Reading Lolita Into Tehran Essay - 1811 Words

Azar Nafisi uses the power of western literature to illustrate to her seven women students the importance of connecting books to fictional imagination. She wanted to challenge her students to discuss the relation between fiction and reality. (Pg 6) Women in Tehran, when the Iranian revolution began, had little or no freedoms out of their houses. Nafisi took an enormous risk by inviting these seven women into her house to discuss literature. If caught she and or her students could face jail time because the books were banned in fear of conspiracy against the new revolutionary Iran. In the memoir, Reading Lolita in Tehran, the extreme risks these women take are due to the reoccurring theme of oppression throughout the story. As each day†¦show more content†¦Women took power over men and had the ability to create their own destiny. Nafisi explains Gatsby was constantly reinventing himself, being dishonest about his life and background, but in order to achieve his dream, Daisy, he could not escape his own imagination and/or truth. Once reaching his dream, his life would have no meaning. Gatsby, like most Iranian women, needed to learn that the past was dead, the present is what we have today, and the future is what we can create in our own dreams and imagination. With the loss of dream in their current situation the students were able posses their dreams through books. In order to create your dream you must engulf yourself in a novel. A novel is not an allegory. It is the sensual experience of another world. If you dont enter that world, Nafisi explained, hold your breath with the characters and become involved in their destiny, you wont be able to empathize, and empathy is at the heart of the novel. This is how you read a novel: you inhale the experience. (pg 111) Nafisi taught those seven women how to gasp freedoms in which literature brings to life. Through Nafisis classroom, each of the girls was able to escape the horrible reality of what was occurrin g around them. Being a teacher, Nafisi had the power to enlighten and inspire her students to leave reality and escape into a fictional world. In this imaginative world, inside Nafisis house, hadShow MoreRelatedReading Lolita in Tehran977 Words   |  4 PagesReading Lolita in Tehran In the memoir, Reading Lolita in Tehran, it talks about all the extreme risks the women of Iran are taking just to be able to do simple tasks, such as reading westernized literature (The Great Gatsby, Pride and Prejudice). It documents the experiences of women in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. A very thought provoking book might I add. The men are practically free to run around and do as they please within reason. Following the revolution, everything changed†¦leadingRead MoreEssay about Reading Lolita in Tehran: Themes - Women in Iran1203 Words   |  5 PagesSujen Siva Ms. Winick ENG4U1-07 04 March 2013 Themes Representing the Actions and Thoughts of Women in Iran Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi is very symbolic of the women in Iran, as the ideas of resisting to accept the government, finding a sense of belonging and wanting to live in a fantasy world illustrates their thoughts during a very rough period of time. Nafisi, who represents the women of Iran, displays this via her progression throughout the novel, as it summarizes the strugglesRead MoreReading Lolita In Tehran And The Handmaids Tale : Analysis747 Words   |  3 PagesFreedom and liberty hold significant values that many individuals struggle to obtain in their lives, as several obstacles block their way from achieving it. In the novels Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, (1) gender, (2) religion, and (3) government all depicted barriers that prevented one from attaining free will. Nonetheless, through resistance and rebellion, specific obstacles surrendered to the individuals who fought it, thus allowing humans toRead MoreReading Lolita s Tehr A Memoir2307 Words   |  10 PagesPart I: Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir In Books â€Å"Reading Lolita In Tehran: A Memoir In Books† chronicles the life of Azar Nafisi, (a Professor of English), during her years in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The novel documents Nafisi’s experiences while teaching during the Iranian Revolution in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and her life there until abandoning her home for America in 1997. Much of the book focuses on Nafisi as a professor at the University of Tehran, and, (after her expulsionRead MoreEnvironment affect Human Behavior1137 Words   |  5 Pagesbe found in Azar Nafisi’s passage, Reading Lolita in Tehran, showing us how she created an outlet for herself and a selected number of former students to study the works of literature in an extremely difficult environment. Both The Power of Context and Reading Lolita in Tehran emphasize the role that physical place plays in human behavior, however, how does the immediate physical and social world (165) affect the behavior of the women in Nafisiâ€⠄¢s reading group? Throughout The PowerRead MoreLolita s Tehr A Memoir1185 Words   |  5 Pages Reading Lolita In Tehran: A Memoir In Books is a novel that chronicles the life of Azar Nafisi, a Professor of English, during her years in the Islamic Republic of Iran. As described in its title, the novel is a â€Å"Memoir in Books† that chronicles Azar Nafisi’s experiences while teaching during the Iranian Revolution in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and her life there until leaving for America in 1997. Much of the book focuses on Nafisi as a professor at the University of Tehran, and, (after herRead MoreIs Reality, Understanding, And Real Life?1791 Words   |  8 Pagesauthor has read, heard, or experienced. In reading about these different scenarios and characters, although technically they aren’t reality, they still have a lot to offer to the reader, in terms of the reader’s own personal development. In Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, it becomes apparent to the reader that one can easily get so wrapped up in a work of fiction they start to believe that it actually reflects their own struggles and beliefs. When reading said books, it is important to stay groundedRead MoreThe Naked Citadel1204 Words   |  5 Pagesstudents grab this power from women or even other students. They are stripped down to nothing and the only way they see to regain this power is through dominating the opposite gender and even violently taking control of their own gender. Through Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi the male government and male figures in their lives oppress the women, and they ultimately find refuge in a literature class that break down these gender barriers. In both articles the constant search for true identity ofRead MoreAnalysis Of The Gatsby Chapters Of Reading Lolita Essay1322 Words   |  6 PagesThe main human universal evident in the text of the Gatsby Chapters of Reading Lolita In Tehran is that of the power of dreams and t heir relationship to reality. Webster defines dreams as â€Å"a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person s mind during sleep.† However, there is a much broader definition of dreams applicable to this novel. In Nafisi’s world, dreams represent more than just a picture show of thoughts we have while we sleep. In Iran, it was the dreams of one man thatRead MoreAnalysis Of Lolita s Tehran Is A Memoir By Azar Nafisi1484 Words   |  6 Pages Reading Lolita in Tehran is a memoir by Azar Nafisi which shows life struggle of people, especially women living in Iran during revolution. Nafisi is a literature professor who has started her own secret class with seven former students. The class meets once a week and discusses different works of the western literature. In Iran women were were not allowed to read western literature and the ones who read these novels  were punished. Iranian government considered western culture bad for their women