Chapters 5 & 6 Summary and Analysis

In Chapter 5, The End of Childhood, a year later, Satti's older sister Jaby was married to Abbas Parkhideh, a petroleum engineer with the AIOC, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Like all Muslim brides, Jaby never set eyes on her husband until their wedding day. Jaby was 20 years old, almost an old maid by Iranian standards. At the wedding, Shazdeh had a photo taken with his eldest son, Nosratdoleh on one side and his youngest son, only four years old, on the other. It was the last time they would all be together.

Two weeks later, Nosratdoleh, in his mid-forties, was arrested again. Eventually, he was beaten and strangled to death under the supervision of a doctor. The family was forbidden from having a funeral or mourning. Even the children were cautioned not to talk about the death at school, because it could...