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Hassan undergoes surgery for his cleft lip.
For Hassan's birthday, Baba brings Hassan's present and tells him to "meet his birthday present", who is a plastic surgeon that was hired to fix his cleft lip. Hassan's cleft lip represents the mark of a servant and by fixing this quality, it removes the physical label of a poor servant boy. Baba's gesture also angers Amir because Baba had given his attention to Hassan, which is somethig Amir has been deprived of throughout his childhood. -
Hassan saves Amir from Assef
Assef is about to physically harm Amir, but Hassan comes to save Amir by arming himself with his slingshot and Assef's eye had "widened with surprise" (41). Hassan comes to rescue Amir from being beatened,which shows how much he truly cares for Amir's well being. Hassan is willing to put himself in danger to keep Amir safe and out of harm's reach, showing his loyalty and love for Amir. -
Amir wins the kite tournament.
Hosseini describes, "Then I was screaming, and everything was color and sound, everything was alive and good" (66). The moment Amir wins the kite tournament a feeling of joy and accomplishment overwhelmes his body. For him, things are happy again and he feels like he has done his father proud. -
Hassan is sexually assaulted by Assef.
Amir goes to find Hassan, but he ends up witnessing Hassan being assaulted by Assef, and insteading of stopping the situation, he "[stops] watching, [and turns] away from the alley" (77). Hassan had been more than willing to retrieve the kite for Amir, which is a hard and difficult task to achieve. This shows Hassan's loyalty for Amir. However, when Hassan is in desperate need of help, Amir chooses to not do anything and backway from the situation, showing his disloyalty to Hassan. -
Ali and Hassan leave Baba's house.
Ali believes it is time for him and Hassan to leave Baba's house and he explains to Baba, "Life here is impossible for us now, Agha sahib" (106). As a result of the terrible actions Amir has committed towards Hassan, Amir has pushed away the person that was like a brother to him and cared for him no matter what. -
Soviet Union invades Afghanistan.
The Soviet Union invasion had caused many of the "turmoil and extremism that have dominated [Afghanistan's] history" (New York Times, 2). -
Baba and Amir leave Kabul.
Baba and Amir had "left Kabul just after two in the morning" to escape the dangers of the city (110). Baba and Amir decide to leave their hometown to begin a new fresh start. This new journey symbolizes leaving their mistakes in the past and begininng a new chapter in both of their lives. -
Baba and Amir begin their new lives in California.
After fleeing Afghanistan, Baba and Amir decide to move across the world to California since "Baba loved the idea of America" (125). By moving to America, it gives both Baba and Amir a chance to leave their past behind and give them a new start. In America they do not have many relations to other people as it is a new country, which means nobody knows about their past lives. -
Amir graduates from high school.
In the novel, Hosseini describes, "I graduated from high school at the age of twenty, by far the oldest senior tossing his mortarboard on the football field that day" (131). Despite Amir's age, he had accomplished something that had made Baba a proud father. Baba has finally given the attention that Amir craved for as a child. -
Baba develops an illness.
In the beginning, it seemed as though Baba had just caught a cold, but later Amir had witnessed Baba "coughing a wad of blood-stained phlegm into the toliet" (153). This is foreshadowing that Amir may not have that much time left with his father. Baba may leave Amir in the physical world to fend for himself and possibly atone for his mistakes. -
Amir and Soraya get married.
At the ceremony, Amir and Soraya both dressed in green, which is "the color of Islam, but also the color of spring and new beginnings" (170). Amir and Sorays's marriage represents a new beginning in Amir's life. IT shows that things are starting to brighten up and his future is promising. -
Baba dies from the illness.
When Soraya and Amir bring Baba to bed, Soraya offers Baba his medicine, but Baba says, "Not tonight, there is no pain tonight" (173). Baba has accepted that it is his time to go and believes that his life has been a good enough life for him. He accepts his death and parts with his loved ones with good memories from the night. -
Amir finishes his first novel.
Amir had completed his first novel and had found "a request from a New York agency for the completed manuscript" (182). This is another milestone in Amir's life as he always dreamed about being an author. He feels as though he has done his father proud and himself proud as well. -
The last of the Soviet troops leave Afghanistan.
The New York Times article states, "They left behind a country that was not only devastated by the war but that had become a beacon to Islamic extremeist from across the globe" (2). -
Power in Afghanistan was divided.
The article states, "Power was anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms" (New York Times, 2). -
Mullah Omar gains nearly 12,000 followers
Mullah Omar made a promise "of restoring the centrality of Islam to daily life", which created a popular movement in the country (New York Times, 2). -
Taliban takes over Afghanistan
The Taliban took control of Afganistan by "imposing strict enforcements of fundamentalist Islamic law" (New York Times, 3). -
Mr. bin Laden arrives at Jalalabad Airport
In the article it describes, "The Taliban also provided a haven for Mr. bin Laden, who arrived by chartered jet at Jalalabad Airport" (New York Times, 3). -
Amir receives a phone call from Rahim Khan.
After many years of no contact, Rahim makes a phone call to Amir saying to come back to Afghanistan becausse "there is a way to be good again" (192). Rahim is offering Amir a chance to atone for the mistakes he has made as a child. He is giving Amir an option to apologize for his actions or feel guilty for the rest of his life. -
Amir finally finds Sohrab.
When Amir sees Sohrab in person for the first time, he sees that Sohrab is an exact copy of Hassan because he had "his father's round moon face, his pointy stub of a chin, his twisted, seashell ears, and the same slight frame" (279). As a result of seeing Sohrab, it is bringing back all the memories Amir has of Hassan. Because of that, it brings more of a need to save Sohrab in order to atone of Amir's actions. -
Amir and Sohrab arrive in California.
The book describes, "We arrived home about seven months ago, on a warm day in August 2001" (357). The arrival of a new country for Sohrab represents a new start to a new life. This new chapter in Sohrab's life will bring him happiness and freedom, and make him understand what living is truly suppose to be. -
Al Qaueda attacks the World Trade Center in New York.
After the attack on the World Trade Center, "President George W. Bush gave the Taliban an ultimatum to hand over Mr. bin Laden" (New York Times, 3). -
Hmid Karzai was named chairman of an interim government that replaced the Taliban
Hamid Karzai was made leader of the country and said that he "hope to secure peace for Afghanistan and win the country much-needed international aid (New York Times, 3). -
Mr. Karzai was elected to a five-year term as president.
Although Mr. Karzai was a White House favorite, in Afghanistan he was "faced [with] an Afghan population that blamed him for the manifest lack of economic progress and the corrupt officials who seem to stand at every doorway of his government" (New York Times, 3). -
All United States forces in Afghanistan will be removed
By having the troops leave in 2014, the United States government is try to "convince the Afghans that the United States is not walking away and to warn the Talincan that aggresive operations against them would continue" (New York Times, 4).