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"Despite the belief of most Westerners that all Middle Easterners look alike, we can pick each other out of a crowd as easily as my Japanese friends pick out their own from a crowd of Asians" (Dumas 21). This is another example of the stereotyping and ethnic grouping that often occurs which harms and inhibits cultural identity.

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"'No, I'm Iranian,' I replied. 'No way!' she shrieked. 'Bernice, doesn't this one look Alaskan?"' (Dumas 38).This is an example of Insider/Outsider perspective as Firoozeh faces stereotyping and an outsiders image projection/ethnic projection simply because this outsider, the nurse, has never seen an Iranian before.

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When they first move to the United States, Firoozeh's mother struggles to communicate with her neighbors because she is not fluent in English. She chooses to use Firoozeh as an interpreter to communicate with otherd. To learn English, she watches English TV shows such as The Price is Right. Like Firoozeh's mother, many immigrant parents rely on their children to help them communicate effectively with others. The use of TV shows in foreign languages is also a common practice used to help children learn a second language or moral values.

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Chinese names can be difficult to say, and our last names are often mispronounced by the general population. Likewise, there is a language barrier that causes problems in Firoozeh's life. Because English speakers cannot pronounce her name correctly, Firoozeh is forced to hear blunt and terrible pronunciations, a product of the language differences. In order to assimilate better, Firoozeh chooses to shed the Iranian name that sets her apart from others and adopt a more American sounding nickname. Likewise, we commonly see people use an American name instead of their orginal, ethnic name.

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In our Chinese culture, family ties are also extremely strong. The emphasis is on the immediate family and especially on the core family however. Filial piety, meaning respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors is greatly underscored. This example of a Kowtow, a sign of deference and respect of a younger individual to an elder, is one of many different ways Chinese culture emphasizes family ties and filial piety. This is our personal example of the theme of family on our lives and culture.

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Chinese New Year is extremely important in Chinese culture. It is to Chinese individuals of the same importance of Christmas to Americans. Likewise to Firoozeh and her family (in regards to Iranian New Year), Chinese New Year is not a celebrated American holiday and thus the excitement and cultural celebration is greatly lessened. Nonetheless, we continue to celebrate this holiday as an important part of our cultural heritage. Thus, this is an example of both cultural isolation and cultural identity as though Americans do not celebrate this holiday, we as an ethnic group continue to do so.

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One of the important themes, that being religion, is evidenced in Funny and Farsi. Ironically, it is not Islam that I am going to mention (although that is the dominant religion mentioned in the story), but rather Catholicism. Francois' parents and family are Catholic and this causes problems for his family relationship to Firoozeh and her respective family. Because of Francois' family's strict interpretation of Catholicism and subsequent scrutinizing of Firoozeh and her family, eventually, Firoozeh and Francois stop all contact with Francois' mother and father.

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The theme of education is fascinating because it is so broad. Education is in every aspect of our lives and in every action that we take. Simply put, we learn from everything. One example of this idea can be seen in Funny and Farsi when Francois and Firoozeh decide to donate their Limoges China to charity. Though the China set was extremely expensive and was in fact Francois' parent's "gift", donating it ended up being the best thing that the couple could have done. In Firoozeh's own words, she learned the, "...simple truth that the best way to go through life is to be a major donor of kindness" (Dumas 160).

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Language, like education, is a very broad theme. This is because language is not limited to verbal speech or even to words. Sign language, images, and action speak as loudly as do any written works. An example from Funny and Farsi is when Golda Rubenshtein gave Firoozeh and Francois a chocolate Bundt cake every month. Though they had a language barrier as Golda did not communicate or speak English very well, food was the universal language that she used to convey her gratitude towards Firoozeh for "saving her life".

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In Iran, family ties are extremely close. The core or immediate family is obviously very strong, as it is in most cultures, but beyond that, all Aunts, Uncles, Grandmothers, Grandfathers, cousins, second cousins, nieces, and nephews are also considered very precious. Iranian culture prides having family first values.

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This is a strong example of Insider/Outsider perspective within Funny and Farsi. Though Firoozeh and her family lived in Iran for many years, they were initially confused by the Western world's immediate association of Iran with Persian Cats. While the outside world believed that Iran was filled with beautiful, long-haired Persian cats (and with sand, pyramids, and camels for that matter), in reality, the only cats Firoozeh and her family had encountered back in Iran were mangy strays.

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This is an example of partial assimilation as well as of cultural identity. Note the image below. Although this is a post about "Thanksgiving", the image is of Iranian ice cream. This is because Firoozeh and her family assimilated to American culture by celebrating Thanksgiving and eating a Turkey, but they retained part of their cultural identity through juxtaposing traditional Thanksgiving foods with traditional Iranian dishes such as the aforementioned Iranian ice cream.

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Voting is extremely important as part of the political process and as part of citizenship. However, because it is a guaranteed right of Americans, often we take it for granted and do not even vote. As citizens, this is an important right for us to recognize and to utilize and so an important part of being American citizens is to make sure that we vote consistently and contribute to the government and to political efficacy. This is evidenced in Funny and Farsi when Firoozeh mentions to her father that she does not plan on voting and he replies by saying that "maybe you shouldn't be a citizen".

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One of the first things that Firoozeh and her family had to encounter when arriving in America was its emphasis on capitalism. Arguably, and likely in many individual's eyes, everything in America is for-profit. In Iran, Firoozeh's father's job provided the family with, "free furnished housing...Plumbing problem, electrical problems, and leaky roofs were fixed free of charge. Schools, doctors, and even buses cost nothing" (Dumas 180). Whereas in America, all those same things cost additional amounts of money. As Dumas stated, "When we first came to America, not only did we have to adjust to paying for everything (The plumber charges for just looking at the problems?")..." (Dumas 181).

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This particular image has two examples of cultural isolation within it as well as one one example of The "American Experience". In the novel, Firoozeh was saddened by the fact that she was denied an "American Experience" of being a girl scout, something that all of her friends experienced. In addition, she faced a cultural isolation because of both girl scouts and because of cookies. Her cultural isolation came from the fact that because her culture didn't value organized group activities for females, like girl scouts, she missed out on this experience. In terms of cookies, Firoozeh faced cultural isolation because her mother couldn't bake cookies for school snacks like her classmate's mothers could.

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Firoozeh herself is of dual nationalities as she is Iranian but has lived most of her life in America. Despite continuing to live in America and accepting many American values and traditions like Christmas, she also retains many of her Iranian morals and traditions as well. Furthermore, she married a Frenchman and both learned the French language and traveled to and learned about France itself. This lends itself to providing for an even more multinational identity for Firoozeh.