Kite Runner & the History of Afghanistan

By 20garciaj40

  • Baba's born

    Amir tells us that in the year of 1993, "Baba was born and the year Zahir Shah began his 40 year reign of Afghanistan" (25) which shows when Baba was born Zahir Shah was the president while Baba was still a child.

  • Baba's Orphanage

    In chapter 3, Amir tells us that in the late 1960s that's when "Baba decided to build an orphanage" (13), which indicates that Baba wanted to help and take care of children in need.

  • Hassan's Birth

    Amir states that Hassan had been born in 1964 by Sanaubar . "None of us had seen Sanaubar since she had eloped with a band of singers in 1964, just after she had given birth to Hassan"(210). This shows that Sanaubar was the mom of Hassan, but she had not committed to helping Hassan grow into the person he is now. She left him.

  • Baba's Break

    in 1970, Amir states that Baba "took a break from the construction of the orphanage and flew to Tehran for a month to watch the World Cup games on television" (20) which shows that soccer is a big thing to Baba given the fact he took a break from the making of his orphanage.

  • Amir's Stories

    in 1973, Amir states that in July Amir played a trick on Hassan, "I had pretended I was reading from the book, flipping pages regularly, but I had abandoned the text altogether" (30). This is an important event in the novel because this was the start of Amir telling his stories to Hassan, and Hassan actually cherished and liked Amir's stories.

  • New Constitution

    Prime Minister Mohammed Daoud Khan solves women's rights issue by granting a new constitution that gives women rights. "Khan proposes a new constitution that grants women rights" (Admin)

  • Amir's Atonement

    Amir states that since the winter of 1975, Amir had never felt at peace. " I felt at peace. I laughed because I saw that, in some hidden nook in a corner of my mind, I'd been looking forward to this"(288). This shows that when Assef beat Amir, Amir was actually looking forward to it because he thought that it was the only way to atone for all his sins with Baba and Hassan in the past.

  • Hassan's Last time Running a Kite

    In the winter of 1975, Amir states that he "saw Hassan run a kite for the last time"(55). This shows that this was the last time Hassan ran a kite because this was before the rape. We could analyze that Hassan never ran a kite ever again after he got raped.

  • Summer of 1976

    Amir turned 13 in the summer of 1976, and he thought "things between Baba and me were cooling off again"(93), which shows that maybe Baba could be cooling off either because it's Amir's birthday or them two could be getting along.

  • Khan's Death

    Khan loses his life during a communist coup. Nur Mohammad Taraki "takes control of the country as president" which shows Nur Mohammad must be the the leader of the country due to the death of Khan

  • America Cuts Assistance To Afghanistan

    American Ambassador Adolph Dubs is killed. USSR "intervenes with Afghanistan to boost the communism" which shows that the Soviets intended to spread communism throughout the world.

  • Soviet Army Invasion

    In 1979, the Soviet Army "invades and props up communist government" which shows that the Soviets intended to bring communism to Afghanistan.

  • Baba and Amir's life in America

    In 1980, life was much harder for Baba and Amir. It had a total different environment and to him it was a entirely different social class and economy. "It turned out that Baba had had no cash…" (127) which shows that it was truly a struggle for Baba to earn his cash due to his social economic status which was completely different in Kabul.

  • Baba leads the move to America

    In March 1981, Baba, Amir, Kamal, and Kamal's son flee to America. Sadly Kamal and his son don't make the trip to a better life. "Kamal's father shoved the barrel down his own mouth" (124). This shows that Kamal's father knew that if he wouldn't of killed himself he could have struggled a lot more, so he just ended his life the easy way due to him having nothing left, because his son had died.

  • Amir's Graduation

    In the summer of 1983, Amir states he finally "graduated from high school at the age of twenty"(131). This shows that Amir was obviously one of the older seniors at his high school, spending another year or two there. Also, that he had been working hard because coming as a foreign student couldn't of been easy.

  • Amir's Quest to Find Hassan

    In 1986, Amir states that he went to Hazarajat to find Hassan for many reasons. For one, "…was that I was lonely. By then, most of my friends and relatives had either been killed or had escaped the country"(203). This shows that Amir had been very lonely, and that Amir somewhat misses Hassan's presence.

  • Amir's First Novel

    As Amir states, in the summer of 1988 he had just "finished my first novel, a father-son story set in Kabul" (182) which shows that Amir's practice while telling stories to Hassan have actually came into play due to Amir wanting to write books.

  • Soviet Intervention

    In 1988, the countries seize, " Afghanistan, USSR, the US and Pakistan sign peace accords and Soviet Union begins pulling out troops" which shows they have no other intentions due to their pulling of troops.

  • Baba's Death

    In 1988, Baba was diagnosed with cancer and after a month after the wedding, Amir states "We closed the door. Baba never woke up"(173). This shows although Baba died, he died a proud father because of the marriage of Soraya and Amir. Also it indicates Amir will be quiet sad due to the death of his father.

  • Soviet Army Leaving

    In 1989, the "Last Soviet troops leave, but civil war continues as mujahideen push to overthrow Najibullah" which shows that still when the Soviet troops leave, the civil war continues to overthrow Najibullah.

  • Hassan's New Baby

    In early 1990, Amir states that "Faranza had become pregnant again"(209) This shows that Amir may show a little jealousy, due to the fact that Soraya and Amir actually are unable to have a baby.

  • Taliban Take Kabul

    In 1996, the Taliban "seize control of Kabul and introduce hard-line version of Islam, banning women from work, and introducing Islamic punishments, which include stoning to death and amputations" which shows the Taliban are only getting stronger and stronger as time progresses.

  • Taliban's Arrival

    In 1997, a new group comes into power known as the Taliban. "Taliban recognised as legitimate rulers by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. They now control about two-thirds of country" which shows that the Taliban was a powerful group taking control of about 60% of Afghanistan.

  • Osama bin Laden

    In 1998, Afghan militant Osama bin Laden was "accused of bombing US embassies in Africa" which shows that Osama bin Laden is not friendly with America.

  • Taliban Leader Killed

    In 2001, the leader of the Taliban was killed, "Ahmad Shah Masood, leader of the main opposition to the Taliban - the Northern Alliance - is assassinated" which shows the end of of his regime and a setback for the Taliban's effectiveness.