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Hassan has surgery to fix his cleft lip
For his birthday, Baba gives Hassan a surgery to fix his cleft lip. "The surgery went well. We were all a little shocked when they first removed the bandages, but kept our smiles on just as Dr. Kumar had instructed us,"(Hosseini 46) Amir and Hassan don't know that they are half brothers at the time. They don't know that Hassan is Baba's son. This foreshadows the revelation that Hassan and Amir are related because it's puzzling to the reader and Amir why Baba is treating his servant's son well. -
Hassan is raped by Assef
At the kite fighting competition, Assef traps Hassan in an alley and rapes him while Amir watches. Amir thinks, "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. In the end, I ran." (Hosseini 77) This reveals a lot about both Amir and Hassan's character and their values. Hassan is loyal and values being loyal, however Amir was selfish and only cared about his kite. -
Period: to
kite runner timeline
a timeline :) -
Ali and Hassan leave
Ali and Hassan are preparing to leave. Ali says, ""We are leaving, Agha sahib," Ali said. "What?" Baba said, the color draining from his face. "We can't live here anymore," Ali said. "But I forgive him, Ali, didn't you hear?...Then I saw Baba do something I had never seen him do before. He cried" (106-107) This foreshadows the fact that Amir and Hassan are related. At this point, the reader thinks that Ali is just a servant, so it's puzzling as to why it's hard for Baba to let them go. -
The soviet invasion starts
Afghanistan is at peace until "The first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 27, 1979, to assist Babrak Karmal, who had become president in a coup within the Afghan communist leadership" (New York Times) -
Amir and Baba go to America
When Amir and Baba go to America, Baba is loving it, "But the Bay Area's smog stung his eyes, the traffic noise gave him headaches, and the pollen made him cough. The fruit was never sweet enough, the water never clean enough, and where were all the trees and open fields?" (126) Baba is a respectable man in Afghanistan and is particular. He wanted to go to America for a while, yet it's still not good enough for him and he still has complaints. This shows that nothing, like Amir, can please Baba. -
Baba is diagnosed with cancer
Baba and Amir discover that Baba has cancer. "It turned out that, like Satan, cancer had many names. Baba's was called "Oat Cell Carcinoma." Advanced. Inoperable," (Hosseini 155-156) Baba refuses chemotherapy, much to Amir's dismay. Baba gets mad at Amir when he challenges his choice, which reveals the power structure in their relationship. It shows that Baba has power over Amir and is not willing to change his mind which to him, means losing his power to Amir and giving in. -
Soraya confesses a mistake she made
Soraya reveals a secret to Amir after their engagement. ""When we lived in Virginia, I ran away with an Afghan man. I was eighteen at the time... rebellious...stupid, and he was into drugs...We lived together for almost a month. All the Afghans in Virginia were talking about it," (Hosseini 164) This conveys Soraya's trust and loyalty to Amir and Amir's lack of trust to Soraya. Though Soraya told Amir a secret, Amir still refuses to tell Soraya about his big secret that continues to haunt him. -
Amir and Soraya get engaged
Amir is impatiently waiting for a call from the General and Soraya when Baba calls. "The phone rang just before noon. It was Baba. "Well?" "The general accepted." I let out a burst of air," (Hosseini 163) This shows a lot about Amir and Soraya's relationship. This shows how much Amir cares about Soraya. This also shows something about Afghan culture. Amir and Soraya are related, but that doesn't matter. He had to ask General, not Soraya, to marry her, which shows that men have power over women. -
Amir and Soraya get married
When Amir marries Soraya, General says, "Amir jan, as for you, I welcome you to my home as a son ... I hope that you will come to see your Khala Jamila and me as a second set of parents, and I pray for you and our lovely Soraya jan's happiness. You both have our blessings.""(Hosseini 168) This shows a lot about General's character and how he is more nurturing than Baba. It shows that Baba was more of a provider than a parent, and Jamila and the General would replace the lack of parenting. -
Baba dies
Soraya and Amir had a peaceful evening, however in the morning, "Baba never woke up. They filled the parking spots at the mosque in Hayward. On the balding grass field behind the building, cars and SUVs parked in crowded makeshift rows. People had to drive three or four blocks north of the mosque to find a spot," (Hosseini 173) This reveals how important and influential Baba was to so many people. Baba was an extremely powerful and respected man and that carried over even in the United States. -
Amir's first novel is published
Amir is awaiting a call from his agent Martin after writing his first novel. "A month later, Martin called and informed me I was going to be a published novelist. When I told Soraya, she screamed," (Hosseini 183) Soraya's character is generous and selfless. She values Amir's success a lot, which shows in this particular dialogue. She genuinely cares about Amir and supports his passions, which replaces Baba lack of support for Amir's passions. -
Sohrab is born
Rahim Kahn reflects on the day Sohrab was born. "It was Sanaubar who delivered Hassan's son that winter of 1990... She handed him to Hassan and he handed him to me and I sang the prayer of Ayat-ul-kursi in that little boy's ear. They named him Sohrab, after Hassan's favorite hero," (211) Amir hasn't been in Hassan's life recently, so this shows that Amir is distant from his childhood best friend. Hassan started a whole family and Amir didn't know. This shows their distance. -
Mullah Omar gains followers
Mullah Omar was a pashtun against the soviets. "By the end of 1994, Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers and was rolling up the warlords to the North and East," (New York Times) -
Pakistan supports Mullah Omar
Pakistan is against the soviets as well, so "As early as 1994, Pakistani intelligence officers began funneling arms, money and supplies to Mullah Omar's men," (New York Times) -
Taliban Takeover Starts
The Taliban took over Afghanistan "Buoyed by Pakistani aid, the Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law," (New York Times) -
Soviet invasion ends
Because the Taliban took over, "Eventually, after peace talks moderated by the United Nations, the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989," (New York Times) -
Hassan and Farzana are killed
Rahim Khan is updating Amir on Hassan. He says, "Hassan protested again. So they took him to the street-""No," I breathed. "-and order him to kneel-" "No. God, no." "-and shot him in the back of the head." "No." "-Farzana came screaming and attacked them-" "No." "-shot her too. Self defense, they claimed later-"," (219).This shows the power dynamic in Afghanistan and how the Taliban had power over Hazaras. The Taliban could kill anyone and justify it, which shows the inequality in Afghanistan. -
Sohrab attempts suicide
Amir was about to tell Sohrab that he didn't need to go to an orphanage when, "I pushed the door open. Stepped into the bathroom. Suddenly I was on my knees, screaming. Screaming through my clenched teeth. Screaming until I thought my throat would rip and my chest would explode," (343) This quote reveals Amir's character development and how his E/T/V changed over time. He replaces Hassan with Sohrab, and him caring for Sohrab was making atonement for his mistake of watching Assef rape Hassan. -
Taliban Takeover Ends
After 9/11, "Remnants of Al Qaeda and Taliban leadership retreated to Tora Bora in the mountains along the Pakistan border and eventually escaped after a battle there, primarily involving Afghan forces allied with the United States," (New York Times) -
Amir and Sohrab go to America
After Sohrab attempts suicide, Amir brings him to America, "And so it was that, about a week later, we crossed a strip of warm, black, tarmac and I brought Hassan's son from Afghanistan to America, lifting him from the certainty of turmoil and dropping him in a turmoil of uncertainty," (Hosseini 356) A turmoil is a state of confusion. For Sohrab, he recognizes Afghanistan as a turmoil of certainty. America is new for him, so it's a turmoil of uncertainty. Both are chaotic, but one is familiar. -
Amir fights Assef
Assef and Amir are fighting for Sohrab when Amir starts laughing. "WHAT'S SO FUNNY?" Assef bellowed...What was so funny was that, for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace," (289) For the past almost 3o years, Amir has felt guilty for watching Assef rape Hassan. He remembers all the times Hassan took the punches for Amir and how he never did anything for him. He's been seeking atonement, and he feels that by fighting Assef, he's making atonement for watching Hassan get raped. -
9/11
The Taliban attacked New York which caused an uproar. "After the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush gave the Taliban an ultimatum," (New York times) -
Hamid Karzai is elected president
Hamid Karzai was a relative of an old king and was named chairmen of the interim government, "He took office as interim president in June 2002, saying he hoped to secure peace for Afghanistan and win the country much-needed international aid," (New York Times) -
Sohrab Smiles
Amir and Sohrab are running kites when "I looked down at Sohrab. One corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile. Lopsided," (Hosseini 370) This shows that Sohrab and Amir are getting closer and developing a relationship, and Amir has regained Sohrab's trust. Sohrab's lopsided smile also reflects Hassan's lopsided smile. This shows that the connection between Hassan and Amir is being passed down to Sohrab and Amir. -
Obama announces that he's going to deploy 30,000 troops
As the war was happening in Afghanistan, Obama planned to send more troops. "In a speech delivered Dec. 1, 2009, at West point, Mr. Obama announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops," (New York Times) -
American Forces Withdraw from Afghanistan
Although Obama planned to send troops home in 2011, "The Obama administration increasingly emphasizes the idea that the United States will have forces in the country until at least the end of 2014" (New York Times)