Comprehensive Study Guide: Goli Taraghi and Short Story Selections

Administrative Details and Literature Syllabus Overview

• Documentation and Copyright Information

  • A student question was raised regarding the presence of copyright information at the top of shorter selections (specifically on page 46).
  • The instructor clarified that these notices are likely included for legal protection/liability and are not a focus for note-taking or testing. Students should prioritize information found in the analysis sections and details about the authors.

• Section 2: Quest Narratives and Travel Writing

  • Status: Completed in previous slide shows.
  • Key Topics Covered:
    • The history of quest narratives.
    • Three different kinds of transformation.
    • The aesthetics and politics of travel writing.
  • Assessment: The first test upon returning from break will cover this section. It consists of 50 multiple-choice questions.

• Section 3: The Remains of the Day

  • Status: Temporarily on hold to allow students to complete the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro.
  • Key Study Areas:
    • Life of Kazuo Ishiguro.
    • Plot structure (specifically utilizing chapter summaries for review).
    • Character analysis and major themes.

• Section 4: Shorter Selections (Starting on Page 45)

  • There are eight major selections in this section:
    1. John Steinbeck: Essay.
    2. Audre Lorde: Essay titled "The Fourth of July."
    3. Robert Frost: Narrative poem titled "The Road Not Taken" (noted for having a unique interpretation in the guide compared to common readings).
    4. Coleridge: Narrative poem titled "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (the instructor suggests reading the analysis first to ease the reading of the poem's lines).
    5. George Orwell: Essay (author of 1984).
    6. Elizabeth Bishop: Poem.
    7. Henry David Thoreau: Essay (author of Walden).
    8. Goli Taraghi: Short story titled "The Pomegranate Lady and Her Sons" (the longest selection in this section).

Literature Test Weighting and Percentages

• Section 2 (Quest Narratives/Travel Writing): Comprises $10\%$ of the total literature test.
• Section 4 (Shorter Selections): Comprises $35\%$ of the total literature test.
• Critical Reading: Comprises $15\%$ of the total literature test (scheduled for later in the term).
• Total Progress Observation: Completing the shorter selections brings the total material covered to $45\%$ (approx. half of the lit guide). The instructor notes that stops will occur at $85\%$ before specific competitions.

Biography: Goli Taraghi

• Background and Birth

  • Born Zoray Taraghi Magadam in Tehran in 1939.
  • Raised in a well-educated and socially prominent family.

• Education

  • Attended Drake University in Iowa, United States, where she studied philosophy.
  • Returned to Iran and earned a Master’s degree in philosophy from Tehran University in 1967.

• Career and Exile

  • Taught at Tehran University during the 1970s.
  • Left Iran following the 1979 Iranian Revolution as the new theocratic regime targeted Western-educated academics and writers.
  • Settled in Paris as an expatriate but continued to travel to Iran during the 1980s.
  • Writes her fiction primarily in Persian (Farsi).

• Literary Themes and Works

  • Focuses on the challenges of Iranians who remained in the country through political, cultural, and economic transitions.
  • Explores the "diasporic" experience—the mixture of distance and connection felt by Iranians living abroad.
  • Notable Works:
    • The Pear Tree (1990 film): Co-written with Dariush Mehrjui.
    • "The Grand Lady of My Soul": Notable short story anthologized in Tablet and Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East (2010), edited by Reza Aslan.
    • The Pomegranate Lady and Her Sons and Other Stories (2013): Short story collection that brought her international critical acclaim.

"The Pomegranate Lady and Her Sons": Narrative Analysis

• Setting and Introduction

  • Location: Mehrabad Airport, Tehran.
  • Context: Air France flight 726.
  • Narrator’s State: A state of "constant wanderings," feeling exhausted, homesick, and confused by the cyclic nature of leaving and staying in Tehran.

• The Customs Incident (The "Murder Weapon")

  • The narrator is stopped at customs for a "suspicious and fearsome item" appearing on the X-ray.
  • The item is a golden-colored battle axe bought at a junk shop in Isfahan for her son.
  • It is a piece of "paraphernalia dervishes carry," worth approximately $5,000$ (likely Rials).
  • Customs inspector identifies it as an antique/cultural heritage. "Mister Parrot" (an appraiser) is paged to examine the item.
  • The result: The axe head is considered antique, but the handle is new. It is deemed a "dangerous weapon" that could divert a plane to Africa.
  • The narrator eventually leaves the axe with a porter to avoid further delay.

• Anar Banu (Mama Pomegranate)

  • Introduction: An 83-year-old villager from Yazd, born in 1917. She is illiterate and needs help filling out her customs form.
  • Journey: Traveling to Sweden to see her sons for the first time in 10-12 years. She believes Sweden is a place where water freezes in summer and temperatures drop to $-150$ degrees.
  • The Name: Her father was "Shenaruk" (little sycamore) and she was "Anaruk" (little pomegranate). She claims she was raised under a pomegranate tree, which she viewed as her mother, drinking its juice instead of mother's milk.
  • Physicality: Described as a "succulent pomegranate" with red cheeks and full lips; she is ticklish and confused by the mechanics of air travel (e.g., seatbelts and plane changes).

• Family Background of Anar Banu

  • The Older Son: Described as angry, hot-tempered, and politically active. He was imprisoned during the Shah's regime. During the revolution, he was hidden in a cellar by Colonel Zamani for 40 days to escape Revolutionary Guards. He eventually fled to the mountains and then to Sweden.
  • The Younger Son: A "scoundrel" who dyes his hair blonde, plucks his eyebrows, wears makeup, and sings/plays Western music at weddings in Sweden. He was disowned by his father before the father’s death.
  • The Husband: Passed away from the stress of his sons' "disgrace" and departure from Iran.

Questions & Discussion

• Participant Engagement

  • Adrian asked about the purpose of copyright information in the shorter selections guide.
  • Harman (identified as Hannah initially) correctly identified that Section 2 (Intro to Lit) is worth $10\%$ of the test.
  • Ethan correctly identified that the Shorter Selections (Section 4) are worth $35\%$ of the test.

• Reading Preferences

  • When given the choice between reviewing a PowerPoint on shorter selections or reading "The Pomegranate Lady and Her Sons" out loud, the majority of students (including Brianna) chose the reading.

• Schedule Reminders

  • The next meeting is Thursday the 25th to continue shorter selections.
  • Upcoming Monday: Return to Section 3 (Remains of the Day).