Martyr!
Chapter Four
by Kaveh AkbarThe chapter opens with a woman’s first flight experience from Tehran to Bandar Abbas on July 3, 1988, against the backdrop of Iran’s economic hardship. The narrative paints a vivid picture of Tehran’s struggles—families selling heirloom carpets for survival, men raising chickens in bathrooms, and desperate attempts to secure food. A haunting scene depicts young women risking prostitution on Revolution Street, with one girl violently apprehended by secret police. The protagonist’s unease during her flight manifests through small details like an empty water bottle, which paradoxically comforts her as proof of the plane’s safety.
During her connecting flight to Dubai, the woman encounters a nearly full cabin despite the sparse gate. A tense interaction occurs when she mistakenly sits next to a hostile man, highlighting the underlying atmosphere of suspicion. Seated by a kindly Arab woman, she distracts herself with the flight magazine’s propaganda about Iran’s historical grandeur, contrasting sharply with the country’s current decay. The text underscores this irony by mentioning how statues of shahs were replaced with scowling ayatollahs, and mothers were forced to celebrate their sons’ deaths as “martyrs.”
As the plane ascends, the protagonist experiences rare moments of peace, physically distancing herself from Tehran’s horrors. The narrative contrasts the grounded reality of public executions and oppression with the transient safety of flight. Her deliberate focus on breathing symbolizes both liberation and the weight of survival guilt. The Arabic word “Emkanat” (possibilities) surfaces in her thoughts, representing a long-forgotten concept of hope that now flickers back to life as she gazes at the clouds and ocean below.
The chapter closes with introspective imagery—the pink-edged sunrise mirroring her tentative hope, the ocean’s blues symbolizing uncharted futures. Her physical journey parallels an emotional transition from oppression to potential freedom, though the text maintains an undercurrent of uncertainty. The juxtaposition of Iran’s crumbling present with ancient civilizations’ ruins suggests cyclical patterns of rise and fall, leaving the woman suspended between trauma and the fragile promise of a new beginning.
FAQs
1. How does the author use sensory details to convey the economic hardships in Tehran during this period?
Answer:
The author paints a vivid picture of economic struggle through multiple sensory descriptions. Visual details show “old matriarchs rolling up the rugs” to sell them cheaply, while olfactory imagery highlights the stench of houses where people raised chickens in bathrooms and closets. The tactile detail of men carrying “pillowcases with writhing baby birds” underscores desperation, and auditory elements like the screaming teenager being forced into a van amplify the atmosphere of fear. These sensory layers collectively create a visceral understanding of the deprivation and instability in 1988 Tehran.2. Analyze the symbolic significance of the protagonist’s airplane experiences in relation to her emotional journey.
Answer:
The airplanes serve as powerful metaphors for transition and emotional duality. Her first flight’s emptiness and refusal of food mirror her numbness, while the second flight’s crowdedness parallels her growing anxiety about escape. The mineral water bottle becomes a tangible symbol of survival (“proof” flights land safely), just as her passport represents hope. The contrast between the “horror” on the ground and the “calm” at altitude reflects her psychological shift from oppression to tentative freedom, culminating in her reflection on “Emkanat” (possibilities) as she crosses the ocean—a literal and figurative threshold.3. What does the chapter reveal about the psychological impact of political repression on ordinary citizens?
Answer:
The text demonstrates profound psychological trauma through collective and individual behaviors. Mothers develop “eerie not-quite-smiles” when told their sons are martyrs, showing enforced performative grief. The protagonist’s guilt about fleeing (“You will not be needed”) reveals internalized responsibility, while her hyperawareness of the passport illustrates chronic fear. The description of young women risking prostitution and secret police abductions (“I am peaceful!”) showcases how repression breeds paranoia and desperation. Even mundane acts like breathing become weighted with meaning, emphasizing how totalitarianism distorts basic human experiences.4. How does the author use historical and cultural references to contextualize Iran’s societal collapse?
Answer:
The magazine article about the ancient winged sphinx (“Older than the Roman Colosseum!”) serves as an ironic counterpoint to modern decay, suggesting civilizational cycles of rise and ruin. The replacement of shahs’ statues with ayatollahs’ scowling visages illustrates ideological rewriting of history, while Qom’s mullahs practicing “glowers” satirizes the institutionalization of authoritarianism. By juxtaposing Persia’s ancient grandeur with contemporary dystopia—where soldiers deliver martyrdom notices and bodies hang from cranes—the author frames Iran’s crisis as both uniquely terrible and grimly universal in historical terms.
Quotes
1. “Men were raising chickens in their bathrooms, in their closets—these houses you could smell from a block away. Meat had gotten so expensive.”
This vivid description captures the economic desperation in Tehran during this period, illustrating how ordinary people resorted to extreme measures to survive. It sets the stage for the broader societal collapse the protagonist is fleeing.
2. “Once, walking with her husband back home, the woman had seen a girl, just a teenager, being pushed into an idling white van. The girl was screaming, ‘Why?! I am peaceful! I am peaceful!’”
This harrowing moment reveals the constant threat of state violence and arbitrary detention under the regime. The girl’s desperate cry underscores the climate of fear and injustice that motivates the protagonist’s escape.
3. “In Isfahan, the old capital, soldiers showed up unannounced at the doors of old women, saying, ‘Congratulations, your sons have been martyred.’”
This chilling quote exemplifies the regime’s cruel propaganda and the psychological torture inflicted on families. The bitter irony of “congratulations” for losing a child highlights the dystopian reality of wartime Iran.
4. “Horror, which lived on the ground. In the past. In the air, in the present where she was, it was calm. Still.”
This poetic contrast captures the protagonist’s moment of transition and temporary relief as she physically distances herself from her traumatic homeland. The aerial perspective symbolizes both literal and psychological escape.
5. “Even this, breathing, felt freighted, suddenly more meaningful, the way money means more to the poor than the rich.”
This profound observation reflects the protagonist’s newfound appreciation for basic freedoms after living under oppression. The simile powerfully conveys how oppression distorts one’s relationship to even the most fundamental human experiences.