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Hassan is Born
Nearing a year after Amir's mother died after giving birth, "Hassan was born in the winter of 1964" (Hosseini 6). Hassan was born as a servant for Baba and Amir and would always be Amir's best friend. Even if he is classified as a servant, it would never mean Amir and Hassan couldn't be friends. -
Hassan's Mom Runs Away
Just after Hassan was born, Sanaubar "had taken one glance at the baby in Ali's arms, seen the cleft lip... [and then] she was gone" (Hosseini 10). Sanaubar didn't want anything to do with Hassan. She left him for something that wasn't anyones fault. -
Stealing is The Worst Sin
While in school, Amir's teacher taught him about multiple bad sins. Baba told Amir that they were wrong; "there is only one sin, only one. And that is theft" (Hosseini 16). Baba really wanted Amir to understand that some of the things school teaches him is wrong. He wants Amir to learn what he knows because he knows whats best for his son. -
Rahim Khan's Note
When Amir discovers his love in writing, he tries to get Baba to read his first story. Baba refuses, but Rahim Khan wanted to read it. He loved it and "handed [Amir his] story and another folded piece of paper" (Hosseini 32). Rahim Khan loves Amir writing and wants Amir to feel good about himself. He wanted Amir to fee acknowledged so that he would continue his dream. -
Zahir Shah Gets Overthrown
During the middle of the night, Amir, Hassan and Ali huddle together, for "something roared like thunder" (Hosseini 35). Gunshots were being fired because the King was overthrown, and soon, the old way of life in Afghanistan would be over. People everywhere were celebrating, but little did they know, their whole world would be sent upside down. -
Assef Disrupts Amir and Hassan
A day after all of the gun firing, Amir and Hassan start heading for their pomegranate tree, "when suddenly, a rock struck Hassan in the back.... Assef and two of his friends were approaching us" (Hosseini 37). Assef started to intimidate Amir and they got in an argument. Assef later said that he would hurt them later when they didn't expect it. -
Hassan's 10th Birthday
On Hassan's 10th Birthday, as a present, Baba got Hassan a surgeon to help "fix things [on his] face" (Hosseini 45). The surgery went well and Hassan's lip had been fixed. Hassan really liked his new lips and he was really happy to finally have them. -
The Kite Tournament
The Kite Tournament lasts for hours. The victory comes with a great prize. And Amir is about to get it. With one gust of wind, and one cut of a string, Hassan was yelling "Bravo! Bravo, Amir Agha!" (Hosseini 66). Amir won the tournament and everyone was so happy. Next, their job was to catch the last kite for the Grand Prize... -
Hassan's Rape
After Amir had won the Kite Tournament, Hassan went to go run the last kite. He hadn't returned, so Amir went to go look for him. He found Hassan in an alley with 3 other boys. As Hassan was being raped, "[all Amir] could hear [is] Assef's quick, rhythmic grunts" (Hosseini 77). As Hassan was getting raped, Amir didn't have the guts to do anything. He could've stood up for his friend, or he could have just ran away. In the end, he ran away. -
Amir's 13th Birthday Party
On the night of Amir's 13th birthday party, Baba had invited "the whole world" (Hosseini 93). He invited so many people because to him, its not a party unless you have a lot of people. On that same night, Rahim Khan gave Amir a notebook, one that he would have for years to come. -
The Soviet Invasion
After Babrak Karmal became president in a coup within the Afghan Communist leadership, on December 27th, 1979, "the first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul" (NYT) -
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Afghanistan History
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Fleeing The Country
As the Russians started taking over the country, Baba and many others decided to try and flee. On their way out of the country, Baba and Karim were "discussing the arrangement in Jalalabad over a smoke" (Hosseini 113). This shows that the things people had to do to escape were rough. They didn't know what would happen and they had to hope for the best that they wouldn't get caught. -
Kamal's Father Commits Suicide
After finally arriving in Pakistan, many people were relieved, but Kama's father wasn't. His son wouldn't breathe because of the fumes from the gas tank and he didn't know what to do. Then, Kamal's father grabbed Karim's gun and "shoved the barrel in his own mouth" (Hosseini 124). With many people struggling to stay alive or already dead, many people didn't know what to do. Kamal's father had no other idea but to shoot himself because he didn't want to live in the misery of living without a son. -
Amir Graduates Highschool
After two years of being in America, Amir finally "graduated from high school" (Hosseini 131). This was a great achievement for Amir because he could finally start living out his dream and start writing books of his own. He also made Baba really proud of him, something that he's been trying to do for a really long time. -
Amir's First Novel
After Amir and Soraya got married, Amir finished his first novel. He finished it "in the summer of 1988, about six months before the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan" (Hosseini 182). With Amir's hard work, he finally did what he wanted his entire life. He wrote his first story. With all the negativity towards becoming a writer from his father, Amir still pushed through and did what he wanted to do his entire life. The next step, was to get it published, and become a well known writer. -
After the Soviet Invasion
In February 1989, "the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan" (NYT) just after peace talks in the United Nations. -
The Start of the Taliban Takeover
When it neared the end of 1994, "Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers" (NYC) and he promised to restore the centrality of Islam to daily life. -
The Taliban Takeover
In 1996, with the help of the Pakistani, "the Taliban had taken control of Afghanistan" (NYC) and created strict laws, forcing everyday things like movies and music out of peoples lives. -
Bin Laden's Return
Also in 1996, the Taliban "provided a haven for Bin Laden, who arrived by chartered jet at Jalalabad Airport" (NYT) for Al Qaeda. -
Amir and Assef's Final Fight
In the summer of 2001, Amir went back to Afghanistan to go look for Hassan's son, Sohrab. When he found him, Assef wouldn't let him take Sohrab for free... There was a price. Before the fight, "[Assef] fished out [his stainless steel brass knuckles] out of his breast pocket" (Hosseini 287). This shows that Assef was ready to get in a fight. He had been waiting his entire life to fight Amir, and now that they were together again, it was his chance to finally do so. -
The Attacks of 9/11
On September 11, 2001, "President George W. Bush gave the Taliban an ultimatum to hand over to Mr. Bin Laden" (NYT). It refused and the US joined forces against the Taliban to drive them out of major Afghan cities. -
The Karzai Government
In December 2001, "Hamid Karzai... was named chairman of an interim government that replaced the defeated Taliban, making him leader of the country" (NYT). He hoped to secure peace for Afghanistan and win back much needed international aid. -
The Taliban Resurgence
The Taliban continued to wage warfare despite their defeat in 2001. "As the US military focus was diverted to the invasion an occupation of Iraq, the Taliban regrouped and began to extend its influence in the southern part of Afghanistan" (NYT). -
The Start of Obama's War
Obama's plan to extend the US involvement in Afghanistan "was shaped by a debate... while military advisers argued that the Afghanistan war effort could be imperiled without even more troops. -
Obama's Speech
On December 1, 2009, Obama delivered a speech at West Point that announced "his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops [to Afghanistan]" (NYT).