-
Hassan and Amir lose their mothers
Amir thinks to himself, "one cold winter day in 1964. While my mother hemorrhaged to death during childbirth, Hassan lost his less than a week after he was born" (6). Having a mother is a very important part of anyone's life. Amir and Hassan both losing their mothers has a very large impact on their life, they will always have a missing part of them. Also who their mothers were defines them, especially Hassan, for the rest of their lives. -
Communist Party Forms in Secret
Babrak Karmal and Nur Mohammad Taraki become the leaders of a secret Afghan communist party. The PBS article states, "The Afghan Communist Party secretly forms." -
Khan overthrows king
In the article from PBS it states, "Khan overthrows the last king, Mohammed Zahir Shah, in a military coup." Khan names himself the president and destroys the monarchy. This later leads to the Republic of Afghanistan being created. -
Amir makes up a story while reading to Hassan
Amir thinks to himself, "in July 1973, I played another little trick on Hassan... I strayed from the written story... but I had abandoned the text altogether, taken over the story, and made up my own" (30). Amir's talent for creating stories is something he wants to pursue, it started with Hassan told him that he had a talent. This carries with Amir for the rest of his life and the support that Hassan showed him also stays. -
Hassan's birthday
Amir get a memory and thinks to himself, "Early that following winter of 1974, Hassan and I were playing in the yard one day... It was Hassan's birthday" (44). Hassan has always been a great friend to Amir and has been very loyal. This quote demonstrates how Hassan was a major part of Amir's childhood and defined him when he was younger. -
Assef Rapes Hassan
Amir says, "I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan--the way he'd stood up for me all those times in the past--and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run" (77). This quote shows how what happened to Hassan test Amir loyalty and their friendship. Amir has an internal conflict with deciding if his friendship is worth getting harassed for. -
Khan Grants Rights
President Khan proposes that there be a new consitution granting women more rights. He also starts to force people out of the government who don't support him. In the PBS article, A Historical Timeline of Afghanistan, it states, "Khan proposes a new constitution that grants women rights... forcing many suspected of not supporting Khan out of the government." -
Amir's birthday
Amir thinks of his life in Kabul and thinks to himself, "I turned thirteen that summer of 1976, Afghanistan's next to last summer of peace and anonymity. Things between Baba and me were already cooling off again" (93). This quote foreshadows how Kabul is going to change drastically. The home that Amir has known will change and AMir will have to grow without it. -
Amir and Baba move to America
Amir thinks about Baba and America and knows that, "Baba loved the idea of America. It was living in America that gave him an ulcer" (125). Baba and Amir's relationship changes when they arrive in America. Baba feels out of place and loses some of the power he felt in Afghanistan. He is less know and less familiar with the country so he is more vulnerable. -
Rahim Khan started living in Baba/s house
Amir is told that, "as arranged between Baba and him, he had lived in Baba's house since 1981" (199). This quote shows how Rahim Khan is trying to salvage the past. Unlike Amir, who runs away from his past, Rahim Khan goes back to the house to restore it and the past. He does not want something that was very special in their lives before to be forgotten and destroyed. -
Russian Soldiers stop the truck for payment
Amir watches as, "Karim cleared his throat, dropped his head. Said the soldier wanted a half hour with the lady in the back of the truck" (115). This quote demonstrates how women in the book are over looked and seen as property. The soldier sees this woman as payment and not as a human. Women have no power over anything and are constantly used. -
Amir and Baba get smuggled out of Kabul
Amir says, "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). Amir and Baba have to leave their home and everything they know behind. They have a difficult time making a knew life from the wanting of their past to come back. -
Afghans flea
The people of Afghanistan start to flea to Pakistan and Iran. In the PBS article it states, "Some 2.8 million Afghans have fled from the war to Pakistan, and another 1.5 million have fled to Iran." Soldiers start to get control over rural and urban areas. -
Amir graduates from high school
Amir thinks to himself, "That summer of 1983, I graduated from high school at the age of twenty, by far the oldest senior tossing his mortarboard on the football field that day" (131). This quote shows how America has changed Amir and given him more confidence. He pushed through high school even though he was much older than the other students. America gives Amir a sense of hope that he can restart his life. -
Osama bin Laden Goes To Afghanistan
The PBS article states, "Although he claims to have traveled to Afghanistan... Osama bin Laden makes his first documented trip to Afghanistan to aid anti-Soviet fighters." The United Nations start to investigate this and they report a human rights violation in Afghanistan. -
Amir meets Soraya
Amir gets is reminded of the first time he met his wife and thinks to himself, "Lying awake in bed that night, I thought of Soraya... Soraya Taheri. My Swap Meet Princess" (142). Soraya changes Amir's life very majorly. He found love in a situation he never thought he would. He is now starting a life in America and it feels more like home. -
Mujahadeen recieve arms
In the PBS article, A Historical Timeline of Afghanistan, it states, "The Mujahadeen are receiving arms from the United States, Britain and China via Pakistan." The war heightens and countries startt to bring in armed forces and soilders. -
Rahim Khan went to go find Hassan
Rahim Khan tells Amir, "There were a lot of reasons why I went to Hazarajat to find Hassan in 1986" (203). This quote shows how Rahim Khan traveled to find Hassan, the missing part in Amir's life. Rahim Khan wants to find Hassan so that Amir can atone for his sins and that a large burden will be lifted off of their own lives. -
Amir finishes his first novel
Amir thinks to himself, "In the summer of 1988... I finished my first novel, a father-son story set in Kabul" (182). This quote shows how Amir has persevered through all the obstacles and has written his first novel about his life and relationship with Baba. This novel also affects his relationship with Baba because he never took his writing seriously and now it is becoming his career. -
Amir and Soraya talk about adopting
Soraya says, "We'd talked at home about adoption... 'but I can't help it. I've always dreamed that I'd hold it in my arms and know my blood had fed it for nine months...'" (186-187). This quote shows the impact of not being able to have a child has on AMir and his family. They won't be able to have a family that is of their own blood and there will always be something missing from the child, not knowing their biological parents. -
Northern Alliance takes over Kabul
Amir is talking to Rahim and, "Rahim Khan told [him]... the Northern Alliance took over Kabul between 1992 and 1996" (199). This event is very important in Amir's life because everything he knew when he was a child is disappearing. With Kabul being taken over, Amir's childhood is slowly going away and everything that happened won't be able to be restored. -
Farmers affected by drought
The drought in Afghanistan dries out all the rural parts and farmers struggle to grow their crops. In the PBS article it says, "Continuing drought devastates farmers and makes many rural areas uninhabitable." About one million people flee from Afghanistan to Pakistan. -
Taliban Invation
The Taliban now start to invade Afghanistan, also trying to gain control of it. The PBS article states, "Ethnic groups in the north, under Masood’s Northern Alliance, and the south, aided in part by Hamid Karzai, continue to battle the Taliban for control of the country." The Taliban also execute Mohammad Najibullah. -
American Attack
President Bill Clinton fires missles to Afghanistan to hit bin Laden's troops. In the PBS article it states, "President Clinton orders cruise missile attacks against bin Laden’s training camps in Afghanistan." These attacks missed the leaders of the terrorist groups and Saudi. -
Hassan is at a soccer game and see Tabilban restrictions
Hassan says to Rahim Khan, "'I was at a soccer game in Ghazi Stadium in 1998... by the way the players weren't allowed to wear shorts. Indecent exposure, I guess'" (198). This quote demonstrates how the Taliban are taking over the lives of people in Afghanistan. They put restrictions on even simple recreational activities and don't allow the normal uniforms for sports.
