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Baba is Born
Baba is a very important character in the book because he impacts Hassan and Amir's like immensely. He was born in 1933 and he was so respected that "no one ever doubted the veracity of any story about Baba" (pg 12). This underlines the fact that because of religion and social economic status, Baba and Amir are respected in the strict society they live in. This respect protects Amir in the future but does not protect Hassan because he is a Hazara and is not, the others know of, Baba's son. -
Hassan is born
A year after Amir was born, "Hassan was born in the winter of 1964". (pg 6). Even though Hassan is younger, Amir still treats him like a friend or even brother. Hassan is a very important character in the book and he impacts Amir in many ways throughout the book. If Hassan did not exist, Amir would be a very different person. -
Baba goes in the World Cup
Baba, Amir's father had enough money that "in 1970, Baba took a break from the construction of the orphanage and flew to Tehran for a month to watch the World Cup games on television, since at the time Afghanistan didn't have TVs yet" (pg 20). This shows that Baba has enough money to go to special events and is not impacted by the crisis in Afghanistan as much as others are. Even though Baba may not face certain economic strains, he still understands the situation that others are in. -
Hassan's Surgery
As inferred from the book, Hassan had a surgery to fix his harelip when he was ten. The surgery went well and overtime there was just a "pink jagged line running up from his lip" (pg 47). This is one of the ways Baba tries to atone for his sins because he feels regret that Hassan has had to suffer and he can not do anything to stop it. He feels like he owes Hassan something. -
Amir Turns 12
Amir's childhood was a very traumatic one and he started going experiencing situations that a child should not have to go through. For example, when Amir turned "twelve, [it was] a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. "pg 1) -
Amir Turns Thirteen
When Amir turns 13, it was a very special year because it was "Afghanistan's next to last summer of peace and anonymity" (pg 93). -
Soviet Union Invaded
Everything started in 1979 "when the Soviet Union invaded...The first Soviet Troops parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 27, 1979" (NYT). This impacted many peoples lives because it had an impact on the economy, society, government, and daily life. It made Afghanistan a much stricter country that was under a big amount of pressure. -
Amir Graduates from High School
Amir finally "graduated high school at the age of twenty" (pg 131) in 1983. This shows that Amir is very different from Baba. He is not as motivated and is still trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life. -
Soviet Air Force Became Useless
The Soviet Union had a strong hold on the country until "after 1986, the Soviet Air Force was also rendered largely useless by advanced Stinger antiaircraft missiles supplied by the United States to the rebels" (NYT). This was a big step towards the fall of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Even though not much had changed in Afghanistan, this was an advancement towards freedom. Soon, things will change for the Afghani citizens. -
Amir has his First Novel Published
As inferred from the book, in 1988, Amir got a call from a man named Martin Greenwalt who "informed [him that he] was going to be a published novelist." (pg 183) -
Amir Finishes his First Novel
Amir finishes his novel "in the summer of 1988, about six months before the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan". The timing of when he finishes his novel is extremely coincidental since so much was happening in Afghanistan at the time. Amir's novel was about a father-son relationship in Kabul. -
The Soviet Union Leaving Afghanistan
In the end, the United Nations had to step in and helped support a peace talk which eventually led to "the last Soviet troops [leaving] Afghanistan in February 1989" (NYT). This impacted the stability of Afghanistan in many ways because Afghanistan was left as a weak and unstable country that did not have any central government. This affects the characters in the Kite Runner because when the Soviets enter and leave Afghanistan it changes many lives in the book. -
Amir goes on his Book Tour
When Amir goes on his book tour it is a defining moment in his life because it is one of the first things he has done solely on his own. It also is based on his childhood because it is based on "a father-son story set in Kabul" (pg 182) which is very much like his childhood. Many writers write about what they know about and understand and when Amir publishes this book I think it is a way for his to try to cope and understand events that happened in his childhood. -
Hassan has a Child
In the year of 1990, "it was Sanaubar who delivered Hassan's son that winter" (pg 211). This event shows the reader how much Hassan has grown up and matured. He has changed so much since he was a child and I think this event makes that clear to the reader and Amir. -
Farzana Becomes Pregnant for the 2nd time
Farzana had given birth to a still born child but "in early 1990, Farzana became pregnant again" (pg 209). This event makes it clear that Farzana and Hassan are strong and have learned to stand on their own two feet. They have gone through many traumatic events yet are still fighting for the life they deserve. -
The Taliban Gaining Control
When the Soviet Union left, Afghanistan was left as a weak and unstable country. This allowed an opening for the Taliban, originally "a student movement dedicated to purifying the country" (NYT) to take control. The leader, "Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers" (NYT) in 1994. The country was extremely unstable which caused a window to be opened for the Taliban to direct power towards them. The Taliban created very strict laws for women like prohibiting them from getting an education. -
Sanaubar Died
Sanaubar was a very important character in the book and one of the ways the author recognizes that is he makes a point to have her buried "in the cemetery on the hill, the one by the pomegranate tree" (pg 211). The author wanted the reader to realize how important Sanaubar was to Hassan and how she impacted both of their lives. -
Taliban Controlling Afghanistan
The Taliban was supplied "by Pakistan aid...[and] by 1996 [they] had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing strict enforcement and fundamentalist Islamic law" (NYT). They restricted women from going to school and even controlled what they wore. The Taliban rule was a horrible time for women in Afghanistan. -
Hassan and Farzana are killed
When Hassan and Farzana are killed it makes Amir realize that he took advantage of Hassan when he was a kid. When Hassan was killed he was "ordered... to kneel...and [he was shot] in the back of the head... Farzana came screaming and attacked them... shot her too. Self-defense, they claimed later" (pg 219. Amir needed to atone for his actions and he thought that the only way he could do this was by Hassan forgiving him but he later figured out that this was not true. -
Replacement of the Taliban
Once the Taliban left Pakistan, the country needed a government. "In December 2001, Hamid Karzai... was named the chairman of an interim government that replaced the defeated Taliban". (NYT) This was an extremely momentous event for the citizen's fo Afghanistan because they finally had a chance to be free from the Taliban. The Taliban had controlled Afghanistan for so long and now the country can finally be free from their rule. -
Taliban Revival
Even though the Taliban was defeated in 2001, they "continued to wage a guerrilla warfare from a base in the mountainous and largely lawless tribal area on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border" (NYT). The fall of the Taliban did not immediately mean safety because the Taliban kept fighting back. For some, the fighting did not stop until a year after the fall of the Taliban -
The United States Involvement
The United States has had a difficult relationship with Afghanistan. In 2001, "The United States [became] militarily involved in Afghanistan" (NYT). This is the start of a tense relationship that will be built on many different events. When the U.S. became involved in Afghanistan it was a day of joy for some and fear for others. -
Amir Returns Home with Sohrab
When Amir returns home with Sohrab, it is expressed as "a warm day in August 2001" (pg 357). In the book the Kite Runner, the weather is used to describe emotion so when the author describes a day as warm that implies that it is a good day. -
The Impact that 9/11 had
When Al Qaeda attacked "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) The Taliban refused which then forced "the United States [to join] forces with rebels groups that had never accepted Taliban Rule." (NYT) In the end, the Taliban was driven "out of major Afghan cities by the end of [that year]" (NYT. When this happened the U.S. officially joins the fight to take do Al Qaeda. -
Obama's Part in the War
President Obama had a big impact on the war with Al Qaeda and the Taliban. He "announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops on December 1st, 2009". (NYT) Obama started the fight towards an improved Afghanistan. He played a prominent role in the undertaking of freeing Afghanistan.