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Amir and Hassan win the kite flying contest
Amir said, "I was throwing my free arm around Hassan and we were hopping up and down, both of us laughing, both of us weeping" (66). To Amir and Hassan's surprise, they had won the competition that they had practiced for. Amir and Hassan cried and laughed together which displayed a warmth bond between the two. -
Amir witnesses Hassan get raped
Amir said he "caught a glimpse of his face... it was a look [he] had seen before. It was the look of the lamb" (76). The purpose the author had had Amir witness Hassan get raped was because he wanted to show how Amir would react. Amir's nature was immediately shown through how he acted. -
Amir encounters Assef on his 13th birthday party
Amir thought that Assef "was the embodiment of every parent's dream... but to me, his eyes betrayed him. When [he] looked into them... [it] revealed a glimpse of madness hiding behind them" (97). In Amir's mind, he knew what Assef's personality truly was but no one would believe what he would say even without him saying it. The parents who faced Assef were unknown about what Assef was. -
Invasion of the Soviet Union
Afghanistan's experience of peace ended in "1979, when the Soviet Union invaded" (6). -
First Soviet troops in Kabul
In Babrak Karmal, "who had become president in a coup within the Afghan Communist leadership",'s assistance, "the first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul" (10). -
Amir meets Soraya for the first time in the flea market
Amir thought "she was standing behind us, a slim-hipped beauty with velvety coal black hair". Amir "blinked, [his] heart quickening... Her eyes, walnut brown and shaded by fanned lashes, met [his]. Held for a moment. Flew away" (140). Amir fell head over heels for Soraya as some may say, love at first sight. Disregarding the situation, Amir could not deny his feelings for Soraya. -
Soraya and Amir gets married
Amir looked at "Soraya's smiling face in that mirror, in the momentary privacy of the veil." He whispered to Soraya "for the first time that [he] had loved her" (171). Amir and Soraya's relationship had finally reached its peak and they were ready to spend the rest of their life together hand in hand. In this moment, Amir was able to express his true feelings for someone for the first time genuinely. -
Baba doesn't take his medicine and passes
Soraya said she'll "come back with [his] morphine and a glass of water". Baba replied with "Not tonight, there is no pain tonight" (173). Refusing the medicine, Baba decided to peacefully leave the world so he does not have to go through any more pain than he has to. Baba's character was able to experience many experiences including Amir's wedding so he was satisfied when he passed. -
Amir's novel gets published
Six weeks after Amir finished his first novel, "Martin Greenwalt called from New York and offered to represent [Amir]". A month passed and "Martin called and informed [Amir] [he] was going to be a published novelist" (183). Amir worked hard even without Baba to support him from behind. He had wished Baba had seen him achieve this genuinely unlinke the kite competition from before. -
Soviet troops leave
After agreeing on peace, "the Societ troops left Afghanistan" (12). -
Control of the Taliban
With the support of Pakistani, the Taliban had "taken control of Afghanistan" by 1996 and imposed "strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law" which banned "movies and music and forcing women out of schools" (17). -
Al Qaeda seized control of Afghanistan
Al Qaeda had been "given safe haven in the country by the Taliban" who "seized control in 1996 after years of civil war" (1). -
Hassan and Farzana are killed by the Taliban
Rahim said that Hassan protested to move out of the house so they "took him to the street––and order him to kneel––and shot him in the back of the head––Farzana came screaming and attacked them––shot her too" (219). In order to protect the house Baba and Amir lived in for so many years, Hassan's integrity brought him to defend the house full of memories until the end. As Hassan's wife, Farzana also displayed integrity as they are husband and wife. -
The use of the Taliban
President George W. Bush gave "the Taliban an ultimatum to hand over bin Ladin" (19). -
Taliban doesn't back down
Despite the fact that they lost the battle in 2001, the Taliban "continued to wage a guerilla warfare" which showed their perseverance. -
The US operated invasion on Al Qaeda
The invasion that the United States led in 1996 was successful in "dislodging Al Qaeda and removing the Taliban from power" (2). -
Amir clearly stated that no one was to refer to Sohrab as a 'Hazara boy'
Amir exclaimed, "You will never again refer to him as 'hazara boy' in my presence. He has a name and it's Sohrab" (361). Before, Amir accepted the fact that people downgraded Hazaras but now, he defended Sohrab. Even if people would talk about him behind his back, Amir no longer accepted how Sohrab would be treated as a category. -
Sohrab almost bleeds to death in a bath tub
Amir witnessed Sohrab's "left arm dangling over the side of the tub, the blood soaked razor sitting on the toilet tank...his eyes, still half open but lightless" (347, 348). Because Sohrab does not want to experience the abuse the orphanage had put him through, he decided to end his life so he did not have to bother anymore. As much pain as Amir had already went through, the shock of seeing Sohrab in the bath tub had broke his heart. -
Amir breaks his promise with Sohrab
Amir asked Sohrab if he could "stay in a home for kids for a while". Sohrab replies with "you promised you'd never put me in one of those places, Amir agha" (341). Unable to bring Sohrab directly to America immediately, Amir also denied to the man behind the desk that he was Sohrab's guardian whereas he is able to adopt him. Breaking it to Sohrab, it was heartbreaking because his experiences in the orphanage scarred him. -
Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan
Rahim said that "there is a way to be good again" to Amir (2). In hope to repent for his past actions, Amir tries to believe in the words of hope Rahim has given him. Amir's desperate struggle to atone for what he did leads him to follow Rahim. -
Rahim reveals the relationship between Amir and Hassan
Rahim said "Ali was sterile". Amir replied with "'No he wasn't. He and Sanaubar had Hassan, didn't they? They had Hassan–'". Rahim said "No they didn't". Amir bursted, "'I'm thirty-eight years old and I've just found out my whole life is one big... lie!'" (222, 223). Even though Amir wanted to accept the fact that he and Hassan were half-brothers, he doubted that Ali and Sanaubar didn't have Hassan. Amir was devastated, he knew that Hassan died not knowing that they were blood related. -
Sohrab smiles for the first time
Amir "looked down at Sohrab. One corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile. Lopsided. Hardly there. But there" (370, 371). In so long, Sohrab finally smiles naturally. Although he hadn't smiled for so long, he still brought Amir happiness with just a single smile. -
Amir restates "For you, a thousand times over"
Amir decided to say "For you, a thousand times over" to Sohrab (371). As Hassan had said that to Amir in the past, he wanted to repeat what he had said to his son in order to repent and show that he truly loved Sohrab. Sohrab was not alone as his father was, Amir was there to support him. -
Obama's vow
President Obama exclaimed his "plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops" in hope that it will make a difference (29). -
Brining home American forces
President Obama vowed to "start bringing American forces home from Afghanistan" in mid 2011 (29).