Reading Lolita In Tehran: An Argumentative Essay Novels intrigue anyone, whether it brings in the intellectuals or the ones who prefer to fantasize. Azar Nafisi, the author of Reading Lolita In Tehran, hooks the audience, page after page, filled with fascinating details of her and her loved ones life experiences of the perplexities that make up the society all together. Throughout the book, each chapter presents a new message as it introduces a new novel with each one. Nafisi introduces novels in order to create a different, separate life within the reader, creating memories and experiences unique to the combination of the books and the reader. This changes what the reader believes, no matter whether the differences are positive or negative, life changing or miniscule, it will still always change what the reader believes. The idea of being “forbidden” has always invoked human curiosity. It makes one wonder, “what makes it so forbidden? what so secret that I shouldn 't know about?” It creates a strange feeling with the audience and it sometimes gut wrenching. When it comes to books being forbidden, it comes to the fact of what is this information that so hidden? Nafisi brings something to light, how these “forbidden” books have changed her, in her own little world and she wishes to share. She brings this to her “book club” hoping that in this little group, that they could be touched and changed like her too. The books that they read are so sneaky, changing the reader 's
It tells the story of this woman at the time when she started teaching at the University of Teheran. It offers a fascinating portrait as well as a deep exploration of the Islamic revolution in Iran while showing how it affected a university professor and her students. In “ Reading Lolita in Teheran” Nafisi is looking for a way to escape reality and find out if art can be more powerful than a dictatorship. Because of her deep passion for literature and reading, Nafisi chooses to teach a sampling of world’s greatest literature to seven of her most committed female students. Thus, every Thursday morning they gather in order to read and discuss freely about the Western classics forbidden by the Iranian regime. “Sitting around the large coffee table covered with bouquets of flowers, we moved in and out of the novels we read”, this is how Nafisi explains the atmosphere during her classes. These women risk in the face of tyranny while immersing themselves in the world of literature. Nafisi also states that the she has not chosen them according to their cultural background, but due to their personality. Indeed, the women in this group meet to preserve their individuality in a world that punishes it. The women in Nafisi’s living room speak not only about the books they read but also about themselves, their dreams and disappointments. As a matter of fact, while the world where they live is oppressive, the world
Literature is the window to realizing the negatives of society and how destructive certain norms can be. Readers are brought into a completely different story than their own, but by using similar issues in today’s world, the readers can actually learn from the story and its overall message. All writers write for a purpose, whether it’s for a new meaning to life, to live a different life than our own, or to impact others on an emotional level by teaching them to see the importance of the little things. As a reader, you search for pieces of literature that interest you whether you find the story like your own, or wish you lived the life in the story. By using issues in today’s within their works, authors are able to grab the reader's attention long enough for them to get across what they wanted to get across. Often in many works of literature, writers use societal issues as their basis for the work’s themes and symbols. By doing so, this allows the reader to question the morality behind social norms and how impactful certain ideals can be in people’s lives.
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:
7. According to one of the characters in Azar Nafisi’s contemporary memoir, Reading Lolita in
Often times, authors of many sorts search for ways to connect their personal writing to ideas that the modern reader can comprehend; they wish to provide a speck of familiarity. Thomas C. Foster explains in How to Read Literature Like a Professor, “We want a new novel to be not quite like anything we’ve read before. At the same time, we look for it to be sufficiently like other things we’ve read so that we can use those to make sense of it” (58). However, sometimes that sense of familiarity is not a good one, as displayed in Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake. Many of her themes have been dramatized to receive the desired reaction out of her readers. However, when these themes are thought upon by one who has dutifully read How to Read Literature Like a Professor, the fictional lines begin to blur into reality. Set in the near future, Oryx and Crake is an expertly created dystopian fiction that contains a plethora of political messages with the ability to be applied to the
Books can sate, motivate, and inspire a reader without standing the test of time. There are a multitude of books released today that can change a reader’s life without making their mark on history. Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief is a prime example of this. Most critics agree that The Book Thief is a quality read, but there is no telling whether it will last throughout the ages of literature. Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre is a novel that has lasted since its release in the nineteenth century, and critics continue to praise it. Jane Eyre shares similarities to The Book Thief; however, The Book Thief will not stand the test of time because of its lack of completely original themes and ideas.
Lois Prunesworth hated technology with the firiest of passions. Everywhere she looked, young people were always on their phones and computers, paying more attention to how many friends they had on social media than how many friends they had in the real world. She found it absolutely deplorable.
1. There are numerous reasons about why Miss Narwin’s opinion of reading books differs from Philip’s opinion. The first reason is that Miss Narwin is a mature adult, who can understand literature better than children. Miss Narwin also has a love for classic literature, which not everyone shares. The second reason is that Philip would enjoy books that were written when he was growing up; it would be easier to understand and relate to for him. I concur with Miss Narwin’s point of view, as I love to read and some older books have a deeper meaning to them. I also agree with Miss Narwin, for I believe that more classic literature should be spread, so that classics won’t be forgotten. Philip’s attitude might be considered a self-fulfilling prophecy since most children would not have such a deep love towards classic literature. Children also appreciate books that they can understand and relate to.
She believes that the availability of books ranging in different varieties is essential for people to select and sought information they want. Freedom of reading is explained to be a beneficial factor in educating those who carry a book to read. Although this is a valid point, it is also important to remember that what people expose themselves to can can affect them negatively if their source itself it negative. They can learn all sorts of things like profanity, sexual intercourse; not as it is taught in sexual education class, and religious discrimination. It can influence their actions by introducing the use of profanity in everyday communication, having characters in the book engage in sexual activity as well as violating the rules and regulations and insulting the religion of others.
Literature is susceptible to misconception. At times, the presentation of content, enticing details, and storyline take away from the morals and ideas being presented in a piece of text. Most times, as a result of focusing on the distracting elements of a novel, audiences fail to recognize the deeper meaning or purpose of why the author choses to include certain sections of a novel. A book’s intention is to accurately express an author’s thoughts, but, many times, the delivery of unfamiliar content results in fear and a lack of understanding from the reader.
She states, “The goals her characters seek to achieve are similar in their deepest implications, and yet the degree to which they attain them varies radically because each novel is cast in unique human terms. Moreover, the theme of the quest is always underscored by ironic insights and intensely evocative imagery. An exploration of these distinguishing qualities,
This interesting concept of book will captivate young-adult readers everywhere. Her use of vivid description and wide variety of settings will have readers fully involved while they learn about Rho’s journey. This action-packed and fast-paced storyline with many twists will make it very difficult for readers to put the book down. But despite the uniqueness of this novel, it has a very cookie-cutter feel, borrowing many ideas and concepts from popular young-adult novels.
Lobb's Girl is a very sad, funny, and memorable story. It's funny because Lobb travels across England twice to see Sandy. Also it's sad because Sandy and Lobb were hit by a car. The most saddest thing is that Lobb had died from the crash and Sandy is in the hospital. Lobb in Lobb’s Girl makes it very sad, funny and memorable.
The work of the likes of Anthony Bourdain and Iris Zaki have helped in overcoming the danger of a single story in that they show true images of people in countries such as Iran, thus allowing people to better understand them. If people develop a better understanding of Iranians, then there is a great opportunity that any default judgements about them may be vanquished. In Bourdain’s work, the Iranian people are shown as overall friendly people, that enjoy conversing, listening to pop music, as well as eating dishes such as chelow kebabs. It is also discussed in his work how Middle Eastern countries, such as Iran, are all grouped into one by foreigners in that they are all oppressive to women. It is stated in Bourdain’s work that not all countries in the Middle East are oppressive to women in the vein of how Saudi Arabia is. It is stated that unlike in Saudi Arabia, women are able to partake in activities such as driving and voting in Iran. Through watching Bourdain’s work, one may be able to see Iranian people for who they truly are rather than what they are portrayed as in one’s own default judgement. As for Zaki’s work, both Arab and Jewish women eat and converse at a hair salon named “Fifi’s”. Although both the Arab and Jewish women come from very different cultures, they develop an understanding and respect for one another through their time at the salon. They accept each other for who they are as they have a clear understanding of one another through the conversations that they have had. Through these understandings of one another, the danger of a single story can be
In literature, the structure and narrative style of a text plays a vital role in how it functions thematically throughout the overall text. It helps in identifying and contributing to the book's main ideas. Nabokov's classic novel, Lolita is a perfect example. Lolita is Nabokov's most famous and controversial novel. But despite the overwhelming criticism that it received when it was first published in 1955, Lolita still serves as one of the most skillfully written novels of its time. If one looks past the pedophilia and vulgar language, it becomes pure genius, if it's not already. Although many people dismiss Lolita as purely disgusting, the use of sophisticated language and an omniscient narrator helps to deceive the reader from the text's