“To him, America was a place where anyone, no matter how humble his background, could become an important person. It was a kind and orderly nation full of clean bathrooms, a land where traffic laws were obeyed and where whales jumped through hoops.”

Dumas describes her father, Kazem, in this passage. It points to both his belief in the promise offered by the American Dream and his tendency toward abstract idealism.

“After spending an entire day in America, surrounded by Americans, I realized that my father’s description of America had been correct. The bathrooms were clean and the people were very, very kind.”

While it seems that Firoozeh’s first encounter with Americans leaves a good impression on her, her father’s positive views toward Americans may have shaped his daughter’s. This is the first of multiple occasions throughout the book of Dumas’s highlighting what she concludes is the kindness of Americans.

“Somewhere between his thick Persian accent and his use of vocabulary found in pre–World War II British textbooks, my father spoke a private language.”

Dumas and her family become aware that Kazem’s mastery of English is not what he made it out to be when they witness how others do not understand him. This passage provides a humorous explanation for why that is the case.