Firoozeh Dumas Influence On Iranian Culture

Firoozeh Dumas’ home country of Iran was, both prior and during the Iranian Revolution, vastly different than the capitalistic and also increasingly xenophobic United States, which had both its benefits and drawbacks. During each period of time that Dumas lived in the U.S. she faced hatred on the basis of her nationality and religion, most notably during the Shah’s visit to Washington, D.C. where her entire family and other Iranian families were threatened and many even violently beaten (113). Although she faced no physical trauma, Dumas was reminded of the negative attitudes towards Iranians that were even further inflamed during the hostage crisis in Tehran, leading to her hiding her heritage and her father struggling to find a job (117). On one occasion, her father was fired from a position after his employer realized that Kazem was Iranian, proving that for some ethnicity was more important than merit or skill level.
One would think that this incessant discrimination and the everyday struggle of

being different than her American classmates would negatively taint her views of the U.S. Yet, Dumas faced their probing questions and their confusion about her home country with humor rather than resentment. She is not afraid to call out the ridiculousness of American commercialization and how readily people embrace it, but within the same chapter will recount a story of how members of her own family fell prey to the same tricks that she was making fun of. From her father’s love of timeshares and free samples to her uncle’s foray into fad weight loss devices, Dumas looks at these characteristics of American society fondly and as a part of her upbringing (30, 75). The years she lived in Newport Beach during her childhood were not just filled with Disneyland and Girl Scouts, however, but people who made a mark on her life.
When Dumas first met her teacher Mrs.

Sandberg, she had virtually no experience with Americans or the English language, thus creating an extremely difficult communication barrier. However, as Dumas later confesses, Mrs. Sandberg became her “favorite American” and encouraged this young Iranian girl, who in her home country would have been denied the privilege of any kind of extensive formal education, to work hard and later write about her hardships and memories about being an immigrant in the U.S (190). Although there were most certainly anti-Iranian sentiments present during her time in America, there were also a few people like Mrs. Sandberg that improved her experience. Remembering these accepting people while also living her life looking for the humor in a situation is what lets Dumas overlook the bad and remember the positives of being an American. Nevertheless, these are not the only factors that created Dumas’ view on the American people and

culture.
If Dumas had continued to live in Iran, she would not only would have had to face the violence associated with the Iranian revolution, but also the lack of progressive attitudes and the discrimination based on her gender. Dumas was lucky to have received an education from a prestigious American university, but young women like her in Iran would not have been given that chance. Dumas’ aunt, Sedigeh, did not receive schooling past a six-grade level despite her academic strength, something that gave Kazem the drive to ensure that his own daughter would receive a college education at whatever cost (101). It is when the family sits down to their Thanksgiving meal, containing the traditional holiday food alongside Persian dishes, that they realize that despite it all, they love the U.S. and its occupants. Kazem is grateful that he is able to freely vote, and Dumas for her opportunity to pursue her dreams despite her gender, in addition to all of her relatives remembering to “give tremendous thanks for our lives in America, where freedom reigns” (75). There is no doubt that Dumas harbors some resentment towards select Americans, obvious through her cynical and sarcastic tone, but as a whole is thankful for the life the U.S. has given her. Just as her father tells her, there are good and bad people in every kind of group, be it religion or nationality, but it is how one treats one another on an individual basis that really counts, something that she seems to remember, giving her the ability to love her new home and peers despite their flaws.