Kite Runner & The History of Afghanistan

By 18shamieht86

  • The Kings Rein ended

    After the night of the gunshots Kabul was informed "that the monarchy was a thing of the past. The King, Zahir Shah, was away in Italy. In his absence, his cousin Daoud Khan had ended the king's forty-year reign with a bloudless coup"(Hosseini 36). After the kings rein ended they were taling about making it a republic. That is important because it could mean they would kick all of the Hazzaras out, and Hassan and his father would be sent away.

  • Amir's first short story

    In the middle of his daily reading to Hasssan Amir "strayed from the written story. I pretended I was reading from the book,flipping pages regularly, but I had abandoned the text altogether, taken over the story and made it my own"(Hosseini 30). Afterwards Hassan thought this story was enjoyable to hear. This was a life changing moment for Amir because this is whn he wrote his first short story. Hassan gave hime the motivation and confidence to finish and write his first short story.

  • Hassan's Birthday

    For Hassan's birthday Baba introuduced Dr. Kumar to Hassan and he told Hassan "My job is to fix things on people's bodies. Sometimes their faces"(Hosseini 45). Amir felt he was sharing Baba with Hassan and he felt less powerful when Hassan recieved so much affection from Baba. This also shows how Amir does not feel happy that Hassan gets his lip fixed but jealous and frustrated because Baba was treating a Hazara better than him.

  • Amir won the Kite tournament

    Shocked Amir won the kite tournament and when he realized it he shouted "We won! We won! was all I could say. This wasn't happening."(Hosseini 66). When this happened it made Amir feel he is worthy for his father and liked ho proud his father was of him. This was a signifigant moment because his father acknowleged him and made him feel proud and smart.

  • First Soviet Troops

    The New York Times stated that "The First Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 27, 1979, to assist Babrak Karmal"(New York Times 2).

  • Baba almost gets shot

    Baba and Amir were on a bus traveling when Baba stood up for a woman that was going to be taken advantage of by a solider and Baba told the solider "He'd better kill me good with that first shot. Because if I don't go down, I'm tearing hime to pieces, goddamn his father" (Hosseini 116). In that moment Amir ralized how strong Baba was and what kind of hero Baba could be. Baba was also trying to show Amir to stand up for what you want and not let anybody step on you no matter what.

  • Amir's Graduation

    Amir has just graduated from highschool and his father told him that "I am moftakhir, A mir, he said. Proud. His eyes gleamed when he said that and I liked being on recieving end of that look"(Hosseini 131). THis is very important to Amir because his goal is to always make his father proud. When his father is proud of him he feels he has more power and this can lead to hime feeling he has more power over others.

  • Soviet Airforce

    As a result of 1986," The Soviet Air Force was also rendered largerly useless by advanced Stinger antiaircraft missiles supplied by the United States to the rebels"(New York Times 2).

  • Rahim Khan went to look for Hassan

    Rahim Khan told Amir "There were a lot of reasons why I went to Hazarajat to find Hassan in 1986. The biggest one, Allah forgive me, was that I was lonely" (Hosseini 203). Even after all those years Rahim Khan still thought of Hassan. This is important because he felt he could turn and trust Hassan in his time of need. He knew out of all people he could go to Hassan and his family for help.

  • Amir's first novel

    After Amir finished his first book he had gotten a call from his agent and he told Amir "[He] was going to be a published novelist"(Hosseini 183). This was a life chaniging moment for Amir because his dream of being a successful writer had come true. His first novel was finally published which also gave him the motivation to write more novels.

  • Soviet Troops left Afghanistan

    After all the Soviet troops were gone the country had "what was in effect a unilateral withdrawal. They left behind a country that was not only devastated but had become a beacon to Islamic extremists from across the globe who had come to assist in the fighting"(The New York Times 2).

  • Hassan's mother

    A woman came to Hassan's house begging for Hassan and she told him "I have walked long and far to see if you are as beautiful in the flesh as you are in my dreams. And you are. Even more"(Hosseini 210). Hassan hadn't seen his mother since he was born and this is very important moment for him because he actually got to meet her and talk to her. In the past Hassan's mother was selfish by running off and leaving her family. This also shows ho people can change their ways over time.

  • Northern Alliance took over Kabul

    Baba and Amir were on a bus traveling when Baba stood up for a woman that was going to be taken advantage of by a solider and Baba told the solider "He'd better kill me good with that first shot. Because if I don't go down, I'm tearing hime to pieces, goddamn his father" (Hosseini 116). In that moment Amir ralized how strong Baba was and what kind of hero Baba could be. Baba was also trying to show Amir to stand up for what you want and not let anybody step on you no matter what.

  • The Power is Divided

    As a result of the Soviet Forces departing Afghanistan's "power was anarchially divided among competiting warlords and individual fiefdoms.But one group would eventually gaincontrol" (The New York Times 2).

  • Now Kabul belongs to Massoud.

    Rahim Khan was telling Amir that "The Shorawi were defeated and long gone and Kabul belonged to Massoud, Rabani, and Mujahedin"(Hosseini 212). For evrybody in Kabul this was a very dangerous time because nobody knew if they could live even to see the next day. This was also hard on Rahim Khan because he was older and unable to fight but he also managed to stay strong and get through it.

  • Islamic Group seiz Control

    The report said that Al Qaeda "is the group that had been given safe haven in the country by the Taliban, the extremist Islamic group that had seized control in 1996 after years of civil war"(New York Times 1).

  • Taliban has Control

    After the Talliban had taken over,"Bouyed by Pakistani aid, the Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist I slamic law, banning movies and music and forcing women out of schools and into all-enveloping burqa clothing(New York Times 3).

  • Rahim Khan tells Amir about Kaul

    Rahim Khan was telling Amir about how "The Taliban banned kite fighting. And two years later, in 1998, they massacred the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif"(Hosseini 213). This mean't Hassan and his family would probably be masacred also. Even though Amir hadn't see Hassan in so long it broke his heart to hear all of this horrible news. All of this news made Amir want to atone for his actions and start his search for his nephew, Sohrab.

  • Rahim Khan calls Amir

    Amir tells Soraya he has to go to Pakistan because "Rahim Khan is very sick"(Hosseini 191). This is very hard for Amir because he was very close to Rahim Khan and since he had gone to America he hadn't really talked to him. Amir tries to forget about his past life because Hassan was somehow connected to all of it.

  • Amir and Sohrab go home to America

    Amira and Sohrab "arrive homeabout seven months ago, on a warm day in August 2001" (Hosseini 357). This improtant for Amir because he is backw ih his wife he hn seen in a long time and gets to start a new life with Sohrab. Amir also wants to give Sohrab the life Hassan wuld have given him but Sohrab is unhappy and depressed with them.

  • After Sept.11 2001

    The attack on The World Trade Center resulted in "President George W. Bush gave the Taliban and ultimatum to hand over Mr. bin Laden"(The New York Times).

  • Taliban reforms

    When the American military's focus was somewhere else, "the Taliban regrouped and began to extend its influence in the southern part of Afghanistan. Their rise was assisted by a resurgent optimum trade, which helped to fill the group's coffers"(The New York Times 3).

  • Leader of the Country

    The previous King of Afghanistans relative,"was named chairman of an interim government that replaced the defeated Taliban, making him leader of the country"(The New York Times 3).

  • Hassan smiles

    Amir showed Sohrab how to use the kite ad Sohrab was fascinated and Amir that he saw "A smile. Nothing more. It didnt make everything alright . It didn't make anything all right. Only a smile. This moment was special for Amir and Sohrab because Amir had felt once again close to Sohrab and Sohrab felt some happiness since he tried to commit suicide. Soraya, Amir, and Sohrab felt closer than ever since he moved to America and Amir finally felt he was doing the right thing.

  • American Operations Improves

    After President Obama put Gen. David H. Petraeus in charge of the American Forces, "the pace of American operations stepped up enormously, initially in the Taliban's strongholds in the South(The New York Times 1).