Kite Runner and the History of Afghanistan

By haleymcgill

  • Amir was born

    Amir was born one year before "the winter of 1964"(Hosseini 6)

  • Hasan was born

    "[I]n the winter of 1964," Hasan was born. (Hosseini 6)

  • Hasan gets harelip surgery

    For Hasan's tenth birthday, Baba gets him a present of "a slight Indian fellow" to do surgery and fix Hasan's harelip. (Hosseini 45)

  • Amir and Hasan win the kite tournament

    In 1975, Amir and Hasan, "hopping up and down", won the kite tournament. (Hosseini 66)

  • Hasan gets raped

    After the kite tournament, Hasan runs the blue kite and wins it fairly, but Assef orders him to "[g]ive [them] the kite." When Hasan disobeys, he rapes him. (Hosseini 72)

  • Amir frames Hasan

    In 1976, Amir cannot live with the weight of witnessing the rape anymore, so he "planted [his] new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under [Hasan's mattress]" (Hosseini 104)

  • Hasan and Ali leave Amir and Baba

    After Amir frames Hasan, Ali and Hasan decide that "[they're] leaving" (Hosseini 106)

  • The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan

    In 1979, the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan sending "[t]he first Soviet troops parachut[ing] into Kabul" (NYT).
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    Kite Runner and the History of Afghanistan

  • Amir and Baba flee Afghanistan

    The ride out of Afghanistan "is scattered bits and pieces of memory that come a go" as Baba and Amir leave Afghanistan after the Soviet Union takes over. (Hosseini 123)

  • Amir graduates from high school

    After moving to America, Amir "graduated from high school" in 1983. (Hosseini 131)

  • Amir meets Soraya

    When visiting the flea market for the first time, Amir meets "Soraya Taheri. [His] Swap Meet Princess" (Hosseini 142).

  • Baba gets diagnosed with cancer

    In 1984, Baba gets diagnosed with cancer and he has to "take steroids to reduce the swelling in his brain and anti-seizure medications" (Hosseini 159).

  • Amir marries Soraya

    Shortly after meeting Soraya, Amir marries her "at the Taheris' home" (Hosseini 166)

  • Baba dies

    Shortly after Amir and Soraya's wedding "Baba never woke up," and dies peacefully in his sleep. ( Hosseini 173)

  • U.S. Supplies Missiles to Afghanistan

    In 1986, while Afghanistan is fighting the Soviet Union, the U.S. supplies them with missiles "the Soviet Air Force was...rendered largely useless" (NYT).

  • Amir publishes his first novel

    "In the summer of 1988...[Amir] finished my first novel" and later published it about three months later. (Hosseini 183)

  • Afghanistan descends into Chaos

    When the Soviet Union pulled out of Afghanistan, "Afghanistan descended into vicious internecine strife" (NYT).

  • Pakistan helps the Taliban

    In 1994 the Pakistan intelligence officers decided to "beg[in] funneling arms and money" to the Taliban to help them in the midst of battle (NYT).

  • Taliban Take Control of Afghanistan

    After the country being in chaos, "the Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan" (NYT).

  • Peace between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union

    In 1989, after few peace talks, "the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan" (NYT).

  • U.S. Joins the Battle in Afghanistan

    Following the 9/11 attack, "the United States joined forces with rebel groups" and "[a]n air and ground campaign began that drive the Taliban out of the major Afghan cities by the end of the year (NYT).

  • Amir goes back to Afghanistan

    Due to Rahim Khan being sick, Amir "sat...aboard a Pakistani International Airlines flight," going back to Afghanistan. (Hosseini 194)

  • Amir becomes a practicing muslim

    Due to Sohrab surviving the attempted suicide, Amir "throw[s] [his]...prayer rug, on the floor" and begins to pray. He then promises to become a practicing muslim for the rest of his life. (Hosseini 345)

  • Sohrab moves to America with Amir

    Instead o staying in Afghanistan, Sohrab "got [Amir] and America" instead. (Hosseini 356)

  • Hamid Karzai becomes the replacement of the Taliban

    In 2001 Hamid Karzai "was named chairman of an interim government that replaced the defeated Taliban" and in 2002 "he took office as an interim president" (NYT).

  • Hasan dies

    During Amir's visit to Afghanistan, Rahim Kahn tells him that the Taliban "shot [Hasan] in the back of the head" (Hosseini 219).

  • Amir goes to find Sohrab

    Rahim Khan convinces Amir to go find "[a]n orphan. Hassan's son" (Hosseini 227).

  • Amir gets beat up by Assef and Sohrab saves him

    On his quest to find Sohrab, Amir runs into Assef, who then beats him up. Sohrab saves Amir by shooting Assef in the eye with a slingshot, "[t]he slingshot made a thwiiiit sound when Sohrab released the cup" (Hosseini 291).

  • Amir tells Soraya everything

    While attempting to rescue Sohrab, Amir calls Soraya from Afghanistan and "[tells his] wife everything" (Hosseini 325).

  • Sohrab tries to commit suicide

    After Amir tells Sohrab that he may have to go back to an orphanage, "[s]creaming through [his] clenched teeth," Amir finds Sohrab in the bathtub attempting to commit suicide. (Hosseini 343)

  • 9/11 attack

    On September 11, 2001, the Taliban executed an "attack on the World Trade Center in New York" (NYT).

  • Sohrab smiles for the first time

    For the first time after a year, Sohrab gave Amir "[a] smile" when they cut a kite together. (Hosseini 370)

  • Obama's Decision about the War

    President Obama delivered speech and he "announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops. He vowed to start bringing American forces home from Afghanistan in the middle of 2011" (NYT).