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Zahir Shah begins his reign
This was an important year in the novel because "In 1933, Baba was born and it was the year Zahir Shah began his forty-year reign of Afghanistan" (Hosseini 24). -
The monarchy is gone
After a sleepless night of hearing gunshots, Amir and Hassan awaken to realize, "As it turned out, they hadn't shot much of anything that night of July 17, 1973. Kabul awoke the next morning to find that the monarchy was a thing of the past" (Hosseini 36). -
Amir wins the kite fighting tournament
When Amir wins the kite fighting tournement, he describes, "that right there was the single greatest moment of my twelve years of life, seeing Baba on that roof, proud of me at last" (Hosseini 66). This shows how all Amir really wanted in life at that time was for his dad to be proud of him. He looked up to his father and wanted to feel accepted by him. -
Hassan is violated
When Hassan is violated, Amir must make a choice. He could either "step into that alley, stand up for Hassan... and accept whatever would happen to [him]... or [he] could run. In the end, [he] ran" (Hosseini 77). This shows how Amir thiught about the decision that could have chnged his life. He feels this single decision, in a way, could have determined his fate. His life would have been different if he had chosen differently. -
Amir turns 13
Amir "trrned thirteen that summer of 1976, Afghanistan's next to last summer of peace and anonymity" (Hosseini 93). This quote shows how Amir is looking back and thinking about what happened shortly after this event. -
Afghanistan under attack
After Amir and Hassan awake to gunshots, Amir explains, "The end, the official end, would come first in April 1978" (Hosseini 36). -
Soviet Union invaed Afghanistan
Afghanistan "has known little peace since 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded." -
Dark times in Afghanistan begin
Amir explains when the drak times in his counrty really started when he says, "and then in December 1979, when Russian tanks would roll into the very same streets where Hassan and I played, bringing the death of the Afghanistan I knew and marking the start of a still ongoing era of bloodletting" (Hosseini 36). -
Baba and Amir escape Kabul
Amir explains the situation in which he and Baba leave when he says, "There were others, in all about a dozen, including Baba and me, sitting with our siutcases between our legs, cramped with these strangers in the tarpaulin-covered cab of an old Russian truck" (Hosseini 110). This quote explains Amir's situation and how he feels uncomfortble and awkward with these stragners and the unfortunate situation. -
Baba and Amir now live in America
Baba and Amir both "loved the idea of America" (Hosseini 125). Once Baba and Amir get to America, they love it. They feel there is more freedom in may different ways and the idea of this is incredible to them. -
Baba and amir still getting used to America
Amir explains what happened in detail when he says, "One sunday in the spring of 1983... I was flipping through a worn copy of a Mike Hammer mystery when I heard screaming and glass breaking. I found the Nguyens behind the counter, all the way against the wall, faces ashen. On the floor: oranges, an overturned magazine rack, a broken jar of beef jerke, and shards of glass at Baba's feet" (Hosseini 127). This shows how Baba and Amir are still getting accustomed to America and the way things work. -
Amir graduates highschool
Amir explains hs accomplishment when he says, "That summer of 1983, I graduated highshool at the age of twenty, by far the oldest senior tossing his mortarboard on the football field that day" (Hosseini 131). This shows how Amir is a little bit ashamed that he didn't accomplish this in the timaframe that he had expected to, but also that he understands how things changed when they moved to America and he accepts this. -
Baba and Amir settle into their new lifestyle
Amir tells about his new way of life when he explains, "The following summer, the summer of 1984... Baba woke me up at dawn on Saturdays. We ampped our route and stopped at garage sales and bought knickknacks that people no longer wanted... and sold the junk for a small profit" (Hosseini 137). This quote explains how their life has become much simpler and that they have downgraded, in a way, from their life in Kabul. -
Baba gets cancer
Baba gets cancer even though it only "started with a hacking cough and sniffles" (Hosseini 153). After everything they have been through, now Baba gets cancer. This will be an upsetting time for everyone Baba knew. -
Soraya and Amir get married
Amir is so happy and he he says, "in the momentary privacy of the veil, I whispered to her for the first time that I loved her. A blush, red like henna, bloomed on her cheeks" (Hosseini 171). This quote shows how after everything Amir has been through to get to America and the hard life he has been living in America, he has finally found something that makes him very happy. -
Soviet airforce disabled
"After 1986, the Soviet Air Force was also rendered largely useless" with help from America. -
last Soviet troops leave Afghanistan
"Eventually, after peace talks moderated by the United Nations, the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February, 1989." -
power divided when the Soviet invasion is over
After soviet forces had left, " by the summer of 1994, power was anarchially divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms." -
Taliban have taken over
With help from Pakistan, "The Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan." -
Al Queda attacks twin towers
Afghanistan led an "attack on the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001." -
new leader made
"In December of 2001, Hamid Karzai... was named chairman of an interim government that replaced defeated Talibam, making him leader of the country." -
Karzai officially elected
after being unofficially leader of the country, "Mr. Karzai was elected to a five-year term as president in 2004." -
Troops were planned to leave Afghanistan
American troops were supposed to "begin withdrawing from Afghanistan in the summer of 2011." -
Troops are planned to come back in 2014
Even though troops were supposed to come back in 2011, "The United States will have forces in the country until at least the end of 2014."