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King Zahir Shan is Overthrown
In this quotation, the author describes one of the first moments of Afghanistan's long conflict, "They weren't shooting ducks at all. As it turned out shot much of anything that night of July 17, 1973. Kabul awoke the next morning to find the monarchy was a thing of the past"(The Kite Runner 36). This shooting was the start of the violence that was coming to Kabul. This event caused a chain reaction in Afghanistan which changed the lives of everyone in Kabul just a few years later. -
Hassan Has Surgery To Fix His Cleft Lip
In this quotation, Hassan get's his cleft lip fixed, "The his lips twisted, and, that time, I knew just what he was doing. He was smiling. Just as he had, emerging from his mother's womb" (The Kite Runner 47). Hassan gets his cleft fixed as his birthday present from Baba. After this painful surgery, Hassan enters the room smiling as he did from his mother's womb which symbolizes that he was smiling through the pain as he had always done. -
Hassan Is Rapped
Hassan was raped by Assef in an alleyway in the following quotation, "He positioned himself behind Hassan. Hassan didn't struggle ... He moved his head slightly and I caught a glimpse of his face. Saw the resignation in it. It was a look I had seen before. It was the look of the lamb" (The Kite Runner 75-76). The event of Hassan getting rapped changed the demeanor of both Hassan and Amir. They both became miserable but in different ways; Hassan became distressed and Amir became a coward. -
Amir Throws Pomegranates At Hassan
A couple weeks after Hassan is raped, Amir angerly throws pomegranates at Hassan because he is angry about his undying loyalty, "'Hit me back!' I spat. 'Hit me back goddamn you!'" (The Kite Runner 92). Amir envied Hassan's undying loyalty because Amir always knew that he was a coward. Amir is also angry because he is traumitized and infuriated with his own cowardiss. -
Ali and Hassan Leave
Ali finds out about Hassan's rape and tells Baba, "'We're leaving, Agha sahib,' Ali said. ... Then I saw Baba do something I had never seen him do before: He cried" (The Kite Runner 106-107). This event put a lot of fear and sadness into the hearts of Baba and Amir. Amir felt confused and afraid because he saw Baba cry and Hassan protected him once more; even though he commited a horrible act. -
Soviet Union Invades Afghanistan
The Soviets begin to arrive in Afghanistan in this quotation, "The first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 27 1979, to assist Babrak Karmal, who had become president in a couple with the Afghan Communist leadership"(The New York Times). -
Baba And Amir Leave Afghanistan
The conflict between the Soviets and the Afghans becomes too dangerous so Baba and Amir leave, "There were others, in all about a dozen, including Baba and me, sitting with our suitcases between our legs, cramped with these strangers in the tarpaulin-covered cab of an old Russian truck" (The Kite Runner 110). Amir is very used to a sheltered life in Kabul. Amir and Baba had to adjust to this very dangerous situation quickly or they could have died. -
Amir Graduates High School
In the following quotation, Amir comes to America he finishes his high school education, “That summer of 1983, I graduated from high school at the age of twenty, by far the oldest senior tossing his mortarboard on the football field that day.” (The Kite Runner 131). Amir graduates high school at twenty-one which was a very proud moment for him and Baba. This symbolizes Amir beginning his new life in America and furthering his education. This brings him closer to his carrer as a writer. -
Amir and Soraya Get Married
After months of talking in the market, Amir and Soraya get married before cancer takesBaba's life, "I was your humble admirer in Kabul and remain so today. We are honored that your family and our will be joined." (The Kite Runner 168). Amir is now an independent man who has a new family that he will have to open up to. Amir is afraid and happy at the same time because he is in love but he fears his past. -
Baba Dies
Baba dies of cancer during the night where he decides not to take his treatment, the next day Amir thinks, "My whole life I had been 'Baba's son.' Now he was gone. Baba couldn't show me the way anymore; I'd have to find it on my own. The thought of it terrified me" (The Kite Runner 174). Baba has guided Amir through his whole life until this point. Amir will have to undergo a large life change to figure out who he is on his own. -
Soraya Is Infertile
After almost a year of trying to conceive a child, Amir and Soraya visit a doctor and he tells them their results, "He sat across from us, ... and used the words 'adoption' for the first time. Soraya cried all the way home" (The Kite Runner 186). Amir and Soraya are unable to have a child and this devastated both of them. Amir thinks that Soraya's infertility is part of his punishment for witnessing Hassan's rape and doing nothing. -
Soviets Leave Afghanistan
After many years of conflict with the Soviets, Afghanistan sees light at the end of the tunnel in the quotation, "Eventually, after peace talks moderated by United Nations, the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989, in what was in effect a unilateral withdrawal"(The New York Times). -
Power Is Divided In Afghanistan
After many years of conflict with the Soviets in Afghanistan, the state of Afghanistan is decribed in this quotation, "Afghanistan descended into vicious internecine strife; by the summer of 1994, power was anarchilly divided among warlords"(The New York Times). -
Mullah Omar Starts Getting Many Followers
Mullah Omar gained power very quickly and later became president of Afghanistan; his rapid power gain is shown in here, "By the end of 1994 Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers and was rolling up the warlords to the north and east" (New York Times). -
The Taliban Rise To Power With Approval From Afghanistan
The Taliban are approved by the Afghan people as seen in the following wuotation,"Newly formed Islamic militia, the Taliban, rises to power on promises of peace. Most Afghans, exhausted by years of drought, famine, and war, approve of the Taliban for upholding traditional Islamic values" (PBS). -
Taliban Has Complete Control Over Afghanistan
The Taliban gained control very quickly due to the help of outside sources as seen in this quotation, "Buoyed by Pakistan aid, the Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan"(New York Times). -
Hassan and Farzana Are Killed by the Taliban
In the following quotation, Rahim Khan tells Amir what happened to Hassan, "'Hassan protested again. So they took him to this street--' ... '-- and ordered him to kneel--' ... 'and shot him in the back of the head'" (The Kite Runner 219). Amir is baffled and terrified as Rahim Khan tells him what happened to Hassan. This moment makes Amir feel that there is more to be atoned for than ever before. -
Amir Talks To Rahim Khan After Many Years
After many years of not speaking Rahim Khan talks to Amir, "Come. There is a way to be good again, Rahim Khan had said on the phone just before hanging up. Said it in passing almost as an afterthought. A way to be good again" (The Kite Runner 192). Amir has always had a suspicion that Rahim Khan new about Hassan's rape. Amir senses that there is atonemnt waiting for him in Afghanistan so he decides to go. -
Amir and Assef Fight
Amir is lead to Assef while he is looking for Hassan's son, Sohrab, and he ends up fighting with Assef, "What was so funny was for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace. I laughed because I saw that, in some hidden nook in a corner of my mind, I'd even been looking forward to this" (The Kite Runner 289). Amir is being beatup by the same man who raped Hassan. Amir feels that this is part of his atonement and that causes him to have inner peace for the first time since 1975. -
Sohrab Attempts Committing Suicide
Amir gets the news that he may be able to get Sohrab a visa and rushes to tell him when he sees Sohrab in a bad state, "I pushed the door open. Stepped into the bathroom. Suddenly I was on my knees, screaming" (The Kite Runner 343). Amir sees Sohrab bleeding to death in the bathtub. This moment terrifies Amir and deep down he may feel that this pain is part of his atonement. -
Attack On The World Trade Center
The unfortunate attak on the World Trade Center caused a cahin of events between America and Afghanistan as shown in this quoatation, "After the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11 2001, President George W. Bush gave the Taliban an ultimatum to hand over Mr. Bin Laden" (New York Times). -
Amir and Sohrab Fly A Kite Together
Sohrab and Amir are in America but there is still a distrust between them, so Amir tries to bond with Sohrab in this moment,"'Do you want me to run that kite for you?'' ... I thought I saw him nod. "'For you a thousand times over'" (The Kite Runner 371). Amir really does care for Sohrab and wants him to have a happy life. Once Amir gets him to smile even the slightest bit he knows that progress is being made in the relationship. -
Hamid Karazi is Elected to a Five Year Term
The Afghan people still had hope for a brighter future so they elected Mr. Karazi who said promising things, "Saying he hoped to secure peace for Afghanistan and win the country much-needed international aid Mr. Karazi was elected to a five-year term" (New York Times). -
The Taliban Resurge
The Taliban's unfortunate resilliency is shown in the following quotation, "Despite their defeat in 2001, the Taliban continued to wage warfare guerrilla in the mountainous and lawless large tribal area on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border" (New York Times). -
Obama Deploys 30,000 Additional Troops to Afghanistan
After the United States being involved in Afghanistan for over a few years, Obama decides to deploy more troops, "In a speech delivered Dec. 1, 2009, at West Point, Mr. Obama announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops" (The New York Times).