Week 3 Prompt #4

After the revolution in Iran, as many as 3000 war prisoners were released. Some of these men included some of Marjane's parent’s friends. One of them happened to be was her friend Laly's father, whom she’d told Laly was dead. Marjane hears their magnificent prison stories and soon becomes a bit jealous of Laly, for having a father who got to go to prison for standing up for his country and beliefs. A few weeks later she meets her uncle Anoosh, who had been imprisoned for nine-years, which was much longer the Laly's father, giving Marjane much pride. Anoosh tells Marjane many of his stories; how he got into politics, moving to Moscow, about how he got married and had children, and how he missed his country so much that he determinedly wore a disguise at all times to come back and live in Iran, but is eventually caught. When he is sent to prison his Russian wife gets a divorce with him, leaving him devastated and deeply hurt. Marjane loves hearing all of her uncle’s stories and is deeply fond of him. She often listens or eves drops on her fathers and Anoosh's conversations and debates about the governments actions. Anoosh is living with Marjane’s family for a while, until they start hearing stories that one after another many of the old prisoners are found dead or have escaped the country. One day Anoosh doesn't pick Marjane up from school and she instantly knows something is wrong. At first the maid tells her that Anoosh has gone back to Moscow to visit his wife, but Marjane knows that he hates his wife, which only confirms her fears that he is dead. Her father eventually tells her that Anoosh is in prison and can only have one visitor, which he has chosen to be Marjane. Marjane is proud yet nervous to be his only visitor, she has never been to a prison. When she gets there they talk and Anoosh tells her how much he loves her. A few days later Anoosh is executed and Marjane is crushed, she has lost yet another one of her favorite people to this war with the government. At this point she pushes God out of her life, soon after her house is bombed.

Anoosh seems to have been very important to the plot because he was someone Marjane extremely loved and was killed by the government. He reinforces and deepens Marjane’s dislike for the ever so changing government of that time. His death is also the last of many tests towards Marjane’s belief in God. After he dies Marjane completely pushes God out of her life and when she wants and needs him back he is gone. I think as the stories goes on Marjane will stop believing in God completely and she’ll displace her feelings of losing Anoosh and frustration with the government onto other people. I also think more bombings and raids will occur as time goes on and that life will become even worse in Iran. Eventually I think her family will decide to move somewhere else till Iran settles down enough to live there peacefully.