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Baba was born
The same year Amir's grandfather took Ali in, "in 1933, ...Baba was born" (24). This was the beginning of a friendship that became more like brotherhood. Even though Baba was not Ali's blood relative, that did not stop him from accepting him and treating him like a brother. -
Ali's parents were killed
The year Baba was born, "In 1933... two young brothers...struck and killed a Hazara husband and wife..." (24). The couple that was killed were the parents of Ali, and Baba's father decided to take the orphan into his own home. If this had never happened, Baba and Ali would have never been as close as they were. -
Amir meets a connection to his mom
On the streets of Jalalabad, Amir sparks a conversation with an old man who "from 1958 to 1996[, had] taught Hãfez, Khayyám, Rumi, Beydel, Jami, Saadi" (249). Even an innocent man this, could not escape the disparaties that the Taliban brought with it's rule. He was wise and well educated, yet he ended up in the streets along with many other Afghan citizens. -
Hassan is born
One year after Amir's mother died giving birth to him, "Hassan was born[,] in the winter of 1964" (6). When Amir tells this, he feels guilty for his mother dying after giving birth to him. The fact that he mentions his mother's death instead of his own birth shows guilt and pain in Amir. -
Baba Decides to Build an Orphanage
When Amir was five or six, "in the late 1960s, ... Baba decided to build an orphanage... he succeeded and everyone shook their heads in awe at his triumphant ways" (13). Amir shows that he knows that his father gained lots of respect by building this orphanage, despite having no architectual background. After the orphanage succeeded, Amir and Baba got even richer, making their lives even more luxurious. -
Baba goes to Tehran to watch the World Cup
Since Afghanistan did not have television yet, "in 1970, Baba took a break from construction of the orphanage and flew to Tehran for a month to watch the World Cup games on television" (20). Baba leaving in the middle of construcion and going to another country shows how much he loves soccer. Baba's youth is brought back to him when he watches the World Cup because of his passion for soccer as a kid -
Old Man was a guest lecturure in Tehran, Iran
When the old man on the streets of Jalalabad was sharing his background, he mentioned his experience as "a guest lecturer in in Tehran, 1971..." (249). When Amir mentions his mother, the old man shares that he knew her. There, Amir learned more about his mother than he ever had from Baba. -
Amir plays a trick on Hassan
Amir played another little trick on Hassan when in "...July 1973, ... [he] was reading to [Hassan]... [he] pretended [he] was reading from the book... but [he] had abandoned the text altogether... and made up my own" (30). This reveals Amir's creative side as well as his ability to make things up on the spot. Although, it does show the ease of lying to Hassan and taking advantage of his trustworthiness and his lack of education. -
Hassan turns 10
Hassan and Amir were in the yard one day "early that winter in 1974... it was Hassan's birthday" and instead of a wrapped gift, Baba had given him an "Indian fellow who looked a little like a mathematics teacher" (44-45). Baba paying for a doctor to fix his servant's son's cleft lip is not something that most bosses would do. Therefore it is obvious that Baba cares deeply about Hassan, more than most masters would. -
Amir becomes what he is today
Amir becomes what he is today, "...at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in 1975" (1). Whatever happens to Amir nexts clearly affects him so greatly that it molds him into the person he is. This reveals that Amir has gone through some memorable experiences throughout his lifetime, but this one seems to top almost all of them since he remembers this event from when he was twelve. -
Amir turns 13
During the next to last year of peace in Afghanistan, "[Amir] turned thirteen that summer of 1976..." (93). Amir is not as thrilled as Baba is that it is Amir's birthday, as told by the fact that Baba spent days throwing him a party. Even when Afghanistan gets corrupted, Amir will still have little to no exposure to the side of Afghanistan that is in poverty. -
Period: to
Kite Runner and the History of Afghanistan
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Soviet Union Invades Afghanistan
first Soviet troops parachute into Kabul -
Amir and Baba go to Peshwar
While in a taxicab in Peshwar, he reminisces about previous visits and says "I remember Peshwar pretty well from the few months that Baba and I had spent there in 1981. We were... on Jamrud road, past... its lavish, high-walled homes" (195). When Amir says this, he is revealing that even when not in Kabul, he is still only exposed to the better, wealthier sides of countries. After Amir goes to America, he has something to compare the Middle East to, giving him a new view on his home country. -
Amir learns more about American culture
Amir learns more about his new home country when "one day, maybe around 1983 or 1984, [he] was at a video store in Fremont...That was when [he] learned that, in America, you don't reveal the ending of a movie, and if you do, you will be scorned and made to apologize..." (356-357). After living in America for a significant amount of time, Amir is still learning new things about the American culture. His is also still hanging onto the Afghani culture, and bringing it to America. -
Soviet troops leave Afghanistan
Soviet Union left after peace talks moderated by the UN, the Soviet troops left. The country that the Soviets left behind was a corrupted and destroyed country. -
Pakistan began aiding the Taliban
Pakistan began aiding the Taliban with weapons, money, supplies for the soldiers and militarily advisers to guide them in battle. -
the Taliban takes control of Afghanistan
The Taliban enforces Islamic Law such as banning music and movies and forcing women to stop going to school and to start wearing burqa clothing. -
Amir and Sohrab arrive back in America
After Amir went to great lengths "arrived home... on a warm day in August 2001... [he] had never been away from Soraya so long, and when she locked her arms around my neck... [he] realized how much I missed her" (357). Amir may have had an easier time in Afghanistan if he had his wife by his side. Struggling being without her for so long shows the strength of their relationship. -
Began being militarily involved with Afghanistan
due to attacks made by Al Queda we began being militarily involved with Afghanistan on September 11, 2001. (hijacking multiple US planes and crashing them into federal buildings) -
the Taliban is defeated
the king of Afghanistan before the Taliban exiled him became the chairman of the interim government -
A "Small, Wonderous" thing happens
"...a small wonderous thing happened...One corner of [Sohrab's] mouth had curled up just so. A smile" (363 and 370). After a year of the silent treatment from Sohrab, Amir is finally able to pull some emotion out of him by doing something that Amir did with Hassan all those years ago. Although a smile is not much, it is one step closer to Sohrab getting used to Amir, Soraya and America. -
Afghanistan gets a new president
The exiled former king of Afghanistan takes office as interim president. -
Mr. Karzai is Elected President
Mr. Karzai is elected president of Afghanistan for a 5 year term. -
The General takes charge
General Petraeus, the commander in Iraq, takes charge of the United States Central Command -
Barack Obama gives a speech at West Point
Obama reveals his plan to deploy another 30,000 troops.