Funny In Farsi

“After spending an entire day in America, surrounded by Americans, I realized that my father’s description of America had been correct. The bathrooms were clean and the people were very, very kind.”

While it seems that Firoozeh’s first encounter with Americans leaves a good impression on her, her father’s positive views toward Americans may have shaped his daughter’s. This is the first of multiple occasions throughout the book of Dumas’s highlighting what she concludes is the kindness of Americans.

“Somewhere between his thick Persian accent and his use of vocabulary found in pre–World War II British textbooks, my father spoke a private language.”

Dumas and her family become aware that Kazem’s mastery of English is not what he made it out to be when they witness how others do not understand him. This passage provides a humorous explanation for why that is the case.

“At an age when most parents are guiding their kids toward independence, my mother was hanging on to me for dear life.”

Since Dumas learns English much more easily than her mother, due to being in school each day in the US and interacting with other children, the nature of their relationship becomes inverted from the traditional mother-daughter relationship. This dynamic points to immigrant families’ navigation of their new environments by utilizing the skills and resources that are available to them.

“Somewhere along the way, he started to believe that he was a gifted bowler. I suspect it had something to do with the American habit of generously heaping praise and encouragement on anyone who tries anything.”

There is a hint of social commentary tucked into this passage, which is the precursor to Kazem’s doomed appearance on the TV show Bowling for Dollars. What Dumas omits here suggests that it might have been best for Kazem if someone simply told him the truth: He is not a good bowler.

“‘What kind of a name is that?’” one of them asked. It was as if I was doomed to answer the same questions over and over again, for the rest of my life.”

This takes place while Firoozeh is lost at Disneyland. There is a notable hint of frustration here; however, she does not overtly blame those who ask the question.

“Every family has a daredevil. In my father’s family, the honor goes to Uncle Nematollah, whose daring feat consisted of selecting his own wives, three times.”

The quote pokes fun at marriage in general but also arranged marriages in particular. The comment is sarcastic, which reveals Dumas thinks negatively of the traditional practice.

“How many did we own back home? What did we feed them? Was it a bumpy ride? I always disappointed them by admitting that I had never seen a camel in my entire life.”

The passage shows that Americans view Iranians as Arabs, which is inaccurate. Dumas does not suggest that the people asking such questions are ignorant, but she does show that the Americans she knows have very little awareness of the world outside their borders.

“When we moved to California, we no longer looked foreign. With its large Mexican population, Whittier could have passed as our hometown. As long as we didn’t open our mouths, we looked as if we belonged. But just one of my mother’s signature rambling sentences without a verb (“Shop so good very happy at Sears”), and our cover was blown.”

As a younger person, Dumas wants no attention for any reason. That their cover is blown because of her mother’s inadequacies in English frustrates her. The tone of this comment borders on mockery, and any humor in it comes at the expense of her mother.

“I stood in front of the class and said, ‘Hello, my name is Firoozeh and I’m from Iran.’ Before I could say anything else, the teacher stood up and said, ‘Laura, you said she’s from Peru!’”

Dumas hilariously describes her heritage as a constant source of confusion for her American friends and, in this case, her teachers. Perplexity is at the root of the comment, and Dumas allows it to stand by itself without additional commentary.

“Sometimes I’d just say, ‘Have you noticed how all the recent serial killers have been Americans? I won’t hold it against you.’”

Dumas says this in response to the tendency during the Iranian hostage crisis of blaming all Iranians for the actions of a few. Dumas flips this practice back at those who use it to defame Iranians and, in the process, reveals why such thinking is logically fallacious.

“We never sought exotic forms of discomfort; they were part of a package deal that came with our homeland.”

This is the way Dumas explains her objections to her husband’s suggestion that they spend their honeymoon in India. Intentionally seeking exotic places is much different for her husband, who is from France, and for whom modern conveniences are the norm.

“America is a great country, but nobody without a mask and a cape has a z in his name.”

This observation is one of the best examples of the kind of humor in the book. It is narrated with something of a teasing tone, without malice, and perceived as funny because there is some truth underlying it.

“After three months of rejections, I added ‘Julie’ to my résumé. Call it coincidence, but the job offers started coming in. Perhaps it’s the same kind of coincidence that keeps African Americans from getting cabs in New York.”

When Dumas does offer social criticism, often it is indirect, as is the case in this quote. Her experience of being ignored as a job applicant until she adopts an American-sounding name demonstrates the experience of wide-scale discrimination, similar to the treatment of Black people when taxis pass them by in New York City.

“If she understood less English, she would enjoy the seminars a lot more.”

Kazem says this of Nazireh in regard to their trips to the time-share seminars throughout California. The quote highlights Kazem’s sometimes twisted logic, which is ironic here because his wife has only a rudimentary understanding of English. He is effectively saying that if she did not speak any English at all, she would enjoy the seminars because she would not have to listen to any of the information.

“The opportunity to spend time alone with my father was so rare that I would have done just about anything to have him all to myself. Had he wanted to rob a bank, I would happily have driven the getaway car.”

Dumas is referring to Kazem’s secret trips to find ham, which generally was sold in Iran only in secret and in places frequented by foreigners. Her reverence for her father is at the center of this passage.

“There are good and bad people in every religion. Just because someone is Muslim, Jewish, or Christian doesn’t mean a thing. You have to look and see what’s in their hearts. That’s the only thing that matters, and that’s the only detail God cares about.”

This is Kazem’s answer to Firoozeh after she learns that his eating ham is against their religion. Firoozeh receives this lesson as a young girl, but throughout much of the book, she describes the ways she adopts this belief into her life.

“My father returned to Texas a much happier man. His meeting with Albert Einstein had confirmed his suspicion that anything is possible in America.”

Despite the struggles of being in a country that is entirely foreign to him, Kazem’s experience meeting Einstein provides him proof that the ideals represented by the American Dream can eventually become reality.

“My family and I were secular Muslims, like most of the population. My parents’ idea of being religious consisted of donating a part of their income to the poor and not eating ham.”

The population to which Dumas refers is that of Iran. Regardless of the secular nature of her family, the society in which they lived was heavily influenced by Islamic law and tradition.

“A fruit basket would have been nice, but instead we found that a flyer had been slipped under the door. Dear Brainwashed Cowards, You are nothing but puppets of the corrupt Shah. We will teach you a lesson you will never forget. Death to the Shah. Death to you.”

Firoozeh’s family travels to Washington to see the visiting Shah of Iran. Her parents are supporters of the Shah, and the note they find awaiting them at their hotel indicates the level of antipathy that opponents of the Shah feel toward his supporters, even in the US.

“The hostages were finally freed. Besides them and their families, no one was happier than the Iranians living in America.”

Dumas is referring to the Iranian hostage crisis, which results in a wave of open hostility directed at Iranians in the US. Presumably, after the hostages are released, this hostility will again decrease, and Iranians will no longer be treated as if they are all responsible for the crisis.

“Dating, like the rodeo circuit or trout farming, is a completely foreign concept to my parents.”

Dumas refers to the practice of arranged marriage. Many of the customs that her parents are used to when it comes to marriage are centered on it; the Western idea of dating, breaking up, and finding the “right one” is nothing they have experienced.

“At that very moment, my mother threw aside everything she and her generation knew about marriage and entered a new world where daughters select their own husbands. She became a pioneer.”

While her father takes up much of the narrative, this passage shows Dumas’s view of her mother’s role in her life. In the claim that she is a pioneer, there is an implicit recognition that she is courageous and willing to adapt.

“For no matter how big our noses may be, our souls are far, far bigger.”

This is another passage that highlights Dumas’s sense of humor. She writes this at the end of a chapter that begins with her recollection of pursuing having plastic surgery on her nose at age 18. The statement represents the way Dumas presents simple truth in an unexpected way.