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Assef First Threatens Amir and Hassan
As readers, we first meet Assef when he comes to torment Amir and Hassan on the hill. Amir describes Assef as the "most relentless" (Hosseini 38) out of all the boys who tortured Ali. Assef also, mentions his thoughts on Hazaras, which really gives perspective on how much Hazaras are hated in their area. Amir and Hassan's first encounter with Assef made it completely clear that people like Assef made it known that they depised Hazaras. -
Hassan Gets Raped
Amir "saw Hassan run a kite for the last time" (Hosseini 55) in the winter of 1975, when he got sexually violated by Assef. Thia is the moment that Amir has been hinting at all through the beginning of the book. It is an important moment because it shows part of Amir's character and how it impacted him. If it turned out differently and Amir stood up for Hassan, Amir probably would not feel the guilt he currently feels. -
Ali and Hassan Leave
The day after Amir's birthday, he and his father drove Amir and Hassan to the bus station where Amir had "watched Baba's car pull away from the curb, taking with it the person whose first spoken word had been [his] name." (Hosseini 109). What Amir finds conforting and familiar leaves his life when Ali and Hassan leave. Because of one horrible mistake, Amir's life changes forever and he no longer has his best friend because of it. -
Start of Soviet Union Invasion
Afghanistan was stable until the "first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 27, 1979, to assist Babrak Karmal, who had become president in a coup within the Afghan Communist leadership." (New York Times 2) -
Baba Stands up to a Soviet Soldier
When a Soviet soldier asks a man if he may rape his wife, Baba stands up for the woman. Watching his father, Amir thinks to himself, "Do you have to always be the hero?" as if he was asking his father. Following this thought, Amir comes to the conclsion that Baba "couldn't—it wasn't in his nature." (Hosseini 115). Baba's character is interensting because he can easily be an evil character due to the fact that he treats Amir badly;however, he is also an extrememly nobel man that everyone loves. -
Amir Gets to Know Soraya
Amir finally finds the courage in himslef to to talk to Soraya Taheri. After nervously asking Soraya what book she was reading, Amire thinks to himself "[b]ut I'd asked her a question and if she answered, we'd be...well, we'd be chatting." (Hosseini 146). Amir was suprised and in shock at the thought of speaking to Soraya. This helps the reader understand how much feeling he has for her. -
Amir and Soraya Get Married
Amir and Soraya get married shortly after their engagement, which was requsted by Baba. The Taheri's were happy at the wedding and General Taheri told Baba, "We are honored to welcome the son of a man such as yourself into our family." (Hosseini 168). This was a very big day for Baba since he knew he was putting his son in the hands of the Taheris as he would not be around much longer to take care of him himself. -
Baba Dies
One night as Amir and Soraya were caring for Baba, he had fallen to sleep and "never woke up." (Hosseini 173). Amir now doesn't have the person who he admired so much in his life. Amir "had had been defined by Baba" (Hosseini 174) so now, a big part of who he is and used to be is now gone and he will have to learn how to live without Baba's guidence from now on. -
Amir Becomes a Real Successful Novelist
Amir finially becomes a sucessful and noticed writer and even gets to be a published novelist. He and Soraya celabrate and while doing so, he is "thinking of Baba, wishing he could have seen" (Hosseini 183) Amir in this moment. Amir's dream of being a writer is now finally coming true and he is now thinking of his father. For most of his life, Amir seeked Baba's approval and this is one thing that Baba will never know. This emphasizes Amir's disappointment and sadness. -
The Last Troops Left
The New York Times states, "the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in Febuary 1989, in what was in effect a unilateral withdrawal." (New York Times 2). -
Power Divided in Afghanistan
In the summer of 1994 in Afghanistan, "power was anarchially divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms." (New York Times 2). -
The Taliban Takes Control
By 1996, "the Taliban...had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law, banning movies and music and forcing women out of schools and into all-enveloping burqa clothing." (New York Times 3). -
Hazzaras Get Massecred by Taliban
While telling Amir about Hassan, Rahin Khan finally says at the end of his story that "the Taliban banned kite fighting. And two years later, in 1998, they massacred the Hazzaras in Mazar-i-Sharif." (Hosseini 213). Now that Amir knows Hassan is gone forever, he feels worse than he did before. He will never be able to see Hassan again, or better, tell him how sorry he is for what her did. This could change Amir as a person and cause his guilt to grow until it is extremely unbearable. -
Hassan gets Shot by Taliban Officials
While Rahim was in Peshawar, he recieved a telephone call concerning Hassan. He had discovered that Hassan had been interogated by Taliban officials and that when he protested too much, the Taliban "shot him in the back of the head" (Hosseini 219) along with his wife shortly after. After Amir recieves this news, he has trouble accepting it. He will never see Hassan again, and will never be able to apologize directly for his actions. In life, anything can happen, so you should never wait. -
Amir's Forshadowing
At the very beginning of the book, there is major forshadowing when Amir says, "I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975." (Hosseini 1). When the story first opens, Amir is speaking of a moment in his life when he was young that completely changed his life as of where he is now in time. This idea of a moment he shares leads readers to determine how severe and great this event must have been in order to change who he is so much. -
Amir Fights Assef to Earn Sohrab
In order to get Sohrab from Assef, Assef wanted a good fight out of him. This was no suprise to Amir because Amir had "promised that in the end, he'd get [Amir and Hassan] both. He'd kept that promise with Hassan, Now it was [Amir's] turn." (Hosseini 286). Getting tortured by Assef was always meant to happen to Amir and was even a way of atonement for what he did to Hassan as well as a punishment. Amir did not end up fighting back because he knew it was supposed to happen as a relief of greif. -
Sohrab Attempts Suicide
When Amir woke up after telling Sohrab that he has to be put back in an orphanage temporarily, he finds Sohrab in the bathroom with slit wrists and "was still screaming when the ambulance arrived." (Hosseini 343). Amir has made the terrible mistake of breaking a promise he made to Sohrab and almost looses him for it. Amir cannot let down Sohrab anymore like he did to Hassan or else he will be left with the gilt and grief of losing both of them because of his actions. -
Sohrab Comes to America
When they were finally able to, Amir and Sohrab "arrived home seven months ago, on a warm day in August 2001." (Hosseini 357). Once Amir gets Sohrab to America, he has finally completed his task as a big act of atonement for what he had done to Hassan. Bringing Sohrab changes so many things in Amir's life including having a child to take care of and the way he sees himself as a person with much of his guilt taken away. Amir may now finally be able to live with himself. -
Attack on 9/11
On September 11, 2001, there was an "attack on the World Trade Center in New York." (New York Times 3). Shortly after, "President George W. Bush gave the Taliban an ultimatum to hand over Mr. bin Laden." (New York Times 3). -
Karzal Named Leader
The New York Times states that, "Hamid Karzai...was named chairman of an interim government that replaced the defeated Taliban, making him the leader of the country." (New York Times 3). -
Sohrab Smiles
When Amir and Sohrab win the kite fight Amir looks down at Sohrab and sees that "[o]ne corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile. Lopsided. Hardly there. But there." (Hosseini 370-1). Since Amir brought Sohrab to America, he had never talked or signaled any sign of a certain emotion. When Sohrab smiled, it meant that everything was going to turn out okay and that Amir had done the right thing, It is exactly the kind of thing Amir needed to completely move on from what he did to Hassan. -
Karzai Takes Office as Interim President
Hamid Karzai "takes office as interin president...saying he hoped to secure peace for Afghanistan and win the country much-needed international aid." (New York Times 3). -
General Petraeus Takes Charge
The New York Times states, "General Patraeus...had taken charge of United States Central Command..." (New York Times 4). -
Obama's Plan
On December 1, 2009, "Obama announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops" (New York Times 4) in a speech at West Point. -
Removal of General Petraeus
The New York Times states, "In June 2010, President Obama removed Gen." (New York Times 4).