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Amir wins the kite tournament and gains Baba's respect
The high expectations of Baba towards Amir who were never quite able to meet them were finally resolved as Amir won the kite tournament, “seeing Baba on that roof, proud of [him] at last.” (Hosseini 66). When Amir finally accomplishes something that was hugely important in the community, Baba finally was proud of Amir. The conflict between father and son slowly came to an end as Amir was able to achieve something that Baba found important. -
Khan proposes a new constitution
Because woman were never treated equally in Kabul, "Khan proposes a new constitution that grants women rights"(A Historical Timeline of Afghanistan) while knocking opponents who don't support him. -
Hassan gets raped
When Amir was looking for Hassan, he saw how Assef "unzipped his jeans. Dropped his underwear"(Hosseini 75). Amir saw Hassan get raped by Assef and refused to stand up for him for all those times Hassan stood up for Amir. He kept telling himself that Hassan was just his servant, just a Hazara getting raped. -
Hassan and Ali leaves Amir and Baba
When Baba asks Hassan if he had stole Amir's watch and money, his "reply was a single word, delivered in a thin raspy voice:'Yes'"(Hosseini 105). Amir put his watch and money in Hassan's matress in order to get rid of Hassan, however, Hassan used his honesty and saved him by saying that he was the culprit. Even though Baba had forgiven him, Ali told him that he and Hassan still had to leave. -
Soviet War
Even though the Soviet union had taken its troops out of Afghanistan twenty five years ago, the "USSR entered neighboring Afghanistan in 1979, attempting to shore up the newly-established pro-Soviet regime in Kabul"(Taylor). -
Move to America
In search for a new place to start again, "Baba loved the idea of America"(Hosseini 125). Kabul was swarmed with rafiqs, thus people were unable to trust one another anymore. With Kabul in chaos, Baba decided to move away and have a new beginning in America. -
Protests against the Soviets
Since the Soviets had came and occupied the Afghanistan, people started shouting "allahu akbar" as "protests continued for six more days "(Ruttig). -
Amir's graduation
Amir studied in America and finally "graduated from high school at the age of twenty, by far the oldest senior tossing his mortarboard on the football field that day"(Hosseini 131). Amir is adjusting to his new life in America, as well as building on his academics. This allows him to slowly gain knowledge in order to later get a degree and get a job in america. -
Amir meets his Princess
When Baba was introducing Amir to General Taheri, her daughter, "a slim beauty with velvety coal black hair" (140) caused Amir's heart to quicken. As Amir's life progresses in America, he is finally able to move on and have his eyes set on a girl. This reveals the love life of Amir that he had never had in Kabul, whereas the situation there was too chaotic to start a love life. -
Baba Dies
A month after the wedding, when Baba never woke up, Amir told himself that "Baba couldn't show me the way anymore; I'd have to be on my own. The though of it terrified me."(Hosseini 174). The death of Baba shattered Amir's determination of moving forward with his life. Without Baba, Amir would have to go on with his life without Baba to guide him. -
Amir gets married
When Amir finally gets Soraya's hand, they "walked towards the stage, now in [his] tuxedo, Soraya a veiled pari in white, our hands locked"(Hosseini 170). The fact that he had married displays how he is moving in life; how he is slowly developing a family. This reveals that he is having a life in America, a change in what his parents had. -
Rahim Khan looks for Hassan
The whole city of Kabul had changed, thus Rahim Khan goes "to Hazarajat to find Hassan in 1986. The biggest one, Allah forgive me was that [he] was lonely"(Hosseini 202). All of Rahim Khan's firens family, relatives were either killed or escaped. So, because of loneliness, he tries to find Hassan to help him maintain the house and have someone to refer to. -
Peace in Kabul
After having the Soviets sign the peace accord, "Soviet troops are withdrawing from Afghanistan, nine years after they swept into the country"(1989: Soviet troops pull out of Afghanistan). -
Sohrab is born
After the tragedy of the first baby, "Farzana became pregnant again"(Hosseini 209). The baby illuminated a light of hope in Hassan for what has happened to the first child. Hassan is able to establish a family that he had always wanted, naming him after his favorite hero from a movie. -
Sanaubar returns
In order to atone for her mistakes, she had Sohrab "[become] the center of her existence"(211). She was able to take care of the son of the son that she had left in the dark. She had all her work based around Hassan's son. By doing so, she was able to pay back the separateness of a mother from Hassan. -
Drought
Unable to live in the farm land which caused poor to become poorer, they had to "depend on meager incomes derived by migrating outside their farmlands"(Drought in Afghanistan). -
Bombing of Terrorists
With terrorists swarming all over Afghanistan, Clinton can't take it anymore and decide to " strikes against terrorist bases in Afghanistan and a facility in Sudan are part of 'a long, ongoing struggle between freedom and fanaticism'"(U.S. missiles pound targets in Afghanistan, Sudan). -
Looking for Bin Laden
In order to capture the international terrorist, the United Nations decided to cough up Osama and but they refused so the UN punishes "Afghanistan with sanctions restricting trade and economic development"(A Historical Timeline of Afghanistan) -
Rahim Khan's call
Rahim Khan calls Amir and tells him to go back to Pakistan, saying that "there is a way to be good again." This reveals the opportunity for Amir to atone for his sins. After all these years, the fact that Rahim Khan still have Amir in mind and calls him demonstrates that there is a situation and an opportunity for Amir to "be good again". -
Airstrike over the Taliban
Since the terrorists never answered the demands of the UN to turn over Osama, "U.S. and British forces launch airstrikes against targets in Afghanistan. American warplanes start to bomb Taliban targets and bases reportedly belonging to the al-Qaida network"(A Historical Timeline of Afghanistan) -
The truth behind Hassan
After Rahim Khan explains the death of Amir, he explains how Ali didn't have Hassan and how he "thinks [Amir] knows who"(Hosseini 222). This reveals that Baba had been lying to Amir all along. It ties back to when Baba explained how thief was the most sinful thing to do when he was the one who actually did it and never told Amir and Hassan about it. Baba "stole" Amir and Hassan's right to the truth all along. -
Amir adopts Sohrab
Even though Sohrab never actually accepted Amir's offer of going to America with him, Amir "took as a yes from him was in actuality more of a quiet surrender, not so much as an act of relinquishment..."(Hosseini 356). In order to pay back for all the things that Hassan had did for Amir, he had finally adopted Hassan and worked as a father that he had never really had. This shows the father and son relationship that was entirely different from Baba's relationship. -
Kite Tournament with Sohrab
Unexpectedly witnessing a kite tournament in America, he asked Sohrab, "do you want to help me fly this [kite]?"(Hosseini 368). The kite tournament in America gave an opportunity for Amir to show Sohrab the art of Kite Running. This revealed how much he wanted to pass down what he had learned from his dad to his son, something Sohrab didn't know about his dad. -
Fight to end terrorism.
Because the terrorists are unable to back down in war, the international community decides to aid the fight in Afghanistan and donate "$15 billion in aid to Afghanistan at a donors’ conference in Paris, while Afghan President Hamid Karzai promises to fight corruption in the government"(A Historical Timeline of Afghanistan). -
End of Osama Bin Laden
As conflict between the UN and the terrorists in Afghanistan slowly comes to an end, the "U.S. forces overtake a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and kill al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden"(A Historical Timeline of Afghanistan).