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Year of Baba's birth and Zahir Shah's beginning of 44 year reign
The year of 1933 is the year that "Baba was born and the year Zahir Shah began his forty-year reign of Afghanistan, two brothers, young men from a wealthy and reputable family in Kabul." (24) This was a year of great power being born. A beginning of a long story of tragedy and atonement for one's sins. -
Hassan tells Amir about his dream
The morning of the kite running tournament, Hassan tells Amir of his dream. "We were at [a lake], you, me... and thousands of other people...No one was swimming because they said a monster had come to the lake... 'There's no monster,' you say... before anyone can stop you, you dive into the water. I follow you in...we just swim in the... water...There is no monster, just water." (60) Hassan's dream later motivates Amir in the tournament. His ability to encourage Amir shows his good intentions. -
Hassan is raped by Assef and runs a kite for the last time
Once they win the kite race, Hassan tells Amir he will retrieve the last kite, saying," we'll celebrate later...I'm going to run that blue kite for you." (66) Alone, Hassan sees Assef and his friends. There, Amir watches Hassan get raped. "Hassan didn't struggle. He moved his head...and [Amir] caught a glimpse of his face. It was the look of a lamb." (75-76). This becomes a deep secret that Amir holds for a long time, which signifies his cowardice. This in turn changes the way Hassan sees Amir. -
Amir asks Baba if he'd considered getting new servants
After Hassan's rape, Amir tries to find any way to avoid Hassan. In sudden impulse, Amir asks Baba, "'have you every thought about getting new servants?'" (89) This angers Baba for a reason unknown to Amir. Baba becomes angry, immediately making Amir regret his question. This sudden tension between them grows back in between the two and Amir once again feels separated from his father. -
Hassan and Ali leave Kabul after Amir's 13th Birthday
In an attempt to make it easier for Hassan and Ali to leave, Amir frames Hassan of stealing his presents. When confronted, Hassan claims "yes," (105) that he had stolen the gifts even when he hadn't. Although Baba forgives them, Ali says, "we cannot live here anymore...life here is impossible for us now." (106). As they leave, Amir watches silently, witnessing his first and only friend leaving him due to his betrayal. However, this is not enough to make Amir stop the car as they drive away. -
Soviet Union troops first invasion on Afghanistan
On December 27th of 1979,"The first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul.... to assist Babrak Karmal, who had become president in a coup within the Afghanistan communist leadership." (The New York Times: Afghanistan- An Overview page 2) -
Amir and Baba travel out of Kabul other migrants to Jalalabad
While on the way out of Kabul, Amir quotes, "it was a pretty lucrative business then, driving people out of Shorawi-occupied Kabul to the relative safety of Pakistan. He was talking us to Jalalabad, about 170 kilometers southeast of Kabul, where his brother, Toor, who had a bigger truck with a second convoy of refugees, was waiting to drive us across the Khyber Pass and into Peshawar." (111) -
Amir Graduates Highschool
In the summer of 1983, Amir "graduated from highschool at the age of twenty, by far the oldest senior tossing his mortarboard on the football field that day." (131) His finishing of highschool makes Baba proud of Amir, and for a rare moment, Amir enjoys this and accepts his difference between him and Baba. That night, Baba gives Amir two gifts; he gives Amir an old car and his approval. -
Amir meets and falls in love with Soraya Taheri
In the summer following Amir's graduation in 1984, Amir and Baba begin attending flea market Sundays to make extra money. The night of his and Soraya's first encounter, Amir, "[lie] awake in bed that night... [his] heart stuttered at the thought of her. [His] Swap Meet Princess." (142) Amir's newfound love in Soraya affects his future as he becomes more and more persistent in marrying her. His sudden bravery impresses Baba enough for him to ask General Taheri for her hand in marriage. -
Soviet Air Force deemed mostly useless by US supplied antiaircraft
The Kabul Government struggled trying to contain the cities, "but throughout the war was unable to rout the rebels in the countryside." (NYT 2) Shortly after 1986, more than 7 years into the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union, "the Soviet Air Force was also rendered largely useless by advanced Stinger antiaircraft missiles" (NYT 2) -
Six months before the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, Amir finishes his first novel.
After his marriage to and his father's death, Amir quotes "in the summer of 1988... I finished my first novel, a father-son story set in Kabul, written mostly with the typewriter the general had given me... a month later Martin called and informed me I was going to be a published novelist. When I told Soraya, she screamed." (182-183) Even after his success, Amir says he wonders "whether I deserved any of it." (183) -
Last Soviet Troops evacuate Afghanistan
Soviets began struggling and in February of 1989, "eventually, after peace talks moderated by the United Nations, the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan." (NYT 2) -
Period: to
Northern Alliance takes over Kabul
Amir recalls that "Rahim Khan [told him] when the Northern Alliance took over Kabul, different factions claimed different parts of Kabul." (199). He said that if "you went [anywhere], you risked getting shot,"or"blown up by a rocket...you...needed a visa to go from one [place] to the other. So people just stayed put, prayed the next rocket wouldn't hit their home." (199) The instability in Kabul had had made Rahim Khan weak. His timidity showed Amir how much had changed, shocking him greatly. -
Anarchically divided power
"[B]y the summer of 1994, power was anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms." (NYT 2) -
Mullah Omar created movement
While Mullah Omar gained about a dozen thousand supporters, he created a genuinely popular movement in a country weary of corruption and brutality," (2) "with his promise of restoring the centrality of Islam to daily life." (2) -
Afghanistan overtook by Taliban
By 1996,"the Taliban... had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law." (NYT 2) This included oppressing women, forcing them to dress in burqa clothing, covering all of the body. They all banned women from schools, and they banned movies and music as well. -
Rahim Khan experiences Talib violence first-hand
While Amir visits him in Peshawar, Rahim Khan says, "'[the Talibs] don't let you be human... I was at a soccer game in Ghazi Stadium...Kabul scored... and the man next to me cheered loudly. Suddenly this young bearded [Talib]...walked up to me and struck me on the forehead... I was old enough to be his grandfather and [there I was]... apologizing to [him].'"(198-199). Rahim Khan is humiliated by how he is treated. He chooses to share this with Amir to show him how much has changed in Kabul. -
9/11
Attack on the World Trade Center in New York by the Taliban led by Osama bin Laden. -
George W. Bush pleads for the Taliban to hand over Osama
Following the terrorist attack, Bush requested the Taliban give up Osama bin Laden, which resulted in the group's refusal. Their refusal led to the United States joining forces with rebel groups. -
Amir finds out that Hassan is his half-brother
While he and Rahim Khan talk, Amir discovers that Hassan had always been his half-brother. Shocked, Amir lashes out on Rahim Khan, saying "how could you hide this from me? From him?...I'm thirty-eight years old and I've just found out my whole life is one big fucking lie! What can you possible say to make things better? Nothing. Not a goddamn thing!" (223). Amir is shocked, but at the same time relieved by the news. This is because now he has an answer to why Baba treated Hassan so well. -
Amir fights Hassan for Sohrab
At the hospital from the fight he had with Assef, Amir quotes that his "memory of the fight... is amazingly vivid...: Assef... slipping on his brass knuckles... I don't know at what point I started laughing, but I did. It hurt to laugh... but I was laughing... What was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace. Amir finally feels that he has atoned for his sins by fighting Assef. By moving past his sins, Amir becomes more capable of protecting Sohrab. -
Sohrab saves Amir with his slingshot
During their fight, Amir and Assef are forced to stop when they hear, "'Bas... Please, no more.'" (290), a plead coming from Sohrab, holding a slingshot. Assef gets agitated with Sohrab, demanding him to "'PUT IT DOWN!' Assef let go of [Amir]. Lunged at Sohrab. The slingshot made a thwiiiiit sound when Sohrab released the cup. Then Assef was screaming." (291) Amir witnesses Sohrab hitting a brass ball into Assef's eye, removing it. With this distraction, Amir and Sohrab leave the house. -
Amir finally finds Sohrab in the possession of a Talib in dark round sunglasses
Once Amir reaches the Talib, the Talib asks Amir if he'd like to see Sohrab. Amir describes Sohrab as he walks into the room. "Footfalls, and the jingle of bells with each step... Then the door opened and the guard walked in... Behind him, a boy... followed. The resemblance was breathtaking. Rahim Khan's Polaroid hadn't done justice to it." (279) Struck with familiarity, Amir is in awe of Hassan's son's resemblance. So, Amir wants to save Sohrab because he wasn't protective of Hassan. -
Amir realises that the Talib is Assef
As Amir talks to the Talib, a sense of familiarity and fear grows in him, although he isn't aware of why, until Assef asks, "Whatever happened to old Babalu?"(281), which allows Amir to click everything into place in horror. Amir quotes, "the moment felt surreal-no...absurd-it had knocked the breath out of me, brought the world around me to a standstill... his named escaped mu lips: 'Assef'." (281) This fear Amir suddenly feels compels him to strike back, giving him the strength to save Sohrab. -
Amir feels hope once more for Sohrab
Amir brings Sohrab to an Afghan party, and coaxes him to go kite flying with him in San Francisco. Once they'd cut another kite, Amir "looked down at Sohrab. One corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile. Lopsided. Hardly there. But there." (371) To Amir, this is nothing less than a small miracle. This indication of Sohrab's willingness to change gives Amir immense hope for the future. -
Troops in Afghanistan
Obama has kept military in Afghanistan up until the current day.