I no longer believe that we can keep silent. We never really do, mind you. In one way or another we articulate what has happened to us through the kind of people we become.
Azar Nafisi Things I've Been Silent...
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In her work "Things I've Been Silent About," Azar Nafisi reflects on the importance of breaking silence regarding personal experiences and societal issues. She suggests that even when we try to remain silent, our circumstances shape our identities and inevitably influence how we express ourselves. This intertwining of silence and expression indicates that we can’t truly suppress our stories; they manifest in our actions and character.

Nafisi emphasizes the power of acknowledgment and the necessity of speaking out. She believes that by confronting and articulating our experiences, we begin to reclaim our narratives and find our voices. This message underscores the profound connection between personal history and self-expression, highlighting that silence is not a true refuge but rather a complex part of our lived realities.

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silence
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Things I've Been Silent...
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Azar Nafisi
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January 27, 2025
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Other quotes in Things I've Been Silent About

you cannot just be stubborn against something, you need to be sib born for something as well
Azar Nafisi Things I've Been Silent...
you cannot just be stubborn against something, you need to be sib born for something as well
She had the satisfaction, so beloved of dictators, of a permanent state of emergency.
Azar Nafisi Things I've Been Silent...
She had the satisfaction, so beloved of dictators, of a permanent state of emergency.
This is the old part of Tehran, with small spice shops, dusty narrow alleys with dry streams winding into houses with tall protective walls.
Azar Nafisi Things I've Been Silent...
This is the old part of Tehran, with small spice shops, dusty narrow alleys with dry streams winding into houses with tall protective walls.
I have now become something of an expert in the ways of "decisive" men. They are not firm, they just seem to be. Because they have a formula for everything, which they forcibly impose, they seem confident. But they cannot face the unexpected. They can be far less capable in a crisis than the seemingly fragile women they bully and are secretly afraid of.
Azar Nafisi Things I've Been Silent...
I have now become something of an expert in the ways of "decisive" men. They are not firm, they just seem to be. Because they have a formula for everything, which they forcibly impose, they seem confident. But they cannot face the unexpected. They can be far less capable in a crisis than the seemingly fragile women they bully and are secretly afraid of.
A message was sent by the regime to the faithful: to survive they would have to be loyal to only one interpretation of the faith, and to accept the new political role of the clergy. Father felt that this spelled the end of Islam in our country, and he did have a point. 'No foreign power,' he said, 'could destroy Islam the way these people have.
Azar Nafisi Things I've Been Silent...
A message was sent by the regime to the faithful: to survive they would have to be loyal to only one interpretation of the faith, and to accept the new political role of the clergy. Father felt that this spelled the end of Islam in our country, and he did have a point. 'No foreign power,' he said, 'could destroy Islam the way these people have.
I used to joke that we had prepared ourselves for a time like this by living with Mother. The problem with such a state of affairs was not that you did not get to do what you wanted---sometimes you did---but the effort to appease or resist the reigning deities left you so exhausted that it prevented you from ever really having fun. To this day having fun, just plain enjoying myself, comes at the cost of a conviction that I have committed an undetected crime.
Azar Nafisi Things I've Been Silent...
I used to joke that we had prepared ourselves for a time like this by living with Mother. The problem with such a state of affairs was not that you did not get to do what you wanted---sometimes you did---but the effort to appease or resist the reigning deities left you so exhausted that it prevented you from ever really having fun. To this day having fun, just plain enjoying myself, comes at the cost of a conviction that I have committed an undetected crime.
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Other quotes in silence

And yet he found comfort in the absence of telling.
Paul Yoon Snow Hunters
And yet he found comfort in the absence of telling.
The classroom fell quiet, a long heavy silence that roared in Roy's ears like a train.
Carl Hiaasen Hoot
The classroom fell quiet, a long heavy silence that roared in Roy's ears like a train.
Word by word, the language of women so often begins with a whisper.
Terry Tempest Williams When Women Were Birds:...
Word by word, the language of women so often begins with a whisper.
Silence is not our heritage but our destiny; we live where we want to live.
Annie Dillard Teaching a Stone to Talk:...
Silence is not our heritage but our destiny; we live where we want to live.
The soul might be silent but the servant of the soul has always got a voice and it has got one for a reason.
Cormac McCarthy The Sunset Limited
The soul might be silent but the servant of the soul has always got a voice and it has got one for a reason.
In the meantime the strike is over, with a remarkably low loss of life. All is quiet, they report, all is quiet.In the deserted harbour there is yet water that laps against the quays. In the dark and silent forest there is a leaf that falls. Behind the polished panelling the white ant eats away the wood. Nothing is ever quiet, except for fools.
Alan Paton Cry, The Beloved Country
In the meantime the strike is over, with a remarkably low loss of life. All is quiet, they report, all is quiet.In the deserted harbour there is yet water that laps against the quays. In the dark and silent forest there is a leaf that falls. Behind the polished panelling the white ant eats away the wood. Nothing is ever quiet, except for fools.
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