Choice Essay Prisoner of Tehran
Prisoner of Tehran
Choice Essay
1. Does Marina have a positive relationship with her family? Throughout the novel, Marina describes several different "family" experiences. She has the family she is born into, she has her "family" of women in Evin, and she has the family she gains after she marries Ali. Using evidence form the novel, discuss the theme of family in Prisoner of Tehran.
2. Can one person make a difference? In this book, the answer is both yes and no. Write an essay in which you explore Marina Nemat’s experience of individual people making a difference and those same people (or others) being unable to make a difference. What factors seem to determine a person’s ability to create change? Ultimately, how far does she decide one person’s power can reach?
Essay: Can one person make a difference? Using evidence from the novel, prove whether or not one person can make a difference in the world.
3. It is difficult to understand why Marina Nemat is kept in prison for so long or what outcome the government expects from her imprisonment. What seems to be the purpose of Evin prison—punishment, rehabilitation, or something else? What should be the purpose of prisons?
Essay:
4. Many stories of people who survived trauma emphasize that person’s amazing resilience and ability to overcome the aftereffects of traumatic experiences. But not all survivor stories end this way and clearly not all survivors would say their stories have happy endings. Which message would you say Marina Nemat has chosen? Write an essay in which you decide if Marina's story has a happy ending or a tragic one. Support your position.
5. In the “Acknowledgements” at the end of the book, Nemat thanks her husband, Andre, and writes, “I strongly believe you are the most honest and faithful individual God has ever created. Your goodness defies laws on nature”. Nemat’s portrait of her first husband, Ali, is far more complicated. Write an essay in which you explore Nemat’s (and your own)
Choice Essay
1. Does Marina have a positive relationship with her family? Throughout the novel, Marina describes several different "family" experiences. She has the family she is born into, she has her "family" of women in Evin, and she has the family she gains after she marries Ali. Using evidence form the novel, discuss the theme of family in Prisoner of Tehran.
2. Can one person make a difference? In this book, the answer is both yes and no. Write an essay in which you explore Marina Nemat’s experience of individual people making a difference and those same people (or others) being unable to make a difference. What factors seem to determine a person’s ability to create change? Ultimately, how far does she decide one person’s power can reach?
Essay: Can one person make a difference? Using evidence from the novel, prove whether or not one person can make a difference in the world.
3. It is difficult to understand why Marina Nemat is kept in prison for so long or what outcome the government expects from her imprisonment. What seems to be the purpose of Evin prison—punishment, rehabilitation, or something else? What should be the purpose of prisons?
Essay:
4. Many stories of people who survived trauma emphasize that person’s amazing resilience and ability to overcome the aftereffects of traumatic experiences. But not all survivor stories end this way and clearly not all survivors would say their stories have happy endings. Which message would you say Marina Nemat has chosen? Write an essay in which you decide if Marina's story has a happy ending or a tragic one. Support your position.
5. In the “Acknowledgements” at the end of the book, Nemat thanks her husband, Andre, and writes, “I strongly believe you are the most honest and faithful individual God has ever created. Your goodness defies laws on nature”. Nemat’s portrait of her first husband, Ali, is far more complicated. Write an essay in which you explore Nemat’s (and your own)