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Amir's mother dies
AMir's life would have changed greatly if he grew up with a mother figure however she died from childbirth. Amir states, "It was there, in that litle shack, that Hassan was born in the winter of 1964, just one year after my mother died giving birth to me"(Hosseini, 6) Without his mother, Baba was his only parent and could never fill the place of his mother. -
Hassan is born
Hassan was born "in that litle shack, that Hassan was born in the winter of 1964, just one year after my mother died giving birth to me"(pg. 6 Hosseini)." If Amir and Hassan's ages weren't as close their relationship wouldn't be as strong -
Hassan's mom leaves him
Hassan's mother left him "less than a week after he was born" (Hosseini, pg. 6). The fact that Amir and Hassan both know what it feels like to grow up without a mother strenghthens their relationship because thaey understand each other better. -
Amir wins the Kite Race!
When Amir won the Kite race he was very excited, "Then the moment came. I closed my eyes and loosened my grip on the string. It sliced my fingers again as the wind dragged it. And then... I didn't need to hear the crowd's roar to know. I didn't need to see either. Hassan was screaming and his arm was wrapped around my neck." -
Hassan gets sexually abused by Assef
After going after the kite, Hassan got taken advantage of because of his race. Amir just watched as "Assef yelped as he flung himself at Hassan, knocking him to the ground.(pg.73)" Hassan getting raped changed Amir's life more than it did Hassan's because from that moment on Amir new he would live with that guilt forever. -
Hassan and Ali move
When ali announces that he and Hassan will be leaving Baba starts to "sob. Fathers weren't supposed to cry."(pg. 107) Amir didn't know, but the reason Baba was crying so much was because Hassan is his son, however they had to leave because Amir was endangering Hassan. -
Soviet Union invades Afghanistan
On December 27th, 1979, "the first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul." -
Amir and Baba arrive in AMerica
Amir and Baba escaped from their old lives and moved to America, Baba says he "loved the idea of America"(pg. 125). Escaping from Afghanistan was very hard for them and once they reach AMerica they feel safe and happy, especially sice Amir will be able to go to a real college. -
Ali dies
Rahim Khan explains to Amir that Ali "had been killed by a land mine."(207) WHen AMir recieves this news he feels as if his death was his own fault because if he was nicer to Hassan they wouldn't have had to move back to Kabul. -
Baba has cancer
When Baba goes to visit the doctor, the doctor says that he has "the cancer's metastasized"(pg. 159), which means that it has started to affect his brain, giving him less time to live. In this time Amir rushes to make Baba proud of him and marries Soraya. -
Baba dies
When Baba went to sleep but "never woke up" Amir gets torn between 2 worlds. Rahim Khan calls, asking him to come back to Afghanistan however he doesn't know if he wants to leave the safety of the US and risk his life. -
Amir and Soraya get married
Amir says, "I remember walking toward the stage, now in my tuxedo, Soraya a veiled pari in white, our hands locked."(pg.170) THis is the first day of the rest of his life. Although he would never be able to forget his relationship with Hassan, this marks a new beginning of self-respect, honor and courage. -
Soviets left Afghanistan
After tearing apart Afghanistan and some "peace talks moderated by the United Nations, the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in Febuary 1989." -
Taliban started obtaining followers
After getting hurt by the soviets, Mullah Omar "gathered a small band of men and attacked a group of warlords...By the end of 1994 Mullah Omar had nearly 12000 followers." -
Taliban takes over Afghanistan
Well funded by Pakistan, the Taliban "had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalism Islamic law" by 1996. -
Amir saves Sohrab
When Amir tries to atone for what he did to Hassan he fights for Hassan's son Sohrab even though he is the clear underdog in the fight. Assef says to him, "only one of us will walk out of this room alive"(187). Even though he practically sacraficed his life to atone for what he did for Hassan, he still didn't reach atonement because it was too late. -
The Taliban attaked the World Trade Center
The Taliban destroyed the World trade center, killing and injuring many people. -
The search for Osama bin Laden started
After the tradgedy of 9/11, "President George W Bush gave the Taliban an ultimatum to hand over Mr. bi Laden" however they refused. -
A new leader for Afghanistan
Hamid Karzai, a relative of the king before the Taliban, "was named chairman of an interim government that replaced the defeated Taliban, making him the leader of the country. -
Sorhab commits suicide
Amir tells Sorhab that he might need to go back to the orphanage, he reacts more severely than Amir thought he would have thought, when Amir finds Sorhab committing suicide he started "screaming until [he] thought [his] throat would rip out and [his] chest would explode." Although after this dramatic experience, Soraya gives up hope in Sorhab, Amir continues to believe in him and the life they can have together. -
Peace in Afghanistan
Hamid Karzai said, "he hoped to secure peace for Afghanistan and win the country much-needed international aid. As a result, he "was elected to a five-year term as president in 2004." -
They arrive in California
After many difficult obstacles, they finally "arrived home...on a warm day in August 2001"(pg. 357). This marks the new begining of Sorhabs life with Amir and Soraya. The fact that Amir says "home" means he feels safe. -
A new central command officer in US
As a result of his great job in Iraq, General Petraeus "had taken charge of the United States Central Command in October 2008." -
Obama's speech
In an attempt to keep the peace, "Mr. Obama announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops." He also "vowed to start bringing American forces home from Afghanistan in the middle of 2011 -
Amir publishes his book
When Amir publishes his book and it becomes so popular that "the publisher sent [him] on a give-city tour."(183), he is given the confidence to take a chance and move to Afghanistan.
