cruelty, once hitting her and another time manipulating her into revealing information about the unauthorized outings of her and her mother. Mahmoodys sadistic nature is seen when he offers Betty her way out of Iran. She herself can leave, but she cannot take their daughter with her. The irrational behavior of the Iranian male is seen in the way Mahmoody and his family interact, and the way Mahmoody reacts to things that agitate him. The males in the family are always yelling at each other about some point of religion and are always getting into extremely heated disputes. These impassioned disputes seem as though they will break out in violence at any time and do not seem like the arguments of "rational" people. Mahmoody would fly into irate tangents when his wife crossed him, beating her as well as object that get in his way. The Iranian males culture and role in society at large is depicted as completely hierarchical and violent. The man is the absolute ruler of his household. He is the breadwinner and the lawmaker. He creates laws for society and then enforces them with an iron fist of violence. This is seen both in the family situations of Mahmoody and in public. When Betty and Mahtab are not wearing their Muslim headgear appropriately they are threatened with arrest at gunpoint. The violence and heartlessness of the government is also depicted when a few police cars drive up on a play ground and start collecting young boys to fight in their war. The family, ruled by male hierarchy, and their customs are definitely twisted and degraded. The family is portrayed as cruel, insensitive, backward and dirty. The family dines on the floor and the males and females sit at different parts of the room, the females sitting off in a corner. Besides the cruelty of the familys intersex relationships, the family is seen as barbaric. Betty and Mahtab are forced to walk over the blood of a goat that was slaughtered in honor of their arrival. Horri...
