Kindness is something America had and something that we lost. We can be so kind to someone yet the next day be so cruel to them. Like what happened in the story With a Little Help From my Friends by Firoozeh Dumas. In a quote from the passage “We remember the kindness more than ever, knowing that our relatives who immigrated to this country after the Iranian Revolution did not encounter the same America.” ( Dumas pg 92) Firoozeh moved to America with her family from Iran in 1972. For a couple of years because of an assignment her father was given. While in America, they received great kindness from kids at school to neighbors to just strangers in town. Kids wanted to be Firoozeh's friend and learn about the country from where she came from. They wanted her to come to their houses and sleep over, they even shared food with her at lunch (Dumas pg 91) On Halloween, one family …show more content…
This all changed after the Revolution. When Firoozeh relatives moved to America they did not get to experience what the Dumas had. (Dumas pg 93) Americans had bumper stickers on their cars that read “ We play cowboys and Iranians” or “ Iranians Go Home”. These Americans felt that they knew all about Iran and it’s people , they had no questions just opinions.(Dumas pg 93) When Firoozeh and her parents get together today they often talk about their years in America. They remember the kindness they acquired more than their relatives who immigrated to America after the revolution did not encounter the same America. (Dumas pg 93) It’s insane how America can turn so cold on countries on people so easily. They do wrong to us and not that kind. Yet the people that live here in America did nothing wrong yet we treat them ever so poorly. We treat people badly and unkind for the mistakes and vulgar things that their country has done, not them. We should be kind to everyone, no matter where they come
In a short story called, “Thank you ma’am”, the author is trying to convey the theme, or message, of the importance of showing random acts of kindness towards others to help institute change. Mrs.J show one act of kindness when she washes his face. Another when she makes Roger food at her house. Mrs.J is kind and shows multiple examples throughout the story.
This completely changed the perception of the United States within Iran. Many Iranians believed that “American influence and power made a mockery of their national autonomy and desecrated their religious beliefs” (Farber, 37). The real struggle came once the Shah sought asylum in the U.S. Iran believed this to be a betrayal and demanded the Shah be released to the revolutionaries. Due to the fact that the United States did not refuse the Shah, the revolutionaries took the embassy in Tehran and all of the people that worked there hostage. One of the hostages wrote back to his parents during the crisis “‘We will not be set free until shah is released and the longer we stay here like this the better is a chance for something terrible to happen’” (Farber, 156). The siege was led by Iranian students who supported the revolution and the Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader that the revolution had selected to take the place of the
Funny In Farsi: written by Firoozeh Dumas is a memoir about an Iranian girl that came to America with her family, where they settled in Southern California. Throughout the story, the author shares stories about herself and what it was like to grow up in the United States. Out of many books, this one explains what it means to be an American from the author's perspective using her own experiences and comparisons. Her father Kazem is a very optimistic, encouraging, and clever man that raised his children to be kind-hearted and goal oriented; especially his daughter, Firoozeh.
Before the revolution when Dumas and her family first moved to Whittier, California, a mother and her daughter kindly helped Firoozeh and her mother find their way home, inattentive to the fact they were Iranian. “This kind stranger agreed to take us back to our house” (Dumas, 7). On the other hand, after eradicating the Shah, Iranian terrorists had a substantial motive to capture American hostages, and the country began to develop hostility towards all Iranians. Dumas recalls, “During our stay in Newport Beach, the Iranian Revolution took place and a group of Americans were taken hostage in the American embassy in Tehran. Overnight, Iranians living in America became, to say the least, very unpopular. For some reason, many Americans began to think that all Iranians, despite outward appearances to the contrary, could at any given moment get angry and take prisoners” (Dumas, ). Ignorance and xenophobia became the prime factors that led to this intense discrimination. The author describes the injustice her father experienced while searching for a job, “At the sight of the Iranian passport, the lawyer turned pale, ‘I am so sorry, but the government of Saudi Arabia does not accept Iranians at this time.’” (Dumas, 120). Contradicting with what Dumas’s father assumed America would provide for him, a job, he was turned down by many of them by the
Moreover, they made fun of her name with many mocking names started with letter “F.” While reading the story, the readers as well as listeners can actually see and understand Firoozeh’s feelings in particular and immigrants in general. Actually, I am an international student, and I come from Vietnam. I also have that bad experience when Americans cannot say my name, and that makes me sympathize with Firoozeh.
Kindness can really make a difference in a person's attitude. In “A Christmas Carol”, the Cratchits and Scrooge's nephew Fred show kindness to Scrooge, even though Scrooge showed quite the opposite to them. Or in “Thank you M’am”, when Ms. Jones makes Roger food and gives him money to buy his shoes, instead of reporting him to the police. Even in “Little Things Are Big”, when Jesus decides to help people even if he has to face prejudism. These stories all show turning points, and these examples show
In today’s society, acts of compassion are rare as we get more and more focused on satisfying our desire for success and wealth. However, humans do sometimes show remarkable acts that melts the hearts of men and women and restore faith in humanity within those who are less optimistic. But it might not always be a kind return that you may get from such action. In the story “Sweat” by Barry Webster, a young girl named Sue allows Jimmy as an act of kindness to lick her “honey” on her body. As a result, Jimmy chokes from the honey and Sue gets more rejected from the other students at her school. By using characterization, dialogue and narration, Webster demonstrates the theme that compassion and kindness can bring more consequences than benefits when these actions are done by those who are different.
The negative attitude that Americans have of those countries is not accidental. Recently, the CIA has announced their involvement in Operation Ajax, an incident that resulted in the metaphorical isolation of Iran in 1954. The details are always important. Essentially Iran, under the order of their then Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, was attempting to nationalize an oil industry that the British help build after their “involvement” in Iranian politics after WWI. Mosaddegh had intended to audit the British petroleum company that had access to Iran’s petroleum reserves, and on cue, Britain and the United States came together to boycott Iranian oil. To garner support from their citizens, the United States declared Iran a communist country. Meanwhile, the relatively new CIA moved General Zahedi, a former WWII war criminal, into the newly available Prime Minister position (Ghosh). America gets access to the oil reserves, and Americans are left with a foul taste in their mouth about what Iran is
November 4th, 1979 was a normal day for many people across the globe, however in Tehran, Iran a 444 day long journey had just begun for 60 plus Americans. Today this issue is better known as the Iranian Hostage Crisis. This plight started with the United States attempt to westernize Iran. Which resulted in severe backlash from Iran against the United States own citizens. This quickly became a crisis for the United States and a scurry to try and save American lives. Because of attempts to change Iran, the Iranians started to resent the United States for many reasons, which went beyond the 444 day long crisis. The crisis and the events that led up to it, still have lasting effects that create tensions between the two nations today. Through the
In the story On Compassion, the author, Ascher, explains how no one is born with compassion and must be taught it. A homeless, black man was staring at a women’s baby in the stroller and she offered him a dollar. At first he was hesitant to take it, but eventually did. Later another man walks into an overpriced coffee shop in which the store owner handed him a bag with food. Ascher makes the readers question whether these were acts of fear, pity, or just simply out of the good of heart.
Firoozeh Dumas does a great job documenting her experiences as an Iranian in America both before and after the Iranian Revolution and hostage crisis. Throughout each chapter we learning something new, not only about Iran, but also about family, culture, and Dumas herself.
“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see” – Mark Twain.
Although the Iranian Revolution was caused by combination of political and religious motivations and ideas, the desires of the people supporting the movement were more dominantly religious ideas that were wished to be imposed in society and in a new government. The Shah, or king, of Iran at the time was Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, who had developed relations with nations in “western” world, specifically with the United States. The United States supported the White Revolution, which was a series of social reformations the Shah made to remove Islamic v...
“Sometimes it 's easy to walk by because we know we can 't change someone 's whole life in a single afternoon. But what we fail to realize it that simple kindness can go a long way toward encouraging someone who is stuck in a desolate place.” ~ Mike Yankoski
Americans live such a suiting life that they have the audacity to turn their cheek to a person in need. For example, Americans neglect the needs and struggles of homeless people by refusing to satisfy their needs,