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Baba was born
The man who helped give birth to Amir and Hassan was born, "In 1933, the year Baba was born and the year Zahir Shah began his forty-year reign of Afghanistan," (Hosseini 24). Baba was born and worked to become a wealthy and powerful man. His kind and influential actions affect Amir and many others throughout the story until he dies of cancer. -
Amir was born
Hassan was born one year after Amir, who was born "...just one year after [1964] my mother died giving birth to me" (Hosseini 6). Amir is the main character and the man who tells his life story. In his life story, it is mentioned and foreshadowed that what happened during the winter of 1975 changed everything for Amir, including the way he thought and acted. -
Hassan was born
Hassan never really talked about his mother, but, "It was in that small shack that Hassan's mother, Sanaubar, gave birth to him one cold winter day in 1964" (Hosseini 6). Hassan was born as a Hazara and was a servant for Baba and Amir but was considered family. Hassan's innocence and friendliness plays a big role in the story and helps to influence other characters greatly. -
Hassan's 13th birthday
On Hassan's thirteenth birthday, Baba explains, "'It's an unusual present I know,' Baba said. 'And probably not what you had in mind, but this present will last you forever" (Hosseini 46). Baba was kind enough to give Hassan the gift of a surgery to fix Hassan's cleft lip. Baba pays for this surgery not only because he is very wealthy, but because Hassan is his son. -
Amir watched Hassan being raped in the alley
As Amir watched, Hassan was tortured and raped by Assef when, "Assef knelt behind Hassan, put his hands on Hassan's hips and lifted his bare buttocks" (Hosseini 75). This one tragic event in the story forever changes Amir and Hassan's relationship and filled Amir with regret for standing and watching his friend being raped. In a way, what Hassan experiences plays a major role in deciding Amir's power over Hassan. -
Amir wins the kite tournament
After the intense gust of wind that had brought Amir's kite into winning the kite tournament, "...we were hopping up and down, both of us laughing, both of us weeping. 'You won, Amir agha! You won!'"(Hosseini 66) Amir was extremely excited to win the kite tournament and described it as a "beautiful dream." Part of Amir wanted to win for winning, but most of his influence and his excitement was coming from Baba. -
Amir turns thirteen years old
When Amir turns thirteen in the story, Baba throws a big surprise party for him. Surprisingly, Assef shows up and gives Amir a present, "I tore the wrapping paper from Assef's present and tilted the cover in the moonlight. It was a biography of Hitler" (Hosseini 97). The thought that Assef put into the shows how he was intending to provoke Amir. This made Amir regretful that he could not and hadn't done anything about Assef or stood up for himself or Hassan. -
The Soviet Invasion
Before American forces started helping the weak Afghan government, "...has known little peace since 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded"(NYT). -
Baba and Amir leave Kabul
While riding in a truck out of Kabul, Amir mentions that, "My innards had been roiling since we'd left Kabul just after two in the morning" (Hosseini 110). About a dozen men women and children rode in the truck that took Amir and Baba out of Kabul. This truck would eventually be the truck to take them on a journey to freedom in America. -
Amir graduates high school
After living in the United States for a few years, "That summer of 1983, Amir graduated from high school at the age of twenty..." (Hosseini 131). Amir believes that this day is a happier day for Baba than himself. He reminisces about how he loved to be on the receiving end of some pride and the excitement that his proud father brings down to him. -
Baba is diagnosed with cancer
The doctor called with the CAT scan and delivered the terrible news that, "It turned out that, like Satan, cancer had many names. Baba's was called 'Oat Cell Carcinoma'" (Hosseini 155,156). After Baba was diagnosed with cancer, Amir was of course shocked. Eventually, cancer kept Baba from the flea market until he died a sad death when he didn't take his medication. -
Amir marries Soraya
Amir reminisces about the happiest day of his life and says, "I remember walking toward the stage, now in my tuxedo, Soraya a veiled pari in white, our hands locked" (Hosseini 170). Amir had finally been able to marry the girl that he couldn't stop thinking about. Even though it was the happiest day of his life, remorse and shame reminded Amir of what he did to Hassan. -
Amir finishes his first novel
In the summer of 1988, "...about six months before the soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, I finished my first novel, a father-son story set in Kabul, written mostly with the typewriter the general gave to me" (Hosseini 182). -
Soviet Troops Leave Afghanistan
After about ten years and multiple "...peace talks moderated by the United Nations, the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989,"(NYT) -
Sanaubar comes back for Hassan
When Saaubar cam to the house, Rahim Khan said, "I sat with Sanaubar all day as the sky went from bright blue to purple" (Hosseini 210). Sanaubar came back to try to atone for what she had done to her family. Although she thought it would be a nice surprise, Hassan was shocked by her coming back after being absent in his life for so many years. -
After the Soviets Left
By the summer of 1994, "...Afghanistan descended into vicious internecine strife,"(NYT) -
Taliban Takeover
After the student movement grew dramatically, "...the Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic Law,"(NYT) -
Sohrab tries to commit suicide
After Amir mentions bringing Sohrab back to the orphanage, he finds himself, "Suddenly I was on my knees, screaming. Screaming through my clenched teeth. Screaming until I thought my throat would rip and my chest explode" (Hosseini 343). Amir not only walked in on Sohrab in the bathtub with slit wrists, but he also saw how scared Sohrab was. For Sohrab, the orphanage brought up bad memories about being sexually abused and tortured. -
9/11
The attack of the World Trade Center in New York was a devastation to the country and, "...President George W. Bush gave the Taliban an ultimatum to hand over Mr. Bin Laden"(NYT). -
The Taliban Resurgence
After the 9/11 attacks, the Taliban were defeated in 2001 but, "...the Taliban continued to wage a guerrilla warfare from a base in the mountainous and largely lawless tribal area on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border"(NYT). -
Rahim Khan tells Amir to come back to Pakistan
Amir explains how, "One day last summer, my friend Rahim Khan called from Pakistan. He asked me to come see him" (Hosseini 1). The whole book is told from the perspective of Amir and the story of his life. After Amir moved to the United States and left many people behind, some significant events occurred that Amir was not aware of. Rahim Khan called not only to tell Amir to come so he could learn about all that has happened, but to to tell Amir how "there is a way to be good again." -
Karzai Government
Hamid Karzai was named the leader of the country because he replaced the defeated Taliban and, "He took office as interim president in June 2002, saying that he hoped to secure peace for Afghanistan and win the country much-needed international aid"(NYT). -
Sohrab smiles for the first time
Amir runs a a kite for Sohrab, "It was only a smile, nothing more. It didn't make everything all right. It didn't make anything all right. Only a tiny thing. A leaf in the woods, shaking in the wake of a startled bird's flight. But I'll take it" (Hosseini 371). In the beginning of the book, Hassan used to run kites for Amir. After all the years that passed leaving Amir regretful of what he did to Hassan, Amir finally does what is right and tries to atone for what he has done by taking Sohrab. -
General Petraeus
Right before Obama was elected President, "General Petraeus, the Iraq commander who received much of the credit for the success of the surge there, had taken charge of the United States Central Command in October 2008,"(NYT) -
Obama's Speech
Barack Obama gave a speech on Dec. 1, 2009 that, "...announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops"(NYT). -
Forces in Afghanistan
After Obama said that American forces would start returning home in the middle of 2011, "...the Obama administration changed its tone to increasingly emphasize the idea that the United States will have forces in the country until at least the end of 2014"(NYT).