"Why does Marjane want to 'make her past disappear' (194)? And how does this affect her development as a person?"
In the chapter titled "The Vegetable," Marjane struggles with her image as an Iranian teenager who left her country. She was sent away by her parents for a safer life, but her memories were somewhat of a burden. Marjane was trying to fit in with her friends and classmates and was taking part in activities with them. In the pages leading up to where she wishes her past away, she discusses her physical transformations and her assimilation (193) into the new culture. She isn't exactly fitting in because of her background and how she was raised. Her life in her hometown was much more conservative. She was also seeing images of her home being bombed while she was safely observing it on the television. She admitted she was feeling guilty (194) and she turned the television off when she saw Iran.
Marjane began to hide her nationality, but she thought of her grandmothers words: "Always keep your dignity and be true to yourself!" This was difficult when she would constantly hear how Iranian people were inferior from people around her. It eventually got to a point where she confronted her issues and realized "for the first time" that she would be "proud" of who she was (197). She grew in maturity and realized that she should be herself.
