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Amir Feels Caught Between Rahim Khan And Baba
After Rahim complimented Amir's story, Amir "sat on {his} bed and wished Rahim Khan had been {his father}. Then {he} thought of Baba and his great big chest and...was overcome with such sudden guilt that {he} bolted to the bathroom and vomited in the sink." (pg. 32). This quote shows how Amir felt pulled between Rahim Khan and Baba as father figures as a child. Rahim Khan treated Amir much better but Baba protected him and a lot of other people, causing him to feel distruaght and sad. -
Amir Becomes Angry At Hassan's Criticism
When Amir told Hassan his story, Hassan pointed out an obvious flaw in the plot, too which Amir thought "What does he know, that illiterate Hazara? He'll never be anything but a cook. How dare he criticize you?" (pg. 34). Growing up in the heavily class-dictated society had finally taken effect on Amir as he needed to vent his anger to Hassan and he had no way of doing it aside from insults. For those brief moments, society had caused Amir to see himself as better than Hassan for social status. -
Hassan Is Violated By Assef
While Assef was violating Hassan, Amir fled and told himself "{he} ran because {he} was a coward. {He} was afraid of getting hurt...{he} actually aspired to cowardice" (pg. 77). Amir told himself this because he was ashamed of not standing up for Hassan who would have stood up for Amir if he was being violated. Amir also felt that he needed an excuse because he would feel much better knowing he could not do anything to help because he was weak instead of he could have helped but chose not to. -
Amir Wins The Kite Contest
Shortly after winning the kite contest, Amirsees Baba cheering on the roof and recalled "He was standing on the edge, pumping both of his fists...And that right there was the single greatest moment of my twelve years of life, seeing Baba on that roof, proud of me at last." (pg. 66) Now that he had won the kite contest, Baba would be proud of Amir and treat him the way a father should treat his son. The contest forever changes Amir's life by giving him Baba's respect and by causing Hassan's rape. -
Amir Throws The Pomegranates At Hassan
After Amir hit Hassan with the pomegranates Hassan took a pomegrante and "opened it and crushed it against his own forehead. 'There,' he croaked...'Are you satisfied? Do you feel better?'" (pg. 93). Hassan did this because he did not want to hurt Amir because he cared for him both as a friend and as a brother (which they turned out to be). Through crushing the pomegranate on his own head he proved to Amir that he would never hurt him and made Amir feel even worse for his actions and cowardice. -
Ali and Hassan Leave Baba and Amir
When Ali told Baba that he was moving out of the house with Hassan, Amir stated that "{Baba} cried. It scared {him} a little, seeing a grown man sob. Fathers weren't supposed to cry." (pg. 107). Baba cried because, although Hassan and Amir did not know it, Hassan was actually Baba's son, not Ali's. Ali took Hassan away to protect him from Amir which is why Baba had no say in the matter because it would ruin his image and the lives of everyone close to him. -
The Russains Invade Afghanistan
The Russains invaded Afghanistan at first saying they were only trying to support the Karmal government but they "stayed in the country for more than nine years, fighting a conflict that cost them roughly 15,000 lives and undisclosed billions of rubles". (New York Times). -
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Russains In Afghanistan
The Russian invasion in Afghanistan "descended into a prolonged and bloody occupation that was in many ways comparable to the American experience in Vietnam." (New York Times). -
Baba Saves The Woman On The Bus
Amir felt even more seperated from Baba when Baba stood up for the woman on the bus and told the Russian "'Tell him I'll take a thousand of his bullets before I let this indecency take place'" (pg. 116). Amir felt this way because he was a coward and didn't stand up for Hassan when he was violated. Baba was a man of honor and courage and because Amir lacked those characteristics he half-believed that he was not Baba's son at all. -
Amir Gets His First Car
Although they hadn't seen him in a long time, Baba told Amir after he gave him the car that "'{he wished} Hassan had been with {them that day}'" (pg. 133). Baba wanted this because he was his son also and the mark he had left on both him and Amir were permanent. Baba's wish also stung Amir because he wanted to forget Hassan and everything that had happened in Afghanistan. -
The Soviet Air Force Becomes Useless in Afghanistan
The Soviet Air Force could no longer support their cause in Afghanistan because their planes were easily taken out by the "advanced Stinger antiaircraft missiles supplied by the United States to the rebels." (New York Times). -
Amir Marries Soraya
Amir could never erase the mental scars that were left by his actions which is shown when he questions himself on his wedding day "if Hassan too had married. And if so, whose face he had seen in the mirror under the veil? Whose henna-painted hands had he held?" (pg. 171). Amir could not let a day go by without thinking of Hassan even though it was his wedding, a day focused on himself. Even with Soraya to comfort him Amir would never forget Hassan and would gain self-respect. -
Amir Finds Out That Baba Has Been Reading His Books
When Amir found out that Baba had been reading from his book of stories he wrote as a child, Amir "gave the notebook back to Soraya and left the room. Baba hated it when {he} cried." (pg. 172). Baba's reading of Amir's stories brought Amir to tears because it was Baba's final act of showing Amir (although unintentionally) that he had accepted Amir both as a man and a son. Baba used to shoo Amir away when he wanted to share his writing but Baba's reading proved to Amir that he truly loved him. -
Baba Dies
Baba's death took a heavy toll on Amir as shown when he cried in Soraya's arms and said, "'I'm going to miss him.'" (pg. 176). It hurt Amir so much because Baba was like his protector and mentor by guiding him in every decision he'd made in his life. Baba's death also serves as a turning point for Amir because now that Baba was gone he would have to solve his own problems without the aid of Baba. -
Soviet Troops Leave Afghanistan
Peace talks made by the United Nations influenced Russia to leave Afghanistan which "left behind a country that was not only devistated by the war but that had become a beacon to Islamic extremists from across the globe". (New York Times). -
Soraya Is Unable To Have A Baby
Amir and Soraya felt a gap had risen between each other due to Soraya's infertility as described by Amir like "{he} could almost feel the emptiness in Soraya's womb, like it was a llving, breathing thing. It had seeped into {their} marriage, that emptiness, into {their} laughs" (pg. 189). Amir felt this way because not being able to have a child made both Soraya and him think God didn't want them to have one as her sister once said. It also felt like a form of punishment to Amir for his actions. -
Afghanistan Power Divided Up By Warlords
After the Russains left Afghanistan they left Afghanistan in a very weakened state, making the power become "divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms." (New York Times. -
Pakistan Funds Mullah Omar In His Fight Against The Warlords
Pakistan foresaw that Omar would overthrow the warlords so "Pakistani intelligence officers began funneling arms, money and supplies to Mullah Omar's men, as well as military advisers to help guide them into battle." (New York Times). -
Taliban Accepts Extremists And Destroys Statues
In the year of 1996, "Al Qaeda helped persuade Mullah Omar tto order the destruction of the 800-year-old Buddha statues at Bamiyan, an act condemned around the world. International criticism of the Taliban's harsh measures had little effect on the regime, which seemed almost to welcome pariah status." (New York Times). -
The Taliban Takes Over Afghanistan
Thanks to the help from Pakistan's funding and the leadership of Mullah Omar, the Taliban took over Afghanistan and made new rules and acts such as "imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law, banning movies and music and forcing women out of schools and into all-enveloping burqa clothing." (New York Times). -
Rahim Khan Tells Amir That Hassan Was His Brother
When Amir came to visit Rahim Khan he found out that Ali wasn't Hassan's true father because "'Ali was sterile'" and when he asked Rahim who Hassan's father was he replied "'I think you know who'", leaving Amir to discover that Baba was Hassan's father and thus Hassan was his brother. This angered Amir because he had spent his childhood trying to get rid of Hassan and he wouldn't have if he knew they were related. This is also vital to the plot because it forces Amir to save Sohrab from Assef. -
Amir Rescues Sohrab From Assef
As Assef was beating Amir, Amir began to laugh because "for the first time since 1975, {he} felt at peace...{His} body was broken-jost how badly {he} wouldn't find out until later-but {he} felt healed." (pg. 289). Amir felt "at peace" because getting beaten by Assef to save Sohrab atoned for his cowardice when he was young. With Assef punching him he finally felt relief and the grief of his past actions had finally disappeared. -
The U.S. Launches War With Afghanistan
After 9/11, America responded to Al Qaeda's influence on Afghanistan by "{joining} forces with rebel groups that had never accetpted Taliban rule, notably the Northern Alliance, which represented minority tribes. An air and ground campaign began that drove the Taliban out of the major Afghan cities by the end of the year." (New York Times). -
Amir Flies The Kite With Sohrab
Amir saw Sohrab smile for the first time since he came to America while they were flying the kite, to which he ran the kite and recalled "It was only a smile, nothing more...But I'll take it. With open arms. Because when spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I just witnessed the first flake melting." (pg. 371). The melting was Sohrab forgetting the events in Afghanistan. For the first time he saw a hope in Sohrab and a hope that he may overcome what happened to him. -
Hamid Karzai Is Elected To A 5 Year Presidency
Although America liked Karzai as President of Afghanistan, he was very disliked in the country seeing as the "Afghan population...blamed him for the manifest lack of economic progress and the corrupt officials who {seemed} to stand at every doorway of his government." (New York Times). -
Obama Delivers Speech On Afghanistan Affairs
After many years of fighting and tension, Obama gave a speech to American civilians and "announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops. He vowed to start bringing American forces home from Afghanistan in the middle of 2011, saying the United States could notafford and should not have to shoulder an open-ended commitment." (New York Times).