Kite Runner & the History of Afghanistan

By caseylim

  • Baba was born

    In the first sentance of chapter for, Amir narrates that 1933 was "...the year Baba was born and the year Zahir Shah began his forty year reign of Afganistan..." (Hosseini 24). This is how Amir narrates his story of childhood to give the reader a sense of who he is. The reader can also tell what time period Baba grew up in.

  • Hassan was born

    In the beginning of the novel, Amir says, "...Hassan was born in the winter of 1964, just one year after my mother died giving birth to me" (Hossieni 6) Amir giving background information in the novel, show that Hassan is an very important person to him. He states that they are one year a part making it see like they are brothers.

  • Hassan and Amir fly kites

    Amir remembers that "In the wintter of 1975, I saw Hassan run a kite for the last time" (Hossieni 55). Flying kites is a major plot line in this novel because it is a transition to an important event. This event is also mentioned many times throughout the novel, showing that flying kites was an important part in Hassan's and Amir's friendship.

  • Amir is 13

    After the tramatic event Hassan was in, Amir turns 13. Additionally, he asks his father if they are "...getting new servants." (Hosseini 93) Amir feels a lot of guilt from not helping Hassan which leads to him asking Baba if they can hire new help. After Baba makes his firm decision that they are not going to hire any help, Amir realizes that he will have to live with his own guilt.

  • Soviet Union First Invaded Afganistan

    In the background information from the New York Times article it says, "Afganistan, oficially the IslamicRepublic of Afganistan, has known little peace since 1979

  • Soviet Union Attacks

    The New York Times article says, "The first Soviet troops parachutedinto Kabul on Dec. 27,1979."

  • Amir and Baba leave Kabul

    Amir narrates, "My innard have been roiling since we'd left Kabul just after two in the morning." (Hosseini 110) After the signs of a shift in power, Baba and Amir leave Kabul because of socieoeconomics complications. Amir's discomfort from traveling shows that he is having a hardship moving his comfortable life in Afghanistan to America.

  • Amir and Baba spent time in Peshwar

    Once Amir arrives in Afghanistan, he recounts "...Peshwar pretty well from the few months Baba and [him] had spent there in 1981" (Hossieni 195). When he was younger, he remembers Peshwar as a lavish country. It is the Kabul that use to stand instead of the city the Taliban has taken over.

  • Amir graduated from High School

    Amir says, "That summer of 1983, i graduated from high school at the age of twenty..."(Hossieni 131). This shows that Amir is making a good life for himself in America. Even with his set back with age, he is trying his hardest to be independent from his father.

  • Rahim Khan looks for Hassan

    Rahim Khan says that he must go "...to Hazarajat to find Hassan..."(Hossieini 203). Rahim Khan look at Hassan and Ali as family to go to the trouble and look for his old friend's servants. He finds that Hassan has made a life of himself by marrying and trying to start a family.

  • Amir finishes his first novel

    Amir narrates, "I finished my first novel, a father-son story set in Kabul..." (Hossieni 192). Additionally with graduating high school, Amir becoming an accomplished writer makes him succesful. He has become independent from the tragedies that haunted his life and it has not made him slow down his life.

  • Soviet Union Troops Leave

    It is said that after "peace talk" fromthe United Nations,"...the lastSoviet leftAfganistaninFebruary 1989." (The New York Times)

  • Northern Alliance Starts to Take Over Kabul

    Amir says that Rahim Khan told him about Kabul and how "...different factions claimed different parts of Kabul" (Hossieni 199). When Rahim Khan pleaded Amir to go back to Kabul and find his newphew, he warns him of how different Kabul is today from when he was a child.

  • The Aftermath of the Civil War

    After the Soviet troops left, Afganistan, "...divided among competing warlordsand individual fiefdoms." (The New York Times)

  • Mullah Omar

    After the Taliban tookover a leader "Mulluah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers and was rolling up the warlords tothenorth and east." (The New York Times)

  • The Taliban gain controls of Afganistan

    Afganistan is known for having little control over the country and is then ruled by "...the Taliban, the extremist Islamic group...in 1996 after years of civil war." (New York Times)

  • The Taliban Kill the Hazaras

    Rahim Khan narrates, "A few weeks later, the Taliban banned kite fighting. And two years later, in 1998, they massacred the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif" (Hossieni 213). Rahim Khan and Hassan thought that the Taliban were their saviours. Unfortunately they banned happiness in the streets and descriminated against Hazaras.

  • Amir leaves for Pakistan

    When Amir is finally settled in his life, he decideds that he must "...Go to Pakistan," because "Rahim Khan is very sick" (Hossieini 191). Amir is repaying hsi respects to a very sick dear friend. It shows that Amir still cares for his old life that was in Afghanistan.

  • Amir Comes Home with Sohrab

    Amir says, "We arrived home about seven months ago, on a warm day in August 2001" (Hossieni 357). It had been a long process for Amir to bring home Sohrab. Amir and Soraya had trouble taking care of Sohrab because of adjustments.

  • 9/11 Attack

    The result of America becoming involved with Afganistan led Al Qaeda to attack. It is said,"...when it led an incasion after the Sept. 11 attacks by Al Qaeda" (New York Times)

  • United States Getting Involved With Afghanistan

    It is said that "The UnitedStates has been militarily involved in Afganistan since 2001" (New York Times)

  • The Taliban Continues

    After the Taliban's defeat from American, they "continued to wage a guerrilla wardare...on hte Parkistan-Afganistan border." (New York TImes) This shows that the Taliban will continue their quest for the complete control of Afganistan.

  • Amir remembers his childhood

    Amir thinks back to his childhood what made him become the man he is today. He says, "I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a grigid overcast day in the winter of 1975 (Hossieni 1). Amir can retell his story of who is today and that shows his is older and had atoned for his sins.

  • Amir and Soraya's Hospital Open

    Amir says, "...a small, wondrous thing happened...Our little hospital in Rawalpindi had opened the week before..." (Hossieni 363-364). Amir and Soraya's efforts to include Sohrab's culture into America had been difficult for them. They are both trying to do good in the world after seeing the hardships in Afghanistan.

  • Hamid Karzi Elected as President

    Mr. Karzi is the "exiled former king of Afganistan." (New York Times) After telling the people of Afganistan that he will keep peace, he was elected for a five year presidency term.