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Amir is Born and his Mother Dies in Labor
The birth of Amir caused his mother to die, which Baba always resented Amir for. When he was born, his, "mother died giving birth to him" (Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014). This is an important event, because it shows how from the time he was born, Baba blamed him and he could never reach Baba's expectations of a good son after such a heartbreaking event had occured. -
Hassan is Born and Saunabar Runs Away
Saunabar gives birth to Hassan, and then runs away to live a completely new life. No one she knew, "had seen Saunabar since she had eloped with a band of singers and dancers in 1964, just after she had given birth to Hassan" (Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014). Saunabar is unhappy with her marriage to Ali, and is wild and rebellious. Her rebellion leads her to abandon her husband and child, which is difficult for Hassan. -
Amir Writes his First Short Story
Amir decides to make up a story to trick Hassan, which Hassan ends up enjoying. Amir decides to try to write and, "wrote [his] first short story" (Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014). This leads to him discovering a passion for writing and becoming a writer when he gets older. The encouragement he got from Rahim Khan on this first story also created a trust binding him and Rahim Khan, and a realization that he could succeed in things apart from his father's hobbies. -
Hassan gets Harelip Surgery
Hassan was born with a deformed mouth, making it difficult for him to smile and talk. Baba decides to fund a surgery for him as a birthday present. "Baba, Rahim Khan, Ali, and [Amir] had huddled around Hassan's bed, watching him examine his new lip in a handheld mirror" (Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014). This event is important, because it begins to reveal the secret Baba kept about him being Hassan's father. He cared for his son, Hassan, and paid for his surgery. -
Assef Rapes Hassan in an Allyway
After a victorious kite race for Hassan and Amir, Hassan runs to go pick up their kite. Amir is looking to find Hassan, when he sees him with their older neighborhood bully, Assef. Assef, "unzipped his jeans. Dropped his underwear. He positioned himself behind Hassan" (Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.) Amir watched Assef rape Hassan, and did not do anything to stop it. This event followed Amir around for the rest of his life, and the guilt deeply burdened him. -
Annual Kite Race
The upcoming Kite Running Tournament has created excitement in Hassan and Amir's neighborhood, and they could, "hardly go anywhere without hearing talk of the upcoming tournament" (Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014). This tournament is a key turning point in the novel, because after the kite race, Amir watches Hassan get raped and chooses to be selfish instead of defending his best and only friend. This event shapes both of their lives, and divides them forever. -
Period: to
History of Afghanistan
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Amir's 13th Birthday
Amir, "turned thirteen that summer of 1976, Afghanistan's next to last summer of peace and anonymity" (Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014). Amir's birthday foreshadows him reuniting with Assef towards the end of the novel, when Assef shows up at his party and gifts him the autobiography of Hitler. The birthday also includes Amir framing Hassan for stealing his money, and forces Hassan out of their house, devastating Baba. -
Soviet Union Invasion
"At the end of December 1979, the Soviet Union sent thousands of troops into Afghanistan and immediately assumed complete military and political control of Kabul and large portions of the country." Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs. “The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and the U.S. Response, 1978–1980.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 9 May 2017, history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/soviet-invasion-afghanistan. -
Baba and Amir flee Afghanistan
Baba and Amir flee Afghanistan as it becomes hostile and unsafe. The Afghanistan they one new is now a place where a singer who knew Amir, "had gone for a drive with some friends, and someone had later found his body on the side of the road, a bullet in the back of his head" (Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014). Political turmoil made Afghanistan a violent and dangerous place. Baba was able to afford to take him and Amir away and to safety, while many others suffered. -
Amir Meets and Falls in Love With Soraya
Amir works with his dad at a local market where he takes notice of one of the girls also working there with her family. He started thinking about her all the time, and thought about, "the way dappled sunlight had danced in Soraya's eyes, and of the delicate hollows of her collarbone" (Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014). It is as he began to notice her that he fell deeply in love with her. Shortly after, they married and had a happy life together. -
Rahim Khan Goes Out to Find Hassan
Rahim Khan is living alone in Baba's old house, when he decides to find Hassan, who was living in Hazarajat. Rahim Khan had, "a lot of reasons why [he] went to Hazarajat to find Hassan in 1986" (Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014). Rahim Khan really went to find Hassan, because he was lonely and needed someone to help him as he was becoming ill. Him bringing Hassan back to Kabul helped Hassan reunite with his mother and start a new life. -
Amir Publishes his First Novel
Amir has worked at home and at school to become a published writer, and finally, "In the summer of 1988,... [he] finished [his] first novel, a father-son story set in Kabul" (Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014). Amir becoming a published writer signifies him finding his own path. His whole life, he has worked to please Baba and gain his affection, but now he decides to follow his passion of writing against his father's wishes, because he knows this is what he loves. -
Soviet troops leave Afghanistan
"The last Soviet troops left Afghanistan on Feb. 15, 1989, ending an occupation that lasted more than nine years." findingDulcinea Staff. “On This Day: Soviet Troops Leave Afghanistan.” FindingDulcinea, FindingDulcinea Staff, 15 Feb. 2011, www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/Feb/On-this-Day--Soviet-Troops-Leave-Afghanistan.html. -
Sanaubar Returns to find Hassan
Hassan's mother, Saunabar, left him right after he was born. She comes back to find him in Kabul shortly after the birth of his child. Sanaubar revealed her identity to Hassan when she told him, "'You smiled coming out of me'" (Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014). Saunabar's return at first makes Hassan angry, but eventually he opens up to her and helps her raise his child. Saunabar raising his child, Sohrab, helps her atone for abandoning Hassan when he was born. -
Afghanistan descended into strife
" 50 mujahedeen fighters ambushing a column of 13 Soviet and hundreds of soldiers." Hume, Mark. “From Afghanistan Strife to Kamloops Quiet Life.” The Globe and Mail, The Globe and Mail, 28 Mar. 2017, beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/from-afghanistan-strife-to-kamloops-quiet-life/article976320/?ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theglobeandmail.com& -
Mullah Omar gains followers rapidly
"Mullah Omar, was a unifying force for a deeply fractured organization." France-Presse, Agence. “Mullah Omar's Death: Taliban's Loss, Islamic State's Gain.” Public Radio International, OZY Media News, 30 July 2015, www.pri.org/stories/2015-07-30/mullah-omars-death-talibans-loss-islamic-states-gain. -
Taliban takes control of Afghanistan
"The Taliban is a predominantly Pashtun, Islamic fundamentalist group that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001" Laub, Zachary. “The Taliban in Afghanistan.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, 4 July 2014, www.cfr.org/backgrounder/taliban-afghanistan. -
Hamid Karzai is named chairman of an interim government
"Karzai, who has been head of the country's interim government since December, said he wanted to be sworn into the transitional position Wednesday." CNN. “Karzai Names Key Cabinet Ministers.” CNN, Cable News Network, 19 June 2002, www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/central/06/19/afghan.council/. -
Amir flies back to Pakistan
Rahim Khan calls Amir and asks him to visit, because he is sick. Amir talks to his wife and says, "'I have to go to Pakistan'". (Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014). This visit is where Amir meets Sohrab, and his whole life changes. It also shows his loyalty to Rahim Khan, and how he is willing to uproot his life to visit him. -
Amir and Sohrab Arrive in San Francisco
After working through legal issues to get Sohrab out of Afghanistan, Amir and Sohrab are finally free to go home to America. They, "arrived home...on a warm day in August 2001" (Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014). This is a breaking point for Sohrab and Amir, because it is a promise of a better life for Sohrab and a future away from the orphanages in Afghanistan that traumatized him deeply. They struggled in many ways to leave, and are finally free to go home. -
Sohrab Attempts Suicide
Amir tells Sohrab that he will have to put him back in an orphanage in order to get legal custody of him. Amir promised him he would not have to be sent back into an orphanage. Sohrab was horrified by this and attempted to commit suicide. When he was found and saved he was still upset and told Amir, "'I wish you had left me in the water'" (Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014). Amir learns here not to go back on his promises and how trust is vital in any relationship. -
Attack on the World Trade Center in New York
"On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States." History.com Staff, History.com Staff. “9/11 Attacks.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 16 Oct. 2017, www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks. -
General Petraeus takes charge of United States Central Command
"Gen. David H. Petraeus, formerly commander of Multi-National Force - Iraq." “Gen. David Petraeus Assumes Command of CENTCOM.” U.S. Central Command, The United States of America, 31 Oct. 2008, www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/PRESS-RELEASES/Press-Release-View/Article/903524/gen-david-petraeus-assumes-command-of-centcom/. -
Obama announces a plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops
" President Barack Obama announced Wednesday night that all the 33,000 additional U.S. forces he ordered to Afghanistan in December 2009 will be home within 15 months." Kassim, Aliza, et al. “Obama Announces Afghanistan Troop Withdrawal Plan.” CNN, Cable News Network, 23 June 2011, www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/06/22/afghanistan.troops.drawdown/index.html. -
Obama removes Gen. McChrystal
"Mr. Obama, aides say, consulted with advisers — some, like Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who warned of the dangers of replacing General McChrystal, others, like his political advisers, who thought he had to go." Landler, Mark. “Short, Tense Deliberation, Then a General Is Gone.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 June 2010, www.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/us/politics/24decide.html. -
Obama administration disregards 2011 deadline to bring home American troops
" President Obama said Wednesday that he planned to leave 8,400 American troops in Afghanistan until the end of his term, further slowing the drawdown in a 14-year war that Mr. Obama pledged to end on his watch but now seems likely to grind on indefinitely." Landler, Mark. “Obama Says He Will Keep More Troops in Afghanistan Than Planned.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 July 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/07/07/world/asia/obama-afghanistan-troops.html.