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Amir plays another reading trick on Hassan
Amir said, "I pretended I was reading fom the book, flipping pages regularly, but I had abandoned the text altogether, taken over the story, and made up my own" (30). By playing a trick on Hassan, Amir showed his power over Hassan. This power is more of a physical power and does not seem to affect Hassan's actions towards him. -
Hassan's birthday present
On Hassan's birthday, Baba got him an interesting, not so typical, gift. Babe said to Hassan, "meet your birthday present" (44). Baba got him a surgeon that would perform lip surgery on him to fix his lip. Amir stated that Baba never misses Hassan's birthday and always gets him something nice. By stating that, he comes across as thought he is jealous of Hassan, even though Amir knows that he has power over Hassan. -
Hassan's last time running a kite
The author wrote, "in the winter of 1975, I saw Hassan run a kite for the last time" (55). This quote foreshadows that something traggic is going to happen that will make Hassan never run a kite again. Amir is sad because he knows that Hassan is the best kite runner in Afghanistan, and even though he may act differently, he would never want anything to hurt Hassan. -
Amir's 13th birthday
Amir said, "I turned thirteen that summer of 1976, Afghanistan's next to last summer of peace and anonymity" (93). This shows that it was just a matter of time until Afghanistan started to have problems. The beginning of wars could begin to affect Amir's living arrangments. -
The official end of the bombings and explosions
The author stated that, "the official end, would come first in April 1978 with the communist coup d'etat" (36). Amir is glad that the war finally comes to an end. Seeing his country destroyed in such a way, was actually a blessing in disguise because Amir was able to rethink his morals and values and remember what was important in life. -
Soviet Union invades Afghanistan
One of the first attacks in Afghanistan was in, "1979, when the Soviet Union invaded" (The New York Times 1). -
Soviet troops went to Kabul
According to the New York Times, "The first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 27,1979, to assist Babrak Karmal, who had become president in a coup within the Afghan Communist leadership" (The New York Times 2). -
Baba and Amir leave Kabul
Amir said, "My innards had been roiling since we'd left Kabul just after two in the morning" (110). Amir felt nervous leaving Kabul because he had grown up there for all of his life. Not knowing what to expect in America made Amir worry because he was going to have to start his life over again in a new country. -
Amir remembering the last time he saw Rahim Khan
Amir remembered, "the last time [he] saw Rahim Khan, in 1981" (196). Reflecting on the last time he saw Rahim Khan was a sad moment for Amir because he looked up to Rahim Khan as a father figure. Amir felt guilty for having left him in Afghanistan when things started to get rough there, but he had to leave for his own safety. -
Amir graduates from high school
Amir wrote, "I graduated from high school at the age of twenty, by far the oldest senior tossing his mortarboard on the football field that day" (131). Although he was the oldest senior to graduate, Amir still had good enough morals to get an education. He knew that graduating high school would help him with his writing career in America. -
The spring quarter of school ended
Amir's spring quarter ended, "in late May 1985" and he "aced all of [his] general education courses" (144). Going to college was a smart choice for Amir because he knew that it would help him in his writing career. By acing all of his general education courses, he was on the right track to becoming a fantastic writer. -
Troubles caused by Soviet troops
Before 1986 when the Soviet troops came in and caused trouble, "roughly 15,000 lives" were lost (The New York Times 2). -
Rahim Kahn finds Hassan
Rahim Kahn told Amir, "there were a lot of reasons why I went to Hazarajat to find Hassan in 1986" (203). Part of Amir wanted to know how Hassan's life had been after he had left their family, but the other half of him wanted to forget about his childhood with him. This demonstrates that even though Amir had grown up, he still had some of his childish, immature side in him. -
Amir finishes his first novel
Amir said, "I finished my first novel, a father-son story set in Kabul, written mostly with the typwriter the general had given me" (182). This novel is a reflection on Amir's life and it meant something to him. Finishing a novel was a way of showing that Amir was serious about his writing and his future career. -
Soviet troops leave Afghanistan
Finally, "after peace talks moderated by the United Nations, the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989" (The New York Times 2). -
Pakistani officers help arm Mullah Omar's men
In 1994, "Pakistani intelligence officers began funneling arms, money and supplies to Mullah Omar's men" (The New Yorkk Times 3). -
Taliban takes over Afghanistan
In 1996 the Taliban, "had taken over Afghanistan" (The New York Times 3). -
The war was put to an end
In 1996, "the Taliban rolled in and put an end to the daily faighting" (213). Although the end of the war may have seemed like a good thing, in reality it was a very terrible time in Afghanistan. The Taliban took over and massacred the Hazaras, killing Hassan and his wife. This news upset Amir because he never got the chance to make things right with Hassan. -
The Russian Troops Invaded
Amir remembered, "when Russian tanks would roll into the very same streets where Hassan and I played, bringing the death of the Afghanistan I knew and marking the start of a still ongoing era of bloodletting' (36). This moment in time was very traggic for Amir because he saw the place that he once loved to run around in, fall apart. Amir was also reflecting on the time he spent with Hassan while watching his home country get destroyed, and both things made him feel hopeless. -
Rahim Kahn gets hit at a soccer game
Rahim Kahn said, "I was at a soccer game in Ghazi Stadium in 1998" and "this young fellow who was patrolling the aisles, eighteen years old at most by the look of him, he walked up to me and struck me on the forehead with the butt of his Kalashnikov" (199). This quotation demonstrates the idea of power in Afghanistan. Power was very much imporant in that time and the young man that hit Rahim Khan certainly felt as though he had a greater socioeconomic status than Rahim Khan. -
The Taliban massacred the Hazaras
In 1998 the Taliban, "massacred the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif" (213). This was a devestating moment to all of Afghanistan, but especially to Amir. Hassan had been killed as a result of this incident, and that crushed Amir because he knew he would never get to atone for how he treated him. -
Al Qaeda attacks Afghanistan
The United States has been a big part in helping Afghanistan, "since 2001, when it led an invasion after the Sept. 11 attacks by Al Qaeda." (The New York Times 1) -
Hamid Karzai becomes the leader of Afghanistan
In Decemeber 2001, Hamid Karzai replaced Taliban who was defeated and "was named chairman of an interim government" and became "the leader of the country" (The New York Times 3). -
Hamid Karzai's plan for Afghanistan
In June of 2002, Karzai said, "he hoped to secure peace for Afghanistan and win the country much-need international aid" (The New York Times 3). -
President Obama promised he would start bringing Afghan troops home
Obama promised to, "start bringing American forces home from Afghanistan" (The New York Times 4).