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Amir's Mother Dies In Child Birth
Amir thinks that one of the reasons Baba has never made an effort to be close to him is that he "had killed his beloved wife, his beautiful princess..." (Hosseini 19) Sofia Akrana hemorrhaging to death in child birth made Amir's birth a both joyous and mournful occasion for Baba. Even if Baba didn't hold his wife's death against Amir, this event affected Amir's whole childhood and his relationship with Baba a great deal. -
Hassan's Mother Joins a Band of Performers
Hassan's mother running away with a band of traveling performers shortly after his birth is "a fate most Afghans considered far worse than death..." (Hosseini 6) Especially coming from a deeply religious background like Hassan does, it is extremely difficult for him to accept that his mother could have done something so sinful. For this reason Hassan tries his best not to think about his mother, but her actions still cast a shadow over his life. -
Daoud Khan Overthrows the Monarchy
In an important pro development event, "Daoud Khan... ended the king's 40 year reign with a bloodless coup." (Hosseini 36) This swift, non violent coup represented a shift towards a more technologically and socially advanced Afghanistan. If the soviets had never invaded, Afghanistan today could be one of the most forward thinking countries in the middle east -
Hassan and Amir Win the Kite Tournament
Amir and Hassan come first place in the kite fighting tournament of the winter of 1975, finally earning the approval of Baba. Amir later remembers that winning the tournament was "the single greatest moment of [his] twelve years of life..." (Hosseini 66) Baba being proud of Amir was one of the last happy innocent moments his childhood. -
Assef rapes Hassan
One of Amir's most traumatic memories and the cause of much further suffering was Assef raping Hassan. Amir clearly recalls seeing Hassan's hopeless resignation through the fact that "Hassan didn't struggle. Didn't even whimper." (Hosseini) This is the pivotal moment in the plot that suddenly ends Hassan and Amir's close friendship. -
Rahim Khan Gives Amir a Notebook
On Amir's 13th birthday, Rahim Khan gifs him "a brown leather bound notebook" (Hosseini 99) for his stories. Of all the many presents Amir received for his birthday, this is the only one he really cared about. It later serves as a reminder of Rahim Khan's friendship and constant encouragement to keep following his dream of writing. -
Hassan and Ali leave
When Amir frames Hassan for stealing, Hassan willingly admits to it and chooses to leave forever, making one "final sacrifice for [Amir]." (Hosseini 105) Amir and Ali both forfeit lifelong relationships that they have built as well as their jobs in order to help Amir. In the future, this will be yet one more thing for Amir to regret and hate himself for. -
Soviet Invasion
All of the violence that has occurred in Afghanistan since "can be traced to the 1979 invasion by the Soviet Union..."(NYT 2) The entire point of this timeline is to describe the long and complicated history of violence and extremism in Afghanistan. The soviet invasion truly was the beginning point to this, the single event that caused all of the pain and suffering of the Afghani people. -
Amir and Baba escape to America
Two years after the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, Baba and Amir were forced to uproot there whole lives and escape to America. Amir remembers Baba's adjustment process by thinking "it was living in America that gave him an ulcer." (Hosseini 125) This accurately represents how awful war is from the perspective of a refugee because it is very difficult to adapt to a whole new culture. -
Amir Graduates High School In America
When Amir graduates high school in America, Baba tells him that he is "moftakhir... proud." (Hosseini 131) This is one of the first real times in his life where Amir has made his father proud, and Baba also gives Amir a new car. This moment represents the two characters finally learning to love and understand each other better despite their differences. -
Amir and Soraya get married
This moment represents Amir's transition out of the protective care of Baba and into adulthood. On the day of the engagement ceremony, Baba shows his pride by saying that it is the "happiest day of [his] life." (Hosseini 166) After marriage, Amir is no longer a boy fretting over Baba's approval, but a grown man looking towards his own future. Baba recognizes this, and is satisfied in knowing that his son is finally self sufficient and will survive when he dies. -
Baba dies
While Amir transitions fully into manhood as represented by his marriage to Soraya, the death of his father still leaves a void in protection and support years later. When Amir goes in to the meeting with Assef, terrified, he wishes Baba was with him because Baba "would have busted through the front doors and demanded to be taken to the man in charge..."(Hosseini 273) Amir wishing for his father all those years later shows how deep and irreplaceable the relationship between them was. -
Last Soviet Troops Withdrawal
A decade of bloody conflict came to an end when "the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989..."(NYT 2) Soviet troops leaving Afghanistan represented almost as radical a change in the political situation of the country as when they first invaded. While the invasion was over, leaving a country in rubble that had already become quite factionalized to just fix itself up led to the country being even more unstable than when there was a war going on. -
Amir publishes his first novel
This event represents Amir truly achieving a traditionally successful life, completing the final requirement of a financially stable career. He thinks of all of the help he received from others and of Baba, "wishing he could have seen [him]."( Hosseini 183) Despite all of the difficulties throughout his life, Amir has succeeded. All he can do is be happy and thankful for all the support he received. -
The Taliban Seize Control
Following several years of complete anarchy, "the Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law."(NYT 3) The people of Afghanistan now had a relatively popular unified central government to follow as opposed to complete chaos. In addition, this meant Afghanistan came to have one of the strictest religious law systems in the world, drawing approval from other extremists but condemnation from thereat of the world. -
Afghanistan Houses Al Qaeda
As a beacon for Islamic extremism, "the Taliban also provided a haven for Mr. Bin Laden... and for Al Qaeda."(NYT 3) Housing known terrorists only caused the new Afghani government to be more polarizing. Loved by extremists, but hated and feared by the outside world (which they didn't care much about). -
US Invasion
At the drop of a hat following 9/11 "an air and ground campaign began that drove the Taliban out of the major Afghan cities by the end of the year."(NYT 3) Another government was completely uprooted from Afghanistan, further disrupting the stability of the country. The future fate of Afghanistan rested in the hands of the US government. -
Amir Fights Assef for Sohrab
The moment that Amir gets beaten up by Assef in order to save Sohrab represents Amir facing his fears and atoning for his sins simultaneously. Amir shows how relieving it felt to finally find retribution and feel physical harm like that he caused for others by laughing and feeling "healed at last" (Hosseini 289) Amir's experiences show that atoning for mistakes really can have great benefits with regards to grief. -
Rahim Khan summons Amir to Pakistan
Although Amir has built a successful life in America that Afghanistan would seem to have no bearing over, his past comes back to haunt him when Rahim Khan asks him to come to Pakistan. Rahim Khan indicates to Amir that this trip could lead to closure for the mistakes of his youth saying "there is a way to be good again." (Hosseini 192) This event represents that the past is never truly escapable and that it is always possible to atone, no matter how long it has been. -
Hassan and Farzana are killed by Taliban
While Rahim Khan is away in Pakistan, Hassan refuses to move out of Rahim Khan's house when the Taliban tell him to, so they shoot "him in the back of the head." (Hosseini 219) This event helps to solidify the idea that the Taliban are evil and the situation in Afghanistan is awful. It also adds to Amir's guilt as he even imagines himself as the Taliban soldier shooting Hassan -
9/11 Attack
In 2001 all eyes of the world were instantly set on Afghanistan again "after the attack on the World Trade Center in New York..."(NYT 3) Americans are extremely unused to attacks on their own soil so it came as a huge surprise to the world when something as large as 9/11 occurred right in New York. An event like this is really the only thing that could have set the US off into taking increased military action in the Middle East, but it happened. -
Hamid Karzai Becomes Interim President
As the old government had been driven out, a new leader was necessary in Hamid Karzai who took office "saying he hoped to secure peace for Afghanistan and win the country much needed international aid."(NYT 3) Mr. Karzai had high hopes for how he wanted to help the Afghani people, but wasn't able to achieve anything because of a lack bureaucracy, infrastructure, and education of the people. Because of his lack of success, Karzai's popularity has steadily declined. -
Taliban Resurgence
Despite the extremely swift original expulsion of the Taliban, the US "faced with an increasingly vigorous insurgency, ceded large parts of the countryside to the Taliban."(NYT 4) Increasing Taliban guerrilla warfare is aided by additional money from the opium trade and the lack of manpower due to US forces being diverted to Iraq. This could feasibly lead to extreme losses for the US similar to the attempted Soviet occupation. -
Obama Sends 30,000 Additional Troops
Despite a growing American urging for troops to return home, "Mr. Obama announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops."(NYT 4) Obama chose to have the US expend even more resources and lives on Afghanistan, showing a great commitment to the Afghan war which was the opposite of what most American people wanted. The extra manpower would in theory help to quell the Taliban's resurgence. -
Obama Plans to Have Troops Stay 3 Years Longer
Despite previous promises to withdraw by 2011, "the Obama administration changed its tone to increasingly emphasize the idea that the United States will have forces in the country until at least the end of 2014."(NYT 4) If Obama wants to add another 3 years onto the Afghan effort, the Taliban is probably not just going to curl up and die any second like everybody keeps pretending. This means that the war could go on for an indefinite amount of time in which Americans will only grow more antsy.