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Shah begins his reign
In 1933, "Zahir Shah began his forty-year reign of Afghanistan..." (Hosseini, 24). They started killing innocent Hazara's, and got an evil reputation from it. The brothers made Afgans racist towards Hazara's, which caused majority of them to get abused and not respected. -
Amir is born
In the very beginning of the story, Amir is reflecting on his childhood and thinks, "I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975" (Hosseini 1). His birth effects many other characters, and relationships in the book. In his father's eyes, Amir killed his mother, which causes him to have bitter feelings toward Amir. -
Baba fixes Hassan's lip
One year for Hassan's birthday, Baba hired a doctor who said, "'my job is to fix things on people's bodies. Sometimes their faces'" (Hosseini 45). Instead of presenting Hassan with a toy, he gave him a chance to fix his cleft lip. Baba's thoughtful gift proves that he cares a lot about Hassan and his well being. It also sparks a jealous feeling in Amir because he was beginning to feel that Hassan got all of Baba's attention. -
Amir wins the kite contest
Nearing the end of the contest, Amir knows he is going to win and thinks, "I didn't need to hear the crowd's roar to know. I didn't need to see it either. Hassan was screaming and his arm was wrapped around my neck" (Hosseini 66). When Amir cuts the last kite down, he is happy for himself, and he knows that he made Baba proud. This event draws Baba and Amir closer but tears Hassan and Amir apart. -
Hassan is raped by Assef
When Amir goes looking for his kite and Hassan, he finds Assef as he, "Dropped his underwear. He positioned himself behind Hassan. Hassan didn't struggle. Didn't even whimper" (Hosseini 75). Amir witnesses Hassan getting raped, but he doesn't intervene or try to stop it. Amir feels guilty for the rest of his life, and makes many decisons based on his guilt. -
USSR invades
The Soviet troops first "parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 27, 1979, to assist Babrak Karmal, who had become president in a coup within the Afghan Communist leadership" (New York Times). -
Amir and Baba move to America
After Amir and Baba escape Afghanistan, they moved to America because, "Baba loved the idea of America" (Hosseini 125). This decision created a power shift from Baba to Amir. Because of his change in socioeconomic status, Baba no longer had much power over others. Amir knew how to speak in English, giving him the upper hand over Baba. -
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force makes them "largely useless by advanced Stinger antiaircraft missiles supplied by the United States to the rebels" (New York Times). -
Baba dies
After the wedding, Baba is offered his medicine, "'Not tonight,' he said. 'There is no pain tonight.' ... Baba never woke up" (Hosseini 173). Baba knew he was going to die that night, and wanted to die on his own terms without medicine. His decision highlights his characteristic of being hard-headed and stubborn. -
Rahim Khan goes to find Hassan
Rahim Khan said, "There were a lot of reasons why I went to Hazarajat to find Hassan in 1986. The biggest one...was that i was lonely." Even after what happened to him, Hassan still comes back to the house that he had originally grown up in, giving the context for Hassan to still play a part in Amir's life. -
Soviets withdraw from Afghanistan
When the Soviets decided to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan, "They left behind a country that was not only devastated by the war but had become a beacon to Islamic extremist from across the globe" (Afghanistan - An Overview"). -
Sanaubar comes back into Hassan's life
When Sanaubar finds Hassan and sees him smile, she says, "'You smiled coming out of me, did anyone ever tell you? And I wouldn't even hold you. Allah forgive me, I wouldn't even hold you'" (Hosseini 210). Sanaubar was guilty for abandoning her son, so she returned to apologize. She also atoned for leaving by caring for Sohrab like her own son. -
Mullah Omar gains followers
Near the end of 1994, "Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers and was rolling up the warlords to the north and east. With his promise of restoring the centrality of Islam to daily life..." (New York Times). -
Pakistan supports Mullah Omar
In 1994, Pakistan started "funneling arms, money and supplies to Mullah Omar's men, as well as military advisers to help guide them in battle" (New York Times). -
Power Chasm in Afghanistan
After the Soviets left Afghanistan devasted from war, "power was anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms" ("Afghanistan - An Overview"). -
Taliban starts growing rapidly
One group that was started by a student movement was the Taliban and, "By the end of 1994 Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers and was rolling up the warlords to the north and east" ("Afghanistan - An Overview"). -
Taliban takes over
After gaining popularity and followers, "the Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan" ("Afghanistan - An Overview"). -
Amir discovers Hassan has dies
While visiting Rahim Khan, Amir learns that because Hassan and his family weren't going to abandon their house, a Taliban man "took him to the street...and order him to kneel...and shot him in the back of the head" (Hosseini, 219). Amir learns here that everyone he's really known and loved in his childhood life in now dead or dying. Not to mention that Amir will never be able to directly atone for what he did to Hassan. -
Amir goes to visit Rahim Khan
As Amir reaches the home of Rahim Khan who is very sick, "a thing made of sick and bones pretending to be Rahim Khan opened the door" (Hosseini, 197). This quote shows the change in Rahim Khan since Baba and Amir left afghanistan. He didn't have many people left to help him and take care of him. -
Amir fights Assef
Assef says," 'We have unfinished business, you and I,' ... 'You remember, don't you?' " (286). Assef tells Amir that if he wants his nephew, he has to fight for him. He says they have unfinished business from the past. Amir doesn't want to fight, but he has to, for Hassan. -
Amir rescues Sohrab
As Amir slowly tries to understand what had just happened, Sohrab yells to him, "Let's go!" (Hosseini, 291). They then escpae out of the house, but Amir is badly injured. Amir has begun to atone for his sins by rescuing the boy. -
Sohrab attempts to commit suicide
After Amir saw Sorab in the bathtub he started screaming, and," was still screaming when the ambulance arrived," (343). When Amir sees what Sorab has done to himself, he feel so guilty because Amir feels it is his duty to keep Hassan's son alive. He can't loose Sorab like he lost Hassan. -
US military involves itself with Afghanistan
The United States' military has been "involved in Afghanistan since 2001, when it led invasion after the Sept. 11 attacks by Al Qaeda" (New York Times). -
Amir flies a kite with Sohrab
Just like Hassan did for Amir, he asked Sorab if he," wanted me to run the kite for him," (371). Amir, a grown man, ran with all the children, happy as can be. He took the place of Hassan in the kite flying process. -
Obama Deploys Troops in Afghanistan
In efforts to fight and defeat the Taliban, "Mr. Obama announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops. He vowed to start bringing American forces home from Afghanistan in the middle of 2011" ("Afghanistan - An Overview").