that he is going to need to stay in a "home for kids for a while" (Hosseini 341). Amir is so desperate to get Sohrab to the United States that he decides to opt for the choice to put Sohrab in an orphanage then wait then adopt him, breaking his promise to not put him into an orphange. Sohrab loses faith in Amir and breaks out into tears, sad because he has endured a life of hardship. -
Sohrab tries to commit suicide
After Amir tells him that he needs to go back to an orphanage, Sohrab is found with his "left arm dangling over the side of the tub, the blood-soaked razor sitting on the toilet tank" (Hosseini 347-348). Sohrab has lost all faith in Amir and is so tired of being in the system of mistreatment that he decides that it is not worth it anymore. This causes significant fright to Amir and he promises to pray every day. Although Sohrab lives, he does not talk again for the rest of the book. -
Amir and Sohrab Arrive
After the fright, Amir recalls that he "arrived home about seven months ago, on a warm day in August 2001" (Hoseini 2001). Amir has taken a huge journey to the Middle East, and while he was able to come back with Sohrab, it came at a price. Rahim Khan, Hassan, Ali, Farzana and Sanaubar are all dead, and Sohrab is now mute and never smiles. -
General Taheri does not approve of Sohrab
General Taheri seems to care about how others think of them more than the well being of his own family, saying "they will want to know why there is a Hazara boy living with our daughter. What do I tell them?" (Hosseini 360). This turns into Amir snapping at him and telling everyone the whole story about Hassan being his half-brother, angry that while he had been so accepting of others, the General had not been of Sohrab. Amir learns to embrace the situation, own up to it, and be proud of Sohrab. -
Amir and Sohrab fly kites
The book ends with Amir and Sohrab in a kite flying contest, and after they break a kite, Amir repeats the iconic line "For you, a thousand times over!" (Hosseini 371). Amir finds himself playing with Sohrab when he sees him do a half smile, for the first time in a year. The significance of this is that the kite running symbolizes that the end of Amir's real hardships are over. The line symbolizes that Amir has repayed Hassan full circle and is free of emotional debt from Hassan. -
Hamid Karzai is Elected
With the support of the people, Karzai wins the election, saying that he "hoped to secure peace for Afghanistan and win the country much-needed international aid" ("Afghanistan, an Overview") -
Taliban Resurgence
The Taliban bounced back after 9/11 and after the U.S. took attention away from them they "regrouped and began to extend its influence in the southern part of Afghanistan" ("Afghanistan, an Overview") -
More Troops Deployed in Afghanistan
Obama deployed 30,000 troops and "vowed to start bringing American forces home from Afghanistan in the middle of 2011" ("Afghanistan, an Overview"). -
Aggression Towards Afghanistan
In 2014 aggression towards Afghanistan continued as officials "[tried] to convince Afghans that the United States is not walking away and to warn the Taliban that aggressive operations against them would continue" ("Afghanistan, and Overview").