Response to "Class on Blog" Question 1

This is a response to the first question of today's (03/21) class on the blog session.

One of the chapters where the dual narration contradiction becomes apparent is "The Heroes". In this chapter, we see the friends of Marjane's parents, Siamak and his family and Mohsen, gathering in Marjane's house. Siamak and Mohsen are both political prisoners who have just been released from prison. While in the house, everyone including Marjane listens attentively to Siamak and Mohsen who both describe their torturous experience in prison.

The conversation is full with gory details and is definitely not intended for children but nobody stops Marjane from listening as they are too focused in it. At the end of the conversation, Laly (Siamak's daughter) tells Marjane that her dad is a hero. Marjane feels disappointed that she doesn't have a hero in her family and at the same time hears her mother saying that all torturers must be massacred. This makes Marjane very confused and she actually believes that her mother is going to kill people. She then proceeds to create a new game that will involve torturing with her friends. Later in her house, she feels a strong evil power inside her but is eventually overwhelmed.

The author provides us with the adult's reaction to the conversation (Marjane's mom saying that torturers must be massacred) which, as adults, we know that it is merely a reaction and that her mom doesn't really mean to kill anyone. However, the author also provided us with young Marjane's interpretation of what her mom said and she believed that her mom actually wanted to kill people. Hence, this instance of dual narration contradiction requires us to take into consideration both the adult's and child's perspectives in order to fully understand the situation.