Much easier said than done. In a perfect, Utopian world...this statement would undoubtedly be true, but our world is far from perfect, as can clearly be seen in Persepolis. Perhaps a truer statement would be "politics and sentiment don't mix well." The two entities are inevitably intertwined, for a man's liberties and allowances are in direct correlation with the state and the well-being of his/her soul, and an imbalance in the two only creates an ugly breeding ground for greed, dishonesty, and war.
When you really think about it, how could sentiments not be involved where politics are concerned, especially when the particular political structure in question is that of Iran during the Islamic revolution? It is my belief that its is not in a man's nature to be stifled, to have to wear a veil, to be controlled with violence or to be told what to believe. Don't get me wrong, I do my very best to be open-minded and nonjudgmental of all cultures, especially those like this one that are so vastly different from my own...you know, live and let live...but I have struggled throughout this book with the feelings that people were not meant to live this way, not meant to be treated this way.
On a different note, I must point out the fact that Marji's father said "politics and sentiment don't mix." The simple fact that this statement came from a man's mouth explains quite a bit. I do not mean to imply that the obstacles and hardships of the Iranian government's control did not have an impact on men, that would be absurd...but so would be denying that the women's suffering was greater. The way I see it, Marji (and her mother, grandmother, and all other Iranian women, for that matter) couldn't help but involve sentiments in her view of politics.
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I also believe that politics and sentiments mix and I like how you rephrased that by saying that "politics and sentiments don't mix well". That's very true and I think Hitler and the Holocaust is a good example of that. With the political power he had he was able to kill thousands of Jews because of his hatred for them. The fact that "politics and sentiments don't mix" came out of the mouth of a man does say something. It's true that men were treated significantly different from women so of course there is going to be a difference of opinion there. Like I stated in my blog, emotions are tied to all our decisions, including politics.
ReplyDeleteYou’ve beautifully captured the dilemma of political idealism and sentimental reality in this post. Sentiment and politics go so readily hand in hand that it’s difficult to think of them as separate entities. It’s hard to believe that Marji’s father would make such a bold statement. After all, he has certainly experienced the bitter pangs of political influence, with the loss of family and friends and through the suffering of his own wife and daughter. The scene in which he attempts to rescue a family member from the nuances of bureaucracy through the attainment of a false passport is a perfect example of this direct experience. One small move on the part of the government and boom, three lives are torn apart in an instant – a girl is killed, a man must flee, and a second man dies without a necessary heart operation, all because the government distrusts communist thought.
ReplyDeleteTaking all of this into consideration, I’m not sure Marji’s father actually believes his own words. Perhaps he is just imparting a piece of idyllic wisdom on to his young daughter, in hopes that she may be able to view politics – her own and that of others – from a more objective standpoint. I agree that “politics and sentiment don’t mix well” would have conveyed this idea more clearly, but I’m beginning to think that may have been his intention after all.
First of all, let me say good job. Your entry was very well written and I mostly understood what you were saying. It’s true that politics and sentiment can’t help but be mixed together. People get riled up about government for good reason, it governs them. But I have to admit I wasn’t certain if you were saying if the two aspects mixed or if they were disheveled. I do agree with your feelings towards the book though. People are not meant to be treated so horribly as they were in the book. Don’t be so harsh on the guys however. Yes, women did struggle through the series, but so did the men. They were after all being tortured if they did anything out of line. I sort of saw it as the whole society was suffering. All of Iran was in a choke hold. Other than that, you did a good job. Honestly I thought you wrote this well. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you on the amendment to the statement, "politics and sentiment don't mix well." I, too, feel that they inevitably tend to go hand-in-hand. I like that you point out that it is Marji's dad who makes the statement in question, though. It did seem that most of the laws imposed a great deal more burden on women than men, and so he would not be quite as sensitive to their hardships. Though, he is surrounded by women throughout in his own household, there is no question that dealing with the criticisms and judgments firsthand would be slightly more traumatizing.
ReplyDeleteI also found it difficult to keep an open-mind about the Iranian culture when reading this book. It’s hard coming from a culture where such liberties as showing your hair are hardly considered liberties at all to fathom the rationale behind any of the many prejudices Marji and her family faced. To justify such atrocities seems quite impossible. We don’t think twice about wearing our hair however we may like it without even pausing to think how someone else may perceive it. Reading Marji’s story just made me that much more thankful to have been raised in the land of the free.