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KR: Amir writes his first story
Amir wrote a story, and showed it to his father, hoping for him to show some pride in Amir, but Baba only "nodded and gave a thin smile that conveyed little more than feigned interest. 'Well, that's very good, isn't it?' he said. Then nothing more" (31). Amir yearns for Baba's love but only receives it from Rahim Khan. Baba does not feel like he sees himself in Amir, and so he is reluctant to be proud of him when he does not see Amir fully as his son. -
KR: Amir wins the kite contest
Amir finally makes his father proud when he wins the annual kite contest, but he feels like he needs a tangible token in order to win Baba's full admiration. Hassan offers to run the last kite for Amir, saying, "For you, a thousand times over" (67). Hassan shows his undying loyalty to Amir, but Amir only wants the kite to prove to Baba that he is something to be proud of. The loyalty that Hassan shows to Amir demonstrates that Hassan sees them as friends, but Amir cannot show the same loyalty. -
KR: Amir watches Hassan get raped and does nothing
Possibly the most important event in the book, Amir finds Hassan cornered by Assef and his lackeys, and they are going to rape him. Instead of doing something, Amir runs. He says, "Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba" (77). Amir was a coward and afraid of getting hurt, and instead of doing the right thing like Hassan would have done for him, he ran. This shows that Amir cannot show Hassan the same loyalty, and he is forever guilty for not doing anything. -
Period: to
Kite Runner and Afghanistan Timespan
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KR: Amir frames Hassan for theft and Hassan and Ali leave
Amir frames Hassan for theft in order to get him and Ali dismissed, and when Baba asks "'Did you steal that money? Did you steal Amir's watch, Hassan?' ... 'Yes"' (105). Hassan had made so many sacrifices for Amir over the years, and Amir never returned the favor. This was one last sacrifice for him, and also shows us that he knew that Amir watched him get raped and didn't do anything, and also shows that Hassan will be loyal to Amir to the very end, even if Amir does not do the same for him. -
Soviet Union invades
In an article written by the New York Times, it states, "the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, has known little peace since 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded" (The New York Times). -
The First Soviet Troops Parachute into Kabul
To start off the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan "the first soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 27, 1979, to assist Babrak Karmal" (The New York Times). They invaded in order to keep the communist coups in Afghanistan strong so that Central Asia could have a more communist influence. -
KR: Baba and Amir's truck is stopped by Russian soldiers on the way to Pakistan
At a checkpoint at the border of Pakistan, Baba stands up to a Russian soldier, who then he threatens to shoot Baba. Baba replies, "'Tell him he better kill me good with that first shot. Because if I don't go down, I'm tearing him to pieces, goddamn his father!'" (116). Baba is doing the right thing by standing up for a young woman, and he is also showing the Russian soldier that Afghans won't back down easy. This shows that Baba was willing to sacrifice his life to do what is right. -
KR: Amir marries Soraya
Amir meets a girl named Soraya at a swap meet that they each go to and sell things every weekend. He falls in love with her, and eventually Baba asks her father's permission for Amir to marry her. Before they do, however, she tells him about her past, and it is an ugly one. Despite this, Amir says, "How could I, of all people, chastise someone for their past?" (165). Amir is so guilty about the things he did to Hassan that he can't even tell his fiancee. This shows that guilt is merciless. -
KR: Baba and Amir move to America
Afghanistan was no longer safe, and to Baba decides he and Amir are going to move to America. The author writes, "I thought of all the trucks, train sets, and bikes he had bought me in Kabul. Now America. One last gift for Amir" (130). Although Baba loved both of his sons very much, he gave Amir the greatest gift he could: safety and opportunity. This shows that Baba cared for Amir very much and he was willing to restart his life from the bottom just for Amir. -
KR: Baba gets cancer and dies
Less than a year after coming to America, Baba gets what he thinks is a cold, but gets worse and worse and ends up being lung cancer. There is chemo, but it would not cure the cancer and only prolong Baba's life. Baba turns it down, saying, "That's a clear answer ... But no chemo for me" (156). This shows how independent Baba is, because he would not even receive help with fighting cancer. He knew that his time had come, and he was willing to accept that fate and live it out until the end. -
Soviet Soldiers Have Been Fighting for Nine Years
The war lasted for a long time, and in the article it said that "Soviet troops stayed in the country for more than nine years, fighting a conflict that cost them 15,000 lives and undisclosed billions of rubles" (The New York Times). -
Soviet Troops Leave Afghanistan
After an extremely long and hard fight and "after peace talks moderated by the United Nations, the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989, in what was in effect a unilateral withdrawal" (The New York Times). -
The Taliban grows and begins to gain popularity
Shortly after the Soviet soldiers left Afghanistan, a new group began to rise to popularity and eventually power: the Taliban. In the article, it states, "By the end of 1994 Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers and was rolling up the warlords to the north and east. With his promise of restoring the centrality of Islam to daily life, he created a genuinely popular movement in a country weary of corruption and brutality" (The New York Times). -
Pakistan aids the Taliban
The Taliban had support from the people at first for stopping the fighting with the Russian soldiers, but they still needed assistance to stay alive and in power. The article says that "as early as 1994, Pakistani intelligence officers began funneling arms, money, and supplies to Mullah Omar's men, as well as military advisers to help guide them in battle" (The New York Times). -
Taliban takes over Afghanistan
After the Soviet invasion, there was a lot of fighting, and then the Taliban came in and claimed they could bring peace. In the article by the NY Times, it states, "Buoyed by Pakistani aid, the Taliban by 1996 had taken over Afghanistan, imposing strict enforcement of Islamic law" (The New York Times). -
United States becomes involved with Afghanistan
Following the attacks by terrorist group Al Qaeda, the United States intervened to remove them from Afghanistan and hopefully shut down the group entirely. The article writes, "The United States has been militarily involved in Afghanistan in 2001, when it led an invasion after the Sept. 11 attacks by Al Qaeda" (The New York Times). -
KR: Amir goes to Pakistan after a call from Rahim Khan
In a phone call to Amir, Rahim Khan asks him to come to Pakistan. He is very sick, and there is a favor he needs Amir to do. Rahim Khan tells Amir, "There is a way to be good again" (192). The way to be good again is for Amir to bring Sohrab to a better life, and this could be his way to atone for his past. The immense guilt Amir has carried with him throughout the years is what finally motivates him to atone, and this shows that guilt causes one to feel the need to atone for their actions. -
KR: Amir reads the letter from Hassan
In his adulthood, Hassan learned how to read and write, and he writes Amir letters. At the end of the final letter, Hassan writes, "If you do, you will find an old faithful friend waiting for you" (218). Despite everything that Amir did to Hassan over the years, Hassan is still able to forgive Amir, and he says he will still be loyal to Amir just like he was when he was a kid. This demonstrates that when one is loyal to another person, they are able to forgive. -
KR: Hassan and Farzana are killed by the Taliban
Once Hassan and Farzana moved into Baba and Amir's old house, the Taliban did not approve of a Hazara family living alone in the house. Rahim Khan says, "They told Hassan they would be moving in ... Hassan protested again. So they took him to the street ... and shot him in the back of the head" (219). For merely protesting the Taliban moving in, they shot him dead, and his wife, too. This shows that society viewed Hazaras as less important, and so they thought it is okay to treat them terribly. -
KR: Amir fights Assef to get Sohrab
In order for Amir to get Sohrab, Assef challenges him to a fight that Assef thought was long overdue. Towards the end of the fight, Amir is getting battered up really bad, but he says, "My body was broken ... but I felt healed. Healed at last" (289). Amir feels this sense of relief and healing because by fighting Assef, he has finally atoned for the things that had happened in 1975. This demonstrates that atonement leads to relief, and one can only be free of guilt once they have atoned. -
KR: Sohrab attempts suicide
After Sohrab is well enough to talk again after attempting suicide, he tells Amir that he wants his old life back, and Amir greatly regrets not keeping his promise. Amir says, "I've done a lot of things I regret in my life ... maybe none more than going back on the promise I made you" (355). Amir betrayed him when he broke his promise, and by doing this, he took away the only good thing in Sohrab's life that was worth living for. Sohrab is still a kid, and this shows that betrayal is painful. -
KR: Amir brings Sohrab back to America
Amir kept his promise the second time, and he and Sohrab made it to San Francisco. Once, the General referred to Sohrab as the "Hazara boy". Amir responds, "You will never again refer to him as 'Hazara boy' in my presence. He has a name and it is Sohrab" (361). Ethnicity is a very important aspect of Afghan social class, and General Taheri was raised to believe that Hazaras are less than Pashtuns, so it is weird for Sohrab to live with them. This shows that ethnicity influences identity. -
The Taliban regroups and begins to rise again
Although they were defeated initially by US and allied Afghan troops, the Taliban "continued to wage a guerrilla warfare from a base in the mountainous and largely lawless tribal area on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border ... the Taliban regrouped and began to extend his influence in the southern part of Afghanistan" (The New York Times). -
KR: Amir runs the kite for Sohrab
At the very end of the book, Amir has fully atoned for what he did. He does this by running a kite for Sohrab, and using Hassan's line of "For you, a thousand times over" (371). When he is running, his guilt is finally going away because he succeeded at atoning. The fact that Amir was also able to use that line without feeling guilty shows that he has successfully atoned for his actions that winter. This demonstrates that atonement can free one from guilt and lead to happiness at last. -
Obama deploys 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan
Obama and his many advisers decided in a debate to increase the involvement of soldiers in Afghanistan as the Taliban was regaining power. In a speech on December 1st of 2009, Obama "announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops" (The New York Times).