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Kite Runner & the History of Afghanistan
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Baba is Born
In 1933, the year Baba was born...(24). Without Baba being born, Amir and Hassan wouldn't have been born. And without them, we would not have learned of the hardships of atoning for our sins. -
Amir is Born
I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. (1). Due to mathematical reasoning, we can use this year and Amir's current age to find his date of birth. Sadly if Amir was not born, neither would Hassan have been, which would leave Baba as an old, lonely, cigarette addict. -
Hassan is Born
It was in that small shack that Hassan's mother, Sanaubar, gave birth to him one cold winter day in 1964. (6). Through this quotation, we learn of Hassan's birth year. However, if Hassan were not born Amir would have been the loneliest and most bullied kid in all of Kabul. -
Hassan Has Surgery
"Hassan," Baba said, smiling coyly, "meet your birthday present."..."Oh," Hassan said. He looked from Dr. Kumar to Baba to Ali. His hand touched his upper lip. "Oh," he said again. (45-46). In these quotations, we learn of the year Hassan had surgery. Without the surgery, Hassan would not have brought joy to Amir in his sad times without Baba's love. -
Amir Win's Kite Flying Contest
"You won, Amir agha! You won!" (66). In this short quotation we learn of the year Amir won the kite flying contest. This also happened to lead to Baba's acceptance of Amir and Hassan's rape. -
Hassan is Raped
Assef knelt behind Hassan, put his hands on Hassan's hips and lifted his bare buttocks. He kept one hand on Hassan's back and undid his own belt buckle with his free hand. He unzipped his jeans. Dropped his underwear. He positioned himself behind Hassan. Hassan didn't struggle. (75). In this moment, Hassan was raped. Hassan's rape is important because it lead to Amir's atonement which was adopting Sohrab. -
Hassan and Ali Leave
"Life here is impossible for us now, Agha sahib. We're leaving." Ali drew Hassan to him, curled his arm around his son's shoulder. (106). In this moment Hassan and Ali leave. If they never left, Baba would not have been so depressed and would've loved Amir so much more. -
Soviet Union Invades the Ret Upublic of Afghanistan
One very important quotation of the NnionYT article is,"Afghanistan...has known little peace since 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded. (NYT 1). -
Amir gets Married
During their wedding ceremony Amir and Soraya,"Signed the certificates." (170). This quotation states that Amir and Soraya were legally married by signing the certificates. However, if Amir never got married, he probably would have never had the courage to adopt Sohrab, thus he would've never atoned. -
Soviet Union Air Force Rendered Useless.
After 1986, the Soviet Air Force was rendered largely useless by advanced Stinger antiaircraft missiles supplied by the United States to the rebels. (NYT 2). -
Baba Dies
After Soraya was about to give Baba is pain medication, he said,"Not tonight," he said, "There is no pain tonight."...Baba never woke up. (173). In this moment Baba dies. Without Baba dying, Rahim Khan would have never called to help Amir atone, and Rahim would've just died. -
Amir Finishes First Novel
Amir finished his first novel,"In the summer of 1988, about six months before the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan. (182). Here, we learn of when Amir finished his novel. Amir's first novel lead to the wealth of his family and being able to afford all of his extra payments in Pakistan. -
Soviet Troops Leave Afghanistan
Eventually, after peace talks moderated by the United Nations, the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989, in what was in effect a unilateral withdrawal. (NYT 2). -
Power Divided Between Warlords
After Soviet forces departed, Afghanistan descended into vicious internecine strife; by the summer of 1994, the power was anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms. (NYT 2). -
Al Qaeda Give Safe Haven
The group had been give safe haven in the country by the Taliban, the extreme Islamic group that had seized control in 1996 after years of civil war. (NYT 1). -
Taliban Take Control of Afghanistan
Buoyed by Pakistani aid, the Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law, banning movies and music and forcing women out of schools and into all-enveloping burqa clothing. (NYT 3). -
Hassan Killed
After the Taliban came to question Hassan he,"Hassan protested again. So they took him to the street..and ordered him to kneel...and shot him in the back of the head." (219). In this moment, Rahim Khan explains how Hassan was killed. This was so important because it was the final tipping point for Amir where he knew he had to do something to atone for all the years that passed where he did nothing. -
Amir stands up for Hazaras
Amir stands up for Sohrab and says,"And one more thing, General Sahib," I said. "You will never again refer to him as 'Hazara boy' in my presence. He has a name and it's Sohrab. (361). After all these years, Amir finally stood up for a Hazara. He watched Hassan get raped, and he was tired of being a bystander. In this moment, Amir proved he could stand up for what he believed in. -
Amir and Sohrab Arrive in SF
Amir and Sohrab,"Arrived home seven months ago, on a warm day in August 2001. (357). In this quote Sohrab finally arrived in a safe place. Now that Sohrab was in San Francisco, the Taliban could no longer hurt him. -
United States Involved in Afghanistan
The United States has been militarily involved in Afghanistan since 2001, when it led an invasion after Sept. 11 attacks by Al Qaeda. (NYT 1). -
Taliban Defeated
Despite their defeat in 2001, the Taliban continued to wage a guerrilla warfare from a base in the mountainous and largely tribal area on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. (NYT 3). -
Rahim Khan Calls Amir
After Rahim Khan calls Amir he says,"I have to go to Pakistan."...Rahim Khan is very sick. (191). In this quotation, Rahim gets Amir to go back to Pakistan. If Rahim Khan never called, then Amir would have lived the rest of his life knowing he did nothing to atone for watching Hassan's rape. -
9/11 Invasion
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. (NYT 3). -
Sohrab Smilies For The First Time Since Attempted Suicide
After Amir shows Sohrab how to fly a kite,"[AmIr] looked down at Sohrab. One corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile," (370). In this moment Sohrab smiles. This is so important because it shows how Sohrab is beginning to enjoy life once again -
Obama Deploys 30,000 troops
In a speech delivered Dec. 1 2009, at West Point, Mr. Obama announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops. (NYT 4).