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Overthrow of the Monarchy
Amir and Hassan hear shooting and the next morning "Kabul awoke to find that the monarchy was a thing of the past" (Hosseini 36). It is a significant time in Afghanistan, as overnight, the government changed. -
Amir Wins the Kite Fighting Tournament
Once Amir cut the final Kite "[he] didn't need to hear the crowd's roar to know" (Hosseini 66). This is the firt time in Amir's life that he got Baba's approval. It also leads up to HAssan's rape. -
Assef Rapes Hassan
When Assef traps Hassan in the ally he "knelt behind Hassan, put his hands on Hassan's hips and lifterd his bare buttocks. He kept one hand on Hassan's back and undid his own belt buckle with his free hand. He unzipped his jeans" (Hosseini 75). This left Hassan and Amir traumatized which causes them to distant themselves from eachother. -
Amir's Birthday
After Hassan's rape, Amir sees "Hassan serving drinks to Assef and Wali" the same people that raped him (Hosseini, 100). Because Hassan is a Hazara, he has to serve, even if it is the people that scarred him for life. -
Soviet Invasion
The author wrote, "The turmoil and extremism that have dominated its history since then can be trace to the 1979 invasion by the Soviet Union and the reaction both by Afghans and by their allies in the United States and Pakistan." (2) -
Amir Meets Soraya
Amir sees Soraya Taheri at the flee market and he tries to talk to her but ended up "standing at the edge of the Taheri's white tablecloth, staring at Soraya across curling irons and old neckties" (145). -
Baba gets cancer
After Baba gets a CAT scan his docotr tells him that his cancer is "advanced" and "inoperable" (156). Baba has a few months to live, as he refused chemotherapy which will leave Amir alone for the first time in his life. -
Amir marries Soraya
Just before Baba dies, Amir asks him to "to ask General Taheri for his daughter's hand" (161). This is the first women Amir has loved, as he never knew his mother or Hassans mother. -
Baba dies
After Amir gets married, Baba "never woke up" one night and died in his sleep (173). Amir has now lost has last connection to his childhood. -
Hassan dies
Rahim Khan tells Amir of how the Taliban "shot [Hassan] in the back of the head" (219). Amir realizes that his best friend from his childhood died knowing that Amir did nothing to make up for the fact that Amir let him get raped. -
Peace between Soviets and Afghans
After years of war, "Eventually, after peace talks moderated by the United NAtions, the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989, in what was in effect a unilateral withdrawl" (2). -
Amir and Soraya are infertile
After they find out they cannot have children Amir "could almost feel the emptiness in Soraya's womb, like it was a living, breathing thing" (189). This causes Amir to later adopt Sohrab, as he might not have if he had a child of his own. -
Division of Power
Once the war was over, "Afganistan descended into visious internecine strife; by the summer of 1994, power was anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms" (2). -
Taliban Takeover
The Taliban started to take Afganistan and their leader, "Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers and was rolling up the warlords to the north and east." (2) -
Taliban have total control
In 1996, the Talivan "had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law, baning movies and music and forcing women out of schools and into all-enveloping burqa clothing" (3). -
U.S. Involvement
The U.S. has been in Afghanistan since "2001, when t led an invasion after the Sept. 11 attacks by Al Qaeda" (1). -
Attack on Taliban
After the attack on 9/11/01, "An air and ground campaign began that drove the Taliban out of the major Afghan cities by the end of the year" (3). -
Amir goes back to Pakistan
After Rahim Khan calls Amir, he tells Soraya that he "has to go back to Pakistan" (191). Amir needs to go to Pakistan to save Sohrab and atone for what he and his father had done. -
Amir is Hassan's half-brother
Rahim Khan tells Amir that Baba is Hassan's real father and Amir yells, "I'm thirty-eight years old and I've just found out my whole life is one big fucking lie!" (223). Amir reaction demonstrates how much he cares for Hassan and still feels incredibly guilty for what he did. -
Amir finds Sohrab with Assef
When Amir finally tracks down Sohrab but "after all these years" he came face to face with Assef (281). Amir is forced to confront the person who has caused all of his torment. -
Amir and Assef fight
Assef fights Amir for Sohrab and "his brass knuckles werer flashing in the afternoon light" (288). Assef uses his signiture weapon on Amir to gain an edge on an already unfair fight. -
Amir and Sohrab escape
Right aa Assef was going to beat Amir to death, Sohrab pulled out his slingshot and it made a "thwiiiiit sound when Sohrab released the cup. Then Assef was screaming" (291). Sohrab saves Amir's life and allows them both to escape the horrible clutches of Assef. -
Taliban: The Resurection
While Americans thought the Taliban were gone, "The Taliban regrouped and began to extend its influence in the southern part of Afghanistan" (3). -
Adding Troops to Afghanistan
President Obama announced "his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops"(4). -
Hopefull Withdrawl
The President says that his administration "changed its tone to increasingly emphasize the idea that the United AStates will have forces in the country until at least the end of 2014" (4)