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Soviet Union and Afghanistan Become Allies
After receiving economic help from the Soviet Union, "Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev agrees to help Afghanistan, and the two countries become close allies." -
Amir and Hassan Are Born
In 1963, Hassan and Amir were both born without mothers to care for them, "there was a brotherhood between [them]... [they] fed from the same breast" and Amir's first word was Baba while Hassan's first word was Amir (11). This shows that from the beginning of their relationship, Amir searched for his father's approval compared to Hassan, who valued his friendship with Amir. They have grown up together and from the start, the base of their friendship had already been established. -
Mohammed Daoud Khan Becomes the President of Afghanistan
"Khan overthrows the last king, Mohammed Zahir Shah, in a military coup. Khan’s regime, the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, comes to power. Khan abolishes the monarchy and names himself president. The Republic of Afghanistan is established with firm ties to the USSR." -
Amir and Hassan Win the Kite Competition and Hassan Gets Raped
After Amir and Hassan win the kite competition in the winter of 1975, Assef raped Hassan because he wouldn't give him the kite and instead of "stand[ing] up for Hassan- the way he'd stood up for [him]... [he] ran because [he] was a coward,"(77). Amir's lack of bravery was the catalyst for the events to follow. Instead of being loyal to Hassan, Amir displayed his selfishness because he knew that if he didn't get the kite, he would never gain his father's approval. -
Ali and Hassan Leave Baba's House
Ali decided to quit being Baba and Amir's servant after "Hassan had told him. He had told him everything about what Assef and his friends had done to him, about the kite, about me,"(106). Amir's cowardice ultimately led to Hassan and Ali to leave because of the pain he had brought to the two of them. Even as they left, Hassan remained loyal to Amir by not telling Baba what he had done and taking the blame for "stealing" Amir's money and watch. -
Khan is Killed by Communists
"Khan is killed in a communist coup. Nur Mohammad Taraki, one of the founding members of the Afghan Communist Party, takes control of the country as president, and Babrak Karmal is named deputy prime minister. They proclaim independence from Soviet influence, and declare their policies to be based on Islamic principles, Afghan nationalism and socioeconomic justice. Taraki signs a friendship treaty with the Soviet Union." -
Amir and Baba Flee to Pakistan
Amir describes the condition of Kabul and how "you couldn't trust anyone in Kabul anymore" and Russian soldiers patrolling the sidewalks, curfews, and the army going through the bazaars (112-113). Baba and Amir flee in order to escape the war zone their home has become. The Russians have transformed Afghanistan into a state where you couldn't tell whether or not you were being spied on. -
Afghans Flee to Pakistan and Iran
"Some 2.8 million Afghans have fled from the war to Pakistan, and another 1.5 million have fled to Iran. Afghan guerrillas gain control of rural areas, and Soviet troops hold urban areas." -
Baba and Amir Live in California
After moving to America, Baba struggles with the change of culture. One day in the grocery store the owner says to Amir, "' You're a nice young man but your father, he's crazy...' 'Does he think I'm a thief?' Baba said... 'What kind of country is this? No one trusts anybody!'"(128). Baba struggles with living in America; he doesn't receive the same respect from the people around compared to in Afghanistan, There is also a power shift between him and Amir because he has adapted better to America. -
Ali Dies In A Land Mine
When Rahim Kahn visits Hassan he finds out Ali "had been killed by a land mine two years before, just outside of Bamiyan... his twisted polio leg-that had finally betrayed him and stepped on that land mine"(206). The way Ali was treated at the start of the novel by people in his neighborhood for being crippled, foreshadowed his unfortunate ending. Ali was not only an influential character on Hassan, but also on Baba, however, neither Baba nor Amir were aware of his death. -
Baba Dies/ Amir and Soraya Get Married
Around 1985, Amir quickly married "Soraya Taheri. [His Swap Meet Princess]"(142) for "Baba didn't have months to live" (169) after getting diagnosed with cancer. "A month after the wedding"(173) after they moved in with Baba, he passed away in his sleep. Amir's chapter with Baba ends as a new part of his life begins with Soraya. Without Baba, Amir doesn't have anyone to tell him how he should act and has to learn to live independently now that his father isn't with him. -
Farzana Gives Birth to Sohrab and Sanubar Returns
After Farzana, Hassan's wife gives birth to a stillborn girl, Sanubar "delivered Hassan's son that winter of 1990" Sohrab, a "beautiful little boy, sweet as sugar, and had the same temperament as his father"(211). Hassan allowed his mother to return to him and forgave her for leaving him as a child which shows that her presence has atoned for what she has done in Hassan's eyes. Hassan's kindness is displayed by forgiving Sanubar and it can also be seen through the way he raises Sohrab. -
Sanaubar Dies
Four years after Sohrab was born, "one morning, [Sohrab] just did not wake up... The loss was hard on Hassan- It always hurts more to have and lose than to not have in the first place. But it was even harder on little Sohrab"(211). Although Sanaubar wasn't there for the majority of Hassan's life, she still had the opportunity to grow close to him at the end of hers. Sanaubar also was able to say her grandson grow up even though she couldn't see her own son grow, -
The Taliban Rise to Power
"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. The Taliban outlaw cultivation of poppies for the opium trade, crack down on crime, and curtail the education and employment of women... Islamic law is enforced via public executions and amputations. The United States refuses to recognize the authority of the Taliban." -
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More Afghans Flee to Pakistan
"Continuing drought devastates farmers and makes many rural areas uninhabitable. More than 1 million Afghans flee to neighboring Pakistan, where they languish in squalid refugee camps." -
The Taliban Come to Afghanistan
After Afganistan faced continuous war Rahim Kahn explained how they believed that they would finally gain relief from the chaos by the presence of the Taliban by saying "'There's going to be peace, Inshallah, and happiness and calm. No more rockets, no more killing, no more funerals!'"(213). At the time, the Taliban provided some hope into Afghans. This quote is a false foreshadow, for after Afghans realized their new lives with the Taliban, they realized that the peaceful country was gone. -
The United States Training Camps in Afghanistan
"Following al-Qaida’s bombings of two American embassies in Africa, President Clinton orders cruise missile attacks against bin Laden’s training camps in Afghanistan. The attacks miss the Saudi and other leaders of the terrorist group." -
Amir Meets Rahim Kahn and Finds Out The Truth
Rahim Khan tells Amir that Hassan was his half brother and Amir thinks to himself "Baba had been a thief. And a thief of the worst kind, because the things he's stolen had been sacred: ... the right to know [he] had a brother, from Hassan his identity, and from Ali his honor"(225). Here, we discover that Amir was not the only character that kept secrets from everyone. Unlike Amir, Baba didn't take any opportunities to atone for lying to everyone in his life. -
Amir Returns to Afghanistan
When Rahim Kahn tells Amir about Sohrab, he goes to Afganistan with Farid to look for him. Amir feels strange after returning and Farid questions him saying, "you still think of this place as your country?"(231) and proceeds to tell him he's "always been a tourist [there], [he] just didn't know it"(232). Amir sees Afghanistan's transformation for the worse now that is in a state of poverty. Farid pointed out that Amir never was a true Afghan due to his privileges from being in a higher class. -
Amir Looks for Sohrab and Sees Assef
Amir looks for Sohrab and finds him with the leader of the Taliban, which happens to be Assef. They get into a fight and Sohrab stops Assef with his slingshot and "the brass ball was still stuck in his empty eye socket"(291). This relates to earlier in the novel when Assef is tormenting Hassan and Amir as children, and Hassan threatens to slingshot his eye and call him "One- Eyed Assef". Hassan couldn't stand up to Assef and give him the treatment he deserved, but ultimately, Sohrab did. -
Sohrab Tries to Commit Suicide
After discovering that he may have to spend some time in the orphanage before coming to America, "[Sohrab was] scared of that place. They'll hurt me! I don't wanna go"(341). Following the incident, Amir imagined "him lowering himself into the water, lying there for a while... he had raised the blade and brought it down"(351,352). Sohrab was so traumatized by his past experiences in orphanages that he'd rather die than return. He misses his family and Amir gave him false hope of a better life. -
Amir and Sohrab Fly a Kite
Amir got the opportunity to bring Sohrab to America, however, he never talked again. But after he flew a kite in California with Amir "one corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile. Lopsided. Hardly There. But there"(370, 371). Earlier in the novel, Amir mentions how he sees Hassan smile for the final time, but here, seeing Sohrab smile resembles Hassan. This also gives Amir hope that the future with Sohrab will be brighter. -
Taliban Arrest International Workers for Spreading Christianity
"A month after arresting them, the Taliban put eight international aid workers on trial for spreading Christianity. Under Taliban rule, proselytizing is punishable by death. The group is held in various Afghan prisons for months and finally released Nov. 15." -
Attack on the Twin Towers
"Hijackers commandeer four commercial airplanes and crash them into the World Trade Center Towers in New York, the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., and a Pennsylvania field, killing thousands. Days later, U.S. officials say bin Laden, the Saudi exile believed to be hiding in Afghanistan, is the prime suspect in the attack." -
The Taliban No Longer Rule Afghanistan
"Taliban fighters abandon their final stronghold in Kandahar as the militia group’s hold on Afghanistan continues to disintegrate. Two days later, Taliban leaders surrender the group’s final Afghan territory, the province of Zabul. The move leads the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press to declare 'the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan has totally ended.'"
