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Rahim Khan supports Amir's writing
Rahim Khan gives his approval of Amir's work, saying in his letter, "I enjoyed your story very much. Mashallah, God has granted you a special talent" (32). Amir has a bitter sweet feeling when Rahim Khan says this because he feels that he is a good writer, but he also realizes what he wants from Baba. Now that he knows what support feels like, this drives him to try and get Baba's attention for a long time to try and receive this. -
Hassan is violated by Assef
As Amir watches Assef and Hassan, he ses that, "[Assef] positioned himself behind Hassan. Hassan didn't struggle" (75). This moment markes where Hassan loses his power andhis confidence. He no longer feels safe to do the things he used to in Kabul. -
Amir wins the kite competition
After cutting his opponents string in the kite fighting competition, Amir hears Hassan yell, "Bravo! Bravo, Amir agha!" (66). At this time, Amir feels like he finally might gain Baba's respect and approval. After fighting for it so long, Amir thinks his struggles might finally be vindicated by Baba's support. -
Amir runs away from Hassan's violation
When contemplating on whether to stay and help his friend or to run, "In the end, [Amir] ran" (77). This was a large event because Amir spends nearly his entire life trying to atone for this action. Instead of staying to stand up for Hassan, as Hassan does for Amir, he ended up running away. -
Soviet Union Invasion
Afganistan's political and economic instability, "can be traced to the 1979 invasion by the Soviet Union" (2). -
Baba is diagnosed with cancer
After going to the doctor to observe his state of health, Baba was told he has,"'Oat Cell Carcinoma.' Advanced. Inoperable" (156). After being told this, Baba loses an immense amount of power. He begins to lose confidence and relies on others rather than others relying on him. -
Ali and Hassan decide to leave
Even after Baba gives them his forgiveness, Ali says, "We are leaving, Agha sahib" (106). With this decision, Baba feels upset that he could have done something to make them stay. He also feels that Amir could possibly have something to do with their decision to leave knowing that he had wanted to separate from Hassan. -
Baba and Amir flee to Pakistan
Once Baba and Amir leave for Pakistan, Amir thinks to himself, "In the morning, Jalaluddin-our seventh servant in five years- would probably think we'd gone out for a stroll in or a drive. We hadn't told him" (112). The leave for Pakistan demonstrated how Baba and Amir left all their material belongings behind to get to safety. After leaving Pakistan, they drop all of their socio-economic status, but still find power in their voices in their new lives in Pakistan. -
Soraya and Amir marry
Even after Soraya desccribes her embarassing past story, Amir says to her, "Nothing you said changes anything. I wasnt us to marry" (165). This event leads to a merging of families and Baba is able to enjoy the last days of his life watching his son marry. Soraya and Amir's connection also provides protection for both of them if they are ever going through ahrd times or are in trouble. -
Baba dies in his sleep
As Soraya tucked Baba in for the night's sleep, he says, "there is no pain tonight," and later, "Baba never woke up" (173). Baba's death was very difficult for both Amir and Soraya because he made thier life routine. He made it so they could escape the stress of daily life and complete something methodical. When he died, this was gone and life became faster and eventually much more hectic. -
Soviets Leave Afganistan
After many discussions among the U.N. about Soviet involvemement, "the Soviet troops left Afganistan in February 1989" (2). -
Pakistan funds Omar
After gaining more popularity in Pakistan as well, "Pakistani intelligence officers began funneling arms, money, and supplies to Mullah Omar's men" (3). -
Omar gains popularity
Quickly gaining popularity, "Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers" (2). -
The Taliban takes control
With the help of Pakistani officials, "the Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afganistan" (3). -
The Taliban aids al Qaeda
Having formed close ties, "the Taliban also provided a haven for Mr. bin Laden, who arrived by chartered jet at Jalalabad Airport in May 1996" (3). -
Hassan and his wife are killed
Rahim Khan explains how he was so happy that the Taliban had taken over, but eventually, "in 1998, they massacred the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif" (213). The death of Hassan majorly impacted Amir and he finally decided to atone for his actions. After many years, Amir now realizes that he is in debt to Hassan and needs to do whatever he possibly can to atone. -
Amir realizes Hassan is his half-brother
After the meeting with Rahim Khan, Amir reminisces on his past by looking at the pictures, thinking, "I looked at the round face in the polaroid again, the way the sun fell on it. My brother's face" (227). Amir thinks about his reationship with Hassan and finally comes to the realization that he treated Hassan terribly and Hassan still sacrificed everything for Amir. On the other side, Baba's betrayal signifies that at the time Baba's reputation was more important than their friendship. -
Sohrab is taken from the orphanage
Once Zaman lets them in, they ask him about Sohrab and he replies, "He took Sohrab a month ago," to which Farid responds, "You call yourself a director?" (257). This event declares the path that Amir must take to finally reach Sohrab. After all that he has been through, Amir must now work exponentially harder to retrieve Sohrab. This also determines when Sohrab's life turned upside down and he is scarred for the rest of his life. -
Amir realizes that it is Assef who has taken Sohrab
While discussing the relaese of Sohrab, the Taliban leader suddenly asks, "Whatever happened to Babalu, anyway?" (281). This is when Amir recognizes that the man who took Sohrab is truly Assef. Amir knows that he is going to have to suffer to win back Sohrab from him. He is truly happy about this because he can finally feel the pain that Hassan felt many years ago and feel punished for his actions. This is what has been missing from him his entire life,. -
Sohrab decides to go home with
While Sohrab explains his worries for moving to America, Amir says, "Come home with me," and after, "And he nodded. He nodded" (324). By making this decision, Sohrab is taking a risk by leaving his home country and hoping to adapt to the new environment of America. This frightens him and he is worried for the future. -
Al Qaeda attacks in 9/11
After the events of 9/11, "President George W. Bush gave the Taliban an ultimatum to hand over to the Taliban" (3). -
Sohrab attemps to commit suicide
Shortly after explaining to Sohrab that he needed to go back to an orphanage so that he could go to America, Amir rushed into the bathroom, and, "suddenly I was on my knees, screaming. Screaming through my clenched teeth" (343). Later it is revealed that Sohrab attempted to commit suicide because he did't want to go back to the orphanage. This event was extremely important because Sohrab didn't speak almost at all after this. This later made it very difficult for Amir and Soraya to care for him. -
Karzai takes leader role
After being named president after the defeated Taliban fled, "He took office as interim president in June 2002" (3). -
Obama makes troop promises
After making a weary 2011 deadline for troop withdrawl, "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" (4). -
Obama removes McChrystal
Due to his quotes about administrative officials appearing in the press, "In June 2011, President Obama removed Gen. McChrystal" (4).