Cultural Differences In 'Funny In Farsi, Firoozeh Dumas'
_____: Main Idea
_____: Supporting details
_____: Quotes (Must try to learn exactly how it is used and word by word)
_____: Important points about VOICE and PERCEPTION
Cultural experiences can have a significant impact on one’s personal voice and perception of the world. Such experiences such as things you eat, things you value, how you dress and the language you use to communicate can shape who you are, how you think, how you act and how you speak. Some examples of cultural experiences may include cultural shock, like learning a new language and cultural differences such as having different customs and religion.
Experiencing cultural shock like learning a new language is one of the first challenges an immigrant must encounter when arriving to a new country. Dealing with this challenge can change the way you look at the world and the way you are as a person. For example, in Funny in Farsi, Firoozeh Dumas’ voice is shaped by the experiences of her and her family learning the English language. She uses humor in her voice to describe the different experiences she and her family go through when trying to learn how to speak English. One of the …show more content…
experiences Dumas tells in her book is when her mother tries to learn English from the Price is Right and Let’s Make a Deal. Another language barrier experience she recalls was when her mother dragged her everywhere to translate for. When she adds that she rather be at home watching the Brady Brunch, her voice and tone implies that she was not happy translating for her mother. In the episode where her mother called the exterminator and when they visited the hardware store, Dumas explains how in both occasions people laughed about her mother’s English. These episodes only shows that beneath her jokes there is an obvious ache in her voice while explaining some of the experiences such as the English barrier her family had to go through while living in America.
Having cultural differences can change one’s perception of the world. Cultural differences can be described as having different customs and religions. Coming from a different culture, one may feel excluded from religious celebrations and at the same time feel lost in other people’s religious beliefs and traditions. In Funny in Farsi, Dumas and her family’s perception of Christmas was very different from the Christian’s perception. They found the month of December being very difficult to tolerate since the Christmas holiday was not something they were interested in. Their perception of Christmas influenced even how they celebrated their own religion. “In Iran, the biggest holiday is Nowruz, New Year’s Day. Since it is a secular holiday, Nowruz is celebrated by the entire country, as Thanksgiving is in the United States” (Dumas 105). It got to the point that they longer found it fun celebrating their own religion because they found themselves celebrating it by themselves away from the rest of their family.
Another cultural difference is having different customs.
Differences in customs can shape who you are and how you think. In the book for instance, when Dumas goes to summer camp and is expected to bathe in front of others, she finds herself not taking a bath for two full weeks. Her action is due to the fact that “coming from a modest culture and even more modest family” (Dumas 6) it is considered indecent for a person to be naked in the presence of another person. Another custom was not being allowed to ever eating ham. In one of the episode Firoozeh learns that ham was a forbidden food and she tries her best to discourage her dad from continuing eating a ham. Firoozeh’s voice seems worried and anxious. She believed that her father was destined to go to hell and that she needed to do something about
it.
Things you value such as religion, customs, and your native language can change your view and how you express yourself of the world. There cultural experiences can shape who you are, how you think and how you act. Your personal voice is influenced by your cultural everyday experiences.
_____: Supporting details
_____: Quotes (Must try to learn exactly how it is used and word by word)
_____: Important points about VOICE and PERCEPTION
Cultural experiences can have a significant impact on one’s personal voice and perception of the world. Such experiences such as things you eat, things you value, how you dress and the language you use to communicate can shape who you are, how you think, how you act and how you speak. Some examples of cultural experiences may include cultural shock, like learning a new language and cultural differences such as having different customs and religion.
Experiencing cultural shock like learning a new language is one of the first challenges an immigrant must encounter when arriving to a new country. Dealing with this challenge can change the way you look at the world and the way you are as a person. For example, in Funny in Farsi, Firoozeh Dumas’ voice is shaped by the experiences of her and her family learning the English language. She uses humor in her voice to describe the different experiences she and her family go through when trying to learn how to speak English. One of the …show more content…
experiences Dumas tells in her book is when her mother tries to learn English from the Price is Right and Let’s Make a Deal. Another language barrier experience she recalls was when her mother dragged her everywhere to translate for. When she adds that she rather be at home watching the Brady Brunch, her voice and tone implies that she was not happy translating for her mother. In the episode where her mother called the exterminator and when they visited the hardware store, Dumas explains how in both occasions people laughed about her mother’s English. These episodes only shows that beneath her jokes there is an obvious ache in her voice while explaining some of the experiences such as the English barrier her family had to go through while living in America.
Having cultural differences can change one’s perception of the world. Cultural differences can be described as having different customs and religions. Coming from a different culture, one may feel excluded from religious celebrations and at the same time feel lost in other people’s religious beliefs and traditions. In Funny in Farsi, Dumas and her family’s perception of Christmas was very different from the Christian’s perception. They found the month of December being very difficult to tolerate since the Christmas holiday was not something they were interested in. Their perception of Christmas influenced even how they celebrated their own religion. “In Iran, the biggest holiday is Nowruz, New Year’s Day. Since it is a secular holiday, Nowruz is celebrated by the entire country, as Thanksgiving is in the United States” (Dumas 105). It got to the point that they longer found it fun celebrating their own religion because they found themselves celebrating it by themselves away from the rest of their family.
Another cultural difference is having different customs.
Differences in customs can shape who you are and how you think. In the book for instance, when Dumas goes to summer camp and is expected to bathe in front of others, she finds herself not taking a bath for two full weeks. Her action is due to the fact that “coming from a modest culture and even more modest family” (Dumas 6) it is considered indecent for a person to be naked in the presence of another person. Another custom was not being allowed to ever eating ham. In one of the episode Firoozeh learns that ham was a forbidden food and she tries her best to discourage her dad from continuing eating a ham. Firoozeh’s voice seems worried and anxious. She believed that her father was destined to go to hell and that she needed to do something about
it.
Things you value such as religion, customs, and your native language can change your view and how you express yourself of the world. There cultural experiences can shape who you are, how you think and how you act. Your personal voice is influenced by your cultural everyday experiences.