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KR: Cholera (disease) hit Kabul
Amir reflects on his "grandfather [marrying] his third wife a year before dying in the cholera epidemic that hit Kabul in 1915" (240). -
KR: Hassan's last kite run
According to Amir, "in the winter of 1975," Hassan ran "a kite for the last time" (55). Although Hassan could still run kites, the winter of 1975 was the last time he ran a kite. When Assef harrassed him, he must have been too shocked to run another kite, maybe because it would bring back those dreadful memories of being violated. This shows that Hassan is a type of person who can change easily, being from energetic in helping Amir to haunted for life from a single terrible threat. -
Soviet Union invades Afghanistan
Afghanistan "has known little peace since 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded" (1, New York Times). -
Soviet troops enter Kabul
According to an article by The New York Times about Afghanistan, "the first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 27, 1979, to assist Babrak Karmal, who had become president in a coup within the Afghan Communist leadership" (2). -
KR: Amir and Baba leave Peshawar
Amir "remember[s] Peshawar pretty well from the few months [he and Baba] had spent there in 1981" (195). Rahim Khan "had lived in Baba's house" ever since they left (199). -
KR: Amir seeks Hassan
Amir "went to Hazarajat to find Hassan in 1986" mainly because he "was lonely" (203). Instead of finding other friends, he traveled to Hazarajat instead to seek out Hassan. This shows how strongly connected to Hassan Amir is since his past days. -
KR: Amir finishes his first novel
Amir finished his first novel "in the summer of 1988" (182). It was a "father-son story set in Kabul," showing that Amir is a writer who writes about his own experiences. The reader infers that the father and son of the story are most like Amir and Baba. -
Soviet Troops leave Afghanistan
An article by the New York Times about Afghanistan includes that the "last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989, in what was in effect a unilateral withdrawal" (2). -
KR: No child
"It was an early evening in March 1991" when "Soraya broke the news to her parents" that she and Amir could not have a child (186). As Amir progresses through his life, he has met conflict after conflict. Soraya has had a difficult pass, also, after running away from home. After coming together, it's as if both of their lucks turned by not letting Soraya have a child. -
Period: to
KR: Northern Alliance took over Kabul
Rahim Khan told Amir "how, when the Northern Alliance took over Kabul between 1992 and 1996, different factions claimed different parts of Kabul" (199). The different factions claiming the different parts of Kabul at the time is like colonialism. The different factions represent the separate countries, while Kabul is the are being separated by those countries. -
Mullah Omar and the beginning of the Taliban
The article about Afghanistan published on an article by the New York Times says that "by the end of 1994 Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers and was rolling up the warlords to the north and east" (2). -
Taliban took control of Afghanistan
The New York Times has a published article saying that "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-developing burqa clothing" (3). -
KR: Taliban banned kite fighting
After the Taliban put an "end to the daily fighting" in Kabul, "a few weeks later, the Taliban banned kite fighting" (213). In Afghanistan, the Taliban brought conflict after conflict. This shows how the Taliban are manipulative and controlling when it comes to changing people's ideas about a certain group or event, for instance, the kite fighting. -
Bin Laden arrived at Jalalabad Airport
When bin Laden arrived "by chartered jet at Jalalabad Airport in May 1996," he was provided a haven by the Taliban (3, The New York Times). -
KR: Taliban massacred the Hazaras
"Two years" after "the Taliban banned kite fighting,...they massacred the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif" (213). Similar to the last event, the Taliban brought problem after problem to Kabul and the people around Amir. The Hazaras were always at a disadvantage, because they were looked down upon in Afghanistan. However, the Taliban made the Hazaras even more looked down upon or sympathized by starting up the massacre. Like Hitler, the Taliban were wiping out a group of people. -
KR: Amir visits Rahim Khan
The period is June 2001 when Amir finds that "'Rahim Khan is very sick'" (191). Amir thinks about how he grew up with Rahim Khan in the past, expressing that their relationship is close enough so that Amir would visit Rahim Khan when he is sick. This is an example of how Amir takes action for the people he cares about, showing that he values his loved ones so much that he would return to Afghanistan to risk his well-being to visit them. -
KR; Amir arrives home from Afghanistan
Amir and Sohrab "arrived home... on a warm day in August 2001" (357). Bringing Sohrab home was like bringing hope into Amir's (and Soraya's) life. Furthermore, since they brought him to America on what the author described as a "warm day," the future is bright for the family. -
9/11 Invasion
The 9/11 invasion, or "attack on the World Trade Center" took place "New York on Sept. 11, 2001" (3, New York Times) -
Hamid Karzai elected as president of Afghanistan
In 2004, Hamid "Karzai was elected to a five-uear term as president [of Afghanistan]," after he said that "he hoped to secure peace for Afghanistan and win the country much-needed international aid" (3, The New York Times). -
Obama announces deploying 30000 more troops in Afghanistan
On this day, "at West Point, [President] Obama announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops" in a speech (4, New York Times). -
Obama's predicted time when US troops have to stay in Afghanistan
Obama and his administration said that they need to "have forces in the country [Afghanistan] until at least the end of 2014" (4, The New York Times).