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Amir's Mother Dies
Amir's mother died during childbirth. Amir "ached for [his] mother"(6).
This left his only parental figure to be his father, who did not give Amir the attention he dearly craved. This made him feel alone and that his father did not care about him. -
Amir wins the kite running contest
In a large kiterunning competition, with many districts competing against eachother, Amir finished victorious. Baba was "proud of [Amir] at last" (66). It gave Amir the attention he so desperately needed, and gave him a relationship with Baba. -
Hassan's Traumatic Event
After the kite running competition, Hassan goes to find the kite Amir defeated, when he runs into Assef. Hassan violates him and this changes his relationship with Amir. Amir "didn't speak to Hassan until the middle of the next week" (86). Amir never wanted to face Hassan, which made its mark on their relationship. -
Amir frames Hassan
Amir wanted Baba to dislike Hassan so he "lifted Hassan's mattress and planted [his] new watch and a hanful of Afghani bills under it" (104). He hoped this would take Baba's attention away from Hassan and back to himself, but his plan back fired. -
Ali and Hassan Leave
Ali tells Baba that "[l]ife [t]here [was] impossible for [them]" (106). They could no longer stay, because of what happened to Hassan. It strained Hassan and Amir's so badly that Hassan and Ali could no longer stay in the same house as Amir. -
Soviet troops invade Afghanistan
The Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul to help new Afghan resident, Babrak Karmul. Karmul had gained power through a coup. Many western countries believe the Soviets "engineered the coup as a pretext to replace Hafizullah Amin, the Afghan leader, who lost their trust"(2). -
Period: to
Kite Runner & the History of Afghanistan
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Amir and Baba go to America
They traveled out of Afghanistan during the war with the Russians. However, America was not the place they loved. Hosseini wrote, "Baba loved the idea of America. It was living in America that gave him an ulcer"(125). They believed they would have a better life in America, but, while in Afghanistan they were rich, in America they were not. -
Amir marries Soraya
After "[Soraya's] father said yes", they had their "nika" (164.170).They stuck closely to tradition, except they did skip the engagement period, because of Baba's health. This gave Amir someone he loved and a new family. -
Baba Dies
A month after the wedding, Baba went to sleep, but "never woke up" (173). This left Amir completely parentless. He now turned to his in-laws as parental figures. -
Soviet troops leave
After staying for nine years, and peace talks,"the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989, in what was in effect a unilateral withdrawl" (2). -
Soraya finds she is Infertile
After lots of tests, Soraya finds she has "Unexplained Infertility" (185). They also wish to not adopt, leaving them childless. This means Amir cannot pass his family name, which is important in the Afghan culture. -
Vicious Internecine Strife
After the Soviets left, "power was anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms"(2). There was no one central authority. -
The Taliban take control
The Taliban was a group of students led by Mullah Omar, with the goal of purifying the country. Omar was gaining followers and "[b]y the end of 1994 Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers"(2). Helped by Pakistan, "the Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan"(3). -
Amir goes to Pakistan
Amir travels to Pakistan to see Rahim Khan who "is very sick" (191). While there, Rahim Khan tells him that him and Hassan were half-brothers. Rahim Khan also tells him he wants AMir to find Hassan's son. Amir agrees because he wants to atone for his actions so many years ago. -
Amir witnesses a stoning
After the Talib stoned the man, he "was now a mangled mess of blood and shredded rags" (271). This was the first time Amir had seen the Taliban in action, and it disgusted him. He saw that it was no longer the Afghanistan he remembered. -
Amir fights Assef
Assef is the one who has Sohrab, and in order for Amir to take Sohrab, Assef wants to fight him. During the fight, Amir "felt at peace" (289). He was finally getting what he craved from Hassan all those years ago, a fight back. -
Sohrab Ends the Fight
Sohrab hit Assef with his slingshot in the eye, and "blood oozed between his fingers" (291). This is the same method of defense Hassan had used to defend against Assef almost 30 years ago. This shows the loyalty Hassan passed down to his son. -
Sohrab ateempts suicide
After Amir tells Sohrab he might have to go to an orphanage, he attempts suicide. When Amir finds him, he "scream[s] until [he] thought [his] throat would rip and [his] chest explode" (343). He had just finished telling a story about waiting and good things will come. If he had waited, Amir had good news for him. -
9/11
Al Qaeda put an "attack on the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001"(3). This attack killed many Americans, infuriating many. -
Post 9/11
President George W. Bush "gave the taliban an ultimatum to hand over Mr. bin Laden", who was named responsible for the attcks. The U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan, and began a campaign that "drove the Taliban out of the major Afghan cities" (3). -
Hamid Karzai takes over
In December 2001, Karzai "was named chairman of an interim government that replaced the defeated Taliban"(3). -
Amir gets something out of Sohrab
Since bringing Sohrab to America, he has been silent, not speaking a word or showing emotion. But during a kite running, he saw "a smile" (370). He got the same joy his father did out of kite running, showing how similar he is to Hassan. This also shows he is coming back; coming back from the misery he had been in for the past year. It is a small step, but will prove to be significant. -
Taliabn Resurgence
The Taliban resurged when "American military focus was diverted to the invasion and occupaation of Iraq"(3). With American miliatary gone, the group had the opportunity to come out of the mountains. -
General Petraeus
General Petraeus "had taken charge of the United States Central Command"(4). -
Plan to Withdraw
Preisdent Obama had to "move away from that July 2011 deadline"(4).