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Amir's mother died giving birth to him one year before Hassan was born
Amir says how Hassan was born "just one year after my mother died giving birth to me" (6). The way that he phrased the sentence shows that Amir feels responsible for the death of his mother. He ached for her even though he has never met her. -
Period: to
The Kite Runner from 1963-2002
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"Hassan was born in the winter of 1964"
The servants' home was on "the south end of the graden, in the shadows of a loquat tree"(6). He was born in the servants home, a little shack, which shows his status in in society. His father was a servant of Amir's father which showed the relationship between Hassan and Amir. -
Hassan has surgery
Hassan gets surgery for his cleft lip. In Afghanistan he was not only made fun of for being a Hazara but also because of his lip. It was also the reason that Sanaubar left their family. -
The Winter of 1975
After witnessing the rape, Amir tried justifying not helping Hassan by saying, "he was just a Hazara, wasn't he? " (77). This was when Amir started treating Hassan more like a servant than a friend. He used the fact that Hazaras were looked down upon to make himself feel at peace with the decision that he made to run. -
Amir's 13th Birthday
At the night of his birthday party, Amir saw something he would never forget, "Hassan serving drinks to Assef and Wali from a silver platter" (100). After the incident, Amir feels a tension whenever Assef is close to Hassan. He feels different because of the guilt of the incident and he can't do anything about it. -
Invasion by the Soviet Union
The Soviet Invasion was a bloody scene that could compare to the Americans in Vietnam. It happened almost one hundred years after the imperial Russian government vied with Britain for influence in Central Asia -
Period: to
Afghanistan from 1979-2014
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The first Soviet troops parachuted into Kubal
Troops landed in Kabul to help Babrak Karmal. They stayed in the country for more than nine years. -
Russians Invade Afghanistan
The Russians invade Afghanistan causing to Baba and Amir to leave. They go o Jalalabad, Peshawar, and finally Pakistan. -
Amir meets Soraya at the flea market
Amir called Soraya his "swap meet princess" (144). This shows the importance of the Flea Market. In their new environment, this is where they spend most of their time. -
Amir gets married
It was in chapter 12 that Amir wanted Baba to ask "General Taheri for his daughter's hand." Baba was really sick at this point, but he still wanted to because of how important this milestone was. He really wanted to see Amir happy. -
Amir publishes his first book
This went against Afghanistan's expectations for a male because they were supposed to be athletic and manly. Amir, who was the opposite and very interested in writing, published his first book. This is important because of how he could still be successful in a field that is not normally for males. -
The last Soviet troops left Afghanistan
They left due to a unilateral withdrawal. They left a country with the effects of war and a call to all Islamist extremist to help out. -
Sohrab was born
This marks an important part of the book because this was Amir's opportunity for atonement. -
Mullah Omar had almost 12,000 followers
Mullah Omar a small group of men and women to attack warlords that had raped a girl and shaved her head. -
Pakistani intelligence officers assisting Mullah Omar
The officers started funneling arms, money, and supplies to Omar's men to help them in battle. -
The Taliban took control of Afghanistan
The Taliban enforced the fundamentals of Islamic law for example banning music and movies. Women were not allowed in schools. -
Hamid Karzai named chairman of new government.
After the defeat of the Taliban, a new intern government was established and the exiled former king of Afghanistan was named chairman. -
Amir gets Sohrab
Amir finds out that Assef is the one that has Hassan's son. That was when "his name escaped my lips: 'Assef'" (281). He fights Assef and Sohrab slingshots Assef in the eye that Hassan threatened to slingshot. They are really similar and it shows the relationship that Sohrab has with his father. -
Sohrab almost dies
Since Amir is "stained with Hassan's blood; [He prays] God doesn't let them get stained with the blood of his boy too" (346). Amir is still affected by what he did to Hassan all those years ago and he feels like it is happening all over again. He cares enough to make a vow that he will be a devout Muslim is Sohrab survives. -
Amir breaks Sohrab's trust
Amir "promised [he'd] never put [Sohrab] in one of those places," but he found out that was the only way he could adopt him. After Amir managed to gain Sohrab's trust, but had to break it in order to bring him back to America. This is what led him to attempting to commit suicide because of how bad the conditions were in the orphanage. -
Amir finds out that Hassan is his half brother
Baba once taught Amir that the only sin was theft yet he stole from Amir a "right to know [he] had a brother, from Hassan his identity, and from Ali his honor" (225). Amir was very hurt from finding out that his father was hypocritical. At this point was when Amir realized he and his father were not that different and they both had something to atone for. -
The attack of the world trade center
After the attacks President George W. Bush offered them an ultimatum to give up Bin Ladin. -
The Twin Towers Fall (the kite runner)
This shows us the date of the book in comparison to the article. It also showed us how Afghanistan was during the time that the towers fell. -
Sohrab and Amir fly a kite together
Sohrab and Amir fly a kite together. When Sohrab asks him to run the kite for him, Amir says "for you a million times over." This goes back to what Hassan said to Amir every time he would do something for him. It is extremely significant when he says it before he ran the kite for Sohrab because that is what Hassan did right before he got raped. This acts as his atonement. -
Obama announced in a speech
Mr. Obama announced in a speech his plan to deploy 30,000 more troops. He promised to bring back Americans from Afghanistan in 2011. -
Troops staying until 2014
The Obama administration emphasized that the United States will have forces in Afghanistan until at least the end of 2014