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Ali is adopted into Baba's family
"In 1933, the year Baba was born... As for the orphan, my grandfather adopted him into his own household and told the other servants to tutor him, but to be kind to him. That boy was Ali." (Hosseini 24). The evidence illustrates that Baba and Ali were in fact in the same situation as Amir and Hassan at one point. With this in mind, the way in which both Baba and Ali treat Amir and Hassan can tell mistakes both Baba and Ali had made in their past. -
Baba builds an Orphanage
"In the late 1960s, when I was five or six, Baba decided to build an orphanage. I heard the story thorugh Rahim Khan. He told me Baba had drawn the blueprints himself despite the fact that he'd had no architectual experience at all" (13). As Baba builds the orphanage, he exercises his strong morals contrary to the belief that socioeconomic powerhouses do not do so. This in turn, allows Baba to slightly atone for his sins. -
Amir realizes his story telling potential
"One day, in July 1973 I played another little trick on Hassan. I was reading to him, and suddenly I strayed from the written story. I pretented I was reading from the book, flipping pages regularly, but I had abandonded the text altogether, taken over the story, and made up my own" (30). As Amir finds his true calling, he is later planting himself a firm career. If his story telling skills were not praised as often, Amir may skip his true calling not allowing him to live succssfully in America. -
Amir and Hassan wins Kite Competition
"Then I was screaming, and everything was color and sound, everything was alive and good. I was throwing my free arm around Hassan and we were hopping up and down, both of us laughing, both of us weeping" (66). Although its short lived, Amir and Hassan instantly earn the respect of Baba and the rest of Kabul. This in turn allows both Hassan and Amir to empathize with Baba's life with the coming tragedy of the running ot the kite. -
Hassan is violated
"Then [Assef] chared. Hassan hurled the rock. It struck Assef in the forehead. Assef yepled as he flung himself at Hassan, knocking him to the ground. Wali and Kamal followed. I bit on my fist. Shut my eyes" (73). Assef's actions clearly decide that Assef has equal to or even more power than Baba, as he can control both Hassan and Amir very well. With that being said, his characteristics serves him to be the opposite of Baba which ultimately allows him to live safely as a Taliban leader. -
Amir turns 13
"I turned thirteen that summer of 1976, Afghanistan's next to last summer of peace and anonymity. Things between Baba and me were already cooling off again" (93). As Amir 13, both Amir and Baba start off with a clean slate allowing Amir to redeem himself. Although his redemption is not instantaneous, his actions is only taken accounted for after they flee to America, which ultimately demonstates that power can blind the closest relationships. -
Hassan and Ali leave
"I watched Baba's car pull away from the curb, taking with it the person whose first spoken word had been my name. I caught one final blurry glimpse of Hassan slumped in the backseat before Baba turned left at the street conrer where we'd played marbles so many times" (109). While Ali and Hassan may depart for now, their departure allows Amir and Baba to grow more fond of each other. Ultimately, it is the loss of power that causes Baba to become more accepting of Amir. -
ARTICLE Soviet Russia Land in Kabul
Soviets support Babrak Karmal, a coup president. "The first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 27, 1979, to assist Babrak Karmal, who had become president in a coup with the Afghan Communist leadership" (Afghanistan - An Overview 2). -
Amir and Baba Flee Afghanistan
"My innards had been roiling since we'd left Kabul just after two in the morning. Baba never said so, but I knew he saw my car sickness as yet another of my array of weakness--I saw it on his embarrassed face the couple of times my stomach had clenched so badly I moaned" (110). As Kabul becomes unsafe, so does Baba's power. Unfortunately, for Baba, in order to preserve his and Amir's life he must sacrifice all his power. This in turn causes the relationship between Amir and Baba to grow deeper. -
Amir and Baba land in California
"Baba loved the idea of America. It was living in America that gave him an ulcer" (125). While Baba may not enjoy America the first few years, this hasty get away causes him to empathize with Amir and his power level. With that being said, it is always the sacrifices one must take to preserve relationships with others. -
Amir graduates high school.
"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" (131). While Amir may not catch on as quickly as other American students, his knowledge of the America later allows him to surpass Baba in power. However, since Amir had stuggleed with power in other relationships before, Amir is wise not to let that get in the way of his and Baba's causing the relationship to keep growing. -
Amir meets Soraya
"Lying awake in bed that night, I thought of Soraya Taheri's sickle-shaped birthmark, her gently hooked nose, and the way her luminous eyes had fleetingly held mine. My heart stuttered at the thought of her. Soraya Taheri, My Swap Meet Princess" (142). Amir's confrontation of Soraya causes Amir to think ahead of himself. While this may seem bad on the surface, the boost of self-confidence Amir feels when talking to Soraya allows him to indirectly gain power over Baba through conversations. -
Rahim Khan finds Hassan
"There were a lot of reasons why I went to Hazarajat to find Hassan in 1986" (203). Rahim goes to find Hassan due to the fact that his health and power has gone dramatically down. The action itself demonstrates that socioeconomic status does not cement a power structure. -
Amir publishes his first book
"In the summer of 1988, about six months before the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, I finished my first novel, a father-son story set in Kabul, written mostly with the typewriter the general had given me" (182). As Amir publishes his first book, he experiences the pinical of his power. This causes a dramatic shift of power between Amir and Baba ultimately leading to Baba's expiration. -
ARTICLE Soviet Leaves Kabul
"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" (Afghanistan - An Overview 2). -
ARTICLE Pakistan supports Mullah Omar
Pakistani intel give Omar's men arms and millitary guidance. "As early as 1994, Pakistani Intelligence officers began funneling arms, money and supplies to Mullah Omar's men, as well as military advisers to help guide them in battle" (Afghanistan - An Overview 3). -
ARTICLE Power Divides Among Fiefdoms
"...By the summer of 1994, power was anacrchically divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms. But one group would eventually gain control" (Afghanistan -An Overview 2). -
ARTICLE Mullah Omar gains support
Mullah Omar stars to rouse crowds of people. "By the end of 1994 Mullah Omar had neraly 12,000 followers and was rolling up the warloards to the north and east" (Afghanistan - An Overview 2). -
ARTICLE Taliban Provides Haven
The Taliban also provided a haven for Mr. bin Laden, who arrived by the chartered jet at Jalalabad Airport in May 1996 and for Al Qaeda" (Afghanistan - An Overview 3). -
ARTICLE Talibans Take Back Control
"Despite their defeat in 2001, the Tailban countied to wage a guerrilla warfare from a base in the mountainous and largerly lawless tribal area on the Pakistan-Afghanistan boarder" (Afghanistan - An Overview 3). -
Amir Leaves for Kabul
"A week later, I sat on a window seat aboard a Pakistani International Airlines flight, watching a pair of uniformed airline workers remove the wheel chocks" (194). Amir's calling back to Afghanistan causes a power reset and later causes previous ethics and values to come flooding back to Amir. His redemption of these ethics illustrate to readers that atonement can be reached at any time so long as its with honesty. -
ARTICLE 9/11
Taliban crashed two passenger planes into the World Trade Center. "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" (Afghanistan - An Overview 3). -
General Sahib is called to service
"Then, four days ago, on a cool rainy day in March 2002, a small wonderous thing happened... The general had finally been summoned to Afghanistan the month before a ministry position, and had flown there two weeks earlier-he had left behind his gray suit and pocket watch" (363). General Sahib service call allows more of an isolation period with Amir and Sorab. If it wern't for this isolation, Sorab may never warm back up to Amir and a family in general. -
ARTICLE Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai was elected as a five-term president. "He took office as interim president in June 2002... Mr. Karzai was elected to a five-year term as president in 2004" (Afghanistan - An Overview 3). -
ARTICLE West Point Obama Speech
Planned to depoly 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan and bring them home by 2011. "In a speech delivered Dec. 1, 2009, at West Point, Mr. Obama announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additonal troops. He vowed to start bringing American forces home from Afghanistan in the middle of 2011" (Afghanistan - An Overview 4).