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Hassan has surgery to fix his lip
"Oh," Hassan said. He looked from Dr. Kumar to Baba to Ali. His hand touched his upper lip. "Oh," he said again." (Hosseini 46) As a birthday present for Hassan, Baba hired a plastic surgeon to fix his upper lip. At first Hassan was a little uncertain but quickly grew fond of the idea once the Doctor reassured him it wouldn't hurt. -
Hassan and Amir win the kite flying contest and later that day Hassan gets raped
"Bravo! Bravo, Amir agha!" I opened my eyes, saw the blue kite spinning wildly like a tire come loose from a speeding car. I blinked, tried to say something. Nothing came out." (Hosseini 66) Amir is shocked that he just won the kite contest. "For you a thousand times over!" he said. then smiled his Hassan smile and disappeared around the corner. The next time I saw him smile unabashedly like that was 26 years later, in a faded Polaroid picture." He changed after that night in the alley way. -
Amir celebrates his 13th birthday, later on Hassan and Ali leave
"Here." He handed me something. "I almost forgot. Happy Birthday." It was a brown leather-bound notebook. I traced my fingers along the gold colored stitching on the borders." (Hosseini 99) For Amir's birthday Rahim Khan got him a leather notebook to write his stories in and that notebook is the only present that Amir feels isn't blood money. "We are leaving, Agha sahib," Ali said. "What?" Baba said, the color draining from his face." (Hosseini 106) -
The Russians invade Afghanistan and then Baba and Amir leave Kabul
"Standing on the shoulder of the road, I thought of the way we'd left the house where i'd lived my entire life,as if we were going out for a bite." (Hosseini 112) The Russians invade Afghanistan and Baba and Amir decide to leave to somewhere safe. -
Baba and Amir arrive in San Francisco
"Took Baba home. He sulked and smoked on the balcony while I made rice with chicken neck stew. A year and a half since we'd stepped off the Boeing from Peshawar, and Baba was still adjusting." (Hosseini 129) -
Amir graduates from high school
"I would enroll in JR. college classes in the fall, I told Baba the day after graduation." (Hosseini 134) Amir Graduates! He decided to major in English and try and become "discovered" -
Amir and Baba start selling at the flea market and Amir meets Soraya
"Lying awake in bed that night, I thought of Soraya Taheri's sickle-shaped birthmark, her gently hooked nose, and the way her luminous eyes had fleetingly met mine. My heart stuttered at the thought of her. Soraya Taheri. My Swamp Meet Princess." (Hosseini 142) -
Amir and Soraya get married
"Slowly, Soraya came to us, tailed by a procession of young female relatives. She kissed my fathers hands. Sat beside me at last, her eyes downcast. The applause swelled. (Hosseini 169) This was right after Baba and General Taheri both spoke Soraya came out. She looked stunning and everyone was admiring her beauty. -
Baba decides to not take his medicine and later dies that night
"Just before midnight, Baba asked us to help him into bed. Soraya and I placed his arms on our shoulders and wrapped ours around his back. When we lowered him, he had Soraya turn off the bedside lamp. He asked us to lean in, gave us each a kiss. "I'll come back with your morphine and a glass of water, Kaka jan," Soraya said. "Not tonight" he said "There is no pain tonight." (Hosseini 173)Baba never woke up. This part of the story was really powerful because Baba knew it was time for him to die. -
Amir gets his first novel published
"In the summer of 1988, about six months before the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, I finished my first novel, a father son story set in Kabul, written mostly with the typewriter the general had given me" (Hosseini 182) -
Sohrab is born
"It was Sanaubar who delivered Hassan's son that winter of 1990. It had not started snowing yet, but the winter winds were blowing through the yards, bending the flowerbeds and rustling the leaves." (Hosseini 211) Sanaubar comes back one day and Hassan is shocked at first but soon accepts her back in. She helps raise Sohrab till he's about 2. -
Amir finds out that him and Hassan were half brothers
"I opened the door and turned to him."Why? What can you possibly say to me? I'm 38 years old and I've just found out my life is one big fucking lie! What can you possibly say to make things better? Nothing. Not a goddamn thing!" (Hosseini 223) Hassan is confused, angry and upset that Rahim Khan or Baba didn't tell him that Hassan and him were half brothers. I would be upset as well. -
Sohrab tries to kill himself
"I pushed the door open. Stepped into the bathroom. Suddenly I was on my knees, screaming. Screaming through my clenched teeth. Screaming until I thought my throat would rip and my chest would explode." (Hosseini 343) Amir gets a call from Soraya that they have a really god chance at getting him to America to live with them. He goes to tell Sohrab the good news and finds him with his wrists cut in the bathtub. -
Not the full story
"But the numbers only tell part of the story: While 10 million students might be enrolled in all levels of education, they aren't all attending classes, and there are questions about how many of those attending are actually learning" (Carberry and Fairy) In my opinion, yes this may be true, but that's maybe because their family financially needs help so the student helps out by working and they can't always make it to school because in their family work might be the number one priority. -
Money spent on Taliban
"The international community has spent billions on the construction of schools and programs ranging from teacher training to community-based education in remote villages to book distribution. The U.S. Agency for International Development alone has spent more than $850 million on education since the fall of the Taliban at the end of 2001" (Sean Carberry & Sultan Faizy) -
10 million Afghans enrolled in school, 40% female
"Under the Taliban, about 1 million boys and almost no girls were attending schools. Western officials routinely point to the revived education system as a sign of success and hope for the future." (Carberry and Faizy) This is one of the statements that proves that we have improved when it comes to girls going to school and participating and learning and having a chance at an education. -
Spent over 850 million on education
"The U.S. Agency for international Development alone has spent more than 850 million on education since the fall of the Taliban at the end of 2001." (Carberry and Faizy) This quote also proves that they are working on giving more people and education and they're trying to help others learn and they want people to be educated. -
Cultural and Economic Obstacles
"The school hold about 400 students at a time, and there are three daily sessions -- a total of about 1,200 students are supposed to attend class each day, but principal Fawzia Hakimi says average attendance is only a little more than 50 percent." (Carberry and Faizy) This supports my comment from earlier that lots of families use their children to help pay or get money. -
Lots of absences
"Some boys can't attend school because they are working," she says. "when we ask them why they are late, some say, 'I was selling water, I was selling plastic bags' and it's not just the boys who are often late or absent."(Carberry and Faizy) This is really sad to me that adults rely on their children for this kind of stuff and it proves how fortunate we are and how easy it is for us to get an education. -
Cultural Obstacles
"We have a girl in 6th grade who is engaged," says Hakimi. "She is just a little girl. And there are others who are engaged, too." Many girls in rural areas are forced into marriage once they reach puberty - and disappear from school." (Carberry and Faizy) This makes me sad. These girls should not be forced into marriage at this age. It's sad and makes me think why people aren't making a change for these poor children. -
Not enough supplies
"Classroom space isn't the only thing in short supply, says the teacher Roshan Rasooli. 'We have a shortage of books,' she says. 'Seventeen of the 55 students are present today, and we still don't have enough books." (Carberry and Faizy) We should donate and support this, kids deserve the chance to learn and do something with their life. Everyone deserves a chance. -
Problems with books
"Officials like Bashir Ahmad Abed, headmaster of the Sadeqi school, says even if a student has a book, there's no guarantee he or she can read it: Many books are too complicated for the students." (Carberry and Faizy) Make a change!! -
Qualified teachers
"While many students aren't getting much help from their parents, a lot of them aren't being well served by their teachers either, says Nang, the deputy of education minister. He says that half of the teachers in Afghanistan don't have the minimum required training, which is the equivalent of an associate degree." (Carberry and Faizy) We need to recruit good teachers who know what they're doing and how to do their job so these kids can actually learn. -
Stats
"About 300,000 people graduate from high school each year; they are competing for 60,000 openings in colleges as well as vocational and teacher training programs." (Carberry and Faizy) I think that this is and improvement and better than 200,000 it's a decent number and it will grow. -
Amir and Sohrab fly a kite together and Sohrab smiles for the first time
"I looked down at Sohrab. One corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile. Lopsided. Hardly there. But there" (Hosseini 370) Amir and Sohrab are flying a kite together and Amir cuts the other kids string and Sohrab smiles for the first time and he nods for Amir to go get the kite. He runs for the kite.