Humans are often referred to as individuals due to each person’s extensive and ubiquitous depth of self. However, this was not always the reality and did not remain one in various parts of the world. In the work of Azar Nafisi, “Selections from Reading Lolita in Tehran,” it is possible to see the oppressive narrative of Iran. It describes how women could escape the hardships of erosion in the form of vanishing personalities in the privacy of Nafisi’s apartment. Similar escapism from the cruelty of the outside world could be seen among men in the work of Susan Faludi’s “The Naked Citadel.” Faludi, in her creation, illustrates how students in the all-male military academy are coping with the surrounding pressure and how their sensitive nature blossoms in the cramped walls. Such menacing circumstances often form unrealistic expectations of people based on a gendered aggregation of roles that destroy individualism. Nevertheless, even in the most challenging contexts, people can find safe places for themselves to express their identity. However, intense contradictions between such zones and the outside world may prompt them to question the solidity of the surrounding reality.
Most of all, individualism is destroyed by attempts to fit all people under the same ideological criteria, sweeping away everything that does not fit them. This activity is usually carried out by those who have power over the community. In Nafisi’s work, this power is “the gaze of the blind censor,” expressed in a tyrannical government (293). This structure makes women forget that they can have freedom and self-realization, instilling its vision of the female gender role. The severity of the situation lies in the fact that women in this society are practically helpless. Their defiance can only be in the smallest details, such as growing nails. However, such a rigid distribution of social roles and the destruction of individualism can apply to anyone, depending on the characteristics of the governing force. The Citadel described by Faludi has rigorous expectations of the ideal man, in a way “that no one, humanly, can be” (100). The institution demands impossibly perfect behavior from them, corresponding to a fictitious image, and tries to fit people to these criteria with all its might. Such conduct must be displayed constantly, and the structure of the Citadel allows controlling most aspects of life, suppressing individuality.
However, the essence of people is such that they can find solace and gain individuality in the most challenging conditions. Nafisi describes how women, from the simple action of undressing themselves, were able to embrace freedom and identity: “Gradually, each one gained an outline and a shape, becoming her own inimitable self” (279). Since their clothes were chosen for them, their rejection is already a manifestation of their character. It allows them to show their interests and preferences and feel safe. The sensation of security, in this context, comes from both the place and the opportunity to be yourself. The same feeling is traced in the work of Faludi. One of the cadets, while sharing his opinion about the communal sense in the academy’s bathroom, said, “it’s like we’re all one, we’re all the same, and – I don’t know – you feel like you’re exposed, but you feel safe” (Faludi 72). It was the only place they could be vulnerable and comfortable around their peers without being judged and without having to adhere to the image the world had created for them. Nevertheless, they all strive for individuality and relief from the burden of masculinity or manhood.
However, the prolonged influence of such forces can significantly distort not only a person’s life but also their sense of reality. Nafisi illustrates this by comparing her secret life with her open life: “Which of these two worlds was more real, and to which did we really belong? We no longer knew the answers” (293). Women began to lose their sense of belonging in their attempts to gain individuality and freedom. Although they spent most of their lives outside the safe room, they only truly felt like individuals one day a week. Staying in this state all the time can be highly debilitating, but for the benefits that such escapism provides, people continue to support the system. This is clearly seen in the example of the Citadel cadets: “any desire on the part of a cadet to speak out about the mounting violence will usually be squelched by the threat of ostracism and shame” (Faludi 78). On the one hand, older cadets are willing to use force to maintain order and punish those who do not fit into it. On the other hand, those newcomers who wish to remain in the Citadel and thereby be freed from judgment will be willing to endure extreme cruelty.
Everyone is vulnerable to the pressure and stress felt by the imposed social constructs. Those who will not be able to cope with the inner structure of the Citadel would be scarred for life or even strive for the end of life. Women in Iran are also covered in fear of oppressive surroundings. However, living should not be limited to pure coping with the pressure. Even in the most challenging circumstances, people can maintain their individuality, independently creating safe places for themselves. Being an individual is related to the safety and freedom of the environment and the ability to be exposed to the world’s beauty. Humans are entitled from birth to the notion of free will, but some continue to be oppressed by the local society, depriving them of individuality and distorting their reality. Such a contradiction may interfere with the perception of the surrounding world, but after passing through it, the person will be able to find themself fully.
Works Cited
Faludi, Susan. “The Naked Citadel.” New Yorker, 1994. pp. 62-84.
Nafisi, Azar. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books. Random House, 2003