Betty And Betty's Identity In Not Without My Daughter

606 Words3 Pages
In Not Without My Daughter, despite Moody’s career as a doctor and his loving family in America, America’s perceptions of Muslims and Iranians dictate Moody’s life. The film presents instances where his identity subjects him to criticism, job loss, and relocation. Transition. However, his visit to Iran strengthens his pride in an identity that Americans criticize. Thus, Moody embraces all of Iran’s cultural traditions, even those that disadvantage his wife and daughter. While America’s racial and spiritual prejudices emasculate Moody, Betty’s social location as a white, Christian American empowers her. Through this privilege, Betty can maneuver through many locations. Her previous lifestyle as an American sharply contrasts her experience as…show more content…
Although their daughter Mahtob is Christian, both parties heritage influence her upbringing, seen through Mahtob’s comprehension of some Arabic words, and sympathy to his struggle as an Iranian in America. Therefore, Moody’s treatment of Betty and Mahtob post-visit attests to culture influence over the individual and the family dynamic. Moody’s transformation was a direct result of the negative sanctions he received from his family because he did not adhere to Iranian culture and traditions. “Culture provides models of and for behavior. It defines what is legitimate, proper, and normal. It sets our moral code” (165). Since Moody and his wife were not “normal” due to their American exposure, his family criticized his lack of religious devotion and discipline over his wife. Not only did the family feel that Moody acted outside of the norms, Moody, himself experienced feelings of separation from Iran because of how unfamiliar he was with much of the new Iranian norms. Moody’s feelings of cultural isolation from his family and home caused him to fully embrace embraced Iranian and Muslim traditions despite what it implies for his wife and
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