Living Behind a Scarf

From what I´ve read, I believe this book is going to tell the story of the lives of seven girls. We are going to have the chance to discover all of their secrets and at the same time realize everything they have been through. Mostly I think the main purpose of the book is to show us the social problems that Iran was having back then.

Clearly we can see how the women were treated differently from men and had fewer opportunities. From this inequality is that Azi decides to quite her job at the university and start her small literature classes. She was tired of all the restrictions and rules and decided it was time to take control of her own life.
I believe we are going to hear two complete different lives from each girl, one inside the house and one outside, in the real word. As Azi states, “They are, according to the law of land, dressed in black robes and head scarves, covered except for the oval of their hands. In the second photograph the same group, in the same position, stands against the same wall. Only they have taken off their coverings” (4). All of these girls are hidden behind a scarf and they can only open themselves when they are all together in the same room. This is probably because of the fact that no one is going to judge them by their believes or appearance on that room. They all came to Azi´s house for the same reason: to discuss literature. Even though that’s the main reason they came, I think that in the future they are going to realize that they are not learning literature but they are learning to find themselves.
By living in such a trapped world, they haven’t had the chance to analyze whom they are and what they want to do with their lives. I believe this literature class is going to be a great opportunity for them to come out of their black scarfs.

Still I think that a lot of consequences are going to come with this small class because not all of the parents agree with the idea that they should have the opportunity to learn. I believe I’m going to enjoy this book and I can’t wait to see how these girls’ lives are going to shift. Are they going to have a better life? Or are things just going to get worse?

The Importance of Punctuation

Writing is a way of freedom and a form of art, a way in which you can express yourself however you want. Even though there are certain rules one has to follow there’s always that gap you have in which you can change some rules to go with your own style. In the “Survival of the Fittest” by Nicholson Baker and the “Q as in Quotation” by Durs Grunbein, the authors demonstrate how the language is unlimited and that each person has the freedom to write as he/she wants. You don’t have to write the famous five paragraphs essay in order to express your ideas and points of view. You can just start writing in your own way and end up having an essay.  I believe that the more restrictions one has on writing, the harder it becomes to express ones self. On the other hand I do agree that there should be some basic rules everyone has to follow. If we all started writing without punctuation and grammar it would all become a mess. Since I was in sixth grade I have learned that punctuation is really important. It helps the readers understand what you are writing and a misplaced punctuation might lead to a different meaning of what you were trying to say. For example “Lets eat Grandma!” is a complete different thing from “Lets eat, Grandma!”

The purpose of each punctuation mark has been modified and changed through out the years. Now a day, technology has given a turn to the punctuation marks. We teenagers use the semi colon and colon mostly to text our friends. We use them to form happy faces and winks such as J and ;). In a sort of way we have lost the main function of them and most of the time we misuse them when writing an essay. Out of all the advantages the technology has brought the society, I believe that it has a huge disadvantage. It has led for us to be each time more careless about our grammar and punctuation. We are always trying to abbreviate all of the words and we use all the punctuation marks in the wrong way.

I believe writing is one of the most important means of communication. The one thing that hasn’t changed throughout the years is that writing is the main way of communication. You can write whatever you want without being judge. You have all the freedom to express whatever pops into your head. For some persons, like me, it is easier to express the feelings by writing than by saying them out loud.  

Vocabulary

Jobst Garments: Trademark for a type of pressure wrap applied to control hypertrophic scar formation or lymphedema. (Pg.81)

Corduroy: A durable cut-pile fabric, usually made of cotton, with vertical ribs. (Pg. 177)

Xeroform: used externally in powders and salves for the treatment of intertrigoes and of ulcers and inflammation of the mucosa. It is a component of Vishnevskii´s ointment and the hemorrhoid suppositories Anuzol. (Pg. 69)

Hypertrophic: A nontumorous enlargement of an organ or a tissue as a result of an increase in the size rather than the number of constituent cells. (Pg.251)

 Furnace: enclosed space for the burning of fuel. (Pg. 126)

Blanched: To cause to turn white or become pale. (Pg. 251)

 Beret: A round close-fitting brimless cap of soft wool material or felt. (Pg. 279)