Nafisi And Thurman's 'Selection From Reading Lolita In Tehran'

The idea of enlightenment and the feeling of liberation seem unattainable most of the time. However, once you discover a gateway, such as literature or meditation, it becomes easier to reach your goals of becoming open-minded. Azar Nafisi’s “Selection from Reading Lolita in Tehran” describes the struggles she and her students face and how they use literature to escape from their atrocious life. Similarly, “Wisdom” by Robert Thurman explores the idea of reaching a nirvana-like state where people become aware of their surroundings and the nature of themselves. Nafisi and Thurman state that once people have attained the knowledge to reach an utopian, nirvana like state and have unmasked themselves from a pseudo-self mask put on for society, they must share their knowledge with others. Both Nafisi and Thurman propose that in order to act out selflessly and become an honest, true self, an individual needs bravery and courage to escape from their comfort zone and reach a state of compassion. By being selfless and compassionate, an individual can reach enlightenment and liberation. While describing her situation as a teacher in the Islamic Republic, Nafisi stated, “always, the joy of teaching was marred by diversions and

However, in order to do escape their comfort zones, they must possess courage and bravery. In their essays, Nafisi and Thurman illustrate the pathway of creating a dreamlike world for themselves. While Nafisi chose literature as a means of feeling liberated, Thurman used meditation as a gateway to nirvana. Even though there were things holding them back, such as the society, Nafisi and Thurman escaped from those obstacles and found freedom.Once they became open-minded, they chose to share their knowledge with others. Everything in this world is interconnected, so becoming enlightened involves appreciating other cultures and sharing intelligence with other