DEPENDENCY COMPLEX OF THE JAYAZERIS IN FIROOZEH DUMAS’S FUNNY IN FARSI

DEPENDENCY COMPLEX OF THE JAYAZERIS IN FIROOZEH DUMAS’S FUNNY IN FARSI

THESIS

Written by : Dhion Faqih Pradana

NIM 080110101057

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LETTERS

JEMBER UNIVERSITY 2015

Dependency Complex of the Jayazeris in Firoozeh Dumas’s

Funny in Farsi

THESIS

A Thesis Presented to English Department, Faculty of Letters, Jember University, as One of the Requirements to Obtain the Award of

Sarjana Sastra Degree in English Studies

Written by : Dhion Faqih Pradana

NIM 080110101057

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LETTERS

JEMBER UNIVERSITY 2015

ii

DEDICATION PAGE

This thesis is dedicated to:

 The best mother and father, Lilik Muslimah and Syamsul Buchori.

 My beloved sister, Dhian Putri Pratiwi.

 My best supporter, Kurnia Diani.

 My Dewan Kesenian Kampus.

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MOTTO

“I’m useless but not for long, my future is coming on.” Gorillaz

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DECLARATION

I hereby state that the thesis entitled Dependency Complex of the Jayazeris in Firoozeh Dumas’s Funny in Farsi is an original piece of writing. I declare that analysis and the research described in this thesis have never been submitted for any other degree or any publication. I certify that to the best of my knowledge that all sources used and any help receive in this preparation of this thesis have been acknowledged.

Jember, 2015 The Writer

Dhion Faqih Pradana 080110101057

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APPROVAL SHEET

Approved and received by the Examination Committee of English Department, Faculty of Letters, Jember University.

Jember, September 11th, 2015 Examination Committee

Chairman,

Dra. Supiastutik, M.Pd. NIP. 196605141998032001

Secretary,

L. Dyah P. W. S. W. W., S.S., M.A. NIP. 197109282005012001

The Members:

1. Dra, Meilia Adiana, M.Pd. (………..) NIP. 195105211981032002

2. Irana Astutiningsih, S.S., M.A. (………...) NIP. 197407052005012001

Approved by, The Dean

(Dr. Hairus Salikin, M. Ed) NIP. 196310151989021001

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

All praises to The Almighty Allah, the lord of the universe. I am grateful for the guidance and blessing. Without Allah’s gracious help, I would never be able to finish my study.

I also wish to express my sincere gratitude to:

1. Dr. Hairus Salikin, M.Ed., Dean of Faculty of Letters, Jember University. 2. Dra. Supiastutik, M. Pd., the Head of English Department, Faculty of Letters,

Jember University and my first advisor, for always helping and supporting me.

3. L. Dyah Purwita Wardani S. W. W., S.S., M.A., my second advisor, for always reminding and texting me to finish my thesis.

4. Rizkia Setiarini, S.S., M.Hum., my academic supervisor, for always reminding and supporting me.

5. Dr. Ikwan Setiawan, M.A., Dra. Meilia Adiana, M.Pd., Irana Astutiningsih, S.S., M.A., Hat Pujiati, S.S., M.A., and all the lectures who have taught and given me knowledge during my study in this faculty.

6. All the librarians of Faculty of Letters and all the employees of Faculty of Letters who have been very kind of giving me precious help.

7. Dewan Kesenian Kampus for inspiring me.

8. All my best friends in English Department, the academic year of 2008. 9. All my best friends in Conato Cafe and Bakery.

This thesis will be never finished without their contributions and supports.

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SUMMARY

Dependency Complex of the Jayazeris in Firoozeh Dumas’s Funny in Farsi;

Dhion Faqih Pradana; 080110101057; 2015; English Department, Faculty of Letters, Jember University.

Funny in Farsi is a novel about the experiences of Iranian immigrants who lived in the United States of America pictured through the Jayazeri family. The experiences

told by the author, Firoozeh Dumas, mostly represent the difficulties they’d got when

they met the American and their admiration to the United States of America.

Since the characters in the novel are the author’s family, and she states that it is her own experience, what is asked in this research is the relationship between the real life

and the story in the novel. The author’s real life is analyzed to find the relationship. This analysis wants to show that the real life of the Iranian American are related to the creative process of Firoozeh Dumas to create the story.

The Jayazeris’ difficulties and problems when they were adapting the American life leaded them to the psychological complex they didn’t realize. They felt inferior and always admired the United States of America. These behaviors show that they had dependency complex. What is asked in this research is the process of the dependency complex existence. By telling the the problems and difficulties got by the Jayazeris and their behaviors as the immigrants in the United States of America, the process of the dependency complex existence is described.

The data applied in this writing is a qualitative data which means the data is a form of texts; there is no number. Data collection in this thesis uses documentary study. The data is documented from selected quotations of the novel. This thesis is a descriptive study which describes the relationship between the context of the real life and the story in the novel and the process of dependency complex existence.

The result of this thesis indicates that the real experiences of Iranian-Americans really influenced and inspired Dumas to make her stories. The other result shows that the Jayazeris suffered dependency complex.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE ... i

DEDICATION PAGE ... ii

MOTTO ... iii

DECLARATION ... iv

APPROVAL SHEET ... v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ... vi

SUMMARY ... vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... viii

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ... 1

1.1 Background of the Study ... 1

1.2 Research Topic ... 3

1.3 Research Problems ... 3

1.4 Research Questions ... 6

1.5 Purpose ... 6

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ... 7

2.1 The Previous Research ... 7

2.2 Frantz Fanon’s Dependency Complex ... 8

2.2.1 Anti-Semitic Mentality... 9

2.2.2 Racism ... 10

2.2.3 The Unconscious ... 10

2.3 O. Mannoni’s Theories ... 11

2.3.1 Prospero Complex ... 11

2.3.2 Inferiority Complex ... 11

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CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ... 15

3.1 The Type of Research ... 15

3.2 Data Collection ... 16

3.3 Data Processing ... 16

3.4 Data Analysis ... 17

CHAPTER 4. DISCUSSION ... 20

4.1 Iranian-American’s Experiences ... 20

4.2 Dumas’s Stories Reflecting Iranian-American’s Experiences 23 4.2.1 Racism ... 23

4.2.2 Anti-Semitic Mentality and Prospero Complex ... 26

4.3 Processes of Backgrounds Leading to Signs of Dependency Complex ... 28

4.4 Inferiority Complex of the Jayazeris ... 34

4.5 The Unconscious of the Jayazeris ... 37

CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION ... 42

BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 44

APPENDIX 1. The Biography of Firoozeh Dumas ... 45

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CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Almost all people feel that reading can give them pleasure. It is an absolutely fascinating experience. They will be completely challenged to have more and more knowledge through such activity. Then, it must be said that the activity will lead him to the best understanding, as Jones (1960:1) states in his book that literature is one of the ways people can experience the whole world through their imagination.

The real world in which we live is fully colourized by various imaginative experiences. Such experiences are owned by people whose works are creating beautiful imaginative creations. One of them is the writer of literary works. Good writers definitely produce good literary works and the good ones usually cover the norms, facts, and various emotions. Wellek says that literature exists in a social context, as belongs to the culture, in a residence (1956:1).

Hudson (1965:10) also says:

“Literature is a vital record what men have seen in life, what they

have experienced of it, what they have thought and felt about those, aspect of it which have the most immediate and in enduring interest for all of us. It is thus fundamentally an expression of life through the

medium of language.”

Mostly, literature is firstly stated to be concerned with experiences. It is inevitably said that literature is nothing but the pictures gained from the lives of human being. The experiences are retold through words in form of books, magazines, newspapers, etc. So does the novel of Firoozeh Dumas entitled Funny in Farsi.

The real experiences of her life are retold through her 2003 novel as she writes in the subtitle of it; A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America. Memoir is:

“Unlike autobiography, which moves in a dutiful line from birth to fame, memoir narrows the lens, focusing on a time in the writer’s life

that was unusually vivid, such as childhood or adolescence or that was framed by war or travel or public service or some other special

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It must be the experience of someone got from his real life. It can be absolutely said that Funny in Farsi is the experience of Firoozeh Dumas. In other words, the story of the novel is a a real experience.

What makes the novel interesting to be observed is the behaviour of the characters. Their thoughts is also exciting to be found out what happened to them. It seems that they had mind-sets saying that United States of America was a place where they belonged to. Whereas, their physical appearances were so far from what to be called American. Everything in their life would be better in any aspect rather than living in their birth country, Iran.

Interestingly, the theory about dependency complex was found in Frantz

Fanon’s Black Skin, White Mask when it was felt that it was exciting to research what

happened to The Jayazeris in the novel Funny in Farsi. In The So-called Dependency Complex of Colonized People chapter, what the people suffering dependency complex have in mind and the causes of dependency complex are explained. It is fascinating to know the causes and the characteristics of the dependency complex sufferer. Based on the interest to the behaviors and thoughts of the characters and the theory that describes dependency complex, it was finally decided to study the dependency complex in the novel entitled Funny in Farsi written by Firoozeh Dumas as the description of the characterization of the Jayazeris.

Tyson (2006:12) says that the purpose of the psychoanalysis is to help people resolve their psychological problems. Figuring out people’s psychological problems is one of the interests as the background to do this research. The interest in this aspect can be made real through this research. It is the reason in choosing psychoanalysis. Moreover, it is a personal passion.

Being interested in psychology makes an excitement in analysing people in many kinds. In this case, they are the Jayazeris which are the characters of Funny In Farsi. It is just similar with the object of the focus of postcolonial criticism. That is various people, as Tyson (2006:417) states:

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“However, the tendency of postcolonial criticism to focus on global issues, on comparisons and contrasts among various peoples, means that it is up to the individual members of specific populations to develop their own body of criticism on the history, traditions, and interpretation on their own literature.”

This is the reason in choosing postcolonial literature analysis.

1.2 Research Topic

The topic of this research is the psychology of the minority in the white world.

“Minority is a culturally, ethnically, or racially distinct group that coexists with but is subordinate to a more dominant group (Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014).” Iranian in America is minority because the Iranian entering the U.S. since 1978 only totalled 200.000 people (Gillis, 2008). A country where the population is dominated by European people is considered as white world in this research. United States is one of the countries that has European people in majority as a statement saying that 64 percents of the whole population of the United States of America are white (Housing Assistance Council, 2012:1). So what is described in this research is the psychology of the Iranian who live in the United States of America. The psychological problem researched is called Dependency complex.

1.3 Research Problems

What become problems in this research is the psychological condition of Iranian people who live in a white world like United States of America. Yet, this psychological condition actually appears in the colonial era. Frantz Fanon in his book

Black Skin, White Mask chapter The So-called Dependency Complex of Colonized People criticizes and corrects the theory of dependency complex written by O. Mannoni. Mannoni (1964:40) explains the complex in the colonial era as he states in his book:

“The central idea is that the confrontation of civilized and primitive men creates a special situation – the colonial situation – and brings

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about the emergence of a mass of illusions and misunderstandings that

only a psychological analysis can place and define.”

The colonial situation shows that what is described as Mannoni’s theory called dependency complex happened to the people in the colonial era.

What happened to the Jayazeris in Funny in Farsi also has the characteristics of dependency complex. Does dependency complex still appear in the post-colonial era even though O. Mannoni and Frantz Fanon observe dependency complex that happened to the colonial era? That becomes one of the problems in this research.

In his book, Fanon describes the characteristics and the backgrounds that cause the dependency complex that happened to the black people in the colonial era. Although the white or the colonial were less than the colonized in number, the white never felt inferior and the black always felt inferior as proven in what Fanon (1986:68) says:

“The colonial eventhough he is “in the minority”, does not feel that

this makes him inferior. In Martinique there are two hundred whites who consider themeselves superior to 300.000 people of color. In South Africa there are two million whites against almost thirteen million native people, and it has never occured to a single black to

consider himself superior to a member of the white minority.”

The inferior people whom Mannoni and Fanon talk about are black people who were colonized by the white colonial.

In contrast, the inferior people in Funny in Farsi are not black. They are Asian. Then what becomes something that can be discussed is how dependency complex exists among non-black inferior people. It becomes the other problem of this research. This problem also leads us to another new problem. How does dependency complex exist among Iranian people living in America? This is the main problem discussed in this research.

Showing the phenomena in the novel will not be complete without proving that it actually happens or not. The way to prove that the story in the novel is actual is relating the story in the novel and the context of the real life of Iranian American. By

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finding the relationship between two of them, the analysis will also be able to show that dependency complex really happens to the peope in the real life. This relationship is the second problem of this research.

One of the examples of proving the novel that it is actual is the appearance of the stereotype that Iranians are terrorists. Gillis (2008) says, “Iranian Americans in particular have been subjected to the latter stereotype because of the political radicals who held 25 Americans hostage for more than a year in 1979 in the American

Embassy in Tehran, Iran’s capital city.” She doesn’t write the statement above in form of a novel. She writes it in form of an article entitled “Iranian Americans.” It

shows what she writes is not fictious because an article always describes actual facts. Americans who lived in Iran were really hostages for a year in the American Embassy in Tehran, the capital city of Iran.

In the novel, Dumas (2003:116-117) also tells, “As he was settling into his new job, a group of Americans in Tehran were taken hostage in the American

Embassy.” Then, she continues to show the terrorist stereotype of Iranian living in

America by stating, “Vendors started selling T-shirts and bumper stickers that said

“Iranians Go Home” and “Wanted: Iranians, for Target Practice.” Shooting and target

are really identical with the terrorist’s activity. She implicitly shows, although there is now word terrorist, that Iranians were labeled as the terrorist because the political problem happening in Iran.

The story in the novel is clearly proved that it really happens in the factual moment by showing the real history of the Iranian American. The answer of the research question asking the relation between the story in the novel and the context of the real life is that they are both real. This is the general answer of the second question of this research. The explanation of Gillis and the story of Dumas tell the same moment. The history is a supporting proof to show that the novel is not a fictitious story.

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1.4 Research Questions

Research questions appear when one does qualitative research. It is a research to address research questions that require understanding and explanation of social phenomena and their context (Richie and Lewis, 2003:5). From the chapter research problems, the questions of this research can be mentioned in a list:

1. How does dependency complex exist among Iranian people living in the United States of America in the story of the novel?

2. How is the relationship between the story in the novel and the real life of Iranian people living in the United States of America?

Those are the questions that will be discussed in this research.

1.5 Purpose

The purpose of this research is absolutely to complete the last task to graduate from Faculty of Letters of Jember University. This is obvious that this research is the last requirement to graduate. Actually that is not the only purpose. However, as a college student who is in the circumstances of academic activities such as researching, curiosity to what is researched is needed. In this case, it is a psychological condition of people called dependency complex. It will be very ridiculous that one researches something without having any curiosity in mind. If such thing is not done, obviously the research will not be finished. Furthermore, the other purpose of this research is to fulfill the curiousity about a psychological condition called dependency complex.

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CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2. 1 The Previous Research

Since the previous research using the theory dependency complex written by Frantz Fanon couldn’t be found, the previous research using the same primary material was put; a novel entitled Funny in Farsi written by Firoozeh Dumas. It is a

bachelor’s degree thesis written by Jasmin Taghavi, a student of Utrecht University.

Her thesis is entitled (Inter)cultural Humour: A Research on Dutch/American and Iranian Culture in Humorous Fragments in Funny in Farsi.

The topic of her research is the translation solutions of the humorous passages. Through an article Tekstanalyse en di moeilijkhadsgraad van een vertaling,

Nord (in Taghavi, 2012:2) makes, “a distinction between four levels on which

translation problems may occur: the pragmatic level, the socio-cultural level, the

linguistic level and the source text specific level.” Taghavi (2012:2) states translation

matters regarding humour are categorized as the source specific problems because the textual contents translated are specific to the particular text. She has analysed four humorous passages: two of them are the subchapters of the novel Funny in Farsi,

Leffingwell Elementary School and Hot Dogs and Wild Geese. Each passage has different possible solutions. In the conclusion of her research she explains the reasons she has chosen those solutions.

In analysing the translation solutions of the humorous passages, Taghavi uses the theory of Patrick Zabalbeascoa about a model for structuring joke-types according to binary branching. One of the parameters is the distinction between unrestricted, international humour and restricted humour. Zabalbeascoa combines Salvatore Attardo’s theory about knowledge resources in the binary tree. Therefore, Taghavi uses the theories of Patrick Zabalbeascoa and Salvatore Attardo to analyse the translation solutions. Before she outlines these theories, she focuses on the immigrant genre of Firoozeh Dumas and the novel. The last parts of her thesis consist of annotated translation and bibliography.

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The difference between this thesis and Jasmin Taghavi’s thesis is the research

area. This thesis is in the area of psychoanalysis and post-colonial literature analysis.

Taghavi’s thesis is in the area of translation problems analysis. Absolutely, the theories used are different. This thesis uses Frantz Fanon’s theory about dependency

complex and O. Mannoni’s theory about inferiority complex and Prospero complex.

Taghavi’s thesis uses the theories of Patrick Zabalbeascoa and Salvatore Attardo

about a model for structuring joke-types according to binary branching and knowledge resources in the binary tree.

2.2 Frantz Fanon’s Dependency Complex

Frantz Fanon describes the psychology of colonized black people during the depressing colonization through his book Black Skin, White Mask. More specifically, he explains more particularly psychological condition that is called dependency complex. He mentions what O. Mannoni says as dependence complex dependency complex as shown clearly in chapter 4 of his book, The So-called Dependency Complex of Colonized People. What Fanon discusses in this chapter is criticizing the theory of Mannoni about the dependence complex. Some contents are wrong according to Fanon and they are related to the cause of the complex and Fanon adds some characteristics of it. However, Fanon (1986:62) still respects the theory of

Mannoni as shown in this statement, “Mr. Mannoni deserves our thanks for having

introduced into the procedure two elements whose importance can never again escape

anyone.” Fanon also agrees with some contents supporting the existence of

dependency complex. That’s why he puts Mannoni’s inferiority complex and

Prospero complex in the discussion of dependency complex.

Fanon (1964:62) says that the matters of colonization cannot be seen only from the objective condition of the historical event, it must be observed from the attitudes of the people in that condition. Moreover he agrees to what the root of the colonization is; that is the feeling of unsatisfaction of the colonial.

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What Fanon (1986:67) disagrees is Mannoni’s statement saying that:

“The fact that when an adult Malagasy is isolated in a different

environment he can become susceptible to the classical type of inferiority complex proves almost beyond doubt that the germ of the

complex was latent in him from childhood.”

Fanon sees this as the error of the result of being objective. Mannoni seems trying to put the inferiority complex as something that induces colonization. Fanon’s critic is based on short explanation of psychological theory saying that latent forms of psychosis are the result of traumatic memoir.

2.2.1 Anti-Semitic Mentality

The other thing that Fanon opposes is an idea arguing that economic factor is nothing important to the causes of colonization that makes the colonized

unintentionally dependent to the colonizer. Mannoni (in Fanon, 1986:63) says, “In

South Africa the white labourers are quite as racialist as the employers and managers

and very often a good deal more so.” Mannoni seems to show that economic

condition has no role in contributing to the colonization and the dependence complex. Here Fanon opposes Mannoni by showing the anti-Semitic mentality. Sartre (1960:26) says that anti-Semitism is called a poor man’s snobbery. The rich mostly always did the passion of underestimating other races than giving up. It was better to do according to them. This passion was spread among the middle classes. They treated the Jew as inferior people. By doing this they assumed themselves as the elite. They did this also because they did not possess either lands or houses. Fanon also

quotes Sartre’s statement in his book. He sees that all the colonizers, in this case they are the white, must do the same thing as the anti-Semitism did. So Fanon (1986:64)

takes a conclusion, “the displacement of the white proletariat’s aggression on to the

black proletariat is fundamentally a result of the economic structure of South Africa.” This commonly means that the colonization is caused by the economic factor. It must be followed by the dependence complex suffered by the colonized people. In

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conclusion, anti-semitic mentality is a passion of authorizing other people’s wealth by treating them as inferior people.

2.2.2 Racism

The other thing that makes the colonization real is the action of differentiating other races even underestimating them that people call it commonly as racism or racialism. Mannoni (in Fannon,1968:64) says that, “racialism is the work of petty

officials small traders and colonials who have toiled much without great success.” In

this case, Mannoni is in discussion of South Africa. One of the example of racial underestimation is like what Oswin (in Fanon, 1986:65) says that there was a separation between the native and the European territorially, economically, and politically because the white wanted to eliminate the economic competition by allowing the black to build their own civilization under the authority and guidance of

the white with minimum contact of both races. It’s obvious that the fear of

competition is a sign to protect the white in the black land and prevent it from falling to the lower level. This fear is one of the reasons they did racism. Racism is one of the factors that cause the colonization that is clearly the root of the dependency complex.

2.2.3 The Unconscious

The other thing that becomes the sign of the dependency complex is the

unconscious. It is something in the colonized people’s mind that makes the white men

become the awaited master (Fanon, 1986:74). This kind of feeling represents the dependency complex because the one who has this feeling seems needing helps from the people outside of his place. This obviously means that they cannot be independent. In other words, they are psychologically dependent and it can be clearly said that he suffers dependency complex.

The unconscious can be observed by the dreams of the sufferers. Fanon (1986:74) tells one of them:

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“I had been walking for a long time, I was extremely exhausted, I had

the impression that something was waiting for me, I climbed barricades and walls, I came into an empty hall, and from behind a door I heard noise: I hesitated before I went in, but finally I made up my mind and opened the door. In this second room there were white

men, and I found I too was white.”

It’s concluded that that person has an unconscious wish which represents that he

wants to be like the white or he needs the white to help him. Such person lives in a society that makes him inferior and proclaims the superiority of one race.

The very good example of the person who suffers the unconscious and then becomes dependent to the white is the soldier that is under the command of the white. Why do they accept to be commanded by the white? The only reason is that they have suffered that the unconscious in the greatest level. They obey what the white

command to attack the people of the same race as Fanon (1986:77) states, “They were “men of colour” who nullified the liberation efforts of other “men of colour”.”

2.3 O. Mannoni’s Theories

2.3.1 Prospero Complex

The other that becomes the basic of colonization is Prospero Complex. Mannoni (in Fanon, 1986:80) states that Prospero complex is an awareness of a world in which the white must be respected because they rejects the racially different people. This is a kind of feeling to dominate. This domination feeling is also the important cause of the colonization that leads to dependency complex. In other

words, it’s a mindset of a person that he and his group are the only people that must

be respected.

2.3.2 Inferiority Complex

Fanon (1986:68) opposes Mannoni’s statement saying that an inferiority

complex related to skin colour is found to those who form a minority in a group of another colour by showing this statement:

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“A white man in a colony has never felt inferior in any respect; as M. Mannoni expresses it so well, “He will be deified or devoured.” The

colonial even though he is “in the minority”, does not feel that this

makes him inferior. In Martinique, there are two hundred whites who

consider themselves superior to 300,000 people of colour.”

Therefore Fanon concludes that the feeling of inferiority of colonized people is relational to the superiority feeling of the European and the one who creates the inferiority complex is the racist.

As discussed before, the one who does racialism is the colonizer and we know that they are the white who consider themselves superior although they are inferior in number. Typical colonizers have made bonds dependence between them and the colonized. Because the white are mentally superior, is seems that the colonized are more dependent to them. Fanon (1986:69) says that when an educated black suddenly realizes that his race is rejected and he refuses to be dependent to the colonizers and speaks off his independence, he absolutely pays his rejection of dependence with and inferiority complex. This is just the same with what Mannoni (1964:61) says:

“When he [the Malagasy] has succeeded informing such relations [of

dependence] with his superiors, his inferiority no longer troubles him: everything is alright. When he fails to establish them, when his

feeling of insecurity is no assigned in in this way, he suffers a crisis.”

We can conclude that Fanon is really inspired by Mannoni’s statement in arguing that inferiority complex becomes a sign of dependency complex. When one suffers

dependency complex, he won’t get inferiority complex. Nevertheless, when one

refuses the dependency complex, he will suffer the inferiority complex. This is how inferiority complex becomes the characteristic of the dependency complex.

Then, questions must appear after showing the theories and reading the novel

Funny in Farsi. How does dependency complex exist among Iranian people in the white world such as United States of America? How is the relationship between the story in the novel and the context of the real life of Iranian people living in United States of America?

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The first question will be answered by describing the backgrounds and the characteristics of dependency complex. The backgrounds mentioned in the theory are racism, Prospero complex and anti-Semitic mentality. One of the moments that show the backgrounds causing dependency complex is when the first time the character „I’ came to America and joined in the elementary school named Leffingwell. In that time, she faced curious and strange gazes from her new classmates. Although the reason is not stated in the novel, readers can think logically that she was the only different person, racially or ethnically. The inability to speak english added her

fellow classmates’ curiousity and underestimate. It shows that her classmates treated

her differently and racially. It’s clearly shown that racism happened in there. Racism

is one of the backgrounds causing the dependency complex. That is only one example of discussions in this thesis.

The second question will be answered by showing the real history of what Iranian did in the same era with the story in the novel. Then the real story is compared to the story in the novel. Although Firoozeh Dumas entitles her novel with

the word memoir, it won’t be believed that it is real until it’s compared to other

historical refferences. The dependency complex told in the novel will be compared to the real story of Iranian people in America. By showing it, the question about the relationship between the story in the novel and the story of the real life will be answered. The descriptions of the dependency complex in the novel and in the real story will also prove that dependency complex actually happened to Iranian people living in America.

2.4 The Approach to Use

The dependency complex theory is a theory of psychology and it has no relation with literature analysis. In order not to make the research trapped in the clinical analysis of psychology, an approach is needed to alter the psychological theory and the literature analysis. The approach used is the psychological approach.

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Psychological approach is an approach to art that creates the three kinds of illumination.

“First, it describes the creative process, a particular and harmonious

kind of response to the audience. It is brought about by the stimulus of a work of art. Second, it describes the study of lives of the authors as a means of understanding the art. The last, it can be used to explain fictitious characters.” (Scott, 1962:71)

From the quotation above, it means that firstly it can be used to analyse the creative process of the author. It is based on the relationship between the author and literary work. In this case, this relationship will appear unware between the reader and the author through feeling and thought during the creative process of literary work. Secondly, it is used to study the lives of the authors as a means of understanding their arts. It is as the point of view of the author in viewing life. Therefore, this approach can be used to understand not only the personal problems of the writers, but also the underlying patterns of their writings. Thirdly, it is used to analyse the fictious character of the work.

This research is stressing on the second and the third illuminatons. Since the title of the novel researched includes the word memoir, as it has been mentioned in the chapter one, the novel tell the real life of the writer. This means that this psychological approach is used to analyse the life of the author of the novel to understand the work. Mainly, this research focuses on the third illumination to analyse the fictious characters. Although it has been said that the characters in the novel are real, they are still fictitious since they are told through literary works such as novel. The characters are fictitious. That’s why the psychological approach is needed to analyse the characters and connect the psychological theory and the analysis of literary work.

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CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

This chapter explains wholly the research design and methodology. There are four important things to discuss. They are the type of research, the data collection, the data processing, and the data analysis. All is a systematic way functioning to address the problems of the research in order to find the answers. Research design and methodology is a complete set of methods suitable for the research.

3.1 The Type of Research

Powell and Renner (2003:1) state that qualitative research uses qualitative data that consist of words and observation because no number is absolutely concluded. Moreover, Richie and Lewis (2003:5) state that qualitative research is a research suitable to address research questions that require understanding and explanation of social phenomena and their context. It can be precisely concluded that this research is a qualitative research because this consists of words without number and discusses social phenomena.

The purpose of qualitative research is to reach the deep interpretation and understanding on the social phenomena through investigating the social and material environment experience, world view and way of life of the participants. So does this research. The researcher wants to reveal everything behind the social phenomena that is called the dependency complex that happens to the Jayazeris in the novel Funny in Farsi of Firoozeh Dumas by using the theories of Frantz Fanon and O. Mannoni. The phenomenon observed by Fanon is theoretically similar to what happens to the Jayazeris when they lived in America. Then, the theory of Fanon of the dependency complex is used to explain the social phenomena in the novel.

These data are collected by conducting library research. Library research is a research conducted by using material from the library. This research does not require going to the field, because the data can be obtained from library and internet.

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3.2 Data Collection

Collecting data is an absolutely important process of conducting a research because every research requires a lot of information. Obviously, the information is used to enlarge the understanding to the topic of the research. Blexter et al.

(2006:154) state that there are four methods of data collection that consist of interview, observation, questionnaire, and documentary method.

Documentary method is the only method used to conduct the research. It is a method of collecting data by using written material as the source of the research. The method requires a lot of information from written materials including the researches of other researchers and the books explaining the used theories. This research does not need to use interviews to get information, respondents, and observations to the field where the social phenomena happened.

The data is divided into two parts: primary and secondary data. Blexter et al. (2006:153) state that the primary data is original data that has never been collected and secondary data is the data that has been possibly analysed by the other researcher. The primary source of data of this research is obviously the novel of Firoozeh Dumas

Funny in Farsi. The secondary ones are the books related to the discussion of the dependency complex are used to analyse the social phenomena that happened to the Jayazeris while they lived in America.

3.3 Data Processing

As mentioned in the previous chapter, the data used in examining the research are the qualitative data because the research is a qualitative research. Blexter et al.

(2006:64) says, “Qualitative research on the other hand, is concerned with collecting

and analysing information in as many forms, chiefly non-numeric, as possible.” It means that qualitative data is non-numerical data. In conclusion, the data of this research is qualitative data.

Since the research is only a library research which does not need field observation or questioners, what to do is coding and sorting the data from internet,

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books, and articles containing categorize related to the chosen theory and topic. Data processing is done in several steps.

Firstly, the researcher read the theory of Frantz Fanon about the dependency complex. Then, the researcher found the point of his theory mainly about the causes and the characteristics. Secondly, the researcher read Firoozeh Dumas’s Funny in Farsi. The researcher found the same psychological phenomena stated by Fanon.

Fanon’s theory and Dumas’s novel have different eras. Then the researcher concludes

the relation between them by taking the context that is psychology of colonization.

After getting the relation, the researcher explains how Fanon’s theory is applied in the

life of the Jayazeris in the novel Funny in Farsi.

3.4 Data Analysis

Shaw (1972:107) states that an inductive method is always from the specific to general. So is this research. The researcher very firstly read the novel and found the social and psychological phenomena that happened to the characters in the novel. Then the sources related to the theory of phenomena that is called dependency complex were collected and one theory was chosen. Particular information from the theory was listed before going further to the primary data of the research, the novel

Funny in Farsi. The theory chosen is Frantz Fanon’s dependency complex.

Then the researcher listed the explanations of it. Fundamentally it shows the backgrounds causing the behaviours of dependence and the characteristics of the sufferers. The backgrounds are anti-Semitic mentality, Prospero complex, and racism. The characteristics are inferiority complex and the unconscious. These backgrounds and characteristics are used to examine the behaviour of the characters in the novel.

After listing the entire explanations of the theory and having wholly understood it, the behaviours of the characters or what the characters did in the novel were observed and categorized based on the explanation of the theory. Before going to the characteristics, the backgrounds were observed through the events and circumstances supporting the plot of the story in the novel. The same analysis is used

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to examine the characteristics. The characters’ behaviours, attitudes, and feelings

were described by using the dependency complex theory.

The specific information from the novel and the theory are gathered to explain the phenomena in general. All the problems of the research were answered through the explanation and general conclusions of the research questions. That was how the inductive method worked.

To answer the first research question, the behaviors reflecting the signs of dependency complex are explained. Since the object of this rresearch is the Jayazeris, all the characters suffering dependency complex are shown in this research.

The first sign showing one who suffers dependency complex explained in this research is inferiority complex. This sign appears as the result of the backgrounds of dependency complex. The existence of dependency complex can be seen through this complex. Ones who suffer inferioritycomplex will always come to dependency complex if they cannot survive in their inferiority.

The inferiority complex of the Jayazeris can be really seen in the novel.

Dumas’s father show his onferiority complex through his hiding when he firstly came

to the United States of America. He didn’t show himself because of his influency in

speaking in English. He didn’t want to be embarrassed when he had conversations

with the native people. The result is that he became inferior and then in the next process he got the unconscious.

Dumas’s mother also shows her inferiority when she didn’t want to be

recognized as a Persian. She was more proud to be recognized as a European since she knew that she had a german aunt.Dumas and her brothers also feel inferior since the native people mocked their persian names. Then they changed their names to be americanized in order to be similar with the American people.

The second sign showing dependency complex is their unconscious. The existence of dependency complex can be seen through this sign. The explanation is just the same with the inferiority complex explanation. The behaviors reflecting the

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unconscious are described. That is how the existence of dependency complex is explained.

To answer the second research question about the relationship between the real life of Iranian American and the story in the novel, firstly the history of the Iranian who lived in the United States of America is explained according to the backgrounds of dependency complex. Then the similar moments in the novel are also explained. From the both explanations, the similarity is found and the answer of the question about the relationship between the real life of Iranian American and the story in the novel is also found. That is how the second research question is answered.

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CHAPTER 4. DISCUSSION

4.1 Iranian-American’s Experiences

Racial discrimination was felt by many Iranians who lived in the United States and one of them was Mohsen Mobasher who had written his experiences through a book entitled Iranian in Texas: Migration, Politics, and Ethnic Identity. Racism really leads people to feel inferior and this phenomenon had happened to him as Mobasher (in Ulack, 2013) says:

“Although I have spent two-thirds of my life in this country,

developed strong friendship ties with many Americans, and gained a deep appreciation for American culture, I still feel like a foreigner, an

outsider on the margins of American society.”

Racism that happened to Iranian living in America was caused by the Iran hostage crisis from 1979 to 1981. The American’s hatred began to grow since that moment happened. This explanation shows the moment:

“The feeling of marginalization, he says, is shared by many Iranian

immigrants. He argues that it is largely caused by the contentious political relationship between the U.S. and Iran, distorted media images and stereotypes of Iranians (and, more generally, people from the Middle East) and the profiling and discriminatory policies that were put into effect first during the Iran hostage crisis from 1979 to 1981 and later, after the september 11, 2001, attacks on the United

States (Ulack, 2013).”

This shows how actions that were done by some people could give big effects to many others. Since the hostage crisis happened, the relationship between Iran and the United States was broken. The consequence was that Iranians living in the United States got the impact of the crisis.

Bad images and stereotypes of Iranians which people thought that Iranians living abroad and Iranians who had taken American hostages in Tehran were just the same leaded the Iranian who lived in the United States to the inferority complex.

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frightened to be Iranian. The result of this discrimination is their pretending not to be the Iranian as Ulack states:

“many Iranian immigrants were (and continue to be) forced to

manage the stigma of being Iranian – and some go to great lenghts to do so. Drawing on interviews with Iranian immigrants in Dallas, Houston, and Austin, Mobasher provides examples of how Iranians deal with this stigma, such as avoiding speaking Persian in public places, keeping hidden the fact that they are from Iran or by simply

calling themselves Persian rather that Iranian (2013).”

The hostage crisis really made big impact to Iranian who lived in the United States. Discrimination during the hostage crisis got increasing as Ulack (2013) says:

“ he draws largely on two important events that shaped the migration

and integration experiences of many first and second generation Iranians in America: the hostage crisis and 9/11. After each of these events, he argues discriminatory and exclusionary policies and practices were put in to place that exacerbated the feelings of marginalization of many Iranians in country.”

Moreover, it still continued although the hostage crisis was over, “and such

difficulties continued even after the end of the hostage crisis (Ulack, 2013).”

The other experiences that lead Iranian people to feel inferior are moments related to anti-Semitic mentality and Prospero Complex. Anti-Semitic mentality is

defined as a passion of authorizing other people’s wealth and Prospero complex is a

feeling that one and his group are the only respectable people. Both complexes have the same treatment to get the goals. That is making other people inferior. That’s why these backgrounds really have roles to make people dependent and inferior.

Moments represent anti-Semitic mentality and Prospero Complex in the life on Iranian is when British Petroleum tried to authorize the oil of Iran. That moment

shows that the British wanted to have Iran’s wealth. Kinzer (2010) tells: “The history of the company we now call BP has over the last 100

years, traced the arc of transnational capitalism. Its roots lie in the early years of the twentieth century when a wealthy bon vivant

named William Knox D’Arcy decided with encouragement from the

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concession agreement with the absolute Iranian monarchy, using the

proven expedient of bribing the three Iranians negotiating with him.”

The phrase “encouragement from the British government” really shows the

superiority of the white that the British were the only respectable people.

The British’s greed also shows that they were the only people who had to be

respected and they could do everything they wanted.

“Under the contract, which he assigned, D’Arcy was to own whatever

oil he found in Iran and he made – never allowing any Iranian to review his accounting. After his first strike in 1908, he lies beneath

Iran’s oil. No one else was allowed to drill for, refine, extract, or sell “Iranian” oil (Kinzer,2010).”

The British’s Prospero Complex was followed by their passion to get Iranian’s

wealth. From this moment, it could be clearly seen that the anti-Semitic mentality of the British was very strong. Then they started to make the Iranian inferior when Iranian government declared their oil natinalization.

Iranian oil nationalization was done to prove that the Iranian didn’t want to be dependent anymore. This attempt is shown in this story:

“In Iran, nationalism meant one thing: we’ve got to take back our oil.

Driven by this passion, parliament voted on April 28, 1951, to choose. Its most passionate champion of oil nationalization, Mohammad Mosadegh as prime minister. Days later, it unanimously approved his bill nationalizing the oil company. Mosadegh promised that, henceforth, oil profits would be used to develop Iran, not enrich Britain (Kinzer,

2010).”

Unfortunately, the British still had their Prospero Complex so they showed their power to make the Iranian inferior. They underestimated the decision and made rules without any agreement from the Iranian.

“To the British, nationalization seemed, at first, like some kind of immense joke, a step so absurdly contrary to the unwritten rules of the world that it could hardly be real. Early in this confrontation, the directors of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and their partners in

Britain’s government settled on their strategy: no meditation, no

compromise, no acceptance of nationalization in any form (Kinzer,

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To make the Iranian inferior, as the treatment of the Prospero Complex, the British began boycotting them Kinzer (2010) tells:

“They withdrew their technicians from Abadan, blockaded the port, cut

off exports of vital goods to Iran, froze the country’s hard currency

accounts in British banks, and tried to win anti-Iran resolutions from the U.N. and the World Court. This campaign only intensified Iranian determination. Finally, the British turned to Washington and asked for a favor: please overthrow this madman for us so we can have our oil

company back.”

Finally, the British succeeded making the Iranian inferior. British Petroleum reauthorized Iranian oil, the Iranian became dependent again to the British.

“The oil company re-branded itself as British Petroleum, BP Amoco, and then, in 2000, BP. During its decades in Iran, it had operated as it pleased, with little regard for the interests of local people. This

corporate tradition has evidently remained strong (Kinzer, 2010).”

4.2 Dumas’s Stories Reflecting Iranian-American’s Experiences

The stories in Funny In Farsi are partly influenced by the context of the

Iranian’s real life. Those include racism, anti-Semitic mentality, and Prospero Complex as the backgrounds of the stories. Here are the stories reflecting the experiences related to racism, anti-Semitic mentality, and Prospero Complex.

4.2.1 Racism

Dumas’s story which clearly shows the same moment with the Iranian’s real

life is when the hostage crisis happened. During and after the crisis, the Iranian living in the United States got discriminated and hated. Dumas (2003:39) tells:

“During our stay in Newport Beach, the Iranian Revolution took place and a group of Americans were taken hostage in the American Embassy in Tehran. Overnight, Iranians living in America became, to say the least, very unpopular. Fot some reason, many Americans began to think that all Iranians, despiteoutward appearances, to the contrary, could at

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The racial discrimination continued but it was still in the low level. Dumas

(2013:40) says, “In Barkeley, people were either thrilled or horrified to meet an

Iranian,” and “People see my husband and think of Gene Kelly dancing with Leslie

Caron. People see me and think hostages (Dumas, 2003:41).” This level can also be seen when many Iranians got the impact of the hostage crisis. “Nobody asked our

opinion of whether the hostages should be taken, and yet every single Iranian in

America was paying the price (Dumas, 2003:118),” and when everything about Iran was considered terrible: “In 1980, however despite my father’s staunch devotion to

freedom and fairness, he was still a foreigner with an accent, an accent that after the

Iranian Revolution was associated with all things bad (Dumas, 2003:36).”

The racism grew to more extreme level when the American obviously

showed this hatred. “They saw Americans who had bumper stickers on their cars that

read “Iranians: Go Home” or “We Play Cowboys and Iranians” (Dumas, 2003:36).”

The similar moment is also shown through the moment, “Vendors started selling T

-shirts and bumper stickers that said “Iranians Go Home” and “Wanted: Iranians For

Target Practice.” Crimes against Iranians increased (Dumas, 2003:117).”

The level of the discrimination got in the highest point when the hatred became an action of terrorism. This happened when the Shah would came to the United States and the Iranian living in America were invited to attend the meeting

with the Shah. “We arrived at the White House to find a group of masked

demonstrators carrying signs denouncing the Shah and his government (Dumas,

2003:112).” After that, when the Iranian were in the hotel which was reserved by the

Iranian government for the meeting with the Shah, they got mysterious letters that

said, “Dear Brainwashed Cowards. You are nothing but puppets of the corrupt Shah.

We will teach you a lesson you will never forget. Death to the Shah. Death to you

(Dumas, 2003:112).” The haters started to terror the Iranian. The level came to the most extreme level. They wanted to bomb the Iranian. “Dear Brainwashed Cowards. We are going to blow you up (Dumas, 2003:114).”

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Because of the hostage crisis, many Iranians got difficulties in life. As explained in the previous chapter, during and after the hostage crisis, the American

began to make the Iranian’s life difficult. Dumas’s father got fired from his foreign

company where he had worked for long: “But with the Iranian Revolution, my

father’s world turned upside down. The building of more refineries in Iran was halted and overnight my father’s expertise was no longer needed (Dumas, 2003:116).” The

other difficulty is shown when Dumas and her father were difficult to find jobs after the hostage crisis:

“When I went to college, I eventually went back to using my real name.

All was well until I graduated and started looking for a job. Eventhough I had graduated with honors from UC-Barkeley, I couldn’t get a single interview. I was guilty of being a humanities major but I began to suspect that there was more to my problems. After three months of rejections, I added “Julie” to my resume. Call it coincidence, but the job

offers started coming in. Perhaps it’s the same kind of coincidence that

keeps African Americans from getting cabs in New York (Dumas,

2003:65).”

Moreover, the other nation in the same continent with Iran followed the American attitude. Iran was hated by not only the American but also the Asian:

“Before signing the final papers, the lawyer asked for his passport, a

requirement for any overseas job. At the sight on the Iranian passport,

the lawyer turned pale and said, “I am sorry, but the government of

Saudi Arabia does not accept Iranians at this time. We thought you

were an Arab (Dumas, 2003:58).”

These moments really show that nobody seemed wanting to hire the Iranian. Racism was very strong at that time.

Such racism experience leads Dumas to make stories with racism background. She tells her experience when she was in the first time coming to the United States. Without obvious reason, the new people Dumas and her mother met stared strangely to them. “My mother and I sat in the back while all the children took their assigned seats. Everyone continued to stare at us (Dumas, 2003:4).”

Then the discrimination grew to joking what Iranians had, physically and mentally:

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“ “Hey, can I ask you a question?” he said. “Sure!” I answered.

“Well,” he said, “do you look down a lot?” “No, why?” I asked.

“Well, your nose points downward so I figured that’s because you’re always looking at the ground or something.”

Upon hearing this, all the kids around me burst out laughing (Dumas,

2003:46).”

The joke grew to mocking the Iranian’s name:

“My cousin’s name, Farbod, means “Greatness.” When he moved to

America, all the kids called him “Farthead.” My brother Farshid (“He

Who Enlightens”) became “Fartshit.” The name of my friend Neggar means “Beloved,” although it can be more accurately translated as “She

Whose Name Almost Incites Riots.” Her brother Arash (“Giver”)

initially couldn’t understand why everytime he’d say his name, people would laugh and ask him if it itched (Dumas, 2003:62).”

Those are Dumas’s stories showing racism background which becomes the

reeot of the appearances of Inferiority complex and the unconscious. Racism that

happened to the Iranian’s real life really influenced Dumas to write story with racism

in it. Although some stories are not documented through historical documents, discriminatory experiences really affect her to make stories based on this experience.

In conclusion, it can be said that racism is the inspiration of Dumas’s stories.

4.2.2 Anti-Semitic Mentality and Prospero Complex

Dumas’s stories about anti-Semitic mentality and Prospero Complex are not

far different from what Mobasher has told in the previous chapter. These stories are when the British came to Iran for the oil. This experience absolutely influenced her

to make the story of the British’s arrival in her book. That’s why Dumas put this story because it was plated so deeply.

“What brought the Shah to Abadan was its seemingly endless oil supply. This national gift was a mixed blessing, a bit like having a garden that stands out in the entire neighborhood. You know that,

eventually, somebody’s going to come and pick your flowers while you’re sleeping. In our case, It was the British who came for the oil (Dumas, 2003:83).”

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This moment shows that the British really wanted to authorize Iranian oil but Dumas uses figurative language in her writing which is quite different from the writing style of historical document.

Part of Dumas’s stories also tells the Prospero complex of the British. It can be seen when the British’s arrogancy appeared to take Iranian oil and gave low

payment to Iran. This is an action of showing power which means they were the only people who had to be respected. Dumas (2003:83-84) tells:

“The British were the first to realize the huge financial potential of the

vast Iranian oil reserves. With the sound of cash registers ringing in its

executive’s ears, British Petroleum negotiated an agreement with the

Iranian government that allowed the British to drill for and sell the oil

in exchange for a small sum.”

The Prospero complex and the anti-Semitic mentality of the British were combined then greed was created. This greed leaded to the disaster breaking the

agreement between British and Iran. “The British applied a different universal

concept, greed. The agreement between British Petroleum and the government of

Iran was destined for disater (Dumas, 2003:84).” Then Iran declared it, They became

angry.

The British’s Prospero complex gained to be high. They wanted to show their

power by boycotting Iran which made Iran in a difficult situation.

“Unwillingly to simply walk away from their golden-egg-laying goose,

the foreign oil companies banded together and boycotted Iranian oil resulting in a huge economic downturn. Within two years after the nationalization of its oil, the Iranian economy lay in shambles. Political

upheaval ensued (Dumas, 2003:84).”

The Iranian crisis made them very inferior. The British showed their anti-Semitic mentality again by succeeding making Iran inferior and authorizing Iranian

oil again. “History partly repeated itself and the foreign oil companies once again took over the operation and exploitation of the Iranian oil industry (Dumas,

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Those are the stories of Dumas which were really influenced by the

Iranian-American’s experiences. The stories show that the real life becomes the inspiration in

the process of Dumas’s writing. If there is a question asking how the relationship

between Dumas’s stories and Iranian-American’s real life is, the answer must be that

the real life is an obvious influence and inspiration to her stories in Funny In Farsi.

4.3 Processes of Backgrounds Leading to Signs of Dependency Complex

In the previous chapter, it’s been explained that the backgrounds of people

who live in the white world and become dependency complex sufferers are racism, anti-Semitic mentality, and Prospero complex. It’s been just mentioned what the examples are. In this explanation, it will be the processes of these backgrounds leading to signs of dependency complex.

The first background is racism. Racism, as explained, is something that leads ones to underestimation to other races. There are so many reasons that describe the appearance of this hatred. One of them can be jealousy. What kind of jealousy makes someone underestimate other races? The answer will be certainly jealousy of being the greatest race. It seems that people of other races have been better in some aspects. An example has been shown by Dumas (2003:117-118) when she tells, “Perhaps the greatest irony in the wave of Iranian-hating was that Iranians, as a group, are among the most educated and successful immigrants in this country. Our work ethic and

obsession with education makes us almost ideal citizens.”

Racism, when it was done to immigrants whose race is different from the race of the place they settle, will make them inferior in numbers and power. Immigrants of a country are never superior in numbers but they can superior in power. The race who feels superior in power can make the people who are underestimated by the superior race feel inferior which then lead them to inferiority complex as Oswin (in Fanon, 1986:64-65) says:

“...what is proposed is the separation of the native from the Europeans,

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blacks to build their own civilization under the guidance and the authority of the whites, but with a minimum contact between the races. It is understood that territorial reservations would be set up for the

blacks and that most of them would have to live there.”

Separating the natives of place and authorizing them are the examples of underestimation. The whites are not the people who live there. If they do not underestimate the blacks, they will not command the blacks even make them alienated from their own place. Separating the blacks also will make them inferior in

number and power. “Economic competition would be eliminated and the groundwork

would be laid for the rehabilitation of the poor whites who constitute 50 percent of

the European population (Oswin, in Fanon, 1986:65).” This shows the effort to make

the native inferior in number by adding the comers. Therefore, racism can lead other people to the inferiority complex because racism is mostly an effort to make others inferior consciously or unconsciously by restoring people from the place where they should be. Fanon states:

“When one tries to examine the structure of this or that form of exploitation from an abstract point of view, one simply turns one’s back

on the major, basic problem, which is that of restoring man to his proper place (1986:65).”

It can be concluded that making others inferior is the process of how racism makes persons possess inferiority complex.

Racism appears in Dumas’s story when Americans who lived in Tehran were taken hostage in American Embassy. “...many Americans began to think that all Iranians, despiteoutward appearances to the contrary, could at any given moment get

angry and take prisoners (Dumas, 2003:39).” It is the racism that happened to Iranian

who lived in the United States including to the Jayazeris. Underestimation to the Iranian leads the whites to make the Iranian inferior. The whites began to discuss bad things about Iranian. This is the effort to make the Iranian inferior. “So what do you think of the racist American CIA pigs who supported the Shah’s dictatorship only to use him as a puppet in their endless thirst power in the Middle East and other areas

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Another response that makes the Iranian inferior is that they were left when the whites knew persons whom they talked to were Iranian, moreover, when they talked about Iran. Frightening image got by Iranian absolutely made them inferior

because they were avoided by most people there. This is also shown in Dumas’s

story:

“Sometimes, mentioning that I was from Iran completely ended the

conversation. I never knew why, but I assume some feared that I might really be yet another female terrorist masquerading as a history of art major at UC-Barkeley (2003:40).”

Dumas’s other story reflecting racism is that when she was a girl and wanted

to go to summer camp. She boarded to the bus and took a seat. She said, “No one sat next me (Dumas, 2003:46).” There is no reason why they didn’t want to approach

her. Yet, this is clearly because she had a different look from mostly people there. Her different look leads to make her inferior by joking her physical look and this is also a treatment to make her inferior although it was unconsciously done.

“ “Hey, can I ask you a question?” he said. “Sure!” I answered.

“Well,” he said, “do you look down a lot?” “No, why?” I asked.

“Well, your nose points downward so I figured that’s because you’re always looking at the ground or something.”

Upon hearing this, all the kids around me burst out laughing (Dumas,

2003:46).”

The second background possessed by dependency complex sufferer is anti-Semitic mentality. It is described by Fanon as an effort to make other inferior due to

a feeling to possess or authorize other people’s wealth through Sartre’s explanation: “It is propagated mainly among middle classes, because they possess neither land nor house nor castle. By treating the Jew as an inferior and pernicious being, I affirm at

the same time that I belong to the elite (in Fanon, 1986:64).”

Before it comes to the step of making others inferior, there is a step behind. It is a treatment of showing the power of superiority although the ones who possess the anti-Semitic mentality are less in number. “Thus I would call anti-Semitism a poor

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man’s snobbery. And in fact it would appear that the rich for the most part exploit this passion for their own uses rather tahn abandon themselves to it – they have better

things to do (Sartre, in Fanon, 2003:64).” This shows that not only the poor but also

the rich choose not to be frontal like the poor. Sartre also quotes, “By treating the Jew as an inferior and pernicious being, I affirm at the same time that I belong to the

elite.” They have a will to be the elite. It means that they want to be seen as powerful people. Although they don’t possess anything in the place they settle, they have a feeling to be superior by showing that they are powerful. By showing this power of superiority, at the same time they make the natives or the others inferior that then leads to the inferiority complex. It can be concluded that before the people who have anti-Semitic mentality make the others inferior, they show the power of superiority.

Anti-Semitic mentality also appears in Dumas’s story when the British realized that Iran is a potential oil source.

“The British were the first to realize the huge financial potential of the Vast Iranian oil reserves with the sound of cash register ringing in its

executive’s ears. British Petroleum negotiated an agreement with the

Iranian government that allowed the British to drill for and sell the oil in exchange for a small sumn (Dumas, 2003:83-84).”

This shows that the British really wanted to authorize Iran’s wealth. As explained

before, the first thing to do is showing the power of superiority. That the British negotiated the agreement to Iran to sell the oil in exchange for a small sum is the representation of showing the superiority feeling. They were the comers but they were brave to make an agreement that was unfair for Iran. The other quote that

represents the British’s superiority is this one: “the British applied a different universal concept, greed (Dumas, 2003:84).” They were not the people who lived

there but they clearly showed that they really wanted the oil of Iran by being greedy. This greed shows that they were not afraid to oppose the Iranian and this courage absolutely represents that they feel superior.

After showing the power of superiority, the people who have anti-Semitic

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by a moment when Iran nationalized the oil and banned other nations to take it after

the Iranian government realized the British’s greed. The agreement between the British and the Iranian was ended as Dumas (2003:84) says, “The agreement between

British Petroleum and the government of Iran was destined for disaster.” The effort to make Iran inferior is that the British boycotted Iranian oil by gathering many other

countries to avoid Iran. “the foreign oil companies banded together and boycotted

Iranian oil (Dumas, 2003:84).”

The British’s treatment to Iran caused disasters as Dumas (2003:84) tells, “Within two years after the nationalization of its oil, the Iranian economy lay in shambles. Political upheaval ensued.” They were clearly the results of trying to be

dependent. Automatically, Iran got inferior and possessed inferiority complex. This case is the example of the inferiority complex theory:

“When he [the Malagasy] has succeeded informing such relations [of

dependence] with his superiors, his inferiority no longer troubles him; everything is alright. When he fails to establish them, when his feeling of insecurity is no assigned in this way, he suffers a crisis (Mannoni,

1964:61).”

Trying to solve this crisis, the only way was that Iran became dependent

again as Dumas tells, “Once again, Iran was ripe for foreign exploitation (2013:84).”

Iranian oil was taken again by foreign oil companies and automatically, Iran got dependency complex. That is how anti-Semitic mentality leads to inferiority complex that soon becomes dependency complex.

The last background that affects people become inferior is Prospero complex. It is defined as a thought that one is the only person who has to be respected. It can be developed that his race is the most respectable race. In the process of coming to the step of making others inferior, showing the power of superiority is involved like the process of anti-Semitic mentality coming to the inferiority complex. The difference is the causes. There are some causes that make someone get this complex. The fear to bad treatments of inferior people and the urge to dominate (Mannoni, 1964:108) are the reasons. This urge to dominate is the thing leading to a will to

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show the superiority. When one feels superior automatically he will treat others inferior as explained in the anti-Semitic mentality. This treatment will make others get inferiority complex.

Prospero complex appears in Dumas’s story when Iran was boycotted by foreign oil companies which has been told in the discussion of anti-Semitic mentality. This act really shows a passion to dominate. The greed of the foreign companies also represents such passion. The moments representing Prospero complex are similar with the moments of anti-Semitic mentality. So is the process. The only difference is the reason causing the complex.

In conclusion, the illustration of the processes of the backgrounds leading to signs of dependency complex can be drawn as the picture below:

That is how racism, anti-Semitic mentality, and Prospero complex come to the inferiority complex.

RACISM ANTI-SEMITIC

MENTALITY

PROSPERO COMPLEX

SHOWING THE POWER OF SUPERIORITY

MAKING OTHERS INFERIOR

INFERIORITY COMPLEX

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APPENDIX 1. The Biography of Firoozeh Dumas

Firoozeh Dumas was born in Abadan, Iran and moved to Whittier, California at the age of seven. After a two-year stay, she and her family moved back to Iran and lived in Ahvaz and Tehran. Two years later, they moved back to Whittier, then to Newport Beach. Firoozeh then attended UC Berkeley where she met and married a Frenchman.

Firoozeh grew up listening to her father, a former Fulbright Scholar, recount the many colorful stories of his life. In 2001, with no prior writing experience, Firoozeh decided to write her stories as a gift for her children. Random House published these stories in 2003. Funny in Farsi was on the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle and LA Times bestseller lists and was a finalist for the PEN/USA award in 2004 and a finalist in 2005 for an Audie Award for best audio book. She lost to Bob Dylan. She was also a finalist for the prestigious Thurber Prize for American Humor, the first Middle Eastern woman ever to receive this honor. Unfortunately, she lost that one to Jon Stewart. Even though, as Firoozeh’s dad likes to point out, Jon Stewart wrote his book with a team of writers, while Firoozeh wrote hers, alone, before her children woke up for school.

Critics and readers of all ages have loved her stories. Jimmy Carter called

Funny in Farsi, “A humorous and introspective chronicle of a life filled with love—of

family, country and heritage.”

Orange County Reads One Book (California) selected Funny in Farsi for Community Reads 2004, the City of Whittier (California) in 2005, Cape Ann, (Massachusetts)) in 2006, Palo Alto and Berkeley (California) in 2006, and Dayton, (Ohio), Lamorinda, (California) Wood Dale, Ithasca and Bensensille,(Illinois) in 2008, Brentwood (California) in 2009 and in 2010, Concord (New Hampshire) selected both Funny in Farsi and Laughing without an Accent. Funny in Farsi is now on the California Recommended Reading List and is used in many junior high, high

schools and universities across the country. You may have also heard Firoozeh’s commentaries on NPR or read her pieces in the NY Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Good Housekeeping, Gourmet, SF Chronicle or Lifetime Magazine.

For the past eleven years, Firoozeh has traveled internationally reminding us that our commonalities far outweigh our differences…and doing so with humor. She has spoken in conferences, schools, universities, churches, Jewish Temples and Islamic centers. Everywhere she has gone, audiences have embraced her message of shared humanity and invited her back for more.

The Persian version of Funny in Farsi is currently one of the bestselling books in Iran and ABC created a sit com based on Funny in Farsi, which unfortunately, was

not selected for the season. Firoozeh’s second book, Laughing Without an Accent, a series of autobiographical essays, was published by Random House in May 2008 and became a national bestseller in 2015.

APPENDIX 2. The Synopsis of Funny in Farsi

"Funny in Farsi - A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America," tells the story of Firoozeh, her parents Kazem and Nazireh, her brothers and an extended family most of whom eventually transplanted from their homeland of Iran to America. At just seven years of age, Firoozeh and her family moved from Abadan, Iran, to Whittier, California, which is a suburb of Los Angeles. Kazem, who was an engineer with the National Iranian Oil Company, had lived in American when he won a Fulbright grant to attend graduate school first in Texas and then later in California. He had nothing but positive memories about his time as a student and was confident of his English.

Nazireh and Firoozeh were relieved that Kazem knew English because they only spoke Persian. But they soon learned from shopping and dining out that no one in American could begin to understand a thing Kazem was saying when he spoke English. Firoozeh caught on to English quickly at school. She soon became her mother's interpreter during shopping excursions. Nazireh learned her English from quiz shows. When she spoke English, it was without verbs and with a generous use of the word "it." She called everything from her husband to her kitchen table "it."

Firoozeh takes the reader through the journey of her family in an unknown land and strange new culture. Kazem loved Disneyland in an almost worshipful way. Walt Disney was a genius. The patient park visitors waiting in long lines impressed him—in Iran such a wait would result in physical combat. Although the family didn't find American food very tasty, they marveled at the smiling waitresses, the clean bathrooms and the clear signage on the way to the restaurants—things that were not common in Iran.

Although the family adored America and felt fortunate to be there, they never stopped loving their homeland and all the friends and family there. Firoozeh and her family where treated with kindness by everyone they met in American. Most Americans had not heard of Iran at the time she first entered the country. Americans

were impressed with her intelligence, surprised that such a tiny girl could speak Persian! They had many questions for her but their curiosity was always accompanied by good manners and kindness.

Firoozeh's family settled into American life never abandoning their allegiance to Iran. In general, things went well but there were times when Firoozeh felt isolated and left out. Firoozeh describes her time at summer camp when she did not make one friend and wouldn't take a shower because of her culture's attention to modesty. Christmas time was a difficult time for non-Christian immigrants to be in the US because the holiday was such a huge presence during all of December. Her family's favorite Christmas past time was watching the Bob Hope specials.

After the Iranian Revolution began, Americans became less friendly and more suspicious of resident Iranians—particularly during the Iranian hostage crisis. Kazem lost his job with the Iranian oil company since the country had ceased building new refineries. He had problems attaining a new position because of bias against his ethnicity. After the hostages were released, an American company hired him; however, at a much lower salary than he had in the past. But it didn't bother him. He knew it wasn't money that made a man rich.

Firoozeh met a Frenchman, Francois Dumas, while they were both students at Berkeley. The couple eventually married. Francois' family was against their union but the were undeterred. They were married in both a Catholic mass and a traditional Persian ceremony. Firoozeh's chronicle of her and her family's life in and adjustment to America is light-hearted and fun. Even in the face of prejudice and unfortunate times, the family drew on the support of one another and made it through. They loved America and appreciated the opportunities they were given but they never lost sight of their homeland. Iran would forever be in their hearts.

(http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-funny-in-farsi/#gsc.tab=0, accessed on June 28th, 2015)