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Sanaubar Leaves A Week After Giving Birth to Hassan
Sandaubar leaves her son and husband to, "[run] off with a clan of traveling singers and dancers" (6). She never liked her husband and always thought of him as ugly and stupid, so Hassan was going to be just like him. She didn't want or need Hassan and thought highly of herself as being talented, so she left her family because she thought she could make something out of herself in her life. To her, they were untalented, useless, and holding her back from being successful. -
Baba Lectures Amir About Sin
Baba says that the worst sin is stealing and that, "when you kill a man, you steal a life" (18). Amir worries that the reason Baba likes Hassan better is because he in a way killed his mother when he was born. Although she was not a man, she still lost her life and Amir was very guilty. Amir feels like he is full of sin because he took away a life and it was the life of someone that is, or was supposed to be, very close to him. -
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Kite Runner and History of Afghanistan Timeline
Kite Runner and History of Afghanistan -
Assef makes fun of Amir
When Assef questioned Amir's choice of friends, Amir was tempted to say, "but he's not my friend... he's my servant" (41). Amir wanted to defend himself because Assef has just made him ashamed of being friends with a Hazara and didn't want to think of himself as a disgrace. He wanted to maintain that power over Hassan and not appear to have a low status like Hassan just because he is friends with him. -
Hassan Shot a Rock at Assef With a Slingshot
"Assef's mouth twitched," after Hassan shot a rock at Assef's mouth because he kept teasing and intimidating him and Amir. Not only did Hassan humiliate Assef in front of his two friends, Kamal and Wali, he also challenged him. Assef was not just challenged by another boy, he was challenged and just defeated by a Hazara, who he looked down upon. His strength was compromised and questioned and it was something no one saw coming. -
Amir Reads Hassan a Book
When Amir comes across a big word, he teases Hassan about being illiterate because, "[he doesn't] know what [imbecile] means" (28). Amir makes fun of him because he wants to show off his capabilities and rub into Hassan's face that he is better and more talented than him. This shows that Amir has more power because he is higher up in the socioeconomic pyramid since he can afford an education. Amir wants to shame him for his inability to read and write and for his low status. -
Hassan Gets Raped
Kamal and Wali help trap Hassan in an ally so Assef rapes him. Amir could've helped, but, "in the end, [he] ran" (77). Amir could've fought back, but was too afraid of being beat up or raped too because they intimidated him. He knows that he is weak and if Hassan, who he knows is stronger than him, can't help himself or fight back against Assef, there is no chance of him winning in a fight. Also, Hassan is just a Hazara and Amir knew that he would get made fun of for helping a Hazara. -
Assef Pretends to Be Nice To Amir At Amir's Birthday Party
Assef invites Amir over to his house sometime to play volleyball, but Amir knows that's not what he wants to do with him so he says, "I don't really like volleyball," to avoid going (96). Amir thinks Assef is only inviting him to beat him up and he's scared of that, so he says something impolite to get out of putting his safety at risk. Amir knows that Assef is just faking and pretending to be nice because Baba is there and he wants to maintain a good reputation. -
Baba Begs Ali and Hassan Not to Leave
Baba is devastated when Ali tells him that he is leaving with Hassan and attempts to, "forbid [him] to do this" (107). The reason Baba is so reluctant to let them leave is because he and Ali have been very close since they were young. Not only was he ending a long friendship, he was taking away his son and did not want to give him up because he knows that he could've given him a better life. He didn't want to be apart from someone that belonged to him and was worried Hassan would be in trouble. -
Amir Tried to Frame Hassan of Stealing
Amir tiptoed into Hassan's room while he was out of the house and, "planted [his] new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it" (104). He new that Baba strongly believes stealing is the worst sin and knew that if he could kick Hassan out if he was caught stealing. Amir thought the guilt of letting Hassan get raped was too much too handle and it began to cloud his thoughts, so he wanted to get rid of Hassan to relieve the stress. He didn't want to admit his shame of not doing anything. -
Troops in Kabul
A legitimately constituted Karmal Government caused Moscow to seek help, so,"Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 17, 1979, to assist Babrak Karmal, who had become president in a coup within the Afghan Communist leadership." -
Rahim Khan Tells Amir That Hassan is His Half-Brother
When Amir returns to see Rahim Khan, he tells Amir that, "Ali was sterile" (222). He was trying to atone for Baba's sin of stealing Amir's right to know the truth about Hassan being his half-brother, but he became mad that this secret was kept from him for so long because he knows that he would've treated Hassan differently. Baba was a hypocrite. Telling Amir this was supposed to give him a motive to atone for watching Hassan get raped by finding Sohrab to protect him and give him a good life. -
Amir Laughs When Assef Starts Beating Him Up
As Assef continued to physically abuse him, "[he] was laughing and laughing" (289). He laughed so hard because he finally felt at peace with himself knowing that he is suffering to atone for the pain that was brought onto Hassan during and after the rape. It was something he looked forward to because it was hard for him to live his life with the guilt of ruining friendships and causing trauma to his innocent half-brother. He was glad it was finally happening. -
Amir Calls Soraya To Tell Her About Sohrab Not Having A Family or a Home
When Soraya hears about Sohrab, she encourages Amir by saying, "you have to bring him home. I want you to" (326). She feels sympathetic to Sohrab because he has gone through so much after losing his parents and living in orphanages and Assef. She wants him to have a good life and not remain in a country where he is miserable and has no safe place to be. He is related to Amir and family always comes first so she feels the need to protect and shelter him. She has also always wanted a child. -
Amir Does Not Want to Go Find Sohrab
When Rahim Khan tells Amir that the way to atone is to make sure Sohrab is safe and give him a good life, he is reluctant to go find him and suggests Rahim Khan to go, "pay someone [there] to go" (221). He is not willing to do it because going out to look for Sohrab is very dangerous and potentially deadly. He has a career and an supportive family in America that he doesn't want to give it up. He feels like it is not worth it to risk his life for a poor, little Hazara. -
Leaving Afghanistan
Leaving behind a country that was ruined by war, "the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989, in what was in effect an unilateral withdrawal," after peace talks became less extreme by the United Nations. -
Soraya Is Devastated When She Finds Out She Is Infertile
When the doctor tells Soraya that she is infertile, she, "cried all the way home" (186). She is heartbroken because she has always dreamed of having a baby and now that her dream isn't going to come true for sure, it is hard for her to be happy. She is also sad that she cannot repay her parents for everything they have given her by giving them happiness through a grandchild. Her parents would have been so proud that she had grown up to become a mother. -
Pakistan Helping the Taliban
To assist the Taliban in battle, "Pakistan intelligence officers began funneling arms, money and supplies to Mullah Omar's men, as well as military advisers," in 1994. -
Taliban Taking Action
As a result of being kept afloat by the help provided by the Pakastani, "the Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law, banning movies and music and forcing women out of schools and into all-enveloping burqa clothing." -
Taliban Providing a Haven
Another action the Taliban took was provide, "a haven for Mr. bin Laden, who arrived by chartered jet at Jalalabad Airport in May 1996, and for Al Qaeda." -
The Karzai Government
A new leader had rose to lead the country, "in December 2001, [when] Hamid Karzai, a supporter and relative of Mohammad Zahir Shah, the exiled former king of Afghanistan, was named chairman of an interim government that replaced the defeated Taliban." -
Sohrab Attempts Suicide
When Amir walked into the bathroom and saw Sohrab in the bathtub with his arm slit, "[he screamed until] the ambulance arrived" (343). Shoran was devastated by the fact that he would have to return to an orphanage because he had been treated so poorly before at orphanages. He was scared and did not want his life to go on if it meant returning to misery. He saw that going to America wasn't worth it if he was required to live in an orphanage again. His parents also weren't alive anymore. -
Attack on New York
After, "the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001," the United States and the Northern Alliance joined forces. -
Hamid Karzai Taking Control
After Hamid Karzai was named chairman, "he took office as interim president in June 2002, saying he hoped to secure peace for Afghanistan and win the country much-needed international aid." -
Elected as President
A couple years after taking office, "Mr. Karzai was elected to a five-year term as president in 2004." -
President Obama's Speech
Vowing to begin bringing American forces home from Afghanistan, "[President Obama] announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops," in a speech given on December 1, 2009 at West Point.