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Hassan gets surgery on his
Hassan was born with a deformity called a cleft lip. For his birthday, Baba payed for Hassan to have a surgery to remove it. After Hassan had his surgery "it was just a pink jagged line running up from his lip. By the following winter, it was only a faint scar" (Hosseini 47). This is a major point in the book because Hassan is bullied by his cleft lip and it represents why his mother left. The fact that Baba was giving him this surgery only added to Amir's jealousy. -
Amir wins kite competition
Amir says that he will go to the kite completion after feeling like he isn't good enough for his dad. After winning the Kite Competition, "I was throwing my free arm around Hassan and we were hopping up and down, both of us laughing, both of us weeping" (Hosseini 66). This is an extremely relevant event in the book because it was the peak of Hassan and Amir's relationship. Therefore, this was also the last time they would share a moment like this. -
Hassan gets raped; Amir doesn't tell anyone and feels guilty
When playing a Kite game in Kabul, Assef, a boy that doesn't like hazard's like Hassan, raped him in front of Amir. Amir kept that secret and has felt guilty ever since. Amir had wanted Hassan to throw pomegranates at him and he said,"I wished he'd gave me the punishment I craved, so maybe I'd finally sleep at night" (Hosseini 92). This is a significant event because this guilt carries with Amir for his entire life. This also characterizes Amir for his cowardliness which shapes his character. -
Amir's 13th Birthday
For Amir's thirteenth birthday, Baba through a large party at their house and invited everyone they knew. But, Amir said, "I didn't want any to it it was all like blood money; Baba would have never thrown me a party like that if I hadn't won the tournament" (Hosseini 101). This contributes to the shaky relationship between Amir and Baba. Amir was making Baba proud but he want proud of himself, so he wasn't satisfied. -
Hassan and Ali leave
After the rape, Amir hid his Christmas money and his new expensive watch underneath their mattress. Baba forgave them but Ali chose to leave and Amir " caught one final blurry glimpse of Hassan slumped in the back seat before Baba turned left tat the street corner where we'd played marbles so many times" (Hosseini 109). This is important because this is the last time that Amir will ever see Hassan. This also makes Amir feel more instead of less guilty about what he had done. -
Soviet Afghan War 1979-1989
The first invasion of Russia caused a fight back from the Afghans, The Soviet-Afghan War. The war "lasted over nine years, from December 1979 to February 1989. Insurgent groups known collectively as the mujahideen, as well as smaller Maoist groups, fought a guerrilla war against the Soviet Army and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan government, mostly in the rural countryside"(Wikipedia "Soviet-Afghan War"). -
Soviet Invades
Years before the first invasion, Britain has lost a war against Afghanistan for its independence from Britain and Russia wanted to control it, putting political advisement in Afghan office. The British and the soviets both wanted Afghanistan so "The first soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 27, 1979, to assist Babrak Karmal, who had become president with the afghan communist leadership" (The New York Times). -
Afghans Fled Afghanistan
War was erupting and over a million people were being killed in Pakistan from Soviets. Over the course of a few years "about 3 million refugees fled to Pakistan and 1.5 million to Iran... with the school system largely destroyed, industrialization severely restricted and large irrigation projects badly damaged, the economy of the country was crippled" ("Afghanistan and the United Nations"). -
Baba and Amir Finally Get to Peshawar
In March of 1981, Baba and Amir travel from Kabul, Afghanistan to Peshawar, Pakistan to flee the bombings and corrupt people in Kabul. They had come across many obstacles on their way but Amir knew "we'd be on our way to Peshawar. On to freedom. On to safety" (Hosseini 119). This was a major point in the book because this majorly changed their lives. This was the start of the hard adjustment of loosing everything and having to start over after a long journey. -
Amir and Baba leave Afghanistan
War had been going on in Afghanistan so Baba decided that they had to leave. Amir said on the way to Peshawar, "Tomorrow morning, I'd wake up peek out the window: no grim-faced Russian soldiers patrolling the sidewalks, no tanks rolling up and down the streets of my city... no rubble, no curfews, no Russian army personnel carriers weaving though the bazaars" (Hosseini 113). After this, every afghans life would change. This was also the beginning of devastating wars and Amir's life in America. -
Amir Meets Soraya
When Amir and Baba are working at the flea market, Amir meets a woman named Soraya. While enchanted by her beauty, amir describes how "she had thick black eyebrows that touched in the middle like arched wings of a flying bird, and the gracefully hooked nose of a princess..." (Hosseini 140). The extremely detailed description of Soraya's beauty shows how much Amir loves Soraya. After seeing her beauty, he made it is life's mission to meet her. -
Ali is Killed by a Land Mine
When Ali was in Bamiyan, his leg was finally fully giving out because of his polio. Ali "had been killed by a land mine two years before, just outside of Bamiyan. A land mine. Is there a more Afghan way of dying" (Hosseini 206). This is a devastating event because Ali was an important figure to Hassan, Baba, and Amir. This event also led to Hassan living with Rahim Khan in Baba's old house. -
Amir gets married
Soraya and Amir were in love and they decided to get married with Baba and General Taheri's permission. At their wedding, "Khanum Taheri burst into fresh tears. Slowly, Soraya came to us, tailed by a procession of young female relatives' (Hosseini 169). This is start of relationship that lasts most of the novel. This also is the beginning of some difficulties and bumps in the road for Amir and Soraya. -
Amir publishes his first novel
Since Amir was a boy he was writing novels. Normal jobs weren't working for him in America so Soraya suggested submitting it to a publishing agency. He got replies from a new your agency and "a month later, Martin [publisher] called and informed me I was going to be a published novelist" (Hosseini 183). Amir's novelist journey occurs in the entire book and was a bonding experience for him and Hassan. This is also how Baba and Amir finally connect and baba is proud of him when he dies. -
Sanubar Returns/Dies
In 1990, Sanubar, Hassan's mother, shows up to Baba's old house where Hassan now lives with Rahim Kahn. Sanubar and Hassan rekindle their empty relationship but Sanubar only "lived to see [Sohrab] turn four, and then, one morning, she just did not wake up. She looked calm, at peace, like she did not mind dying now" (Hosseini 211). This is major point in the novel that brings tears to readers. This also ensures readers that Sanubar lovers her son but only left because of social standards. -
Taliban Takeover
The Taliban had started as a Afghan student movement against the soviets for raped a girl, and within a year had 12,000 followers. Pakistan, Afghanistans ally, had suppled them with weapons and so they took over Afghanistan. In addition to enforcing unnecessary laws for woman, "the Taliban also provided a haven for Mr. Bin Laden.. and for Al Qaeda"(The New York Times). -
Sohrab gains Amir's trust
Sohrab gains Amir's trust when he agrees to go to America with Amir. Sohrab had said that he would think about it and"then his hand squeezed mine back. And he nodded. He nodded" (Hosseini 324). This is a crucial part of the story because this leads to many more devastating and happy things, such as miscommunication, suicide, and a smile. This also relates to Amir atoning for his sins by taking in Hassan's son when he had nowhere else to go. -
Hassan and Farzana killed
While Hassan and Farzara were living in Baba's old house with Rahim Kahn, the Taliban came to investigate if he was trespassing. They forced him to leave the house, he refused and they "... shot him in the back of the head.. 'No.' 'No.'No.'they hot her too. Self defense they claimed later. But all I could manage to whisper was 'No. No. No.' over and over again (Hosseini 219). This shows how cruel the Taliban is. This also shows Hassan diving protecting his rights as a Hazara. -
Taliban Resurgence
Even though the Taliban was defeated in 2001, by Al Qaeda, the Taliban was still alive and becoming stronger. In addition to re-influencing the southern part of Afghanistan, " the Taliban also spilled over into Pakistan, raising concerns about its stability, and making Afghanistan once more a top foreign policy priority fro the Western Allies" (The New York Times). -
Sohrab smiles
After hearing about the orphanage and the adoption, Sohrab was sad but Amir was trying is hardest to make him happy. Finally, after playing the kite game, "One corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile" (Hosseini 370). This represents that Sohrab is finally happy. Even thought they novel doesn't say specially, it shows that he is becoming more accustomed to America and Amir. -
9/11 Attack
The devastating attack on September 11, 2001 in New York City, U.S.A., killing thousands of people was said to be blamed on Afghanistan resistance group, Al Qaida. It is said that"al-Qaida operatives were busy planning the biggest attack of all: the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon" (history.com "Osama Bin Laden"). -
New Leader of Afghanistan
Hamid Karzai was a supporter and relative of Mohammad Zahir Shah who was exiled many years before, has become the interim government, to replace the Taliban and hope to reinstate peace. Even though we was elected for a 5 year term in 2004, he faced an "Afghan population that blamed him fro the manifest lack of economic process ad the corrupt officials who seem to stand at every doorway of his government" (The New York Times). -
Post 9/11 Invasion
After the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush wanted to find and kill Bin Laden. In an attempt to locate him "President George W. Bush gave the Taliban an ultimatum to hand-over Mr. Bin Laden" (The New York Times). They refused the offer so the U.S. joined forces with groups that also wanted Bin Laden and stated campaigns that drove him out of major Afghan cities. -
Bin Laden Dead
The U.S. has been hunting down and trying to corner Bin Laden for years. Finally, in 2011, "U.S. forces overtake a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and kill al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden on May 2 local time" -
U.S. Departure from Afghanistan
In 2009 President Obama of the U.S. announced that after years of fighting and millions of dollars, the U.S. forces will be leaving Afghanistan by 2014, assuming they are successful in fighting the Taliban. In addition to forces leaving, Afganistan's president and"his country's armed forces are taking over the lead for security nationwide from the US-led Nato coalition" (The Guardian "Afghanistan's security forces take over from Nato").
