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Baba decides to build an Orphanage
Amir is decribing his father, and his work, and proceeds to state, "...when I was five or six, Baba decided to build an orphanage" (Hosseini 13). This decsion Baba makes impacts the entire story as it gives him a deep repsect from the commmunity which marks the beginning of Baba's great reutattion. Amir's jealousy and need for his fathers attention even from a young age proves that Amir is not close to his father despite his desprete attempts to gain his love and affection. -
Hassan is born
As Amir is introducing Hassan's to the reader, he states, "Hassan was born in the winter of 1964, just one year after my mother died giving birth to me" (Hosseini 6). It is important to know that Hassan is one year younger than Amir because it could be a potential reason for Amir's over all superiorty over Hassan. Also it could express the brotherhood between to the two boys as they are so close in age. -
The starting of their life changing ("Begining of the end)
When everyone is awoken in th early hours of the morning by gunfire, Amir, in a very terrfied mannar states, "Huddled tgether in the dining room and waiting for the sun to rise, none of us had any notion that a way of life had ended. Our way of life. If not quite yet, then at least it was the beginign of the end" (Hoesseini 36). The gunshots that night are of great significance because it marks the transition of governemnt in Afghanistan bringing on future complications as the story unfolds. -
The monarchy in Afghanistan falls. The king flees the country.
After a long night of terror and the sound of gunshots, Amir wakes to discover that, "Kabul awoke the next morning to find the monarchy was a thing of the past. The king, Zahir Shah, was away in Italy..." (Hoesseini 36). Knowing that the monarchy in Afghanistan has fallen is incredibly significant because it introduces a change that drove Amir and Baba out of the country and to America to start a new life. It is because of this event, that Amir, and Baba's lives unfolded as they did. -
Hassan's 10th Birthday (Recieves Plastic Surgery)
The boys were playing outside until they were called inside by Ali, Amir then goes forward to state, "Early that following winter of 1974... It was Hassan's birthday.... Dr. Kumar is a plasti surgeon...'Its an unusal present I know' Baba said, but this present will last you forever'" (Hoesseini 46). This is significant as it is both a physical and emotional change to Hassan's life. The surgery removed Hassna's cleft lip which leaving a scar that becomes his most memorable feature. -
Hassan was attacked and changed forever.
Amir, after the kite competion goes looking for Hassan, and finds him being raped by Assef. In the moment, Amir makes a decion that will change both his and Hassan's entire lives, "I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan- they way he stood up for me all those imes in the past- and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end, I ran. I ran because I was a coward" (Hosseini 77). Amir decided to run and leave Hassan behind, this reveals Amir's true character. -
Amir won the Kite fighting competition
After all his preperations, and nervousness towards the event, Amir fought hard for hours and as a result, Amir was the final kite in the sky, "You won Amir, Amir agha! You won!" (Hosseini 66) This event is significant to the rest of the story because it is a day that Amir will remeber for his entire life. Also throughout the rest of the story Amir's last kite fight becomes a source of symbolism as well as a mark of the Kabul he used to know. -
Amir, turns 13 and Baba throws him a huge party
While Amir is wandering around his party, thanking guests, he expresses, "I turned thirteen that summer of 1976.. I kissed hundreds of cheeks, hugged total strangers, thanked them for their gifts. My face ached from the strain of my plastered smile" (Hosseini 94-95). This event portrays that Amir & Baba's relationship is mostly for display. As well as this, the fake smile Amir paints on illustrates that his cowardly actions from the past have destoyed the child like happiness within him. -
The communst group Invaded ("The end, the offical end")
Amir is explaining how eveyrhing in Kabul, the life he knows and understands, is changing. In sorrow, Amir claims, "The end, the offical end would come in April 1978, with the communist group d'etat..." (Hosseini 36). 1978 is a key year to the novel because it is the year that marks the death of the Afghanistan Amir knew & called home. In this year, as their entire lives took a dramatic turn, the rest of the story unfolds as it forces Amir and Baba too flee the country and persue different lives -
Russian tanks started appearing in Kabul
Amir, is expressing the result of the "offical end" and he says, "... [T]hen in Decemeber 1979...Russian tanks would roll into the very same streets where Hassan and I played, bringing the death to the Afghanistan I knew...marking the start of a still ongoing era of bloodshedding" (Hoesseini 36). In this moment, Amir's life took a sharp turn causing him to evolve mentally, & physically. This forces Amir to flee the country & begin a new life in which he is scared by his horrific past. -
First Soviet troops entered Kabul
The first soviet union troops parachuted into Kabul to assist Babrak Karmal. Babrak Karmal, was president in a coup witin the Afghan Communist Leadership. Moscow claimed the troops came in repsonse to a call for help from from Karmal Government. However most western analysts say the engineered coup was a pretext to replace Hafizullah Amin, the no longer trusted Afghan Leader. -
Baba and Amir, begin their new lives in America
After being in Freemont California for a short time, Amir states, "Baba loved the idea of ameirca. It was living in America that gave him an ulcer" (Hosseini 125). The idea of opportunity & safety seemed so promising, however, when they actually arrived they were drained of their power and prestigious name which only made the change harder on Baba. Their new lifestyle caused some emotionally challenges on Baba which strangely enough resulting in Amir and Baba growing closer. -
Baba and Amir, escape Afghanistan
Amir expresses his his thoughts while he crushed up against strangers & while feeling very car sick says, "... Karim was a people smuggler- it was a pretty lucrative bussiness then, driving people out of Shorawi - occupied Kabul to the realtive saftey of Pakistan" (Hosseini 111). As Baba & Amir escape their country they are unfolding new chapters of their lives which otherwise would have never of occured. This escape causes a mental impact on Amir, which could poentially affect him negatively. -
Amir graduates from American High School
Amir finally adjuesting to American lifestyle & thriving in school, Amir says, "...I graduated high school at the age of twenty, by far the oldest senior tossing his mortarboard on the football field that day" (Hosseini 131). Amir's new life in America is proving to give him greater opportunities which is all Baba had hoped for. Amir can now make more of himself then he could back in the war zone he used to call home. Once again, Baba made a sacrifice for the good of others. -
Amir finished his first novel
Amir, during the summer of 1988 says, "I finished my first novel, a father-son story set in Kabul" (Hosseini 182). The finishing of his first novel, signifies that Amir has finally adjusted to american lifestyle. However, that fact that the novel revolves around Kabul and a father son relationship proves that Amir, still even as a grown man can not let go of the life he used to have... his past. -
Last Soviet troops left Afghanistan
Once they departed they left behind, a country that had become a beacon to Islamic extemists across the globe, and a country that a is now completed devistated. -
Soraya tell her parents that she can not bare a child
After a plethora of tests, and experiments, the doctor conclude that Soraya can not bare a child. In complete dispair, Soraya, "broke the news to her parents the weekend after our last visit with Dr. Rosen" (Hosseini 186). Married life without a child, completley changes the dynamics of Amir and Soraya's relationship. As well as this, the absence of a child affects both Amir and his wife emotionally. Having no one to pass on his wisdom to, could have stunted Amir's chances to evolve mentally. -
Pakistani intelligence officers become involved with Mullah Omar's men
The Pakistani intelligence officers began funneling arms, money, and supplies to Mullah Omar's men. -
Mullah Omar's Popular movement
By the end of 1994 Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers, and was rolling up the warlords to the north and the east. With his promises of restoring the centrality of Islam to daily life, he created a genuinely popular movement in a country weary of corruption and brutality. -
Taliban (the extremist group)
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Taliban had taken control of Afghanistan
Buoyed by Pakistani aid, the taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law. Banning movies, music, and forcing women out of school, and into all enveloping burqa clothing. -
Amir, recieves the phone call from Rahim Khan
Amir while living in America recieves a phone call from Rahim Khan asking him to return to Afghanistan as he is sick & wishes to say goodbye. The phone conversation leaves Amir restless as Rahim Khan had said, "There is a way to be good again" (Hosseini 192). Amir knows he must return to Kabul and right his wrongs. The will it takes to return will prove the worth of his character. On top of this, Amir craves to be like Baba and try to atone for his mistakes that still haunt him at night. -
The Attack on the World Trades Center
The taliban, lead by Osama Bin Laden, took control over a passenger aircraft and crashed it into the New York Twin towers, killing hundreds. -
United States became military involved in Afghanistan
The U.S.A. Led an invasion after the sept 11 attacks by Al Qaeda. This 2001 invasion succeeded in dislodging Al Qaeda and removing the taliban from power, but not in eradicating either group. With the American military efforts focused on Iraq, the Taliban made a steady comeback, fueled by profits from the opium trade, disatisfaction with the weak and often corrupt Afghan government, and the safe havens in Pakistan -
General Petraeus had taken charge of the United States central command
General Petraeus, the Iraq commander, took charge of the United States central command in 2008. Petraeous was responsible for military operations, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and across the region -
President Obama delivers speech
The speech president Obama gave at West Point was to announce his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops.