The purpose of women
One of the common motifs in the novel is the idea that in the Iranian culture, women were seen as being mothers and wives and nothing more. Because of this, many women were uneducated and were ignorant to the world around them. Firoozeh’s mother is one such example as she did not receive any type of education in her youth. Even though her father wanted to give her the opportunity to learn, Nazireh never did get the chance because her father died and thus she was forced by the circumstances to marry at a young age. The idea that women are seen as simply wives in traditional Iranian culture is one of the common motifs in the novel.
Everyone looks the same
Another common motif found in the novel is the idea that many believed that Firoozeh spoke every language spoken in the Middle East. For example, one time, Firoozeh git lost at Disney Land. There, at the Lost and Found department, she saw another boy who was lost, another boy who was just like her from another country. The people working at the department asked Firoozeh to talk with the little boy and when Firoozeh claimed that she could not because they don’t speak the same language, they got confused because they believed that every person from the Middle East speaks the same language. This idea is a common motif in the novel and Firoozeh encounters this mentality on multiple occasions.
Prejudice
Another common motif in the novel is the idea that the Americans all have some sort of prejudiced ideas about the people coming from other countries. Firoozeh for example is seen as being dangerous after a few Iranian men took hostages at the embassy in Teheran and she also notices how the Americans also have prejudiced ideas about other people, such as the French. Firoozeh notes that these ideas affect the way foreigners see themselves as well.
The sleeping bag
In the eighth chapter, Firoozeh recalls how when she was a young girl, she convinced her parents to let her go to a camp. After her parents agreed to let her, Firoozeh’s father took her to a shop where he bought her a big sleeping bag, too big for the little girl. The big sleeping bag is used here as a symbol to suggest the idea that Firoozeh’s ideas about America and about the American culture in general were too big and would fall short of how things were in reality.
The sleeping bag
In the eighth chapter, Firoozeh recalls how, when she was a young girl, she convinced her parents to let her go to a camp. After her parents agreed to let her, Firoozeh’s father took her to a shop where he bought her a big sleeping bag, too big for the little girl. The big sleeping bag is used here as a symbol to suggest the idea that Firoozeh’s ideas about America and about the American culture in general were too big and would fall short of how things were in reality.
Beware of bears
Firoozeh remember how during one summer, she and her family went to the National Yosemite Park where they enjoyed nature and where they spent quality time together with the whole family. Firoozeh remembers that one of her uncles went with them as well and that he saw a sign, warning them that there are bears in the area. Afraid, the uncle then decided to never leave venture into nature again and to stay inside instead of going and exploring the country he was living in. the sign warning them of the possible bears that might one day attack them is a symbol used here to suggest that the Iranians living in America faced a lot of troubles, similar to the bears a person might find in the forest. Some people, scared by the bears, decided to do nothing to face their fears and chose to lock themselves in instead of fighting against their fears. Thus, the bears are used here as a symbol to make reference to all the dangers a person might face in a foreign country such as America.
