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Coup in Kabul
After Amir is about to answer Hassan's questions relating to his short story, a coup occurs and "the earth shook a little and we heard the rat-tat-tat of gunfire" (Hosseini 35). Amir and Hassan were very frightened by this event, as their king was overthrown and their life was disrupted. Their life had changed forever and they weren't even aware of it. The ground shaking represents the rocky path that lays ahead of them, and the gunfire, all the roadblocks they will endure because of the coup. -
Significance of the kite
While describing the kite contest, Amir says "the Russians would eventually learn by the late 1980s that Afghans are an independent people. Afghans cherish custom but abhor rules. And so it was with kite fighting" (Hosseini 52). The Russians were not going to change the way Afghans lived as they loved customs, similar to how much they enjoyed the kite flying contest every winter. The significance of the kite is shown as an independent thing where Amir and Hassan fly it without help from others. -
The Ultimate Excuse
Whenever Amir feels guilty about something related to Hassan, he claims, "'It's just a Hazara'" (Hosseini 75). When Amir watches Hassan get raped, he watches, terrorized by fear. Amir agrees with Assef and overlooks the fact that Hassan is the closest thing to a friend Amir will ever have. Amir uses this saying as an act to defend himself, and to convince himself that he is still a good person even though he watched Assef act in an unforgivable way. -
Amir's True Character
In the scene in the alley, Amir could've saved Hassan and his sacrificed his father's blessing for it but he chose against it when he said, "I ran because I was a coward" (Hosseini 77). Amir had the opportunity to make the right decision that possibly could've changed his and Hassan's life, but he chose in that moment he was going to be a coward. Amir wanted his father's approval more than anything, but he took the wrong approach to it, and ruined a friendship, and his integrity. -
Soviet Union Invade Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, the extremists and disaster "can be traced to the 1979 invasion by the Soviet Union [...] parachuted into kabul [...] to assist Babrak Karmal, who had become president in a coup" (NYT). -
Night of the Coup in Amir's Life
Amir reflects on his life and how the coup affected it by saying, "Russian tanks would roll into the very same streets where Hassan and I played, bringing the death of the Afghanistan I knew and marking the start of a still ongoing era" (Hosseini 36). Amir foreshadows to the events that will occur later in the book by saying how the war forever changed his beloved home where he grew up. His longing for an almost perfect life is illustrated through this dragged on paragraph in the book. -
Baba and Amir Escape Afghanistan
Baba and Amir escaped through a truck where a person, Karim, smuggled them and Amir referred to it as a "pretty lucrative business'" (Hosseini 111). The only option to leave their unsafe home in Kabul was to go on an illegal voyage. Karim made money by smuggling people to safety, and as unpleasant as it was, it was necessary to leave Afghanistan. -
Trust No One
In a world of war and terror, everyone seemed to be able to turn on each other. Amir says that "you couldn't trust anyone in Kabul anymore" (Hosseini 112). Money and making sure you could stay alive was the most important thing and people would do anything to protect themselves, even if it meant ratting out your loved ones. Amir knew this and him and Baba trusted no one other than each other through this difficult time. -
Amir Finally Has His Father's Approval
When Amir graduates from high school Baba says to him, "'I am moftakhir, Amir' he said. Proud" (Hosseini 131). Amir has longed for his father to be proud of him ever since he was little, before the kite tournament, and his time finally came. Amir relished in the words as he accomplished something amazing. Amir is so happy to have Baba finally be proud of him after all that they've endured. Amir finally won over his father through completing his education. -
First Conversation with Soraya
As Amir walked past the Taheris stand, he finally decided to act on his feelings and have a conversation, but when he asked a a question, "well, "[they'd] be chatting," (Hosseini 146). This threatened the Afghan way as he was engaging in conversation with a women. It could possibly make her look bad as Afghans looked straight past the fact that Amir was the one who started the conversation. Amir let his heart get in front of his brain, and hoped it wouldn't turn out bad. -
Afghanistan Divided
After a tumultuous war with the Soviet Union, "power was anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms" (NYT). -
The Life of Rahim Khan in Kabul Post-Invasion
After Baba and Amir left, Rahim Khan was left alone in Kabul. He says how "most of [his] friends and relatives had either been killed or had escaped the country to Pakistan or Iran" (Hosseini 203). Rahim Khan needed to be able to talk to someone he was familiar with in a hard time, but no one was around that he could talk to. So many loved ones in Afghanistan of his were no longer available due to the invasion of the Russians. Life was dreary for Rahim Khan as he had no one to talk to. -
Soraya and Baba
Because Baba is so sick, and Soraya knows that family is everything to Amir, "Soraya dedicated herself to taking care of my father" (Hosseini 172). Soraya demonstrates her love for Amir by helping his family for taking care of his father and treating him as if he was her own father. She puts others before herself as she delayed moving into her own place with Amir to take care of Baba. Family is everything to her and it brings Amir and Soraya even closer. -
Impact of Baba's Death
At Baba's funeral many people came up to Amir and shared how Baba had affected them. Amir says, "Listening to them, I realized how much of who I was, had been defined by Baba and the marks he had left on people's lives." (Hosseini 174). Amir finally realized the importance of his father and the lasting legacy he had created for himself. Amir finally was able to appreciate all the acts of kindness his father did for other people, things that he envied prior to his death. -
Soviet Union Leaves Afghanistan
After dicussions led by the UN to get the Soviets out of Afghanistan, "the last troops left in February 1989, in what was in effect a unilateral withdraw" (NYT). -
Taliban Receives Aid
In early 1994, officers from Pakistan began to funnel "arms, money, supplies to Mullah Omar's men, as well as military advisers to help guide them in battle" (NYT). -
Rise of the Taliban
Mullah Omar, a war survivor with only one eye, "had nearly 12,000 followers and was rolling up the warlords to the north and east" (NYT). -
Taliban in Control of Government
The Taliban had taken control of the country "imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law, banning movies and music, and forcing women out of schools and into all-enveloping burqa clothing" (NYT). -
Hassan is Baba's Son
When Amir visits Rahim Khan he learns of the shocking news that Hassan is his half brother and in his outrage he cries, "I'm thirty-eight years old and I've just found out my whole life is one big fucking lie!" (Hosseini 223). Amir is devastated that his half-brother, Hassan, was now dead and he couldn't make up for the fact that he didn't stop his rape all those years ago. This outburst makes all the guilt Amir felt decades ago flood back and he can't take it all in. -
9/11/2001
On September 11, Al Queda, lead by Osama bin Laden, striked the World Trade Centers in NYC,NY causing the US to act fast, "to hand over Mr. bin Laden" (NYT). -
Amir Atones
Amir starts laughing while he is getting brutally beaten up by Assef, and Amir says, "for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace." (Hosseini 289). Ever since Amir had watched Hassan get raped, his conscious beat himself up over it. All he wanted to do was be hurt the same way Hassan had been to redeem himself of the sin he committed. By having Assef beat him up Amir could finally let go of the guilt that weighed him down for 25 years. -
After Taliban Defeat
The Taliban did not stop after they were removed from rule in 2001. They "continued to wage a guerrilla warfare from a base in the mountains and largely lawless tribal area on the Pakistan-Afghanistan Border" (NYT). -
New President of Afghanistan
Hamid Karzai was named president of the Afghanistan government because he is the relative and supporter of "the exiled former king of Afghanistan" (NYT). -
Connection to Hassan
Just like Hassan had done for Amir when they were children, he would run kites and when Amir gets an opportunity to run a kite for Sohrab several years later he says, "'For you, a thousand times over." (Hosseini 371). Amir feels the connection to Hassan through Sohrab. Amir concludes that he can do all these things with Sohrab that he once did with Hassan. Amir longs for the days before Hassan was raped, but years later makes up for it by being the best possible version of himself to Sohrab. -
More Troops to Afghanistan
Even though Obama promised to have all troops removed by 2011, he "announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops" (NYT).