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Epidemic
Despite "the cholera epidemic that hit Kabul in 1915" that killed Amir's great-grandmother, he still loves his homeland. (240) In 1915, there was great fear because of the epidemic that was spreading around. Amir wasn't alive then, but he is still proud that he still alive, despite all the hardships he has gone through in the US and in Afghanistan. -
Homeless Man
While Amir was in his hometown he talked to a homeless man and the man said, "From 1958 to 1996. I taught Hafez, Khayyam, Rumi, Beydel, Jami, Saadi. Once, I was even a guest lecturer in Tehran, 1971 I was" (249). The homeless man used to have moral/ethics/values because he was a teacher, but once the town has gone bad, his socioeconomic status went down. If Baba and Amir was to live in Afghanistan when the place is taken over by the Taliban, they wouldn't be well-known anymore. -
Tricks on you!
In 1973, Amir finds out that he is good at writing and story telling when he "played another trick on Hassan. [He] pretended [he] was reading from the book, flipping the pages regularly, but [he] had abandoned the text altogether, taken over the story and made up [his] own" (30). Amir learns from tricking Hassan that he is good at writing stories. Also foreshadowing what he will become when he grows up. He is also criticized by Hassan in this scene, showing the harsh judgement of other. -
Hassan vs Assef
In the winter of 1975, Hassan was violated by Assef. Assef called him, "Just a Hazara". (75). In this scene, Assef has ultimate power because of his socioeconomic status. He doesn't have the best moral/ethics/values, but it doesn't matter in his society because it is based on races. Behind the bush, Amir watched Hassan get assaulted, but he doesn't do anything because he didn't want his kite to be broken by Assef. -
Kite Race
When Amir was reflecting on his kite race with Hassan, he says, "The last time I had felt a rush like this was that day in the winter of 1975, just after I had cut the last kite, when I spotted Baba on our rooftop, clapping, and beaming" (370). In this scene, Amir was proud and happy and that Baba approved what he had done. When Amir was reflecting upon that, he imagines Baba " clapping, and beaming" again, because he has saved Sohrab. -
First Soviet Troops
The first soviet troops has arrived "to assist Babrak Karmal, who had become president in a coup within the Afghan Communist Leadership". (New YorK Times 1) -
Little Peace
Because of the Soviet Union and their invasion, "Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, has known little peace since 1979." (New York Times 1) -
Peace
Afghanistan finally gets peace when " the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1986". (New York Times 2) -
Soviet vs US
The US has taken action and made "the Spviett Air Force render largely useless by advanced Stinger antiaircraft missiles supplied by the US to the rebels". (New York Times 2) -
Birth of Sohrab
When Rahib visited Hassan and Farzana became pregnant again" (209) Sohrab was born in the early 1990s and that was when Kabul was starting to decline. This was important because this was the time when the Talibans were going around Kabul and killing all the Hazaras. Hassan was one of the many people that were killed. He left his son in an orphanage, scared and depressed. -
Old Landmarks
Amir was visting his old town and he sees that "the same mountains from which Mujahedin forces had showered Kabul with rockets between 1992 and 1996" was still there, unchanged. (245). The economy in Kabul is not doing well, so they couldn't remove/ remodel the town. One can see that in this time, the coutry is not doing well because of the war going on between Afghanistan and the US. -
Dangerous Kabul
Kabul has changed from a peaceful place to a dangerous area. Rahim says that the Northern Alliance took over Kabul between 1992 and 1996, different factions claimed different parts of Kabul. [When going outside], you risked getting shot by a sniper or getting blown up by a rocket" (199). Kabul has been taken over by the Talibans and it is not a safe place anymore. There isn't a trust system anymore in Kabul, because everyone feels fear of getting killed. -
Defeat
Amir said "the Shorawi were defeated and long gone and Kabul belonged to Massoud, Rabbani, and the Mujahedin" (212). This is the start of the problem in Kabul. Because of the defeat of Kabul, Baba and Amir had to move to America. -
American Imperialism
In a hotel room in Islamabad, Amir sees a "issue of Time; a Pakistani newspaper showing the face of a young boy who was kick by a train the week before [and] a entertainment magazine with smiling Lollywood actors" (347). In this scene, one can see that in a time like this, there is American imperialism in Afghanistan because of the American Magazines. This foreshadows that people with Afghani backgrounds might want to live in America. -
Taliban Invasion
The Taliban, "the extremist Islamic group thad has seixed control in 1996 after years of civil war", has caused the US to bring their attention to Afghanistan. (New York Times 1) -
Public killing
A guard was talking to Amir about how he "broke down their doors and went inside their homes. And [how he'll] sweep the barrel of [his] machien gun around the room and fire and fire until the smoke blinded [him]" (277). In this scene, the guard is incredibly proud of what he has down, even though it wasn't something right to do. One can see that this is the start of a terrorism between the US and Afghanistan. -
Talibans in Kabul
Amir is living in a time where "the Taliban banned Kite fighting. And two years later, they massacred the Hazaras" (213). The Taliban has caused fear and hatred through their massacres of the lower classes. The Taliban has taken away their fun (the kites). This comes into play at the end of the story where Sohrab and Amir play with kites again in America, showing the sense of freedom where they lived now. -
US Being Involved
Because the US wants peace for Afghanistan, they "have been militarily involved since 2001". (New York Times 1) -
Events after 9/11
After 9/11, "President George W. Bush gave the Taliban an ultimatum to hand over Mr. bin Laden", because he was threatening the US (New York Times 3) -
9/11 Terrorist Attack
Sohrab has finally accepted Amir's suggestion for him to live with Amir. Baba says that "while Sohrab was silent, the world was not" (362). Outside of Amir's house in America, there was a recent terrorist attack that is known as 9/11 and it caused people to get into action, but Sohrab is not saying anything about the attack because he doesn't feel like he fits in America, so he's not responding. On the other side, Amir is affected by this terrorist attack because he is scared that something woul -
After Taliban Defeated
After the Taliban was defeated, they still "continued to wage a guerilla warfare from a base in the mountainous and largely lawless tribal area on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border" (New York Times 3) -
New Leader
After the Taliban was defeated, "Hamid Karzai, a suppoerter and relative of Mohammad Zahir shah, the exiled former king of Afghanistan" (New York Times 3) -
Us Forces
Becuase pf what is happening in Afghanistan, "United States will have forces in the country until at least the end of 2014."
(New York Times 1) -
Coup d'etat
The decline of Afghanistan is shown when Amir narrates, "The end, the official end, would come with the coup de'etat, when Russian tanks would roll into the very same streets where Hassan and I played" (36). This foreshadows what will happen to Afghanistan and their hometown. Additionally, the tanks show war that will start to destroy their town. -
Monarchy?
The reason for Baba's move to America might be the fact that "the monarchy [in Afghanistan] was a thing of the past" (36). Baba has abruptly moved out of Afghanistan, leaving behind his socioeconomic status to go to America. In America, Baba is a bit shy and timid because of the different way America is set up. Socioeconomic status doesn't really exist as strongly in the US than Afghanistan.