Tired.

Part 1) Does Marjane’s identity shift throughout the story? Cite passages that demonstrate this shift? Why do you think this shift occurs? Are there parts of Marjane’s identity that come from factors that she didn’t choose? What are some of these?

Marjane's identity is constantly changing throughout the story. In the beginning, she is naive. The government is telling her that she has to dress and act a certain way, but she doesn't understand why. She thinks she can listen to the TV, but when she sites something from the news her dad mimics her and informs her how wrong she is. She also turns to god a lot in the beginning of the story. He's like her security blanket. As she learns more about the true happenings of the government and reads more books about the history she begins to realize how her parents are right. She can't trust what just anyone tells her. I personally think that the presence of god disappears as Marjane realizes how corrupt the world is and as more innocent people keep dying. Marjane is an iranian female. She is supposed to obey certain rules, act a certain way, and feel a certain way about religion. She didn't choose the world she was born into, but has to deal with it. Although those are part of her identity, another part of her identity is rebellion. She tells teachers how she really feels about the government and the news. She also defies law when she wears her punk jacket and jewelry.

Part 2) What parts of your identity come from factors you didn’t choose?
Where I'm from, what ethnicity I am and what religion I was brought up with were not up to me. I'm Greek, Irish and Italian. I'm white and I was brought up Catholic. I have been an atheist for the past 5 years now.
Have people you have known ever had a negative reaction to these factors?
People are always very judgmental when I reveal that I was raised Catholic. It bothers me when people raise their eyebrows about that. Just because you're a non-denominational Christian doesn't make you any better than I am. I like to then make matters worse by revealing that I don't believe in God period :] They get pretty uncomfortable.
How much control does someone have over their own identity?
There are things that you are born into, but for the most part you can break out of those boxes. The only thing that is super hard to escape is your heritage. You can try to cover it up, but everyone can see what you look like. For most people nowadays it doesn't even matter what ethnicity you are, but for some, ethnicity can be a hard box to escape. Sometimes I feel like people allow themselves to be trapped by social generalizations and discrimination.