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Hassan's Harelip Surgery
As a birthday present, Baba arranged for Hassan to have his harelip fixed, but Amir thought, "Its wasn't fair. Hassan hadn't done anything to earn Baba's afections; he'd just been born with that stupid harelip" (Hosseini 46). Amir was jealous that Baba would give Hassan, his servant's son, such a big gift on his birthday. He has forever been trying to get his father's sympathy, and thought Hassan did not deserve it, which makes Amir resent Hassan for that. -
Assef Rapes Hassan
After the kite tournament, Amir watched as Assef cornered Hassan and raped him. Before the raping could occur, Assef told Hassan, "I'm letting you keep the kite, Hazara. I'll let you keep it so it will always remind you of what I'm about to do" (Hosseini 73). For all the things Hassan has ever done for Amir, Amir was selfish and did not follow his good morals, by neglecting Hassan in his time of need. Amir had left Hassan to suffer, causing much damage to their relationship and way of living. -
Aftermath of Kite Tournament
Amir and Hassan came home after winning the kite tournament and, "Baba and Rahim Khan were drinking tea and listening to the news crackling on the radio. Their heads turned. Then a smile played on [Baba's] lips. He opened his arms" (Hosseini 79). Amir felt overlly happy that Baba had finally showed affection towards him, and he didn't want the feeling of his approval to end. Amir's goal has always been to gain Baba's love, so when Baba hugged him, Amir felt a sensation of warmth and happiness. -
Soviet Union Invaded Afghanistan
The Soviet Union suffered many casualities while in Afghanistan. The Soviet Union spent much time in Afghanistan, and in fact, "Soviet troops stayed in the country for more than nine years, fighing a conflict that cost them roughly 15000 lives and undisclosed billions of rubles..." (NYT). -
Period: to
Kite Runner and the history of Aghanistan
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Ronald Reagan Becomes President
When Ronald Reagan became President of the US, "Baba went out and bought a picture of the grinning president giving a thumbs up" (Hosseini 126). Baba truly admired Reagan and saw very highly of him, considering he placed his picture upon the wall next to the one of baba shaking King Zahir Shah's hand. Baba very much supported Ronald Reagan and what he stood for, clearly. -
Amir and Baba Leave Kabul
Amir and Baba were forced to leave Kabul in the middle of the night because, "The rafiqs, the comrades, were everywhere and they'd split Kabul into two groups: those who eavesdropped and those who didn't" (Hosseini 112). This invasion of the Russians left Amir feeling frightened and unsure of what to do because he was not used to seeing Russian tanks roaming the streets. Amir had no clue if he would see his home again, and wanted it all to be a dream because he couldn't fathom leaving home. -
Baba's New Life in America
Baba went to buy fruit at the gas station, and wrote a check for payment, but when the clerk asked for an ID, Baba yelled, "Almost two years we've bought his damn fruits and put money in his pocket and the son of a dog wants to see my license!" (Hosseini 127). Baba still hasn't fully adjusted to America, especially since he went from being at the top of the social hierarchy to the bottom. America was very different from Afghanistan, causing Baba to not really like it there and yearn to go home. -
Back in America
Amir was at a video store when he spoiled a movie for some stranger, which was when Amir, "Learned that, in America, you don't reveal the ending of the movie, and if you do, you will be scorned" (Hosseini 357). Amir saw nothing wrong in telling someone a movie's ending, but in America you didn't do that, and like his relationship with Sohrab, they wouldn't know if there would be a happy ending until they see the whole thing through. Amir wanted the best for Sohrab and would do anything for him. -
Amir Meets His Future Wife
At the Afghan flea market in America, Amir met his future wife for the first time and he watched as, "She walked to a dull gray van two aisles away...for the rest of that day, [he] fought the urge to look toward the gray van" (Hosseini 141). Amir had never had a love interest before this, hence, this girl was all that was on Amir's mind day and night. He heard word about her sinful past, but that didn't bother Amir because he had a past too, and all that mattered to him was who she was now. -
Soviet Union Left Afghanistan
The Soviet Union withdrawals from Afghanistan, after peace talks. The country was, "not only devastated by the war but that had become a beacon to Islamic extremists from across the globe who had come to assist in the fighting, including Osama bin Laden and the group he helped found, Al Qaeda" (NYT). -
Sanaubar Re-enters Hassan's Life
Hassan's long lost mother, Sanaubar, had appeared at his door step one day and Hassan, "Took Sanaubar's hand in both of his and told her she could cry if she wanted to but she needn't, she was home now" (Hosseini 210). Hassan's mother left him at birth and he never had even met the lady until now, causing him to feel angered towards her. Although, he came to realize that it was better to forgive and make ammends with Sanaubar, so that they may live together in harmony and make up for lost time. -
Amir's Thoughts While Driving Back Into Kabul
Amir was driving in the car with Farid as they entered Kabul and remembered that the, "Mujahedin forces [had] showered Kabul with rockets between 1992 and 1996, inflicting much of the damage [he] was witnessing now" (Hosseini 245). Amir was shocked at the condition he saw Kabul in, which made it hard to remeber it as the place it had been long ago, when he was young. Much had changed since Amir had last been there, and it wasn't pleasant for him to see his homeland in such a disasterous state. -
The Beginning of Mullah Omar
Mullah Omar was a Taliban that had much popularity. He had about 12,000 followers and, "Wth his promise of restoring the centrality of Islam to daily life, he created a genuinely popular movement in a country weary of corruption and brutality" (NYT). -
Taliban Take Over Afghanistan
With the help of Pakistan, the Talibans took over Afghanistan by, "imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law, banning movies and music and forcing women out of schools and into all-enveloping burqa clothing" (NYT). -
Hassan Is Afraid for the Hazaras
Everyone thought the daily fighting was over when the Taliban came to Kabul, but Hassan said, "God help the Hazaras now" (Hosseini 213). Hassan was right to talk of the Taliban that way, because the Taliban were a curse more than a blessing, which everyone came to know soon enough. He knew the Hazara people would be in touble, so Hassan feared very much for himself and his family about what was to come in the future. -
Rahim Talks with Amir
Rahim told Amir of what the Taliban had been doing in Kabul, and mentioned how he was hit by one them at a soccer stadium in 1998, and he, "Pointed to a scar above his right eye cutting a crooked path through his bushy eyebrow" (Hosseini 198). Amir knew it was no longer a sugar coated fact that the Taliban had been evil to Afghanistan, as he had heard first hand. Amir came to realize that while he was fortunate enough to escape from Kabul, many of his friends were still stuck there suffering. -
Hassan and Farzana are Killed
Rahim Khan told Amir that Hassan and Farzana died and all Amir could say was, "No. No. No." (Hosseini 219). Amir could only speak these words because he had never even gotten to apologize to Hassan or what he did to him when they were young, and he could never do it now. Hassan had been so selfless that he was killed because he was taking care of Baba's house in Kabul, and after what happened in that house when he was young, Amir never expected him to go back, which made him feel even worse. -
Rahim Khan Summons Amir
Amir got a call from Rahim Khan and learned that he was sick and needed Amir to go back to Afghanistan, so Amir than, "Lowered the phone into the cradle and stared at it for a long time" (Hosseini 190). Amir didn't know why he was being beckoned back to Afghanistan, but learning Rahim was very ill caused him to feel very worried. The fact that Rahim needed Amir to go back to Afghanistan during such a dangerous time meant something was very wrong, so Amir was very scared to see what was to come. -
September 11, 2001
The Talibans attacked the World Trade Center in New York in 2001. President bush gave ultimatum to hand over Osama bid Laden, but when the Talibans refused, "the United states joined forces with rebel groups that had never accepted Taliban rule... . An air and ground campaign began that drove the Taliban out of the major Afghan cities by the end of the year" (NYT). -
Hamid Karzai Becomes Afghanistan's President
Hamid Karzai became the leader of Afghanistan, after the Taliban were defeated. Karzai took office in June of 2002 saying, "he hoped to secure peace for Afghanistan and win the country much-needed international aid" (NYT). -
Amir Goes Back Home with Sohrab
Amir had helped Sohrab run a kite, which made Sohrab smile for the first time since he arrrived in America and, "It didn't make evrything all right. It didn't make anything all right...But I'll take it. With open arms" (Hosseini 371). Amir had tried so hard to make Sohrab feel loved, but him not smiling made him feel hopeless, as if it was a mistake bringing him to the US. Though, when he smiled, it showed there was a chance that everything would be alright one day and that they'd live happily. -
The Talibans Rise Once Again
The U.S. miltary's attention was all on Iraq, therfore allowing the Taliban to, "extend its influence in the southern part of Afghanistan. Their rise was assisted by a resurgent opium trade, which helped to fill the group's coffers" (NYT). -
Documents Leaked
A 6 year collection of classified documents was leacked through Wikileaks and, "painted a bleak, ground-level view of the conflict. They amounted to a daily diary of an American-led force often starved for resources and attention as it struggled against an insurgency that grew larger, better coordinated and more deadly each year" (NYT). -
Petraeus Takes Charge of US Central Command
General Petraeus was an Iraq commander who got most of the credit for the successful surge there. He took charge of the US Central Command with, "responsibility for military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and across the region" (NYT). -
Obama's Plan
President delivered a Speech in 2009 stating, "his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops" (NYT). Then, in 2011, he vowed, "to start bringing American forces home from Afghanistan...saying the United States could not afford and should not have to shoulder an open-ended commitment" (NYT).