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Allies
The soviet Union and Afghanistan become allies when "Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushcher agrees to help Afghanistan" (PBS News Hour). -
Hassan's harelip surgery
After Amir reads Hassan's letters, he looks back at "that day in 1974, in the hospital room, just after Hassan's harelip surgery. Baba, Rahim Khan, Ali, and I huddles around Hassan's bed, watching him examine his new lip in a handheld mirror" (Hosseini 219). when Hassan was little, he had a clef lip, and one year for his birthday, Baba brought in a professional plastic surgeon to make that go away for Hassan. After the surgery, all of the people closest to him where there with him. -
Hassan and Amir win the kite race
As Amir goes kite running with Sohrab, he remembers, "in the winter of 1975, just after I had cut the last kite, when I spotted Baba on our rooftop, clapping, beaming" (Hosseini 370). This day that Amir is looking back on is the day that he and Hassan won the kite race. He can relate this to the present day because the people watching a kite race in Fremont, California cheered for Amir and Sohrab just as baba had for Amir and Hassan. -
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Women's Rights
Between 1975 and 1977, "Khan preposes a new constitution that grants women rights and works to modernize the largely communist state" (PBS News Hour). -
Hassan and Ali leave Baba's house
The day that Amir lied and told Baba that Hassan stole some of his birthday presents, Ali said, "'[w]e are leaving, Agha sahib'... 'What?' Baba said, the color draining from his face. 'We can't live here anymore,' Ali said" (Hosseini 106). This is hard for Baba since it is his son who is leaving as a result of something his other son did. But because of the tension between Amir and Hassan, Ali protected "his son" and moved out of Baba's home. -
U.S. Stops Helping Afghanistan
After Adolph Dubs is killed, "[t]he United Stated cuts off assistance to Afghanistan" (PBS News Hour). -
Amir and Soraya's Wedding.
On he and Soraya's wedding day, Amir recalls: "I remember sitting on the sofa, set on the stage like a throne, Soraya's hand in mine, as three hundred or so faces looked on" (Hosseini 171). This is a joyful day for Amir and Soraya. They are happy with each other and both families put a lot of money into the wedding. Baba is likely happy because of Soraya's social status. So Amir is able to please Baba before his death and pleases himself as well. -
Receiving Arms
In 1986, "[t]he Mujahadeen are receiving arms from the United States, Britain and China via Pakistan" (PBS News Hour). -
Baba dies and Amir needs to learn how to identify as his own person
Once Baba died, Amir states, "[m]y whole life, I had been 'Baba's son.' Now he was gone. Baba couldn't show me the way anymore; I'd have to find it on my own" (Hosseini 174). Here, Amir is realizing that he will not be able to ride on Baba's coattail, now he needs to fend for himself and become his own person. Baba and Amir were also very unalike so it might be easier for Amir to become his own person because he won't need to please Baba anymore which was the main cause of most of Amir's guilt. -
Amir publishes his own books.
As Amir says he has published four books, Rahim Khan "... smiled at [that], said he had never had any doubt. I told him I had written short stories in the... notebook he'd given me" (Hosseini 198). While Baba preferred Amir be interested his world, Rahim Khan encouraged Amir to write and do what he loved. In the end this payed off because if Amir had not continued to write he wouldn't feel as accomplished. -
Peace Treaty Signed
In the year of 1989, "[t]he U.S., Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Soviet Union sign peace accords in Geneva guaranteeing Afghan independence and the withdrawal of 100,000 Soviet troops" (PBS News Hour). -
Sanabaur returns and atones for leaving Hassan as a child
When Sanabaur sees Hassan she says, "' You smiled coming our out of me, did anyone ever tell you that? And I wouldn't even hold you. Allah forgive me, I wouldn't even hold you'" (Hosseini 210). Hassan went his whole life motherless until 1990. And when his mother returned, atoned for her mistake and was forgiven by Hassan we could tell that they were going to share many memorable moments together. The fact that she went to all that trouble to find him really shows her great morals and values. -
Sohrab is born
When Hassan's son was born "[t]hey named him Sohrab... [h]e was a beautiful little boy, sweet as sugar, and had the same temperature as his father" (Hosseini 211). On that day Sanaubar was there to meet her grandson, which meant a lot to Hassan. Also it was a big deal that his son was alive considering the fact that his first child was stillborn. And since Hassan and Sohrab's temperature were the same, this tells us that Hassan and Sohrab will have a great father -son relationship. -
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Drought
As a drought continues, it “devastates farmers and makes many rural areas uninhabitable” (PBP News Hour). -
Amir feels closure from after what happened to Hassan
After fighting Assef, Amir states, "[m]y body was broken-just how badly I wouldn't find out until later-but I felt healed. Healed at last" (Hosseini 289). Amir was never able to let go Hassan's rape, from the year of 1975 to 2000 Amir had felt guilty because he did not stop the rape. But because Amir gets beat up by Assef, he feels as if he is finally getting what he deserved. And the fact that he is able to save Sohrab and spare him from could potentially happen to him, Amir feels closure. -
Hassan and Farzana get shot by the Taliban
Rahim Khan tells Amir about the Taliban killing Hassan and Farzana, "'so they took him into the street'... 'and ordered him to kneel'... 'and shot him in the back of the head'...'Farzana came screaming and attacked them'... 'shot her too.'" (Hosseini 219). Amir is absolutely shocked when he hears about this, but all he could think to say was "no". This is hard for Amir, especially because he never had a chance fo apologize to Hassan. Or even get to see him again. -
Amir finds Sohrab unconscious in the bath tub
Just as Amir is about to tell Sohrab that he doesn't need to go to an orphanage again, "[he] pushed the door opened. Stepped into the bathroom. Suddenly [Amir] was on [his] knees screaming. Screaming through [his] clenched teeth" (Hosseini 343). As Amir walks in to the bathroom, and finds Sohrab unconscious in the bath tub. Sohrab was not happy with his life and would rather not be live anymore than have to go to another orphanage, he was terrified of what could have been done to him. -
Amir and Sohrab arrive at Amir's house
Seven months after Amir and Sohrab arrive at Amirs house, Amir states, "[w]e arrived home... on a warm day in August 2001" (Hosseini 357). It was such a hard process for Amir to track down Sohrab and get him into America. We can assume that it gave Amir such a great sense of relief to finally be able to be settled in his home again. -
Amir finds out that Hassan is his half brother
While Rahim Khan tells Amir that Hassan is his half brother, Amir states, "I felt like a man sliding down a steep cliff, clutching at shrubs and tangles of brambles and coming up empty-handed. The room was swooping up and down, swaying side to side" (Hosseini 222). The shock of finding out that his best friend/servant was his half brother and that their father didn't tell either of them is a huge shock. Amir has a really hard time processing this information and thinks less of Baba. -
Amir breaks a promise to Sohrab
When Amir tells Sohrab that he might need to go back to an orphanage, Sohrab states, “‘[y]ou promised you’d never put me in one of those places, Amir agha,’ he said” (Hosseini 341). When Amir breaks a promise to a young traumatized boy, he also breaks the trust between himself and that boy, Sohrab. Amir had only just gained Sohrab’s trust, and just like that, he breaks it by telling him that he will have to go to an orphanage. -
9/11
On September 11, 2001, "[h]ijackers commandeer four commercial airplanes and crash them into the World Trade Center Towers in New York, the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., and a Pennsylvania field killing thousands" (PBS News Hour). -
U.S. Retaliation
When the Taliban refuses to turn over bin Laden, "U.S. and British forces launch airstrikes against targets in Afghanistan" (PBS News Hour). -
Amir and Sohrab go kite running
Amir states, "'[d]o you want me to run that kite for you?'... I thought I saw him nod. "For you, a thousand times over" (Hosseini 371). This is the moment what Sohrab begins to warm up to Amir and trust him after Amir broke his promise of never sending Sohrab back to a orphanage ever again. Also this demonstrates how Amir is atoning and doing what Hassan did for him to Hassan's father-less son. -
Presidential Election
During the 2004 presidential elections, “Karzai is elected with 55 percent of the vote” (PBS News Hour). -
Americans leave Afghan Villages
After a U.S. soldier kills 16 innocent people in the safety of their own homes, “President Hamid Karzai calls for American forces to leave Afghan villages and pull back to their bases” (PBS News Hour).