PAP Funny in Farsi Final Essay - Due Friday
In lieu of a test, you will demonstrate your knowledge of Funny in Farsi by analyzing or applying Firoozeh Dumas's use of
a complex tone. There are two options for this assignment.
Reminder: TONE is the Author’s attitude toward the subject of the essay.
Option 1: Tone Analysis Essay (1-2 pages)
Pick a chapter from Funny in Farsi – Identify at least two tones, and where the tone shifts. Use PDIDLS to analyze the
tone, and explain how the tones are appropriate for the subject of the chapter. Each essay needs a clear thesis and
body paragraphs. Each analysis paragraph needs a topic sentence, text evidence, and commentary.
Thesis Structure:
In (Chapter Title), Firoozeh Dumas uses (2-3 PDIDLS) to create a _____ and _______ tone to explain (main idea or theme
of chapter.)
Sample Thesis:
In "Hot Dogs and Wild Geese," Firoozeh Dumas uses analogies, allusions, and verbal irony to create a gracious
and light-hearted tone to explain her family's difficulties learning the English language.
Paragraph Structure:
1. Your topic sentence should identify what part of your thesis the paragraph is about (PDIDLS and tone).
2. Your text evidence should help prove your topic sentence (direct quote).
3. Your commentary should explain the meaning of the evidence, and how it affects the tone and the main
idea/theme of the chapter. (More than one sentence)
Sample Body Paragraph:
One way that Dumas creates her light-hearted tone is through her use of analogy. For example, she compares
her father's skill, or lack of, with the English language to dancing. She describes a disparity between with her father’s
level of English comprehension by stating, "As long as the conversation was limited to vectors, surface tension, and fluid
mechanics, my father was Fred Astaire with words. But one step outside the scintillating world of petroleum
engineering and he had two left tongues." Since Fred Astaire was a great dancer, and a poor dancer has "two left feet",
this contrast shows his comfort and mastery of technical English, and his difficulty with everyday conversational English.
It also keeps things light with the silly image of "two left tongues." Dumas wants to emphasize that while learning
English was no easy task, she was able to cope with it though humor and the funny things that happened.
Option 2: Complex Tone Memoir Essay (2-4 pages)
Write your own personal essay about a formative experience in your life that contains at least one shift between two
different tones.
After the essay, write a 1 paragraph explanation that details how you created the different tones (PDIDLS) and why you
chose to shift the tone when you did.