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First Words
Amir and Hassan had been together since they were born. They were brothers, attached almost. Amir's first word was "Baba. [Hassan's] was Amir. (11). " This causes the reader to really understand the relationship they had with eachother. It was a lot more than a servant and boss kind of relationship. -
Amir's guilt as rudeness
One morning, as "Hassan was preparing [Amir's] breakfast, Hassan asked if something was bothering [him]. [He] snapped at him, told him to mind his own buisness." (23). As the guilt is starting to build up in Amir's system, he becomes frigid and rude because he feels so bad that he didn't do anything to help Hassan. He answer's his angrily because Hassan isn't mad at him, he wants punishment for what he didn't do. -
Assef violates Hassan
As Hassan was chasing the kite for Amir, Assef and his friends chase after him for revenge. They plan to just take the kite, but Assef thinks of another punishment for Hassan. He violates him. He convinces his friends to help him by telling them that "[Hassan' is just a Hazara" and that "there's nothing sinful about teaching a lesson to a disrespectful monkey" (75). It causes Amir, Hassan and even Assef's friends to fear him becuase of what he is capable of doing. -
Amir's birthday party
Baba had always thrown and excellent party. Especially for birthdays, “the house packed...guests with drinks in hand chatting, smoking on the stairs”(94). Yet, this wasn't exactly what Amir had wanted in the first place. This party was what his father enjoyed and wanted, but not him. Baba wanted people to know his son and see him as a great boy, but all Amir wanted was to be forgiven by Hassan. He was too engulfed in guilt to enjoy the party, he didn't want in the first place. -
Soviet Union Invades
The country of Afghanistan was not always in war, but it "has known little peace since 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded" (The New York Times, Afghanistan- An Overview). "The first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul.. to assist Barrak Karmal" -
Amir and Baba move to California, United States of America
Moving to rhe states was a big transition for Baba and Amir, but it was mainly a difficult decision for Baba. Amir said that "Baba loved the idea of America. It was living in America that gave him an ulcer" (125). This shows how making the decision to move was a lot more diffiuclt than intented, it was also not the first thing that Baba wanted to do. It was a choice Baba didn't want to take, but had to for his and his son's lives. -
Ali and Hassan leave
Since Amir is so full of guilt, he doesn't want to face Hassan, so he plants his things in his room so Baba thinks he stole them. When Ali and Hassan find out, Ali says, "we are leaving, Agha sahib' "(106). Hassan decides to take the fault for this because it is the last thing he will do for Amir, so he and his father can leave and be rid of this place and it's people. -
Amir graduates from high school
During the summer," [Amir] graduated from highschool" (131). This was a big step in is life because he has been so behind when he'd gotten to the states. It was also very important to Baba that he get a good education. -
Amir and Soraya get married
When Amir and Soroya got married, "Baba spent $35,000 nearly his life savings, on the awroussi, the wedding ceremony" (169). By spending everything he had on this ceremony shows how much Amir means to Baba and what he wants for him and his future. Also, it causes Amir to feel happines that Baba is actually happy about a decision Amir has made. He is accepted by Baba in pure way, no one had to go through pain for this acceptance. -
Baba dies
Baba's death affected many people, including Amir, but he didn't realise this until the funeral. People would say that "'[Baba] was like a brother to me' [or] 'bless him'" (174). When Amir saw people saying this, is when he realised how much of an impact Baba made in their community in the little time they'd spent there. Also, hereing people say all the good things, made him realise that he no longer had Baba to lean on, he was on his own for the first time in his life. -
Bye Bye Soviet Union
By February of 1989, the Soviet Union was finally getting out of Afghanistan after losing thousand of lives. "They left behind a country that was not only devastated by the war but that had become a beacon to Islamic extremists from across the globe who had come to assist the fighting, including Osama bin Laden and the group he helped found, Al Qaeda." -
Amir publishes his first novel
Amir had always loved writing and publishing a novel was a huge step in his career and a huge step for his future. Amir's publisher had "sent [him] on a five city book tour. [He] became a minor celebrity in the Afghan community" (183). This was the beginning of his new life. This was what he had worked for his entire life, what Baba had worked for, a successful and happy son. -
Infertitily
Amir and Soraya were unable to get peganant, making both of them very sad and almost angry with each other. Amir found that "the idea of fatherfood unleased a swirl of emotions in [him]. [He] found it frightening, invigorating, daunting, and exhilarating' (184). The infertitily caused Amir to feel sad because he was ready to be a father, he wanted it, and not being able to have one just broke him and Soraya down. Neither of them knew what to do about it, the excitement that was once there, wasnt -
More Followers
According the New York Times, "by the end of the 1994 Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers and was rolling up the warlords to the north and east.." -
Taliban Takeover
According to The New York Times article, Afghanistan- An Overview, in 1996 Afghanistan, "the Taliban, the extremist Islamic group that has seized control" , originally wanted to help the country come back from war, but now, all they seemed to be looking for was power. -
Strict Government
According to the New York Times article, Afghanistan- An Overview, "the Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing strict enforcement of fundamental Islamic law, banning movies and music and forcing women out of schools and into all-enveloping burqa clothing", giving the people of Afghanistan nothing to live for. This took away everything they had and everything they knew. They were forced to start a new, unwanted life. -
Amir visits Rahim Khan
Amir didn't ever intended to go back to Afghanistan or Pakistan, but when he gets and urgent call from Rahim Khan, he has to go, but unwillingly. When he visits him, he learns that "Hassan lived [in the house] with [Rahim Khan] [for all those years he was alone]" (202). When Amir is told this, it sparks memory of Hassan and at the same time, anger that Rahim Khan never told him this. This also gives an insight to what Hassan has been doing for the past 15 yeats. -
Amir retrieves Sohrab
Amir goes to the home of the man who wore sunglasses, to find out when he got there that this man was the infamous Assef. He tries to get Sohrab but Assef wants him to pay. Assef tells Amir that "[he] has to earn him' (286). This causes Amir to be confused at first as to what Assef means by "earn him", but he soon leanrs that Assef wants to fight with him. This shows that Assef never forgets anything and is big on revenge, -
Taliban Rules.
The Taliban was in such power during the time of 1996-2001 that they "grew out a student movement dedicated to purifying the country,... the group's first action occured when Mullah Omar, a Pashtun who had lost an eye fighting the Soviets, gathered a small band of men and attacked a group of warlords who had raped a girl and shaved her head" The New York Times article- Afghanistan- An Overview. -
The Taliban Resurgence
Even after being defeated in 2001, " the Taliban continued to wage a querrilla warfare from a base in the mountainous and largely lawless tribal area on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border" giving them all the recourses they need to try and make a comeback. -
Brothers- Hassan and Amir
While visiting Rahim Khan, Amir learns that Ali, Hassan's father, was never able to have a child, leading to the conclusion that Baba was also Hassan's father. While Amir is in denial with this at first, it starts to make sense, why Baba always treated Hassan like a son and was always so fatherly towards him. -
Amir and Farid try to find Sohrab
They both go to the orpahange in search of Sohrab. The men there tell them that "there is a Talib official. He visits once a month or two. He bringd cash with him, not a lot, but better than nothing at all. Usually he'll take a girl. But not always" (256). This gave Amir and Farid the conclusion that Sohrab was being made to do things against his will and this angered them. It meant that Sohrab might go through the same things that Hassan, his father, had to go through. -
Karzai Government
Although, Hamid Karzai, chairman of an interim government, was friends with the United States,and was a "White house favourite. His popularity, though, steadily plunged, at home as well as abroad, as Mr. Karzai faced and Afghan population that blamed him for the manifest lack of economic progress..." This explains that evemn after that Taliban was ruled out in Afghanistan, the government that was put in place, was not doing it's job well. -
After 9/11
After the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, the President tried to reason with the Taliban, but they refused. "When it refused, the United States joined forces with the rebel groups that had never accepted Taliban rule, notably, the Northern Alliance, which represented minority tribes." Concluding, that the Taliban's own people, were not satified with that they were doing, and wanted their old life back, so they rebelled. -
Strong Afghanistan
According to The New York Times article, Afghanistan- An Overview, " Soviet troops stayed in the country for more than nine years, fighting as conflict that cost them roughly 15,000 lives and undisclosed billions of rubles."