Most people would call one who fights for their country and stands for their morals a hero, but these fighters do not perceive themselves the same way. To them, it is answering a calling and a duty to serve. Freedom is defined by Webster’s dictionary as, “the quality or state of being free”. True freedom can only be attained when one is at peace emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Even though Uncle Anoosh and Norman Bowker fought for freedom, neither of them was truly free. They are both imprisoned in their own minds and were fighting for what they believe. Both Norman Bowker from “The Things They Carried”, and Uncle Anoosh from “Persepolis” were victims because they endured persecution and death for their beliefs. While…show more content… Uncle Anoosh was very open and shared his stories with his close family. “Russians aren’t like us...it’s hearts they don’t have. They don’t know how to love (Satrapi, 59-60). Uncle Anoosh was sharing stories from his past with his niece, Marjane. Norman Bowker tended to keep his emotions bottled up. “What he should do he thought, is stop at Sally’s house and impress her with this new time-telling trick of his” (O’Brien, 140). Norman Bowker was driving around a lake imagining all the conversations he wished he could have with the people he loved. “Well, this one time, this one night out by the river...I wasn’t very brave (O’Brien, 142). This was part of a conversation Norman Bowker envisioned having with his father. Unfortunately, he was too psychologically damaged and these conversations were never able to take place. In addition to sharing their stories in different ways, they also come from different cultures, Uncle Anoosh was Islamic and Norman Bowker was American. Anoosh was fighting to overthrow the Shah’s regime, “the reason for my shame and for the Revolution is the same: the difference between social classes” (Satrapi, 33). Bowker was fighting to overthrow a demon from within blaming himself for a death he felt he could have prevented, “...I felt guilty almost, like if I’d kept my mouth shut none of it would of ever happened” (O’Brien, 105)