by Khaled Hosseini

Khaled Hosseini

• Born in Kabul in 1965• His family moved to San

Jose in 1980• He graduated from Santa

Clara University and UC San Diego School of Medicine

• He is a doctor in San Jose• The Kite Runner is his

first novel (has sold over 3 million copies worldwide)

Story Synopsis

• Maps the journey of Amir, the narrator• The story takes place in Afghanistan, Pakistan,

and the United States from 1975 to 2003

Afghanistan

A VERY Brief History of Afghanistan

• 1919-1929: King introduces reforms intended to modernize Afghanistan

• 1929-1973: Series of different kings and Prime Ministers

• 1973: Afghanistan proclaimed as a republic• 1978: People’s Democratic Party of

Afghanistan (PDPA) assassinates current king, working under the idea of Marxism

A VERY Brief History of Afghanistan

• 1979: Soviet Union invades Afghanistan partly to support the Marxists

• 1980: The United States and other countries begin sending arms to Afghanistan in support of those fighting against the Soviets

• 1981-1989: Afghan resistance groups form an alliance known as mujahedin

• Feb 1989: Soviet troops completely withdraw

A VERY Brief History of Afghanistan

• 1992: Mujahedin take over and instate new president

• 1992-1996: With Communists gone, suppressed ethnic rivalries resurface, leading to civil war

• 1994: The Taliban, made up of mostly Pashtuns, gather support

• Sept 1996: Taliban take Kabul

A VERY Brief History of Afghanistan

• 1997: Non Pashtun groups band together as the Northern Alliance to fight the Taliban

• 1998: Taliban stages massive attack, killing over 6,000 Hazaras

• 1998-2001: Taliban fight the Northern Alliance• 2001: Support by Taliban, Osama bin Laden and Al

Qaeda attacks the United States• Oct 2001: United States starts bombing Afghanistan

when Taliban refuses to hand over bin Laden

A VERY Brief History of Afghanistan

• 2002-2006: International coalition forces fight the remnants of the Taliban. Afghans work to create a constitution and hold democratic elections

• 2004: First democratically elected president takes over in Afghanistan

Synopsis• Narrator’s name is Amir. He-

– belongs to a wealthy family and his father is a businessman– belongs to the dominant Pashtun ethnic group– belongs to the dominant Sunni religious group

• Amir tells the story of his friendship with Hassan-– Hassan and his father, Ali, are Amir’s servants– Hassan and his father belong to the Hazara ethnic group

(low-caste)– Hassan and his father belong to the minority Shi’it religious

denomination– Hassan is the victim of discrimination because of his ethnic

and religious background and beliefs.