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The Soviet agrees to help Afghanistan
PBS mentions, "Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev agrees to help Afghanistan, and the two countries become close allies." -
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The Kite Runner & the History of Afghanistan
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Hassan is born
In a flashback to 1964, Amir thinks, "It was there, in that little shack, that Hassan was born in the winter of 1964, just one year after my mother died giving birth to me" (6). This is when Hassan was born in the backyard shack of Amirs home. Although his mother survived childbirth, Amirs mother did not survive. Hassan's mother, Sanaubar left days after he was born, and decided to travel with a team of dancers and singers. -
The Afghan Communist Party
In 1965, "The Afghan Communist Party secretly forms. The group’s principal leaders are Babrak Karmal and Nur Mohammad Taraki." -
The orphanage
When Amir was a child, "In the late 1960s, when I was five or six, Baba decided to build an orphanage. I heard the story through Rahim Khan. He told me that he'd had no architectural experience at all" (13). This shows how much Baba cared for children. He wanted to care for them, and show love to them, even when their parents were not able to. -
Amir's future in writing
While sitting in the living room, aMir reads his newly-written book to Hassan. Hassan adds, "'Some day, Inshallah, you will be a great writer,' Hassan said. 'And people all over the word will read your stories" (33). This foreshadows Amir's future career in writing. Hassan is shown being very supportive of Amir, showing him respect and reassurance of his writing skills. -
The drive through Khyber Pass
While driving through Khyber Pass, Amir "leaned my head out of the window and let the cold midafternoon air rush past my face. The drive through the tribal lands of the Khyber Pass, winding between cliffs of shale and limestone, was just as I remembered it---Baba and I had driven through the broken terrain back in 1974"(228-229). In this quotation, Amir describes his memories while he was a child. This shows the importance of the event and how he experienced it. -
Hassan's harelip surgery
While in Afghanistan, Amir has a flashback to when Hassan had his harelip surgery. Amir says, "I kept thinking of that day in 1974, in the hospital room, just after Hassan's harelip surgery. Baba, Rahim Khan, Ali, and I had huddled around Hassan's bed, watching him examine his new lip in a handheld mirror. Now everyone in that room was either dead or dying. Except for me" (219). Here, Amir explains the importance of this event. He shows how much of an impact Hassan had on Amir. -
Women Rights
According to PBS, "Khan proposes a new constitution that grants women rights and works to modernize the largely communist state. He also cracks down on opponents, forcing many suspected of not supporting Khan out of the government." -
Winter of 1975
In chapter 1, Amir has a flashback to "the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out"(1). This moment foreshadows the event where Hassan is being raped, later on in the book. Amir explains how his past came back to him, many years after this incident. -
Kite Running in 1975
During the months of winter in Afghanistan, there would be many kite running competitions. In the "winter of 1975, I saw Hassan run a kite for the last time"(55). This moment shows the effect that this kite flying competition had on Hassan. The Hassan and Amir were very good at kite running, but this changed after the competition. -
Struggles between the U.S. and Afghanistan
According to PBS, "American Ambassador Adolph Dubs is killed. The United States cuts off assistance to Afghanistan. A power struggle between Taraki and Deputy Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin begins. Taraki is killed on Sept. 14 in a confrontation with Amin supporters." -
Moving to Fremont
In America, Baba and Amir decided to move to "Fremont, California. 1980s. Baba loved the idea of America. It was living in America that gave him an ulcer" (125). In Afghanistan, the Taliban started to take over which forced Baba and Amir out of their homes to a new country. This sudden change greatly impacted Amir and Baba's daily lives. -
Afghans escaping the War
The article states, "Some 2.8 million Afghans have fled from the war to Pakistan, and another 1.5 million have fled to Iran. Afghan guerrillas gain control of rural areas, and Soviet troops hold urban areas." -
Osama bin Laden travels to Afghanistan to aid soldiers
The article mentions, "Although he claims to have traveled to Afghanistan immediately after the Soviet invasion, Saudi Islamist Osama bin Laden makes his first documented trip to Afghanistan to aid anti-Soviet fighters." -
The reasons why Amir visited Afghanistan
In chapter sixteen, Amir explains, "There were a lot of reasons why I went to Hazarajat to find Hassan in 1986. The biggest one, Allah forgave me, was that I was lonely. By then, most of my friends and relatives had either been killed or had escaped the country to Pakistan or Iran"(203). While Amir was in America, a lot happened in Afghanistan. Growing up, Amir was very familiar with the people and surroundings of Kabul, but now, Kabul felt like a completely different city. -
Summer of 1988
In 1988, "about six months before the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, I finished my first novel, a father-son story set in Kabul written mostly with the typewriter the general had given me"(182). Once Baba and Amir move to America, he wants to pursue writing as his job. Everyone supports him, and so he is able to publish his work. -
Shifting focus to America
According to the article, "In September, Osama bin Laden and 15 other Islamists form the group al-Qaida, or “the base”, to continue their jihad, or holy war, against the Soviets...With their belief that the Soviet’s faltering war in Afghanistan was directly attributable to their fighting, they claim victory in their first battle, but also begin to shift their focus to America, saying the remaining superpower is the main obstacle to the establishment of a state based on Islam." -
Peace Signing
According to the article, "The U.S., Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Soviet Union sign peace accords in Geneva guaranteeing Afghan independence and the withdrawal of 100,000 Soviet troops." -
Sanaubar finding Hassan
When Sanaubar finds Hassan, she "delivered Hassan's son that winter of 1990...They named him Sohrab, after Hassan's favorite hero from the Shahnamah, as you know, Amir jan" (211). As Sanaubar grew older, she finally re-entered Hassan's life and helped give birth to Sohrab. Sohrab and Sanaubar were very close, but when she died, Sohrab was never the same. -
Soraya and Adoption
In March of 1991, Soraya breaks the news to her parents, saying "'The doctor said we could adopt,'"(186). Because Soraya is not able to produce a child, the only way for her to raise a child is through adoption. Her father does not support the idea of adoption, which does not leave very many options for Soraya and Amir. -
Rockets in Kabul
While driving through the Karteh-Seh, Amir thinks to himself, "Just east of it was the Bala Hissar Fort---the ancient citadel that the warlord Dostum had occupied in 1992---on the Shirdarwaza mountain range, the smae mountain from which Mujahedin forces had showered Kabul with rockets between 1992 and 1996, inflicting much of the damage I was witnessing now " (245). Here, Amir explains how Kabul is now. He shows the difference between how it was in his childhood versus how he experiences it now. -
Rise to power with promise of peace
PBS mentions, "Newly formed Islamic militia, the Taliban, rises to power on promises of peace. Most Afghans, exhausted by years of drought, famine and war, approve of the Taliban for upholding traditional Islamic values. The Taliban outlaw cultivation of poppies for the opium trade, crack down on crime, and curtail the education and employment of women." -
The Taliban and daily fighting
While calling Amir, Rah Khan says, "I told you how we all celebrated in 1996 when the Taliban rolled in and put an end to the daily fighting"(213). Rahim Khan describes what Kabul was like, while the Taliban took over. As Rahim Khan took this as a sign of peace, Hassan did not and did not have an opinion about it. -
Sohrab and Kite Running
As Amir and Sohrab decide to go kite running, Amir notices "a smile, nothing more. It didn't make everything all right. It didn't make anything all right. Only a smile. A tiny thing. A leaf in the woods, shaking in the wake of a startled bird's flight. But I'll take it. With open arms" (371). This indicates a hope for the future of Amir and Sohrab's relationship. Amir is able to see Hassan through Sohrab, which helps Amir remember his childhood with Hassan. -
Attack against America
According to the article, "Hijackers commandeer four commercial airplanes and crash them into the World Trade Center Towers in New York, the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., and a Pennsylvania field, killing thousands. Days later, U.S. officials say bin Laden, the Saudi exile believed to be hiding in Afghanistan, is the prime suspect in the attack."
