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Baba is born and Ali joins his household
After Baba is born, two young men killed Ali's parents when he was an infant, leaving him alone. But Baba's father "adopted him into his household" (Hosseini 24) and brought the two boys together. This one act of kindness gave not just Baba a loyal and close friend for the majority of his life, but Amir as well. -
Amir's mother dies while giving birth to Amir
Amir has never had the opportunity to meet his mother because she "hemorrhaged to death during childbirth" (Hosseini 6). Your mother is the one person who loves you more than anyone on this earth. Amir has never known that love, and therefore, has never gathered the sense of compassion that a mother could offer to him. With a sense of compassion, Amir might have acted differently in many aspects of his life. -
Hassan is born and is abandoned
In the winter of 1964, Hassan was born and due to his cleft lip and his mother's irresponsible thinking "she ran off with a clan of traveling singers and dancers" (Hosseini 6). Without even getting to know him, she deserted her helpless child and cast him to his paralyzed father. Much like Amir, Hassan will never experience what it is like to have the undying love that a mother has for a child. That love could make all the difference in the world. -
Afghanistan's monarchy is destroyed by Daoud Khan
In Afghanistan, while their king was "away in Italy... his cousin Daoud Khan had ended the king's forty-year reign with a bloodless coup" (Hosseini 36). Over the course of one night the monarchy had been destroyed and the people of Afghanistan woke up the next morning to a whole other world. Now everyone must adjust to their new ruler and nobody will be able to change what happened to their country. -
Hassan is raped
After going to fetch Amir's beloved kite, Hassan finds himself surrounded by the neighborhood bullies who decide to inflict a permanent scar upon him. The bullies believe their actions are justified because he's "just a Hazara" (Hosseini 75). Assef rapes Hassan and ignores that it is a sin, that he is hurting Hassan in an unforgettable way and that he is truly a sociopath. -
The Soviet Union invaded Kabul
The Soviet Union troops "parachuted into Kabul... to assist Babrak Karmal" (The NYT 2). beginning the state of restlessness that Afghanistan has known ever since then. Kabul was forever changed after that day, and the reign of terror began. -
Baba and Amir flee to Pakistan
In order to escape the rule of the Soviet Union, Baba and Amir escape with countless other Afghan citizens. Even "after everything he'd built, planned, fought for, fretted over, dreamed of" (Hosseini 124) Baba and Amir must leave everything behind. All that they have worked for is going to be left behind so that Amir and Baba can live a better life of sorts. -
Amir graduates from high school
Despite all that he has encountered in his past, Amir is still able to accomplish much in his new life. Finally Baba gives Amir the one thing he has been longing for his whole life and says, "I am [proud]... Amir" (Hosseini 131). In America, Amir has risen from next to nothing to being an educated and accomplished man; which finally earns him the respect that he has worked for his whole life. -
Baba is diagnosed with cancer
Baba and Amir are now living a much different life in America as opposed to Kabul. The stress and hardships encountered in Baba's new job results in "Oat Cell Carcinoma" which is "Advanced. [and] Inoperable." (Hosseini 156). Baba has overcome so much in his lifetime, and is now no longer the powerful, immortal man who could fight a bear; but a sick, elderly man. The most important person in Amir's life is about to be ripped away from him, which pains him more than anything. -
Amir and Soraya get married
After months of admiring Soraya, Amir finally expresses how he feels and receives similar feelings in return. When the moment finally comes, "The mullah questioned the witnesses and read from the Koran. [And they]... said [their]... oaths" (Hosseini 170). Amir can now be happy, but it was never that easy for him. He still must live with what he did to Hassan and this guilt comes between everything that he has ever held dear. -
Baba dies
At last, Baba is no longer the invincible man that Amir made him to be. The last thing that he said to Amir was that "there is no pain tonight" (Hosseini 173). In his last moments, Baba was happy; his son had married and he had lived a long and eventful life. Everyone shares with Amir how much he had done for them and that he was an amazing man. -
Sanaubar finds Hassan
Hassan has never seen his mother, and now she has come back for him. She tells him that he "smiled coming out of her" and that she "wouldn't even hold [him]" (Hosseini 210). It is clear that she regrets that she left him, that she never even held her only son before she abandoned him. Like other characters in this book she is looking to atone for what she has done by spending the rest of her days with her son and his family. -
Amir publishes his first novel
Amir has finally accomplished what he has always wanted. Everyone in his new family is expressing their pride in all that he's done. However, one thing is missing. Soraya tells Amir that she is "so proud of [him]" but adds that "Kaka would have been proud of you too" (Hosseini 183). Amir has come from very little in America and has risen up to become even more than he was before. The one reward he needs most of all is the thought that Baba would have been proud of him. -
The Soviet Union troops leave Afghanistan
After the United Nations initiated a peace talk, the Soviet troops left Afghanistan but "left behind a country that was... devastated by the war" (The NYT 2). Even though they had left the country, Afghanistan was still in ruins and damaged so that it was almost unrecognizable. -
Sohrab is born
Amir learns that Hassan had a son, Sohrab. Rahim Khan tells him about what he was like, that "He was a beautiful little boy, sweet as sugar, and had the same temperament as his father" (Hosseini 211). Even though Hassan is gone, he lives on in his son. This makes it even more important that Amir should rescue him because he and his father are one and the same. -
The power in Afghanistan was anarchically divided
Before the Taliban had taken over, the power within Afghanistan was distributed among "competing warlords and individual fiefdoms" (The NYT 2). There was no real government, just people fighting over power. The people had no idea where to turn and the country was forever changed. -
The original leader of the Taliban used his support to take down other warlords
Mullah Omar had "nearly 12000 followers" (The NYT) allowing him to gain more power over Afghanistan. Once he had taken down all those who stood in his way, he now had control over all of Afghanistan. The Taliban had a significant impact on all Afghans and the country overall. -
Pakistani Intelligence began to provide aid to the Taliban
The Pakistani intelligence officers "began funneling arms, money and supplies to Mullah Omar's men" (The NYT) which provided enough supplies to increase the Taliban's power throughout the country. Now, the Taliban were expanding their rule to every corner of Afghanistan, changing the lives of thousands of Afghans. -
The Shorawi are defeated and the Massoud, Rabani and the Mujahedin take over
Kabul is no longer the place that Amir remembers it to be. The power over Kabul has been passed from group to group, and now "no one knew if they would live to see the end of the day" (Hosseini 212). The once peaceful place has become a place where people feared for their lives, never knowing how long they would be alive. The country is in pieces, and may never be put back together. -
The Taliban take control of Afghanistan
With the help of the Pakistan, the Taliban now controlled the entire country and began "imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law" (The NYT). Afghanistan has greatly changed and with the help of others, the Taliban have made sure that their lifestyle is being enforced on all those in the country. -
The Hazara Massacre
Once the Taliban took over, people were hopeful and thought that "The war is over" (Hosseini 213). But later, "the Taliban banned kite fighting" (Hosseini 213), and after that, all of the Hazara's in Mazar-i-Sharif were massacred by the Taliban. People never knew if the group that has taken over is acting for their benefit or acting for themselves. They believed that they were saved but later thousands of their people were murdered in cold blood. -
President Bush gives the Taliban an ultimatum for Osama Bin Laden
Resulting from the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, President Bush offered an ultimatum to the Taliban and upon refusal "the United States joined forces with rebel groups" (The NYT). The United States finally pushed back and went to ensure that what happened in New York never happened again. -
Amir goes to Pakistan
For years, Amir has had limited communication with his and his father's close friend. But now, he must go to Pakistan because "Rahim Kahn is sick" (Hosseini 191). Going to Pakistan means that Amir will have to come to terms with his harsh past. All the memories will come back to him as he talks with Rahim Khan and all the guilt that has been suppressed for so long will come back up. -
Amir and Sohrab arrive in the United States
After all that the two have endured, Sohrab and Amir finally arrive in the United States and Sohrab needs to adjust to his new life. He struggles to do so, and no matter how hard Amir and Soraya try, Sohrab just "shifted on his feet and looked away" (Hosseini 358). Amir will never be able to fill Hassan's shoes as a father, and he doesn't know how to help Sohrab adjust to his new life. -
Amir finds Sohrab and the two leave the orphanage
For most of his life Amir has struggled with the guilt of watching his best friend be raped. He finally finds his way to atone for what he has done to Hassan and finds his orphan son. But in order to save Sohrab, he has to fight for him. Assef's "knuckles shatter[ed]... [his] jaw... [his] face slam[med]... against the corner of the television stand" (Hosseini 288). Amir feels such relief when Assef beats him up and he feels that he has righted the greatest wrong of his life. -
Hamid Karzai becomes the leader of Afghanistan
The government that now replaced the Taliban named Hamid Karzai "chairman of an interim government" (The NYT) and the leader of the country. The reign of the Taliban ends, and perhaps the people will be living under a stable government, where Afghanistan can return to its former glory. -
President Obama announces his plan
President Obama announced his plan to "deploy 30,00 additional troops" (The NYT) to speed up the process and bring Americans home. Americans are becoming angry with the government and the situation in Afghanistan. President Obama planned to send more troops to help return the peace to Afghanistan. -
General McChrystal is removed from his position and replaced with General Petraeus
Due to "contemptuous quotes... about senior administration officials" (The NYT) General McChrystal was replaced with General Petraeus by President Obama.