Funny In Farsi Literary Analysis

The focus of this paper is an analysis of the book Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas using concepts from the Lives Across Cultures textbook. Ten concepts are identified and defined from Chapter readings. Following definitions, examples from the novel of these concepts are shown.

Good authors can create wonderful stories, but it all starts with the setting. Without the setting, the story will have no plot and the characters will have no reason to be there because the setting is a crucial element. Barry Callaghan, the author of “Our Thirteenth Summer” can effectively use setting as an important part of a story. The setting of “Our Thirteenth Summer” is in Toronto’s Annex District during the 1840’s, when the Holocaust was occurring. The setting influences the behaviour of the characters and reflects the society in which the characters live.

Firoozeh Dumas, author of Funny in Farsi, crafts a well developed book that details her experience as an Iranian immigrant in America. She uses humor and a light hearted tone throughout the book and this creates an appeal for all ages. While Dumas spins hilarious stories from her childhood, she often speaks with a serious undertone about the struggles of growing up Iranian in America. Dumas tells why she decided to attempt to take on an American name, how she discovered the way Americans truly feel about Iranians, and how her husband, Francois, experienced life in America differently than she did. Through her stories, the reader is able to dive into Dumas’ life and experience her life alongside her.

“Her language, as I hear it, vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery. That was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world” (7). The author talked about her personal experiences with the different kinds of English. She talked about how her

In the Dramatic autobiography the Happiest Refugee, book the author Anh Do uses a wide range of Scenes to take audience attention throughout the story with different sort of language effects. A specific form of exploring scenes to audiences is the storytelling, Anh utilises this technique in the book and explores his life experiences. The purpose of the storytelling is to increase the motivation or mental stimulation of reader through entertainment. To do this use range of features including, Narrative voice, setting, sentence structures, Paragraph structures, Figurative language, Alliteration, Onomatopoeia and Characterisation. The two scenes that exemplify all these features are the serious scene when Anh’s family face a massive loss from the farm interest rates and the other scène is when Anh’s mother gets a “biggest” Pig they could find and brought it on Anh and Suzie’s engagement to show how wealthy they are, that they can take care of their daughter and keep her happy.

Linda had an easier time learning English than her parents did because of help she received at school. Upon enrolling in public school in the third grade, Linda was immediately sent to ESL class where she quickly picked up on the new language. Her parents, on the other hand, had a more difficult time adapting to American culture and the English language. Linda’s parents started out working low-wage jobs and eventually, through hard work and dedication, saved enough money to open their own travel-agency business. Linda’s father even had to enroll in language school in addition to his undergraduate education in order to increase his chances of

In the book Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas, there are five concepts from our textbook, Lives Across Cultures: Cross-Cultural Human Development by Harry W. Gardiner and Corrine Kosmitzki. Three of the concepts are components of Firoozeh Dumas’ developmental niche such as the psychology of her caretakers, the customs of her child care, and the social settings of her daily life growing up. The other two concepts are individualism and ethnocentrism.

The main role of religion in Funny in Farsi is to show the difference in importance of religion in the two countries, Iran and America. In Iran Firoozeh is taught about many different religious beliefs in school. However, in America she

War is portrayed as something emotional that every living being goes through in their lifetime. Most of the people experience.

The remainder of the poem's setting takes place in the United States, where the speaker and her family now reside. Living in the United States, the speaker's miserable tone results from the fact that she feels alienated from her children, but now they, "go to American high schools/ They speak English" (Line 8-9). English, a language she does not understand and is, "embarrassed at mispronouncing words" (Line 16). This barrier of language has broken off a major form of communication between her children and her. There once was a time when she would laugh along with her children as they told jokes, but now all she can do is, "stand by the stove and feel dumb, alone" (Line 11). The speaker's setting has distorted her self image. The fact that she now feels dumb is a completely different feeling from how she felt in Mexico where she, "understood every word they'd say" (Line 4). Yearning for that familiarity of the bond between her children and herself she, "bought a book to learn English" (Line 12). This is her only way to adjust to her new setting and because she feared that one day she, "will be deaf/ when (her) children need (her) help" (Line 21-22).

Language is a power tool for Darl, Dewey Dell, and Cash but for their mother Addie it is a limitation. She says, “words don’t ever fit even what they are trying to say at.” Addie believes that language is the experience and words will never match that. While the children feel defined by their language, she feels defined by experiences. She makes this clear when she describes a scene with Cora Tull, “And so when Cora Tull would tell me I was not a true mother, I would think how words go straight up in a thin line, quick and harmless, and how terribly doing goes along the earth.”

Being born into a Persian household was such an exceptional privilege I had, in which today I am extremely grateful for. From the profound history to the intrinsic culture, having a Persian background opened doors to endless pleasures. Yet, it was not too long when I started school and experienced

The Setting is an important part of any story, in the case of 'New Directions', it provides us with a peek into the background and knowledge of the writer and how this story may be close to her heart. 'New Directions' is set in a segregated Arkansas town in 1903; Angelou's home state, by this revelation one can conclude this story may be factually based. The Author also mentions several other locations; The One room house, Annies home and setting for the intro of the story. Two empty lots between a Cotton gin and a Saw Mill, where Annie first sets up shop and begins her venture, it eventually produces a stall equidistant between the two industries and finally a store. The author uses setting to symbolize life goals being reached, each place in the story larger than the last and closer to Annie's principal goal, being able to provide for herself and two toddler boys.

Tan’s attitude towards her mother’s English begins with embarrassment and humiliation. Growing up in an immigrant family which speaks imperfect English, Tan witnesses many discriminations that her mother has encountered in department stores or at banks, those experiences help to shape Tan’s opinion to her mother’s English. For example, Tan states that “[she] was ashamed of [her mother’s] English. [She] believed that [her mother’s] English reflected the quality of what [her] mother had to say” (508). In young Amy’s opinion, her mother’s expressions and thoughts are broken and imperfect like the way she speaks, and she believes that linguistic expression is linked to a person’s intelligence. As a result, she was ashamed of her mother in public because of her fractured English.

Imagine a vast concert hall filled with people. The audience excitedly clamor in anticipation for the main star of this event. The event they paid so much money for, cleared up time in their schedule for, spent time getting to the event for. As the lights dim, the spotlight shines on the center stage. Then an average person emerges on the stage with a thousand eyes’ on him. He only has with a microphone in his hand. Just a typical person, with a normal gait and normal sense of fashion. However, after speaking a few words in the microphone, the crowd bursts into a cacophony of laughter. No matter how ordinary or extraordinary the person, entertainment through humor is universal. Utilizing humor, an extensive language of amusement, to open perspectives and challenge what is conceived right or wrong can be impactful- if done correctly. Dave Sedaris accomplishes that goal when he uses humor to illustrate his dilemma because of his identity. Despite being an accomplished successful comedian, author, radio show host, certain people look down at him as just a homosexual freak. Rather than gravely addressing his opposition, Sedaris utilizes a jovial yet relatable anecdote called “Chicken in a Henhouse”. Incorporating ideas from Ardian Bardon’s “The Philosophy of Humor”, specifically, the three theories of humor: superiority theory, incongruity theory and relief theory, Sedaris argues that the American public stereotypes homosexuals as pedophiles and ,as a result, they feel