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*School segregation and the force of wearing veil
All school students were forced to wear the veil, Marjane chose to not obey those orders so easily. The whole situation made her think about her freedom and whether she actually going to have any, and how it's being on the contrary of what her parents have taught her. -
*Young Marjane learns about her grandfather's history
Young Marjane learns that her grandfather was a Prince, who got imprisoned and tortured by the shah at the time when he was young. Marjane felt a form of royalty and pride yet sadness knowing that he got to suffer in such ways, she also was curious to know more about him desiring that information from her grandmother and angered with her grandmother attempt of deflecting to provide her with what she desired. -
Mehri's love, and the letters.
Mehri, marjane's house maid fell in love with the neighbour, Hossein; she exchanged letters with him having marjane to be writing the letters. Words got spread and marjane's father knew about the whole situation and presented to confront hossien only for hossien to refuse any continuation to the relationship after knowing she's the maid. Marjane father explained the social classes distinction and the reason for the refusal and that left her way deep sadness and sympathy for Mehri. -
*The uncle
Marjane's uncle Anoosh is freed during the regime Change, but gets recaptured abd executed by the new one. That effected Marjane to a deeper emotional level as she was quite close to her uncle and she loved him very much, and it even made her question her god. She was drowning in the feeling of lost thinking that nothing worse could happen after that. -
Iraq-Iran war
The Iraq-Iran war started while Marjane and her parents were in a vacation, they get back to Iran and realised that there is war with Marjane's grandmother breaking the news to them claiming to be "the second Arab invasion". Which made marjane to feel a sense of loyalty to her country wanting to defend it with a little anger toward the Arabs. -
*The key
Mrs. Nasrine's son recieved the key to Paradise, key that the government gave to students who's going to be forced to enter the army to fight, claiming to be that it's a way to enter heaven. Marjane and her mother felt sad and sympathetic for Mrs. Nasrine, while Mrs. Nasrine losing faith in here religion not being able to believe in anything anymore. -
*A mother's abandonment of her child
The family were celebrating the new birth of Marjane's cousin in her uncle's house. The sirens of war went off as well as the baby's mother, she started screaming and abandoned her new born child in left him in Marjane's arms. That incident have put Marjane in such shock making her doubt the maternal instincts that a mother would possess. -
*The cigarette
With all the situation that is happening from the war to the problems happening inside the country itself, and the executions happening left Marjane to be seeking her own act of rebellion against her mother "dictatorship" of the house, by smoking a cigarette that she stole from her uncle a couple of weeks ago. She smoked it, disliked it but felt that it mare her more mature and to feel like a grown up kissing childhood goodbye. -
*The destruction of the neighbours house
An Iraqi bomb land on Marjane's neighbours building. Their house is destroyed and when Marjane arrived to the scene she saw her mum and she felt relieved that it wasn't her house but then saw the destruction of her neighbours house, her mum told her that they were at home but then Marjane noticed a bracelet, and the bracelet was attached to something she didn't know what and she let out a scream of pain and suffering. -
Migrating to vienna
Her parents, after all the problems that Marjane is having in school with the system and the teacher, they realised that Iran isn't fit for Marjane way of thinking and intelligence and they decided to send her to Vienna. She felt sadness for her to be going away from her home and family, sad because she's going to a whole new place alone. -
Uncomfortable Vienna
Marjane have problems adjusting herself in vienna. She feels alone and depressed -
Carried away by superficial elements
Marjane experience true freedom and she's able to do whatever she desire without any supervison which lead her to be abusing that freedom and she starts experience sex, drugs...etc -
Homesick
She's far away from home and she can't handle the loneliness. That develops homesick and causes a deep depressed state of mind. -
Home again
Marjane misses home so much that she actually go back to Iran only to see that nothing have changed in the corruption. That left her with sadness but she's happy that she saw her family again. -
Iran isn't meant for her
She truly realised that Iran is not meant for her and she decides to leave it but to never go back again and to be seeking a better life in Europe. That made her sad yet felt a form of independence and clarity.