Funny in Farsi Themes

In her memoir Funny in Farsi, Firoozeh Dumas writes about her family’s journey from Iran to the United States in the early 1970s, and her childhood growing up in California. Firoozeh’s father, Kazem, studies in the U.S. on a Fulbright scholarship, and later immigrates to the U.S. with his family to work for an Iranian petroleum company. Although Kazem briefly moves his family back to Iran, Firoozeh spends the majority of her childhood…

Funny in Farsi is full of amusing observations about American culture. But it’s equally about how Firoozeh and her Iranian family are perceived by non-Iranian Americans, in particular those of white, European heritage. Many of the Americans who Firoozeh meets and befriends during her childhood in California are gracious and accepting of many different cultures. Tragically, however, others treat Firoozeh and her family with varying degrees of prejudice, sometimes rooted in ignorance of Iranian culture…

Family is another important theme in Funny in Farsi. According to Firoozeh, Iranian culture places much more emphasis on the family than the bulk of American culture does. In Iran, families tend to stick closer together, often staying in the same small communities for many years, and sometimes having three or even four generations live together under one roof. Family is especially important for Iranian immigrants settling in the United States: family members…

Funny in Farsi is a portrait of Iranian immigrant culture, but also a portrait of American values, as seen by Firoozeh over the course of her life in the United States.

For the most part, Firoozeh offers a glowing depiction of American values. She highlights the importance of education in America, and the fact that people of many different backgrounds are encouraged to attend college. Similarly, Firoozeh celebrates the feminist values of American society, which…