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Kite Runner: Hassan being abused by Assef
After Hassan refused to give the kite to Assef and the boys Assef "unzipped his jeans. Dropped his underwear. He positioned himself behind Hassan. Hassan didnt even struggle."(75) This act was caused because Hassan cared that much for Amir. No matter what he wasnt going to give away the kite because it was for Amir. -
Kite Runner: Baba's birthday gift to Hassan
Baba tells Hassan of his birthday present saying,"Probably not what you had in mind, but this present will last you forever."(46) Because Baba truly does care for Hassan he gives him a meaningful present that will change his future. Baba especially gives him this present because he is the father of Hassan. -
Kite Runner: Amir throws pomegranates at Hassan
Amir threw pomegranates at Hassan thinking, "I wished he'd give me the punishment I craved, so maybe I'd finally sleep at night."(92) Amir was full of much guilt, that he wanted Hassan to hit him, even though he was pelting Hassan. This act shows also how loyal Hassan is to Amir because he didnt hit him. -
Kite Runner: Amir frames Hassan
Amir framed Hassan for "stealing" his watch and Afghan bills. Amir realized that it "was Hassan's final sacrifice for me. If he'd said no, Baba would have believed him because we all knew Hassan never lied."(105) Amir deep feel deeply guilty because he framed Hassan, who is his servant's son but he has always been loyal and kind to Amir. Amir realizes the respect Hassan has for him, to lie, and to take blame for what he didnt do. -
Kite Runner: Amir's 13th birthday celebration
For Amir's 13th birthday, Baba was throwing him a party and Amir says,"I remember scanning over the invitation a week before my birthday party and not recognizing at least three-quarters of the four hundred-plus Kakas and Khalas who were going to bring me gifts."(94) Seeing how Amir didnt recognize many of those attending his party shows how appearance matters in the eyes of Baba. We learn that Amir is in a family with great wealth and power because of Baba's high status. -
Soviet Union Invasion
Soviet Union invaded the capital of Afghan, Kabul. The article tells us,"Soviet troops stayed in the country for more than nine years, fighthing a conflict that cost them roughly 15,000 lives and undisclosed billions of rubbles."(New York Times 2) After invading Kabul, Soviet troops stayed fighting the war. -
Kite Runner: California
In the 1980s Baba and Amir were in California. Amir says "Baba loved the idea of America."(125) In California, Baba had a giant power shift from being a highly respected man in Kabul, to working at a gas station. Amir was almost done with high school, and eventually graduated. Going to America was a change for them, but benefited them the most because their relationship grew stronger. -
Kite Runner: Journey to Jalalabad
In March Baba and Amir were headed to Jalalabad, leaving Kabul silently. Amir said that Karim "was taking them to Jalalabad, about 170 kilometers southeast of Kabul, where his brother, Toor, was waiting to drive them across the Khyber Pass and into Peshwar." (111) They left quietly with other refugees because they weren't able to trust anyone in Kabul because there were many people undercover as they could've been a threat. -
Kite Runner: Baba dies of cancer
Bab's doctor told him he had cancer because he was smoking quite often. After awhile cancer took him, and he died, and Amir attending his funeral saying,"I smiled politely, thanked them for their wishes, listened to whatever they had to say about Baba."(174) Baba's death showed how Amir needed to be more responsible because he didnt have his father's wise words. Baba's death also revealed how Amir had to find out himself what Baba's sin was and how he would atone for the both of them. -
Kite Runner: Amir gets married
After Baba asked General Taheri for Amir to wed Soraya they got married soon enough so Baba can be there because he was very sick. Amir "remember[s] sitting on the sofa, set on the stage like a throne, Soraya's hand in [his], as three hundred or so faces looked on."(171) By marrying Soraya, Amir is finally alone with a woman and more responsibiltity is laid upon him. Amir proves his responsibility by not starting a family of his own to look after. -
Soviet Troops leave Afghan
In the Soviet Invasion and After it states,"After peace talks moderated by the United Nations, the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989."(NYT 2) After the Soviet left, Afghanistan was left with extremists fighting for power. -
Kite Runner: Amir's first published book
Amir speaks of his first published book after he had always had a talent for writing and how the "novel was released in the summer of that following year, 1989, and the publisher sent me on a five-city book tour."(183) Even though Amir had a published book he was questioning if he even deserved it. Having his first published book was a great celebration for him, also reminding him of Rahim Khan's message when he was a kid. -
Talibans takeover
Mullah Omar brought together a group that became the Taliban. The New York Times article states,"(NYT 2) By the end of 1994 Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers and was rolling up the warlords to the north and east." Many people began turning to the Taliban, especially because of their promise to restore the centrality to their daily life. -
Competing warlords for Afghanistan
Because the Soviet Union left Afghanistan the "power was anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual freedoms."(NYT 2) There were mulitple groups that wanted to gain control, this is because the Soviet Union was driven out and many groups wanted power. -
Helping the Taliban
The article says that in," 1994, Pakistan intelligence officers began funneling arms, money, and supplies to Mullah Omar's men, as well as military advisors to help guide the into battle." (NYT 3) Because Omar'smen were given weapons it helped them have more power to se strict rules such as banning movies and music. -
Taliban in Full Control
After ruling few Afghan cities," the Taliban had control of Afghanista, imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law, banning movies and forcing women out of schools and into all-developing burqa clothing." (NYT 3) The Taliban set strict rules for the people, to where they began to have to much power. -
Kite Runner: Amir goes to see Rahim
After Rahim Khan called Amir was on his way to see Rahim. He was remembering when he last say Rahim and he "remembers Baba and him embracing in the foyer, crying softly."(196) Because it had been such a long time that Amir has seen Rahim, he remebers when he had last seen him. Amir also wondering what he is supposedly going to atone for since he received a phone call by Rahim Khan. -
World Trade Center Attack
On the 11th of September Al Queda attacked the World Trade Center in New York. President Bush took action," (NYT 3) giving the Taliban an ultimatun to hand over Mr. bin Laden." After the refusal the United States began to draw out Taliban from Afghan cities. -
Kite Runner: Amir finds out Baba is Hassan's father
After finding out Baba had an affair and was the father of Hassan Amir says, "How was I going to reconcile this new image of Baba with the one that had been imprinted on my mind for so long, that of him in his old brown suit, hobbling up the Taheris' driveway to ask for Soraya's hand."(226) Amir realized how he was lied to practically his whole life. He's surprised that Baba had in fact kept this a secret, but realized that it all makes sense considering he did in fact care for Hassan. -
Kite Runner: Sohrab's incident
After Sohrab is told Amir's plan to take him to America, Sohrab tried to kill himself. Amir "kept vigil at Sohrab's bedside in the daytime and wandered through the hospital's serpentine corridors at night, listening to [his] shoe heels clicking on the tiles, thinking of what [he] would say to Sohrab once he woke up."(350) Sohrab showed how important it was for Amir to keep his promise. Sohrab lost trust from Amir because the only thing Sohrab wanted was to not go back to an orphanage. -
Karzai Government
Hamid Karzai supported the former king of Afghanistan. He was "named chairman of an interim government tht replaced the defeated Taliban, making him leader of the country." (NYT 2) Some of his goals was to secure piece and win international aid. -
Kite Runner: Assef the Taliban
Amir goes to speak to the Taliban to find Sohrab. When he finds out Assef is a Taliban he says to Amir,"I wonder why you've come all this way for a Hazara? Why are you here? Why are you really here?"(285) Assef questions why Amir wants Sohrab because he is a Hazara. He doesnt realize that Sohrab has a connection with Hassan especailly because Assef has now abused the both of them. -
Kite Runner: Sohrab's smile
When Amir was helping Sohrab fly a kite he "looked down at Sohrab. [and] one corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile."(370) Although Sohrab only gave a tiny smile, it made Amir think that there is hope. That with time, things were going to get better for them. -
General Petraues appointed by US
General Petraues had "taken charge of United States Central Command in October 2008."(NYT 4) General was in charge of the opertions that were held in Iraq. He was a great leader that challenged the Taliban greaty. -
Obama's Plan for the Soldiers in Afghan
In Obama's speech his plan was,"to deploy 30,000 additional troops. He vowed to start bringing American forces home from Afghanistan in the middle of 2001."(NYT 4) One of Obama's reasonings for deploying forces was the money and how they cant afford it especially considering it is the additional trroops.