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Amir is Born But Mother Dies
Amir's mother, "hemorrhaged to death during child birth" (6). The loss of Amir's mother can explain Baba's grimness towards Amir. Amir and Baba blame themselves for the death of Sanaubar. -
Hassan is Born but the Mother Runs Away
Right after Hassan is born, his mother, "ran off with a clan of traveling singers and dancers" (6). The one thing Hassan and Amir have in common is that they are both motherless. The running away of Hassan's mother was considered far worse than death. -
Amir Writes His First Story
Rahim Khan gives his first compliments on Amir's first short story by saying, "I enjoyed your story very much... But the most impressive thing about your story is that it has irony... Bravo" (33). It all starts out with the compliment from Rahim that motivates Amir to become a famous writer. If Rahim did not write the letter, Amir would have lost interest in his talent. -
Hassan Meets Assef
Hassan triumphs in a confrontation with Assef. Assef is angry because, "someone had challenged their god. Humiliated him. And, worst of all, that someone was a skinny Hazara" (42). The quote shows how much anger Aseef holds against Hassan. This also foreshadows something bad happening in the future. -
End of King's 40 Year Resign- End of Monarchy
The end of the King's rule turns into a bad event. Amir says that, "suddenly Afghanistan changed forever" (34). Because of this, Hassan gets killed and Amir and Baba have to move to America. After this event, Afghanistan changes for the worst and Rahim Khan is left by himself while everyone is gone. -
Hassan Gets Raped by Assef
When Hassan is getting raped, Amir acts cowardly by running away from the scene rather than helping Hassan. Amir had, "one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who [he] was going to be. [He] could step into that alley... or {he} could run. In the end, {he) ran... because {he} was a coward" (77). After this event, everything onwards is affected. Amir and Hassan break up their friendship, and Hassan does not smile anymore. -
Hassan and Ali Leave
Amir frames Hassan for stealing his gold watch. When asked is this true by Baba, Hassan confesses and says yes to the sin. However, Baba forgives him and tries to prevent him from leaving. Ali then steps in and says, "we are leaving Agha sahib" (106). This event shows how much Baba cares for Hassan because according to Baba, Stealing is the worst sin a person can commit. -
Soviet Union Invades Afghanistan
Afghanistan has known little peace since, "1979, when the Soviet Union invaded" (New York Times 1). -
Soviet Troops Parachute into Kabul
The Soviet troops moved, "into Kabul... to assist Babrak Karmal, who had become president in a coup within the Afghan Communist leadership" (New York Times 2). -
Baba has Cancer
After coming to America, Baba gets cancer. He had started to cough up bloof and it turned out he had, "a spot on his right lung" which lead to cancer. Baba chooses to stay off any medications, and slowly dies. However, right before Baba passes away, he does Amir a favor by asking the aproval for Amir to marry Soraya -
Amir and Soraya Marry
Before Baba passes away, he does Amir a favor by asking the aproval from Soraya's father to marry Amir. Love is shown when Baba spends, "$35,000 on the awroussi" (169). The event shows that even though Amir and Baba were on "bad terms", Baba still cared for Amir's future very much and performed his final gift to Amir. -
Amir and Baba move to the United States
After moving to America, it is clear that, "Baba loved the idea of America" (125). This is evident when Baba never gives up, even when he was struggling to earn a job and money. -
Soviet Troops Leave Afghanistan
In February of 1989, the last of the Soviet troops left Afghanistan, "after peace talks moderated by the United Nations" (New York Times 2). -
Mullah Omar grows in followers
Mullah Omar, a pushtan who had lost an eye fighting the Soeviets, "had nearly 12,000 followers and was rolling up the warlord to the morth and the east" (New York Times 2). -
Mullah Omar Receives a Helping Hand
Afghanistan was so corrupt that the, "officers began funneling arms, money and supplies to Mullah Omar's men, as well as military advisers to help guide them in battle" (New York Times 4). -
Assef Takes his Revenge on Amir
When Amir goes to Afghanistan to rescue Sohrab, he is met face to face with Assef. Assef tells him that he, "has to earn him," through a fight (286). Amir gets beat up pretty hard, but in the end Sohrab saves him by whooting Assef's eye out with a metal ball. -
Rahim Khan Calls Amir
Amir gets a call from Rahim Khan. He knows that, "it wasn't just Rahim Khan on the line. It was my past of unatoned sins" (1). The text foreshadows the past and that Amir has done something that still haunts him. Rahim Khan tells Amir that there is a chance to be good again. -
The Attack of 9/11
The United States has been invovled in a war with Afghanistan since, "an invasion after the Sept. 11 attacks by Al Qaeda" (New York Times 1). -
Post 9/11 Invasion
After refusing to hand over Osama Bin Laden, the , "United States joined forces with rebel groups that had never accepted Taliban rule, notably the Northern Alliance, which represented minority tribes. An air and ground campaign began that drove the Taliban out of the major Afghan cities by the end of the year" (New York Times 3). -
Amir Arrives Home From Afghanistan With Sohrab
The time away from home made Amir realize how much he loved Soraya. Soraya, "picked us up at the airprt. I had never been away from Soraya for so long, and when she locked her arms around my neck, when I smelled the apples in her hair, I realized how much I had missed her" (357). When in Afghanistan, the only type of comunication was through phone calls. Amir could not physically see or touch Soraya until that day, when he realized how much he loved her. -
The General is Called Back to Afghanistan
In 2002, the general is, "summoned to Afghanistan to fill a ministry position"(363). This is a sign that there is a end to the long struggke in Afghanistan. Power is finally returned to the general through war success and strong allies. -
Amir Takes Sorhab to a Kite Field
After Sohrab attempts suicide, he does not display any emotion. However, after Amir shows him how to fly a kite, Sohrab's, "corner of his mouthhad curled up just so. A smile. Lopsided. Hardley there. But there" (371). The kite flying event brings up old memories to Sohrab of the times he and Hassan would go kite flying. -
Obama Sends a Surge of Soldiers out of Afghanistan
This act caused the, "number in Afghanistan to increase by almost 50,000" (New York Times 1). -
Obama's Plan of Action
In December of 2009, President Obama declared his plan to, "deploy 30,000 additional troops" (New York Times 4). -
Obama Calls to Withdraw Troops From Afghanistan
Obama's initial plans were to have, "combat forces to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan in the summer of 2011" (New York Times 1).