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Period: to
Timespan
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Hassan Gets Raped
When Hassan gets raped by Assef, Amir was watching, but "Amir] turns [his] back to the alley, to Hassan (Hosseini 77), with Hassan knowing that Amir, "ran away because he was a coward" (Hosseini 77). These two young boys were once very close, but this incident caused Amir to lose a friend that was close to them. The craving of Baba's love caused Amir to sacrifice Hassan for the kite, but causes him to regret his actions later on. -
Ali and Hassan Leave Baba's House
Amir tries to atone in his own way for hurting Hassan by hiding some money under Hassan's carpet. Instead Hassan is blamed for stealing the money, and Ali, unable to bear Hassan continually being hurt by Amir, says to Baba "'[we] are leaving Agha sahib" (Hosseini 106). Ali knows what Amir has done to Hassan- letting Hassan get raped, and not saying anything. This is important because the relationship between the 2 families used to be very close since childhood, coming to a sad ending. -
Invasion of the Soviet Union
The New York Times states, "The first Soviet Union troops parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 27 1979 to assist Babrak Karmal, who had become president in a coup within the Afghan Communist leadership" (The New York Times). -
Amir and Baba Confronted at Mahipar by a Russian Soldier
A Russian soldier demands "a half hour with lady in the back of the truck (Hosseini 115), in other words, rape. Amir tries to stop Baba from getting up, but fails. The Russian soldier treats the escapees horribly, and unjustly. This leads to Baba standing up against this man to try to teach him decency, and he also teaches Amir to stand up for what is right. -
Soraya and Amir Marry
Before Soraya and Amir married, Soraya told Amir, "When [I] lived in Virginia, I ran away with an Afghan man." (Hosseini 164). Soraya wanted to to begin their marriage clean without lies. This leads to Amir almost telling his secret about Hassan, but Amir simply decided that Soraya had more courage than he. -
Baba Dies
Before Baba went to sleep one night, Soraya offered his usually morphine and water, bu Baba says, "There is no pain tonight ... Baba never woke up" (Hosseini 173). Now that Baba left, Baba can no longer show Amir how to live, but rather Amir has to find a way to live without him. Interestingly, the existence and death of Baba impacted Amir so much, from Baba teaching Amir how to live when he was alive, and how his death would impact Amir in the future. -
Rahim Khan Goes to Meet Hassan
Amir goes to see Rahim Khan since he was about to die, and there Rahim Khan tells Amir some stories about Hassan. Rahim Khan goes to visit Hassan because "[he] was lonely" (Hosseini 203). Hassan decides to go live with Rahim Khan out of respect for Baba, since he learned of Baba's death. Baba had a big influence throughout the novel, as Hassan only decided to live with Rahim Khan, when he learned of Baba's death. Rahim Khan only felt a deep loneliness when Baba died as well. -
Amir Completes His First Novel
The first novel that Amir writes about is "a father-son story set in Kabul" (Hosseini 182). The topic that Amir writes about has a strong influence in this story, and what creates the conflict in this story. This shows the author portrays Amir writing his novel using the inspiration from his childhood, and his own father-son relationship. -
Soviet Union leaves Afganistan
Without a holder of power, or ruler, "power was anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms" (The New York Times), in other words, chaos in Afghanistan. -
Sanaubar Comes to Meet Hassan
Shortly, after the shock Hassan experiences of meeting his mother, Rahim Khan remembers, "[watching] Hassan and his mother kneeling together, picking tomatoes or trimming a rosebush, talking" (Hosseini 211). The main significance is not really Sanaubar's reunion with Hassan, but rather how Hassan treats Sanaubar after he meets her because it is hard to just accept a mother that has abandoned you since birth. Hassan's kindness is well portrayed through his care for Sanaubar. -
Soraya Lets Her Family Know She Can't Have a Child
After learning that he is unable to have a child, Amir thinks "something, someone, somewhere, had decided to deny me fatherhood for the things I have done" (Hosseini 288). Amir believes that he is unable to have a child because of what he did to Hassan in the past. This shows Amir's reflection on what he did in the past, and how it gnaws at him till this day. -
The Taliban Were Formed
The New York Times posts, the Taliban all started "when Mullah Omar ... gathered a small band of men and attacked a group of warlords who had raped a girl and shaved her head" (The New York Times). -
What Happens After the Soviet Union?
The New York Times writes, "With [Mullah Omar's] promise of restoring centrality of Islam to daily life, he created a genuinely popular movement in a country weary of corruption and brutality" (New York Times), eventually with Omar taking control of Afghanistan. -
The US Gets in Afghanistan to Fight
The United States became involved in Afghanistan, "when [the United States] after the led an invasion" (The New York Times). -
Hamid, the New Ruler of Afghanistan
After the Taliban's defeat,"Hamid Karazi ...was named chairman of an interim government" (The New York Times). -
The Taliban defeated
The same year that America took part in the war against the Taliban, 2001, "an air and ground campaign began that drove the Taliban out of major Afghanistan cities" (The New York Times) -
Hassan Dies
When Hassan was looking after Baba's house for Rahim Khan, Taliban soldiers took him to the street ... and shot him in the back of the head" (Hosseini 219). Hassan dies to the Taliban, trying to keep the house safe for Rahim Khan. This shows Hassan's loyalty to Amir and Baba even in death. -
Sohrab Tries to Kill Himself
Amir made a promise to not send Sohrab to an orphanage. Soon, Amir breaks the promise saying, "Mr. Faisal thinks that it would really help if we could ... if we could ask you to stay in a home with kids for awhile" (Hosseini 341). This leads to Sohrab's suicide attempt due to his previous trauma in Kabul. Amir continually hurts Hassan's house through the breaking of promises. This shows Amir as a person continually breaking promises, despite his efforts to atone for his mistakes. -
Amir Goes To Meet Rahim Khan
Learning that Rahim Khan is about to die, he tells him some stories about Hassan, and ultimately to Hassan's child, Sohrab. Rahim Khan says 2 very most important things to Amir, "Sanaubar wasn't Ali's first wife" (Hosseini 222), and he also said, "I want you to go to Kabul. I want you to bring Sohrab here" (Hosseini 220). This chapter reveals 2 top secrets. One of which allows him to be "good again". Amir will inevitably search for Sohrab as an act to atone for the things Amir did to Hassan. -
Amir goes to find Sohrab
After recovering from the shock Rahim Khan brought on Amir, Amir decides the only "way to be good again" (Hosseini 226), was to ["go] to Kabul" (Hosseini 227). Amir wants to atone for what he has done, leading him to believe the only way is to look for Sohrab. This shows Amir's sincerity to go to Kabul, despite the dark memories that Amir is afraid of in Kabul. -
Amir Gets Beat Up By Assef
During the brutal beating from Assef, Amir "laughed because he [he] saw that, in some corner of my mind I have looked forward to this ... I felt healed" (Hosseini 288). Amir fells like he finally got what he deserved ever since the winter of 1795. This shows how he finally believes he has atoned for letting Hassan get raped, and now he is able to sleep at night. -
US's Military involvement in Afghanistan
The beginning of the US's involvement started in 2001, when Al Qaeda "launched an attack on the United States on September 11" (The New York Times). -
Sohrab Smiles
After Amir breaks his promise to Sohrab, he has never smiled once again. Amir continually tries to have Sohrab open up, to no success. One day, Amir shows Sohrab to fly a kite, leading to Sohrab finally having "one corner of his mouth [curling] up just so. A smile" (Hosseini 371). Sohrab seems to finally have partially forgiven Amir for breaking his promise, despite the grief Amir caused. This shows how those who atone should receive forgiveness, no matter the crime. -
Obama's Promise
During Obama's presidency he made a speech, as the New York Times paraphrases, "Mr. Obama announces his plan to deploy 30,00 more troops. He vowed to start bringing American forces home from Afghanistan in the middle of 2011" (The New York Times). -
Obama Changes His Mind
From taking forces back home, Obama instead, "increasingly emphasize[s] the dea that the United States will have forces in the country until at least the end of 2014" (The New York Times).