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Kite Flying Competition
When Amir and Hassan win the Kite Flying competition, Baba is very proud of them and Amir feels like he achieved something when he saw "Baba on that roof, proud of me at last." (66) Amir feels jealous whenever Baba is doing stuff for Hassan and does not have that kind of relationship with his own father. Had Amir knew earlier Hassan was his half-brother, he would have not felt so jealous. -
Assef and Hassan
Hassan runs to get the winning kite but runs into Assef and his friends and they do something disturbing to him. Hassan was not expecting Assef but they had a plan for Hassan as Assef says, "I'm letting you keep the kite, Hazara. I'll let you keep it so it will always remind you about what I'm about to do." (73) This is -
Baba's death
On the wedding night, Baba asks to go to bed early. Amir and Soraya put him to bed but they did nt knw it would behis last because "Baba never woke up." (173) Amir knew this was gonna happen soon because Baba refused to get any help and was still smoking. I think Baba wanted to die because then he would not have to worry about Ali and Hassan with their lives since he was still sad to nto be with them. -
Brothers
Rahim Khan wants Amir to do him a favor before he dies. He tells him that Hassan and Amir and actually half-brothers and Hassan has a son in an orphanage. Rahim Khan says, "Sohrab is a gifted little boy. We can give him a new life here, new hope, with people who would love him." (220) Rahim Khan is showing Amir a way to atone for his mistakes even though Hassan is dead. This way Amir will not be haunted withthe regret for not helping Hassan. -
Pomegranate
Amir feels horrible about himself for not protecting Hassan.
He takes Hassan to a hill where he throws pomegranates at him but Hassan does not do the same. Amir thinks to himself, "I wished he'd give me the punsihment I craved, so maybe I'd finally sleep at night" (92) This shows regret from Amir as he is also trying to atone for his mistakes but Hassan does not understand his message. -
New Servants
Amir and Hassan have not been talking for a while because they do not want to disuss what Assef did. Baba loves Ali and Hassan but Amir's question gets him exploding with anger, "Fourty years Ali has been with my family... I'm just going to throw him out?... Hassan is not gong anywhere." (89-90) Baba saying that he cannot have his friend and son leave him and no one understands his reason for being devastated. -
Ali and Hassan leave
Ali and Hassan decide it is best if they leave Baba and Amir. Baba does not want to lose his son as he get very emotional. Amir explains, "Then I saw Baba do something I had never seenhim do before: he cried... Fathers weren't supposed to cry." (107) Hassan is Baba's real son and although no one knows that, Baba cannot imagine losing another person from his family again. Baba gets teary-eyed and Amir does not understand why he would be so sad. -
Soraya
Amir is in love with Soraya and asks Baba for one more favor. In the Afghanistan tradtion, the boy's fathers usually asks te girl's father if their children can get married. Amir wants his father to "ask General Taheri for his daughter's hand" before it is too late. (161) In this tradition, it is the parents desiciom on who their kids marry. Amir wants Baba tosee him get married before he dies. -
Peace in Afghanistan
After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, there has not been peace since. -
Soviet Invasion
Soviet troops came to Kabul on December 27, 1979 and stayed for more than nine years fighting which cost them to lose 15,000 and billions of rubles. -
America
Since Ali and Hassan left, Baba thought it was their time to leave for America. Maybe Ali and Hassan leaving was a good idea since "Baba loved the idea of America" (125) America would be the country for people to love because you do not have to worry about wars that much or labels such as Hazara. In America you have more freedom which sounds like Baba was excited about. -
Baba's disease
As Spring comes, Baba's catches a cold. This cold led to something more serious. The doctors checked him and Baba guessed the problem, "'Cancer?'... 'Possible. It's suspicious...'" (154). Baba's life is coming to an end as he is old and has cancer. He will not have much longer to live. -
Soviet troops
After the United Nations had peace talks, the Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989. This gave power to Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. -
Taliban
Taliban took control of Afghanistan with Mullah Omar in 1994 with the help of Pakistan. They made laws making people wear certain clothes and taking women ot of schools. -
2001 Invasion
United States military led an invasion in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The invasion removed the Tailban from power and removed Al Qaeda but the Tailban made a comeback while the U.S. military was focused on Iraq. -
9/11 Invasion
After 9/11, President George W. Bush gave Taliban an order but they refused which led the U.S. join forces with other groups that did not like the Taliban. They took out the Taliban by the end of the year. -
The Taliban Resurgence
Even though the Taliban was defeated in 2001, they continued guerilla warfare and regrouped once the U.S. military was focused on Iraq. They also gained strength from the opium trade. -
Rahim Khan
Rahim Khan calls Amir telling him to come back to Peshwar. He tells Amir everything about himself and how there is "a way to be good again." (192) This shows that he knew the incident and wanted Amir to atone for his past mistakes. -
Sohrab
Amir decides to do what Rahim Khan wants. The book explains, "Then I told him I was going to Kabul." (227) Amir realized that this is his only chance and the last family member of their family. I think Amir knowing that Hassan is his half-brother made him want to find Sohrab. -
Hazara Boy
Amir enjoyed hw America was free of all races but his wife's father says something that gets him really mad. Amir yells at General Taheri, "You will never again refer tohim as 'Hazara boy' in my presence. He has a name and it's Sohrab." (361) Amir wants to make Sohrab free of all discrimanations and anything that could hurt him. Amir wants to give Sohrab a new life where he is free without any labels. -
The Karzi Government
Hamid Karzi defeated Taliban in December 2001 making him the leader of the country. -
Assef and Sohrab
Amir's only chance at getting Sohrab back is fighting Assef but something unexpected happens. Sohrab realizes that Amir was not as strong as Assef so he uses a skill Hassan taught him, "The slingshot made a thwiit sound when Sohrab released the cup." (291) This showed that even though Sohrab did not knw Amir, he realized that Amir was trying to save him so he saved Amir first by hruting Assef. This is significant because Sohrab is doing what Hassan was going to do years ago. -
Suicide
Amir promised Sohrab he would not go to an orphanage againuntil he brought it up that he might be wrong. Sohrab is terrified of the orphanages so when Amir tells him their option, Sohrab cuts himself with a razor. Amir gets scared as he, "pushed the door open. Stepped into the bathroom... Screaming throught my clenched teeth." (343) Amir could not keep his promise when Sohrab felt safe and now they have more troube to deal with. -
Karzi as President
In June 2002, Hamid took office as temporary president hoping to secure peace for Afghanistan. -
Karzi's Presdientcy
In 2004 he got elected as presdient for five years. -
Obama
In 2008 General Petraeus lead the military to defeat the Taliban but needed more troops so in December 1, 2009 Obama sent 30,000 additional troops. In July 2011, Obama says that the troops will stay fighting until the end of 2014.