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Chapter 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Funny in Farsi, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Immigration and Cultural Assimilation
Prejudice
Women and Feminism
Family
American Values
Summary
Analysis
Firoozeh’s husband, François, loves traveling. His grandfather was Greek, and died in Baghdad, and his grandmother was Belgian. François grew up in the Congo. However, he finds Firoozeh “exotic” because of her name and nationality. For their honeymoon, François wants to take Firoozeh to India. However, Firoozeh isn’t interested in traveling there—it seems dangerous due to the lack of vaccinations or good plumbing. François grew up in a luxurious household, so he thinks that “bugs and humidity” are exotic, whereas Firoozeh and her family “worshipped the guys who invented climate control and bug spray.”
One of the major differences between François and Firoozeh is that François (who clearly comes from a wealthy family) tends to exoticize the rugged outdoors. Put another way, he idealizes the opposite of what he experienced as a child. Firoozeh, on the other hand, grows up in more frugal conditions, meaning that she places more value on comfort than François (who takes comfort for granted).
Themes
After living in Whittier for two years, Firoozeh recalls, her family moves back to Iran. Firoozeh lives with Nazireh in Ahwaz, while Kazem lives in Tehran. Firoozeh doesn’t enjoy her new life in Ahwaz—everything seems dirty in comparison with California. After Firoozeh has been living in Iran for a few months, a swarm of frogs comes into the town. Firoozeh doesn’t see frogs up-close again until she’s on her honeymoon—in Paris—and the frogs are served on a plate with a side of asparagus.
Firoozeh doesn't spend much time discussing her brief period in Iran between her time spent in California: the focus of her book is her experience in the United States. Furthermore, Firoozeh seems not to have very much nostalgia for her time in Iran, which she seems to associate with frogs and other unpleasant pests.
Themes
