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Baba is born and Ali is adopted by Baba's father
When Amir is describing Baba and Ali's childhood he says that they "grew up as childhood playmates... just like how Hassan and I grew up a generaton later." (25) Baba also never mentions Ali as a friend bit it is obvoius by how they act around each other that they are friends. Ali and Baba also share many relations to Amir and Baba as they grew up together with one as the servant and one as the normal class. -
Hassan is born
Amir describes Hassan's birth as a "simple enough affair." (10) Amir says this because Hassan's birth was quick and painless to his mother. Amir also says that Hassan was always true to his nature and could never hurt anyone. -
Amir's thirteenth birthday
Rahim Khan tells Amir that he can "tell me anything you want." (99) In this quotation Rahim Khan is being more of a father to Amir than Baba is by always being supportive of Amir. Amir knows that Baba will always support and care for him, but at this moment it seems as if Rahim Khan is more loving than Baba. -
Baba decides to build an orphanage
Amir mentions that when he was five Baba "decided to build an orphanage." (13) Baba builds the orphanage by funding it all himself and he does this because Ali was orphaned as a young child and had no where to go. Amir remembers that he was very proud of Baba and that being related to Baba was something he proved when the orphanage opened a few years later. -
Hassan's lip surgery
When Hassan gets his harelip fixed by plastic surgery, Amir expected "Hassan to cry with horror when the nurse handed him a mirror." (46) This is showing how Amir is afraid that Hassan will not like how his lip was fixed. This is also connects Hassan to Amir because when Amir fights Assef, Amor also gets a scar similar to the one Hassan had on his upper lip. -
Hassan runs his last kite
When Amir cuts the final kite out of the sky Hassan goes to get it for him and Amir notices that Hassan "smiled his Hassan smile and dissappeared around the corner." (67) This shows how Hassan will always trust and follow Amir, as if they were brothers. Hassan knows that Amir is worth the world to him and will please Amir just so that they can stay friends for a long time. -
Soviet troops invade Kabul
In 1979 the Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul "to assist Babrak Karmal, who became the president in a coup within the Afghanistan Communist leadership." (New York Times 20) -
Baba and Amir move to America
When Amir and Baba move to America, Baba says that "there are only three real men in this world... America the brash savior, Britian, and Israel. The rest of them, they're like gossiping old women." (125) This shows how connfident Baba is in America even though he just moved there. Baba also seems to adjust to America quicker than Amir thinks, which seems to be good for Baba. -
Amir graduates High School
When Amir graduates High School, Baba says he is "moftakhir... Proud." (131) This shows that even though Baba was harsh on Amir, he still loves him. Baba is proud because in Afghanistan it was very hard to get an education and now that someone in his family has an education, he is very proud that it is his son. -
Amir and Soraya get married
When Amir and Soraya get married they do the Ayena Masshaf ceremony and Amir "[Looks] at Soraya's smiling face on the mirror, in the momentary privacy of the veil, [he] whipser[s] to her for the first time that [he] love[s] her." (171) Amir is telling Soraya for the first time that he loves her and it is a very special moment between the two. Soraya is very important to Amir and Soraya is also shown to feel the same way. -
Rahim Khan goes to find Hassan
When Rahim Khan tells Amir how he went to find Hassan he tells Amir "You would have recognized him, Amir jan. I'm sure of it." (205) Rahim Khan tells Amir this because they were best friends and Rahim Khan is sure they still would have gotten along. Rahim Khan also tells him this to verify that Hassan was still the same person from many years ago. -
Soviet Air Force rendered useless
After 1986 the Soviets had a lack of Air Force strength due to an "advanced Stinger antiaircraft missles supplied by the US." (NYT 2) -
Soviet troops leave Afghanistan
10 years after Soviet troops had entered Afghanistan, "the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989." (New York Times 2) -
Sohrab is born
When Rahim Khan is telling Amir about Hassan's son, Rahim Khan descibes Sohrab as "a beautiful little boy, sweet as sugar, and had the same temperment as his father." (211) Rahim Khan is saying those things to lead Amir up to the point where Amir will have to adopt Sohrab. Rahim Khan knows if he can make Amir willing enough to find Sohrab, he can get Amir to adopt him. -
Mullah Omar has nearly 12,000 followers
Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban, had many followers and wanted to "[restore] the centrality of Islam to daily life." (NYT 3) -
Osama bin Laden arrives in Afganistan
Osama bin Laden came ot Afhanistan with the help of the Taliban by "a chartered jet at Jalalabad Airport." (NYT 2) -
Amir gets called to Pakistan by Rahim Khan
When Rahim Khan calls Amir he says "Come. There is a way to be good again." (192) This implies that Rahim Khan knows about what happened to Hassan in 1975 and he knows that Amir feels like he's done wrong. Amir takes this phrase to thought and it impacts how he feels when Rahim Khan talks to him a week later, -
Rahim Khan tells Amir that Hassan is his brother
When Rahim Khan tells Amir that Hassan is his half-brother, Amir "[feels] like a man sliding down a deep cliff, clutching at shrubs and tangles of brambles and comping up empty handed." (222) Amir feels like his whole life is slipping from underneath him because he never knew this and neither did Hassan. He feels terrible for how he traeted Hassan all those years ago and wishes he could take it back now that he knows that Hassan is his brother. -
Sohrab and Amir return home
When General Salib asks about Sohrab, Amir replies with, "You will never refer to him as 'Hazara boy' in my presence. He has a name and it's Sohrab." (361) This illustrates how Amir is protective of Sohrab because of what Sohrab has been through and he does not want that happening again. Amir also wants Sohrab to feel as if he is part of the family. -
September 11 Attacks
After th eattacks on the World Trade Ceneter in New York, "President Bush gave the Taliban an ultimatum tgo hand over Mr. bin Laden." (NYT 3) -
Sohrab and Amir fly a kite
When Amir and Sohrab are flying the kite, Smir notices that, "the glassy, vacant look in [Sohrab's] eyes was gone." (369) The quotation illustrates that Sohrab has found something that makes him happy again, even after all that has happened. He feels like he has found a connection to the father that he lost long ago and has found something that has made him part of his new family. -
Hamid Karzai becomes interm president of Afghanistan
Hamid Karzai becomes president "took interm office in June 2002." (NYT 3) -
Hamid Karazi wins his first five year term election
Hamid Karazi is "elected to a five-year term." (NYT 3) -
Obama makes his speech at West Point
During the speech, President Obama announced his plan "to deploy 30,000 additional troops." (NYT 4) -
All US armed forces are estimated to be home from Afghanistan
Obama stated that all troops should be home from Afghanostan because "the united States could not afford and should not have to shoulder on an open-ended commitment." (NYT 4)