The rhetorical devices tone and parallelism are used in both the memoir, Funny In Farsi, by Firoozeh Dumas, and the graphic novel, American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang in order to entertain readers and develop the over-arching theme of self-acceptance.
Dumas uses colloquial and comic tones in Funny In Farsi in order to keep readers engaged and understate the impact of the hardships she faced on her road to self-acceptance. In the chapter “I Ran and I Ran and I Ran”, Dumas tells the story of her trip to see the Shah in Washington D.C.- a trip that was interrupted by demonstrators stampeding through the crowd of Iranians with weapons. In an attempt to escape the chaos, Firoozeh’s family encountered a bus driver who was unwilling to help …show more content…
One of the defining characteristics of Firoozeh’s Iranian heritage was her nose, and while it wasn’t uncommon for Iranian girls to resort to medical procedures to change their noses, Firoozeh appreciated her natural beauty and refused to go through with the procedure. “Despite the ominous warnings from my female relatives that noses keep growing well into adulthood, I managed to graduate from college, get married, and have children, all with my original nose”(Dumas 163). This quote gives insight into Dumas’s view of herself: instead of giving into the pressure of changing herself, she realized that there was nothing wrong with how she looked, regardless of what other people said. Dumas remained true to herself and lived a full life in spite of the judgment she received. Parallelism is present in this quote when Dumas lists the accomplishments that weren’t hindered by her nose. The parallelism throughout Funny In Farsi creates a persuasive flow in the writing. Dumas’s writing appeals to a vast audience, but young girls can make connections with the underlying messages of judgment and the desire to fit in. While Dumas realized that changing herself to fit into a certain image wasn’t worth it, people give into the peer pressure every day. Firoozeh Dumas’s captivating stories draw in readers and leave them with the message of the importance of not letting other people define their self-worth. The biggest takeaway from this memoir is the idea that no one should have the power to make you feel like you are worth any less than anyone
Dumas uses colloquial and comic tones in Funny In Farsi in order to keep readers engaged and understate the impact of the hardships she faced on her road to self-acceptance. In the chapter “I Ran and I Ran and I Ran”, Dumas tells the story of her trip to see the Shah in Washington D.C.- a trip that was interrupted by demonstrators stampeding through the crowd of Iranians with weapons. In an attempt to escape the chaos, Firoozeh’s family encountered a bus driver who was unwilling to help …show more content…
One of the defining characteristics of Firoozeh’s Iranian heritage was her nose, and while it wasn’t uncommon for Iranian girls to resort to medical procedures to change their noses, Firoozeh appreciated her natural beauty and refused to go through with the procedure. “Despite the ominous warnings from my female relatives that noses keep growing well into adulthood, I managed to graduate from college, get married, and have children, all with my original nose”(Dumas 163). This quote gives insight into Dumas’s view of herself: instead of giving into the pressure of changing herself, she realized that there was nothing wrong with how she looked, regardless of what other people said. Dumas remained true to herself and lived a full life in spite of the judgment she received. Parallelism is present in this quote when Dumas lists the accomplishments that weren’t hindered by her nose. The parallelism throughout Funny In Farsi creates a persuasive flow in the writing. Dumas’s writing appeals to a vast audience, but young girls can make connections with the underlying messages of judgment and the desire to fit in. While Dumas realized that changing herself to fit into a certain image wasn’t worth it, people give into the peer pressure every day. Firoozeh Dumas’s captivating stories draw in readers and leave them with the message of the importance of not letting other people define their self-worth. The biggest takeaway from this memoir is the idea that no one should have the power to make you feel like you are worth any less than anyone