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EXPOS Final 5th Paper

Good Essays

Samantha Schwab
Professor Pritchett
EXPOS: Section QH
December 5, 2014 Social Connections: Fantasy vs. Reality
Throughout society’s development, individuals have grown to make connections based off of past experiences. Connections can have various meanings such as association with development, or a relationship between groups of people. In Azar Nafisi’s writing of, “Selection from Reading Lolita in Tehran,” she describes the creation of her reading group, and how it provides the type of education she desired to provide as an educator but was restricted based on the Iranian regime. Similarly, in Susan Faludi’s “The Naked Citadel,” Faludi examines the unique culture of a nonaffiliated military school, which highlights the clash between …show more content…

As a result, the connections made by individuals lead to conformity, which limits the creation of connections with other cultures and ideas. Therefore the lack of connections creates isolation, furthering the lack of connections to the outside world.
Accepting environments on the other hand, allow for the creation of imagination and personal connections. Nafisi in her “Selections from Reading Lolita in Tehran” speaks about the creation of her reading group, and provides the type of education she desired to provide as an educator but was restricted to provide based on the Iranian regime. The Iranian society oppresses against women, forcing them to conform to societal norms. On the other hand, Nafisi introduces her students to a fantasy like environment during their literature class. This allows for the connection amongst the girls and Nafisi to be personal. The idea of connection can be done while making a comparison between the women in Iran and characters within a novel Nafisi discussed with her students. Nafisi states:
We formed a special bond with Nabokov despite the difficulty of his prose. This went deeper than out identification with his themes. His novels are shaped around invisible trapdoors, sudden gaps that constantly pull the carpet from under the reader’s feet. They are filled with mistrust of what we call everyday reality, an acute sense of that reality’s fickleness and frailty (293).
Through reading,

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