-
Baba is Born/ Zahir Shah's Reign
In the Kite Runner, Amir explains how 1933 was "the year Baba was born and the year Zahir Shah began his forty-year reign of Afghanistan," (Hosseini 24). During this year, Amir's father was born and... -
Sanaubar Leaves Hassan and Ali
In The Kite Runner both Hassan and Amir no longer had their mothers. Early on in the book it had been explained that Hassan's mother, Sanaubar "had eloped with a band of singers and dancers in 1964, just after she had given birth to Hassan" (Hosseini 210). This affects Hassan's life majorly in the book. He is taunted for her disgraceful actions, and he has to live without a caring mother in his life. Fortunately, Hassan has Ali to guide him through life, and he teaches him to have good morals. -
Daoud Khan Ends King's Reign
In The Kite Runner, Amir is scared for his life after hearing gunfire in the night. After the frightening shootings and explosions, "Kabul awoke... to find that the monarchy was a thing of the past... In [the king's] absence, his cousin Daoud Khan had ended the king's forty-year reign" (Hosseini 36). Afghanistan was no longer a monarchy, and now no one knew what was to happen next. This event leads to an arise of power that will threaten everyone in the story. -
Hassan Runs a Kite for the Last Time/Last Smile/The Rape
After Amir wins the kite tournament "in the winter of 1975, [he] saw Hassan run a kite for the last time" (Hosseini 55). Hassan was a gifted kite runner but because of the rape, he never runs a kite again. This moment changes the rest of Hassan's life and changes the relationship he has with Amir as well. This is also the last time Amir sees Hassan smile which shows how much this impacted his life. -
Amir Wins the Kite Tournament
All of Amir's life he has been trying to please his father. He believes winning the kite tournament is the key to Baba's heart and becomes determined to win. When Amir's kite is the last in the sky Hassan cheers, "You won, Amir agha! You won!" (Hosseini 66), and Amir finally feels he made Baba proud. This moment was important as it showed how Amir's priority was pleasing his father. He did not care the cost of his father's love, so he makes selfish mistakes that affect the other characters. -
Amir Turns Thirteen
Shortly after Amir and Hassan's relationship begins to crumble, Amir "turned thirteen [the] summer of 1976,"(Hosseini 93), and Baba throws him a huge party. Now that Amir is beginning to mature, he should be able to stick up for himself, but he is still too afraid to. At this point in his life, Amir choses to try to leave his guilt behind instead of being honest with Hassan. This demonstrates Amir's character and morals at the age of thirteen. -
Soviet Union Invades Afghanistan
Afghanistan "has known little peace since 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded" (NYT). After this invasion, they have constantly been at war. -
Russian Tanks in Afghanistan
What Amir knew as his home in Kabul begun to change "in December 1979, when Russian tanks would roll into the very same streets where Hassan and [Amir] played," (Hosseini 36). Nothing would be the same anymore, and this war would change both Amir and Hassan's life dramatically. It splits the two apart and eventually leads to Hassan's death. This event influenced the plot and made their home in Kabul a dangerous place. -
First Soviet Troops in Kabul
When "the first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 27, 1979, to assist Babrak Karmal," the war started (NYT). -
Amir Turns Twenty-One/Start Going to Markets
Baba and Amir fled to America and in "the summer of 1984ーthe summer [Amir] turned twenty-one...[Baba and Amir] drove to the San Jose flea market... and sold the junk for a small profit" (Hosseini 136-137). In America, they bought and sold knickknacks to make extra money. But Amir finds his love, Soraya, at the flea market and this changes his life. Because of the market, he gets married and finds himself happy. He has his father, the love of his life, and a new country to start over in. -
Rahim Khan Goes to Find Hassan
When he was lonely and needed help with the house, Rahim Khan "went to Hazarajat to find Hassan in 1986" (Hosseini 203). He is able to get Hassan and his wife to come back to Baba's house and help him take care of it. This eventually leads to Hassan's death when he is killed defending Baba's home. Hassan left that house after Amir betrayed him, and when he returned, he died fighting to protect it. This shows how loyal and forgiving Hassan is. He will always stick up for Amir and Baba. -
Amir Finishes His First Novel
Once he is in America, Amir follows his passion for writing and "in the summer of 1988...[Amir] finished [his] first novel, a father-son story set in Kabul," (Hosseini 182). This novel represents Amir and his differences. Baba never supported Amir's writing dream, but writing was what Amir loved and eventually pursued. This also highlights Baba and Amir's differences. They have always been on different pages and had different views that affected their relationship with each other. -
Last Troops Leave Afghanistan
Once there were 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). This was an event that affected their peace. -
Amir's Novel is Released
After Amir wrote his first novel, "the novel was released the summer of... 1989, and the publisher sent [him] on a five-city book tour" (Hosseini 183). Amir finally lives his dream of becoming a successful writer. Now that he is in a new country, he feels like he can embrace his differences and be himself. He learns that he does not have to be a doctor or a lawyer to be successful, and he proves to Baba that writing is his future. -
Farzana Becomes Pregnant Again/Sorhab is Born
After losing their first baby, Hassan and Farzana were devastated, but "in early 1990, Farzana became pregnant again" (Hosseini 209). Hassan finally becomes a father and he raises Sorhab to be smart and kind like him. Sorhab learns to use a slingshot like Hassan too. Hassan is able to use all of his experiences to help Sorhab have a better life. He makes sure Sorhab learns to read and write, and he shows him how to stand up for what he believes in. -
Sanaubar Returns to Hassan
In the summer of 1990, "a woman covered in a sky blue burqa knocked on the front gates," (Hosseini 209-210) of the house and soon Hassan discovered that the woman was Sanaubar. She had come back to Hassan after leaving him the day he was born. Sanaubar found atonement by returning to Hassan and helping care for his son to make up for not being there to care for Hassan when he was a child. Hassan forgave his mother and welcomed her back, showing his character. -
Power in Afghanistan Divides
The article talks about how, "by the summer of 1994, power anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms" but the power eventually was controlled by one group (NYT). -
Rising Movement By Mullah Omar
Then the article explained how "By the end of 1994 Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers and... created a genuinely popular movement" that was growing quickly (NYT). They were also supported with money and supplies which made them even stronger. -
Taliban Takes Control of Afghanistan
Once they were "Buoyed by Pakistani aid, the Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law," (NYT). This banned movies, music, and took women out of school. -
Taliban Comes to Afghanistan/ Bans Kite Fighting
Hassan knew there were going to be problems when the Taliban came to Afghanistan and "in 1996...the Taliban banned kite fighting" (Hosseini 213). The fact that the Taliban banned kite fighting represented Hassan's freedom being taken away. The kites hold a lot of importance in this story and now they are banned and things begin to go wrong in Kabul. Hassan can no longer run kites or teach his son to fly and run kites. This later leads to further problems for Hassan and his family too. -
Taliban Massacred Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif
Hassan fears for what is to come for the Hazaras in Afghanistan and "in 1998, [the Taliban] massacred the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif" (Hosseini 213). Just like Hassan knew where a kite would fall, he knew that the Hazaras were in danger and the Taliban were something to fear. There was nothing he could do except for be brave and stand up for his beliefs. Unfortunately, Assef ended up finishing what he started when the Taliban killed Hassan because he was protecting Baba's house. -
Invasion Dislodges Al Qaeda and Removes Taliban from Power
The article then goes into detail about how "The 2001 invasion succeeded in dislodging Al Qaeda and removing the Taliban from power," but unfortunately the groups were not eradicated and still posed as a threat (NYT). -
9/11 Invasion
The memorable "attack on the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001," deeply affected how the United States would react to the situation in Afghanistan (NYT). -
Hamid Karzai Becomes Leader of Afghanistan
In December 2001, Hamid Karzai "was named chairman of an interim government... making him the leader of the country" (NYT). He hoped to bring peace to their country. -
Announcement to Deploy Additional Troops
In the speech in December, 2009 "Mr. Obama announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops," shocking many (NYT).