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Assef Foreshadows Hassan's Rape
During chapter five Assef confronts Hassan and Amir. Hassan threatens to shoot a slingshot at Assef and he backs down but not without saying, "'You should know something about me, Hazara.' Assef said gravely. 'I'm a very patient person. This doesn't end today, believe me.'" (Hosseini 42-43) In this instance Assef is threatening to hurt Hassan in the future. This foreshadows that he will hurt him in the near future, which he does. -
Hassan Is Raped
In chapter seven, Assef and his friends find Hassan carrying the blue kite and Assef decides that Hassan deserves to be raped because he won't give him the kite. Amir is standing watching this happen and he almost speaks and he realizes that, "the rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had. But I didn't. I just watched. Paralyzed." (Hosseini 73) This shows that Amir realizes that if he had stopped this event his life would've changed. He actually might've lived with Hassan. -
Amir Wins the Kite Tournament
In chapter seven, prior to Hassan being raped, Amir wins the kite tournament and he and Hassan say, "'You won, Amir Agha! You won!' 'We Won! We Won!' was all I could say. This wasn't happening. In a moment, I'd blink and rouse from this beautiful dream," (Hosseini 66). In this instance Hassan is saying to Amir that Amir has won the tournament, but Amir understands the value of Hassan's help to win. Amir can't even believe he won this and he believes that Baba may love him now. -
Ali and Hassan Leave Baba and Amir
Following Hassan being raped, Amir and Hassan were no longer close. Amir distanced himself from Hassan and the final straw was when he framed him. Even though Baba forgave Hassan, Ali said, "'We are leaving, Agha sahib,' Ali said... 'Life here is impossible for us now, Agha sahib.'" (Hosseini 106) This quotation represents when everyone in the story besides Baba knows that Hassan was raped. Hassan probably begged Ali not to tell Baba about it to save Amir, someone who was terrible to Hassan. -
The Soviet Invade Afghanistan
During the late 1970s the Soviets began trying to invade Afghanistan. "The first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 27, 1979." (NYT) -
Amir and Baba Escape Afghanistan
In 1979 the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, but in March of 1981 Amir and Baba escaped to Pakistan. They were in the car driving and Amir told us, "Karim was a people smuggler-it was a pretty lucrative business then, driving people out of Shorawi-occupied Kabul to the relative safety of Pakistan." (111) In this quote Amir is discussing the danger of Afghanistan and saying Pakistan is a relatively safe but still dangerous. Amir also tells us that the Soviets are occupying his home town so they left. -
Amir and Baba Arrive in Fremont, CA
After they escaped Afghanistan and got their visas, Amir and Hassan head to California. Amir tells us, "Baba loved the idea of America." (Hosseini 125) (Idea is italicized) When Amir stresses idea it shows us that we will soon learn America wasn't the best to Baba. Baba will have issues with something that will ultimately force him to want to or actually go back to Afghanistan. -
Amir Gets Married to Soraya
In chapter twelve Baba begins to decline. Amir knows he needs to marry the someone while Baba is alive and Soraya is perfect. After a doctor's appointment with Baba, Amir asks for a favor. Amir says, "'I want you to go khastegari. I want you to ask General Taheri for his daughter's hand.'" (Hosseini 160) In this quotation Amir is revealing what every reader knew, he loves Soraya; however, he is also doing this to please Baba while he is still alive. -
Baba Dies
In chapter 12, Baba becomes extremely sick. He has cancer. He ends up dying in a peaceful way. In fact, his last words were, "'There is no pain tonight.'" (Hosseini 173) This is shortly after Amir is married to Soraya which is a main reason why Baba died peacefully. He raised a successful son--for the most part--and he is proud of himself and he feels he can finally let go. -
Soviet Forces Depart
During the late 1980s the Soviets began to disembark from Afghanistan. "The last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989." (NYT) -
The Taliban Takeover
During the 1990s the Taliban began to rise and "by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing strict enforcement of fundamental Islamic law." (NYT) -
The Afghanistan Civil War Ends
During 1996 "the Afghanistan Civil War came to a close" and ultimately caused the uprising of the Taliban. (NYT) -
Amir First Mentions the Winter of 1975
In Chapter one Amir first mentions how the winter of 1975 changed him when he says, "I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975." (Hosseini 1) In this quotation Amir explains that he changed after that day. He foreshadows that something very important happens in the winter of 1975 and we will soon find out. -
Amir Visits Rahim Khan
When Amir gets a call that Rahim Khan is very sick he goes to visit him. When he arrives he learns many things about Hassan's life and the truth about Hassan's father. Amir's first reaction is to say, "'What can you possibly say to me? I'm thirty-eight years old and I've just found out my whole life is one big f---ing lie!'"(Hosseini 223) In this quote Amir is reacting to Rahim Khan telling him that Baba is Hassan's father. This quote is clearly why Baba forgave Hassan when he "stole" from Amir. -
Hassan Dies
During chapter seventeen we learn that Hassan has died. Rahim Khan is telling Amir this. Rahim describes it and says they, "shot him in the back of the head." (Hosseini 219) In this quotation the whole world comes unraveling around Amir. He realizes that the only way that he was going to be good again was to make it right for Hassan. And now that Hassan is dead, that is going to be a lot harder for him. -
Amir Tries to Retrieve Sohrab/Sohrab Shoots Assef in the Eye
In chapter twenty-two Amir pays a visit to a Taliban member, unaware of the fact that it's his childhood nemesis, Assef. Amir goes to retrieve Sohrab, Hassan's son. Sohrab is brave enough to shoot Assef. Then Assef is the one in pain when he, "[R]olled on the carpet. Rolled side to side, shrieking, his hand still cupped over the bloody socket." (Hosseini 291)In this quotation Sohrab does something his father always wanted to do, shoot Assef. It shows the real courage that Sohrab contains inside. -
Sohrab Attempts Suicide
In the end of chapter twenty-four Sohrab attempts suicide after Amir tells him that he might have to go back to an orphanage. Sohrab can't bare this news so he goes in the bathroom and hopes to not come out alive. Amir fell to the ground and began, "[s]creaming through my clenched teeth. Screaming until I thought my throat would rip and my chest would explode." (Hosseini 343) In this quote Amir is reacting to what Sohrab did. Amir truly believes he will never see Sohrab again and he can't bare. -
The Attacks on the World Trade Center
The World Trade Center attacks were attacks on "Sept. 11... by Al Qaeda." (NYT) -
The United States Invades Afghanistan
Following the attacks on the World Trade Center, "[T]he United States joined forces with rebel groups that had never accepted Taliban rule." (NYT) -
Sohrab and Amir Run Kites
At the end of the book Amir makes one final attempt to get Sohrab to talk. He does this by using a kite. The most important quote of the book is when Amir says to Sohrab, "For you, a thousand times over." (Hosseini 371) In this scenario Amir is using something he and Hassan used to love and the thing that ultimately drove them apart. Although Sohrab never deliberately talks at the end he does smile showing us that maybe Amir finally connected with him. -
Amir Reflects on His Life
At the beginning of the story we learn what Amir has become. The story tells us how. In chapter 1, Amir says, "I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975." (Hosseini 1) We later learn that this is the day Amir witnessed Hassan's rape. In 1975 Amir made a choice that affected who he became for better or for worse. In the end, he did all he could to atone his sins, by adopting Sohrab and fighting Assef. This is Amir's true attempt at atonement. -
The Karzai Government
Following 9/11 Karzai vowed to make the country better. He exiled the former leader and "took office as interim president in June 2002" (NYT) -
Obama Adds More Troops
With the war increasing and it necessary for President Obama to send more troops he said he would "deploy 30,000 additional troops." (NYT) -
The Afghanistan Deadline
Obama "vowed to start bringing troops home from Afghanistan in the middle of 2011" (NYT) -
Obama Leaves Troops in Afghanistan
Obama was attempting to remove troops by 2011 but during his speech he "emphasized the idea that the United States will have forces in the country until at least the end of 2014" (NYT)