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Amir's Guilt
"In the winter of 1975, I saw Hassan run a kite for the last time. The next time I saw him smile unabashedly like that was twenty years later, in a fade polaroid paragraph." (Hosseini 55-67) This is important because of what happened to Hassan and how Amir reacted to it stayed in Amirs mind for the rest of his life. -
Winning the tournament
When Amir finally won the tournament, Hassan yelled, "You won, Amir agha! You won!" (Hosseini 66) Hassan was very happy for Amir because he knows how important it was to make Baba proud, and since Amir won the tournament everything that happened to Hassan was worth it for the both of them. -
The rape of Hassan
Hassan and Amir were in a kite running competition, when Hassan ran into Assef and his friends. Assef raped Hassan, and Amir was watching the whole time. "I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: Nothing is free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba." This shows that Amir was willing to throw his friendship away with Hassan for Baba to be proud of him. -
Hassan and Ali leave Baba and Amir
After Amir set Hassan up with the whole stealing situation, Ali realized what Amir had been doing to Hassan the whole time, and he felt that he needed to get away from them as soon as possible. "It was a protective gesture and I knew whom Ali was protecting him from." (Hosseini 106). Amir would've ruined Hassan if they stayed, and Ali knew that, so he decided to leave Baba's house for Hassan's well being. -
The beginning of the Soviet Invasion
Afghanistan was a stable and peaceful country until the first Soviet troops went into Kabul in 1979. "The first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 27 1979, to assist Barack Karmal, who and become president in a coup within the Afghan Communist leadership." -
Kamals and his fathers death
When all the travelers finally arrived in Peshawar, they exited the fuel tank. Kamals father was crying, "rocking back and forth, kissing his sons ashen face." (Hosseini 124). Kamal died inside the tank because of the fumes, and his death was so significant to his father that he took someones gun and shot himself in the head. -
Soviet Soldiers forcing Amir and Baba out
When Amir was on his way to Peshawar, he was remembering his old life and how his home was more peaceful. He wasn't seeing the home he remembered, he was seeing "tanks rolling up and down the streets of my city"(Hosseini 113). Everything he thought he knew about his home was now gone, and could never be replaced. -
Amir graduates
After Amir moved to America, he felt as if Baba's approval didn't mean as much. Of course it still meant a lot to him, but no where near as much as how it would mean if he was still a little boy in Afghanistan. Like Baba said, "I am Moftakhir, Amir." he was proud of Amir, and Amir didn't care as much as he used to. The way he grew as a person really shows during everything leading up to Baba's death. -
Amir's Marriage
Amir couldn't get himself to ask Soraya to marry him, so Baba had to ask for him. As the general said, "I welcome you to my home, as the husband of my daughter." (Hosseini 168) This is important because it shows how Amir depended on Baba so much, and this was very close to Baba's death, so it was one of the last things Baba did for Amir -
Baba's death
Baba was very ill and in a lot of pain, so Soraya went to go get some morphine. When she came back however, "Baba never woke up," (Hosseini 173). Before he passed, he said he was no longer in pain, because he was at peace with the fact that Amir beat his expectations of a man. -
Soraya is infertile
When Amir and Soraya find out she can't get pregnant, Amir thinks it is a way to get back at him for not stopping what happened to Hassan. "someone, somewhere, had decided to deny me fatherhood for the things I had done. Maybe this was my punishment, and perhaps justly so." (Hosseini 188) This is important because he is understanding how the "karma" is fair, considering what had happened to Hassan. -
After the Soviet Invasion
The Soviet troops stayed in the country for more than 9 years. They fought for so long that it made it seem like they had less power. The troops finally left the country but it was devastated by war. "by the summer of 1994, power was anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms." -
The Taliban Takeover
The Taliban wanted to purify the country with the dominant ethnic group, the Pashtuns. "imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law, banning movies and music and forcing women out of clothes and into all-enveloping burqa clothing." -
Hassans death
The Taliban went to evict Hassan and his family, but when Hassan refused, they shot him and his wife. "shot him in the back of the head. And shot her too." This is significant because now Sohrab is left parentless and Amir can no longer make up what he did to Hassan in person. -
9/11 invasion
It was led by a group called the Al Qaeda, which had a safe haven in the United States because of the Taliban. "The 2001 invasion succeeded in dislodging the Al Queda and removing the Taliban from power, but not eradicating either group." -
The Taliban Resurgence
Even though the Taliban got defeated in 2001, they never gave up. They remained in a lawless area and tried to spread its influence to the southern part of Afghanistan. "The Taliban also spilled over into Pakistan, raising concerns about its stability, and making Afghanistan more a top foreign policy priority for the Western Allies." -
Reunion
Amir was invited to Pakistan to reunite himself with Rahim Khan, and when Amir goes to visit, Rahim Khan told Amir everything he knew about his family, and how he was Hassans half brother. "I just found out my whole life is one big fucking lie!" (Hosseini 223) This is important because when Amir moved to America he tried to act like everything that happened in the past didn't happen, but he was finally told the truth. -
Amir's novel
After Amir came to America, he decided he wanted to be a writer. So Amir got an agent and published it a month later. The book he wrote was about a "Father-son story set in Kabul." (Hosseini 182). Amir still wants Baba's validation even after he's dead, so he honors him in his book. Amir must learn to be independent without Baba since he always depended on him his whole life. -
Sohrab Smiles
After Sohrab found out he had to go back to the orphanage, he tried to commit suicide. After trying to commit suicide, Sohrab would barely speak to anyone, including Amir. After almost a year Amir took Sohrab to a kite running race and saw "One corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile." (Hosseini 370) -
The Karzai government
Mr. Karzai was a man who wanted to secure peace in Afghanistan, and became very popular. He was elected as president for a 5 year long term but soon lost his popularity when, "Mr. Karzai faced an Afghan population that blamed him for the manifest lack of economic progress and the corrupt officials who seem to stand at every door way of his government." -
Post 9/11 invasion
After the 9/11 invasion, George W. Bush tried to reason with the Taliban to hand over Mr. Bin Laden, but when they refused, the U.S joined forces with other rebel groups who disagreed with the Taliban rule. "An air and ground campaign began that drove the Taliban out of major Afghan cities by the end of the year". -
Obamas war
Obama wanted to expand the U.S involvement in Afghanistan, which Biden warned about saying you shouldn't mix politics with the military. "Military advisers argued that the Afghanistan war effort could be imperiled without even more troops." -
Obama Administration
In 2011, Obamas administration said they would remove the troops from Afghanistan in 2014, and started being more aggressive. "Administration officials are trying to convince Afghans that the U.S is not walking away and to warn the Taliban that aggressive operations against them would continue."