How Marjane dealed with authorities

Marjane was a young girl when the Islamic Revolution started in Iran. Despite of her age, she was actually well aware about the dangers of what was going on around her such as the brutality of the soldiers towards those who protest against the restrictions that were impose on them by the Revolution. Another important event Marjane knew about was, among other things, the consequences that a person had to face when he or goes against some of the rules of the Country. In spite of all these, Marjane acted as a mature girl though she was young. She didn’t care much about what the authorities dictate upon her when she was at school. And even though she spent most of her life at her parent’s house, her rebellious behavior was actually apparent whenever she went to school. She dealt with her schoolteachers, and principals in a rebellious way. It all started when Iraq invaded Iran. During this time, students were introduced something they haven’t experienced before. Every student had to beat and hit hard his or her chest in support of the Iranian troops that were fighting the Iraqis.

In one occasion, Marjane narrated from one of her teachers as having said, “Welcome girls of Iran. The war has taken the flower of our Nation’s Youth!” (96). Perhaps this was to encourage students to be a bit more enthusiastic in their support of their Country’s troops by hitting their chests as hard as they could without even feeling the pain that comes with it. After a short while, Marjane and her schoolmates treated this chest beating as a “torture session”. They rebelled against the target of the chest beating, and have decided not to take it as serious as they were supposed to. Instead, they turned the “torture session” into a laughable matter; especially for Marjane it was an amusingly funny moment thereby driving some of her teachers mad. She said that, “every situation offers an opportunity for laughs” (97). But, in a visible way, this must have been out of the borders of her school’s rules because Marjane and her classmates were later suspended from their school for one week as a result of their undisciplined behavior. The suspension was meant to be a time of reflection for Marjane and her peers to see and correct their mistakes. But Marjane didn’t learn a thing or two from this suspension by the authority her school. Moreover, she became dauntless when she realized that Neda, a friend her, died as a result of an explosion that hit Neda’s house one a Saturday (142). Marjane was out for a shopping that day, and this news devastated her. After this incident she was no longer afraid of no one. Finally, with her dauntless heart and rebellious behavior, Marjane earned herself the event that cause her expulsion from school after she had an argument with a teacher over a bracelet Marjane wore. This was strictly for bidden, but Marjane would careless, and when she was asked to hand it over, she fought over it, and eventually punched the school principal (143). This was why she was sent to Austria by her parents because it was no longer safe for her to remain in Iran with this situation and because the of different tensions that were going on at the time.

Though it’s hard to predict what I would have done, I must say that if I were in Marjane’s position, I would have respected my teachers even if that meant doing something that I abhor. This is because I would have known the reasons why one goes to school. A school is not a place to rebel. It’s rather a place to learn, and reflect; a place where people go to expand their philosophical and intellectual means of life. I understand how hard it might have been for Marjane to keep her attitude cool, especially when dealing teachers. But still, I can’t bring myself in defying the rules that are set by the authorities of my school. If I were to rebel against them and their rules, then I would have chosen not to come that particular school or any other school that I deem not worthy my time.