Reading as Resistance: Reading Lolita in Tehran

Lesson 24
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ELA

Unit 5

10th Grade

Lesson 24 of 29

Objective


Analyze how the final anecdotes of the memoir develop Nafisi's themes about choice, freedom, and fiction.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi  — pp. 315–328, 330–339

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A Note for Teachers


This reading references sexual molestation on page 323. Be mindful of how students might react to this content. 

Target Task


Discussion & Writing Prompt

How does Nafisi develop her theme about the connection between personal choice and freedom through Nassrin and Mahshid?

Sample Response

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Key Thinking


Close Read Questions

How does Nassrin's experience in jail impact her decision to leave Iran? What does she mean by calling her decision "the ordeal of freedom" (323)?

How has mandatory veiling impacted Mahshid and her religious identity?

How do the conversations with Nafisi's former student Miss Ruhi on pages 331–333 and with her magician on page 338 develop the theme about the role of fiction in our lives?

Homework


Prepare for the Socratic Seminar using the graphic organizer.

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Standards


  • RI.9-10.2 — Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
  • RI.9-10.3 — Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.

Supporting Standards

L.9-10.1
L.9-10.6
RI.9-10.1
RI.9-10.4
RI.9-10.10
W.9-10.9.b
W.9-10.10

Next

Engage in a Socratic seminar about Reading Lolita in Tehran by supporting arguments with strong textual evidence.

Lesson 25
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Lesson Map

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