At the end of "The Cigarette" Marji says: "With this first cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye...Now I was a grown-up." What does she mean? Do agree that she grew up in this moment? Why or why not?
This means that Marji has finally grown out of herself. She feels that with this cigarette she is doing something adult. I find this relatable to Finding the Sun by Edward Albee. Fergus, one of the main characters talks about how there are no corrupting influences surrounding him. And how if he could just fall into one of these corrupting influences he could grow up and live a life as a normal human being. I think Marji in many ways agrees with this as well.
I am split in between weather I feel Marji grew up in this moment. I think she did in a sense because of the symbolism of her act. Children are often shunned away from cigarettes and Marji steps out of that role. But still in a sense, she yearns and leans toward childhood because she still has fear of this war and what will become of her and her family. Pablo
Marji means that when you smoke a cigarette for the first time, it will seem like you are a grown up and moved on away from childhood. Smoking a cigarette is something an adult would do and she wants to grow up. I do not agree with Marji because i know that smoking a cigarette is something that a child or 12 year old isnt supposed to do until they're grown up and an adult, Marji just wants to grow up. but she has to grow up slowly and it will just come to her but she wants it now. I think that she shouldn't have smoked that cigarette, making her seem more adult-ish but in a way, if she didnt smoke that cigarette than she wouldn't come up to the moment of her not being a childand coming up with the title of the chapter. I also think that she did grow up during that moment because she did smoke a cigarette and thats something that an adult or grown up would do. Brianna<3
I feel like the cigarette is a symbol of rebelion. We've reached this point in the journey of Marji that she has had to put up with the fact that she is too young to protest, and be a part of the revolution. Her smoking a cigarette is this bridge to adulthood; she is doing something rebelious, something that she knows she would get into trouble for. Marji has showed us that she is fed up with the fact that she is too young to do alot of things that she wants to do. She responds to this fact by going against rules, and smoking, making her somewhat adult-like. Marji is making a statement that she is basically the maker of her own rules.
Like pablo, I am also mixed. Marji has gone out of boundaries to smoke. This is something a child would never do then. Her smoking is crossing over the bridge of being a child to being an adult, and doing things for herself. While this action is adult-like, its also suprising, and also immature. Her smoking is sort of extreme. She is going against rules concerning her health. But we've reached the point in the story where the message of what it means to grow up to Marji is clear. She thinks that being rebelious, and free is to grow up. Her smoking and telling us that she has grown up is really interesting, just because in different peoples eyes, her rebelling can be considered immature.
In the tradition of her family and throughout all of her childhood (as far as we know about it) she has seen revolution and even rebellion as a mature thing. Also, she seems to have always wanted to be grown up. Because of these two factors I think that she saw playing hooky and smoking a cigarette against society and her parents orders as a symbol of her maturity. I don’t agree that smoking represents growing up. She might have because adults have more freedom of choice of action than children do, but there is also a sense of more responsibility and thinking about the consequences of actions as well. I think that there is more to growing up than just one action or choice.
I think that Marjane meant that smoking that cigarette made her more "older" because smoking is a very dangerous thing for a child her age to do, she has no business smoking and maybe she felt that doing something that her parents didn't aprove of would make her the type of "tough" girl who smokes because she feel like it and she feels she can pick up something that can cause death at any moment and just to smoke it because she wasn't feeling good is NO good at all.
I do and don't think that she grew up at the same time. Smoking is something that I think adults (if anybody) should be smoking. It isn't good for young lungs to inhale the smoke so I think that she was trying to grow up and making such a dumb decision by herself kind of shows that she is growing up, not because of the decision that she made but it is because she made the decision by herself. She is also still being kind of childish s because smoking is not something that people should do.
Marji believes that she is capable of functioning without the guidance of her parents, who in her opinion is preventing her from reaching her full potential. As proof she light a cigarette, which “burns away her childhood”. Marji feeble attempt of rebellion is merely a manifestation of her longing, her longing for guidance. Since losing her faith in god Marji has been a drift. Becoming friends with children much older in hope of finding a way of life. Marji simply adopted what others value and in “her world” that happens to be independence from her parents. I.e. Maji really isn’t grown up just because she smokes a cigarette.
this means that Marji believes she has left the bonds of kinship, she has become an adult and will act as one. she finds that smoking is the sign of an adult and by doing so she is becoming one. i have to say that i disagree with the idea of Marji growing up in that instance. smoking is actually the opposite of growing up. maybe in Marji's eyes smoking symbolizes adulthood but in reality going to such lengths to prove your matureness is frankly stupid. she is proving symbolically that she is an adult but is actually pushing herself further away from adulthood by doing something like this.
When Marji has the cigarette it acts as a symbol of growing up because so many adults smoke. She thinks that by smoking a cigarette herself, she'll then be and feel more mature and grown-up. She wants to believe that she's growing up and is very serious at the moment about what she's doing and the sacrifice she's making by giving up her childhood for responsibility and adulthood. Marji truly feels that she is doing something that will change her and thinks that it's an officiant way to become more grown-up. I think in that moment she is really growing-up but mainly because she strongly believes so herself and would make it happen. There's also a side in this moment that could show she's not growing up as well because of the fact that even as she's smoking a cigarette as a symbol of growing up, it seems mindless and childish to try something like that just because she believed it would make a difference symbolically. Marji also seemed to be doing it in a young and excited way to be trying something different.
I think to Marjane the cigarette is a symbol of a being grown up like her mother. Smoking the cigarette to her is something that takes away your childhood. It makes you identify with an adult because it is something that only an adult would do. She did not really grow up at this moment, she was just using the cigarette to make herself think she is grown up and to reinforce the appearance that she is grown up. The cigarette is a sign of rebellion from her mother, father, and childhood and the apparent dictatorship that they create. She was also copying the actions of people around her and the things that were going on in the revolution. She was copying them to make more sense out of them and to try to understand them better.
Marji thinks that she has become an adult be indulging in adult-like behavior. Smoking a cigarette is what she has seen most of the authority figures in her life do, so she thinks that it will make her an “adult”. She believes that being an adult is just acting in the same way as adults. In that way, she is naïve.
I think that she has not become mature by smoking a cigarette because smoking is something that is destructive to your body and not something a mature person would do. And since maturity is more crucial to becoming an adult than imitating adults, I don’t think that she is really growing up because she is engaging in immature behavior.
Also, becoming an adult involves finding your own way to be a mature individual. Smoking is not only destructive and non-intelligent behavior, but it is one of the least individual ways of behaving. When a kid like Marji smokes, she is usually just following peer pressure. Instead of copying others, she needs to develop her own way of being an individual.
She wants to believe that by committing this thing she see's her parents doing it makes her like them, a grown up. She wants to have an opinion in what is going on in her home. She knows her parents are fighting and are have their opinion, but she does not. Marji is stuck with being a child and no one paying attention to what she is saying. By smoking this cigarette she believes herself to be grown up, so that now she may have an opinion and people will listen to her. i personally do not think she grew up at all by this act. if anything i think it slowed down her growth to adulthood. this shows that she still has the will of a child. she knows times are tough, so she smokes. that does not make her adult anymore then if she had a taste of wine. having a taste of something that grownups drink doesnt make you one at all. Marji is so caught up in becoming an adult and losing her childhood that she thinks anything will work. it wont though. Smoking does not make you an adult.
I think that this quote means that marjane is influenced by her surroundings. her mother smokes as an adult and marjane copies his to "grow up." she is not exactly an adult as a result. instead I think she has become even more childish than before.
I think she means that by preforming an adult act, she is entering adult hood. she is acting as a child would in an overstressful situation. this showes the level of stressfull adult situations she is being forced into. i don't agree that she has grown up in this moment. thinking that preforming unhealthy acts will make you an adult simply garantese that you aren't an adult.
What Marji means when she says that "with this first cigarette, i kissed childhood goodbye...Now i was a grown-up." is that she thinks that by smoking the cigarette she is showing that she is old and mature enough to smoke a cigarette. She thinks that by smoking the cigarette she is showing that she is no longer a child. I do not think actually smoking the cigarette made her an adult, i think that all the things happening in her life that made her want to smoke the cigarette, all the things that made her want to prove that she is no longer a child is what made her grow up. I think the cigarette is a symbol of wanting to fit in with the fourteen year-old girls, it is a symbol for wanting her mom to not be so strict, and it is a symbol for wanting to be taken seriously about her beliefs and ideas about the war.
This quote means that Marji thinks that she is a grown up now. She thinks that by taking a cigarette, she is somehow maturing. I think Marji is not maturing because she is not sounding smarter or mature. She seems to be trying to act like an adult through this action but can not because she is way too young. She wants to grow up faster so that she could help her family in this whole war. She is struggling and is right now trying to figure out who she really is in life. In way this sort of relates to the person's idea on maturity and growing. I forgot what it was but it had something to do with the stages of growing up. -nico
This means that Marji feels that she is an adult because she smoked a cigarette. She feels that when you smoke a cigarette you are mature or like an adult. Marji is fed-up with all of the change in her culture, her country, and her community caused from the war. She felt like she was not able to do anything as a child but now that she "is an adult" because of smoking the cigarette she will try to do something. She feels she has more power "as an adult."I also get the sense of peer-pressure with this act. For many kids, smoking a cigarette or not following the rules is something that teenagers or young adults do to be cool, to feel more powerful, or to escape. Marji probably wants to escape from the war and all of the problems going on in her country. She also wants to be friends with 14 year olds and she feels by smoking she may get more respect from older girls.
I do not agree with her growing up because of this event but I feel that she was already grown up. I feel this because of the efforts that she put in to try and make change even though she knew she was just a small child when she did things to try and help (demonstrate). I also do not agree because doing something like smoke a cigarette does not make you anymore of an adult or anymore mature then you are because it is just an object. I believe that the only way to make you stronger or more mature is an action that will benefit you and other people. Smoking does not benefit anybody.
It's the whole idea of symbolism. To grow up in Marji's is to be a rebel and Marji's way of being a rebel is to smoke under the veil of a basement. She feels like she needs to either grow up or shut up. She undrstands that it is the kids that are being targeted and that in order to remain a shooter she needs to become an adult.
It is often said that adults have more power they are the ones every child looks to for their next command. But Marji feel like she has evolved from the monotony of the cliched parents vs. kids, she feels she has a greater purpose and by smoking the cigarette she feel like she has broken the chain she has been attached to because of the cliche of the parent and child. Smoking is a step in many toward the craziness of adulthood. one thing I think Marji has failed realize is the responsibilities that come with the burden of adulthood.
I think that with this step in Marji's life, Marji is starting to mature and take on a new persona. I think that her definition of an adult is someone who is older and has taken matters and current events into her own hands. I think that Marji's decision shows that she wants to be involved in this whole war conversation but at the same time she is afraid of the war, thus making this quote a very controvesial statement. Personally, I think that for her age she is very advanced and adult like but Marji is still a child. As Pablo, the first to post said, "Children are often shunned away from cigarettes and Marji steps out of that role". I agree with Pablo. As a symbol yes, she did grow up, but technically she is still a child.
In “The Cigarette” Marji “grows up”. She says at the end of the chapter (page 117): “With the first cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye.” Marji’s country is at war, she observes many people and their direct actions. These actions of her people seem to largely influence her in ways such as rebellion. Her mother reprimands her after she cut class and lies, like most children would, Marji reacts negatively and gets upset inside and “rebels” against her mother. Smoking the cigarette made Marji feel superior, mature, and independent from he parents.
This was a while ago, so they didn't know how dangerous it was to smoke, but still kids didn't smoke.
Marji thinks it's important to cut a class so she could be friends with 14-year-old girls, she starts to smoke as a 13-year-old girl, it's like she really want to grow up! Like she wants to help with the war, so she has to smoke, to show that she's a grown-up.
She didn't really grow up at that point, no one grows up as a teenager. She is political, dares to say what she thinks, but still, she is so little that she need's an escape to go to when things get hard. She goes down to the basement after she fought with her mom after she cut the grammar class.
I agree with Kira that the cigarette is a symbol of rebellion. When she says she kisses childhood goodbye, I think that she is saying this because she has changed alot during the time of the Iranian Revolution. Before, her parents were hiding the truth about what was going on in thier government and not letting her join the protests. However, now, she is joining the protests, handing out flyers with her parents. I feel that the Iranian Revolution, as she is living in it in the book is making an impact on her brain to become a rebel as well.
I think that because there are so much things that are banned in Iran during this time, Marji isnt thinking twice about the actions she does. What was allowed before the Iranian Revolution, she didnt want to do. What was not allowed during the Iranian Revolution, she wants to do. I think that the Iranian Revolution has made a huge impact in the way she thinks.
I also think that the fact that the Iranian government is banning various things, the people of Iran will fight for the freedom to use the banned items and since Marjane is aware of what is going on in the Iranian Revolution, I think that she as well is thinking 'why cant we use these things? why are they banned?' and I guess the symbol of smoking a cigarette is her way of rebelling to the government and I also feel like it is a rebellion to her age. ♥ Emma Francesca ♥
P.S. Smoking a cigarette is a symbol of adult hood however, Marji smoking a cigarette at her age is a symbol of naivety and naivety is connected to being in your childhood stage. ♥ Emma Francesca ♥
I personally do not think that this was the best choice for Marji. Smoking cigarettes are a symbol of being mature, though it is just a drug that kills you. This reminds me of the book the "Greasers" because they smoke daily, and it is a symbol of being cool and being mature, but being mature is the only symbol that relates to this chapter. Some people in the world smoke because they think it will relieve their stress. I think that the purpose of her smoking a cigarette is to relieve her stress about this whole war, even though she said it was a symbol of becoming an adult. I don't think Marji realizes that growing up has many challenges, and that one thing won't change her lifestyle.
I strongly agree with Emmett in saying that smoking is not a symbol of growing up. To many children smoking is seen as cool and it is to them what mature grown ups do. To many actual adults, smoking is frowned upon and is done by immature people. She may see smoking as a symbol of growing up but she is ooking at this from a very childish perspective which I think is not a symbol of growing up. I think it is a more a symbol of freedom in this book. -Karina Caban
i think that this moment does show that she is growing up and leaving her childhood behind. this act seems to be very adult like to her because as a child she would never be allowed near such a thing. this same action is done by many teenagers all over the world for the same reason: as a symbol of growing up and stepping out of the ignorance that has formed a shell to protect children and their innocence. however much smoking seems to be a thing that only adults should do and doing it proves you as an adult. this is not true in all cases the way that marji was sneaking around, stealing the cigarette and forcing herself to smoke it seems even more childish than staying protected. it makes it seem like you are not ready to become an adult but you are forcing yourself to grow up which is not nessecarily a good thing.
I think this is a sign of not really growing up in real world, but growing up in "her" world. I think she believes that smoking a cigar makes her feel older than she is because she sees smoking as something done by adults. I think she's also probably mad at her mom about skipping school.I think all of these events from when she lied that she had religion to now where she's smoking a cigar, really have an impact on how she's changed in the book. And I think that's a really important part in the book so far.
I don't agree that this is a symbol of growing up because it doesn't seem that big of a step. As doing something more jurassic in a way. But also I agree with Pablo because in iran, children that were 12 yrs old and maybe even older, didn't smoke. And to her that seemed like a big step for her to come from point A and arriving at point B.
In "The Cigarette" when Marji thinks that she has left childhood because she is smoking which is a adult thing to do. In the book the people that smoke are adults, and kids are told not to smoke.
I am half and half weather Marji has actual grown-up or not. I think that she did grow up not because she smoked but that she understands the situation so well, and is able to talk to adults about the situation, and that she knows a lot of facts about the war. I don't think that she is grown-up because she made a childish decision because smoking made her feel grown and in many people's view and mine she seemed very mature about the war and seeing the wrongs in what some of the adults are doing. For example when her mom says that the women in the stores should only take what they need so there would be enough for everyone, but when they leave the store she wants to check a different store for rice.
To Marji smoking a cigarette was a grown-up thing. Technically it is. Many countries have a smoking age. Many people in that time smoked, mainly adults and "rebellious kids." Marji has been around many people you have smoked. All of these people to Marji are adults or mature. Being mature can sometimes make people considered adults. I disagree that she became an adult. If anything this makes her even more of a child and very immature. Kids/Teens love to act like they're adult like. When ever they get the chance to prove it or act like it they do (I know this from experience)! Marji is rushing to be an adult, even though she is not ready. As you grow older you learn from your mistakes and learn lessons from your actions. Marji has learned a lot, but not as much as she does later on in life. Many people have definitions of an adult; turning 18, becoming mature, learning an important lesson about life, moving out, I could keep going. My definition of an adult is someone who has learned enough to be able to live on their own and is trusted to do so, someone who is responsible, and someone who knows whats right from wrong and knows when and when not to do things. This does not fit Marji's characteristics, atleast not yet.Marji still has a lot to learn, she has a lot coming to her!
It means that smoking is considered an adult thing. By doing that they consider it to be a mature thing as well. It symbolizes pain and everyday struggles. They are considered common as she blows out smoke. Her coughing at the beginning symbolizes unexpectedness of independence and how it would feel to be stressful when it all falls down upon Marji as if it came out of thin air. I don't believe that Marji has grown up. One reason is because it is unrealistic that it would have been exhausted instantly after growing up as if they didn't ease into it. The second reason is the way she proclaimed it. Usually people would acknowledge the growth of a person. That person would not really proclaim their growth and independence. In this way it shows that she is obnoxious and irritated by someone or something. This shows she is immature and in return, has not grown.
(Just noticed but when I began typing this there where 19 comments here. Now I am the 32nd to comment!)
What she meant is when she smoked her first cigarette she became rebellious to her family which in her opinion made her a grown up because she was not listening to her parents anymore.
I think that she was already kind of growing up before she started smoking but i actually think when started smoking it made her seam childish and made her seam like she was just rebelling for no reason.
When she says that she is kissing her childhood goodbye, I think that she means that she believes that she is emotionally ready to leave the innate innocence that comes with childhood. She refers to this cigarette as the beginning of her adulthood because it seems like a more mature action. But she is really on the bridge of childhood and adulthood. Marji has gone through so much in her life, and it would seem like she would be ready to move on. But her age is surprising and seems impossible for someone her age to grow up so fast. The Iran War forced Marji into adulthood, sooner than she was ready for.
Personally, I do not believe that this moment signifies the beginning of her adulthood. And in general, I do not believe that someone can just pinpoint a single moment in their life to do so. But I do believe that this epoch marked the beginning of her becoming more aware of her surroundings, and herself. But this moment does show her rebellion. It also shows her confidence in herself. She believes in herself enough to flat out say that she is, from that point on, becoming an adult. And I believe one has to be very sure of themselves if they were to make such a brash statement. Marji, in this time of her life is learning how to grow and expand her already drawn borders.
Marji wants to be rebellious. She wants to stand up to those who are oppressing her. She feels that in public and even in the private of her home she is being controlled by the Guardians of the Revolution, and she wants to be able to act out against them. In her own home she also feels like her mother is controlling her and one of Marji's least favorite feelings is the sense that she is being controlled. Marji feels this pressure as a teen and reacts in a way that many teens do, she tries to rebel. With her first cigarette she is rebelling against those who are controlling her. She is horrified by the violent world around her and wants so badly to speak out and she feels that to speak out is to be rebellious. I think that Marji did grow up in this instance, part of growing up is experimenting and this cigarette was very much an experiment for her.
When Marji made this statement, she said it out of anger and frustration. She only said it because she felts that her mother was trying to control her, and kept treating her like a little kid. She didn't feel like her mom was treating her like a 12 year old. Instead she felt that her mother was controlling her everyone move and that her mother wasn't giving her enough space to be on her own. At this moment she felt very tough and not her self that she stated "I kissed childhood goodbye... Now i was a grown-up." Marji didn't mean it at all, it was just a phase. Everyone child goes through that same experience but they know in the end they really haven't grown-up and it is going to take time for them to realize that. I don't agree that she grew up at this moment, because to break a rule does not mean you've grown up. So in this is case she smoked a cigarette to show she's more mature. In my perspective that was a little immature because it doesn't change the person you are. It was a mistake and she will eventually realize that but at this moment she feels out of placed, and doing that made her feel like an adult. There is some much going on in her life that she probably felt the only way she can escape the world and feel that she can take care of herself is to prove that she can smoke like any other adult she knows.
I, much like my peers, am unsure of weather or not this act is considered mature or if it shows a child like sense. The cigar is mostly associated with adults, who are known to make good, mature, wise decisions. However, many adults do not fulfill this stereotype, and make rash decisions, the cigarette being one of them. Smoking creates breathing problems and other health issues that can maim you or plainly end your existence.
When Marji smokes her stolen cigarette, she does it for many purposes, as she is confused and unsure of how much the war is really affecting her and her life she believes that smoking will make her older and safer. This yearning for age is also manifested in the way Marji hangs out with 14 year olds while she herself is only 12. Marji tries the cigarette out of curiosity because it has drifted in and out of her life, but she has not tried it. The way her body rejects it shows that she is not ready for it, even though i personally believe that you can never be 'ready' to smoke.
The Islamic revolution inspires many changes within Iran, but Marji's fixation with the cigarette does not last. The way she seems to be fascinated by it one minute and the next she forgets bout it shows that she is still a child because children's attention flits from thing to thing often. In sum, I believe that she remains a child.
The picture of Marji smoking and the picture of the firing squad above her (on page 117) symbolizes that she despises the war and despises what the regime did to the people who oppsed them. She thinks that many lives could have been saved if they had just avoided the war altogether. She says on page 116 "They eventually admitted that hte survival of the regime depended on the war." "When I think we could have avoided it all...it just makes me sick. A million people would still be alive." Smoking the cigarette symbolizes her rebelling - not just against her mother, but against the war and especially against the regime. When Marji says she "kissed childhood goodbye...Now I was a grown-up", this meant she now had her own opinions, not just what teachers or her parents said. She didn't just grow up in this moment - she led a private act of rebellion against what she believed was wrong.
When she kissed the cigarette she meant that she thought that she didn't need to be controlled by her parents any longer. So since she knew that adults smoke, she thought that if she takes a puff of a cigarette that she would be considered an adult. This was like a ceremony into adulthood that she created for herself and she was the only one there. The quote is also her starting her own revolution in her household.
I think that in the moment she believes that she grew up more than she really did. That hard aspect of this question is that she is already very mature and intelligent for her age. This doesn't mean that she grew up. In moments like these sometimes people harden. She seems to be caught up in the moment so i think that she didn't really grow up. It is true that a lot of sadness can make someone grow up a lot faster then normal which is probibly why she wants to become a grow up. -James
What Marji means when she says "With this first cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye...Now I was a grown-up."is that she feels like because she is smoking a cigarette she is doing something more mature. Its her first time so its like now she is an adult. Her smoking a cigarette is part of her rebellion. She goes through a face where she is talking back to teachers and disobeying her mother which I feel is part of puberty, which is part of growing up.
Marjane associates smoking cigarettes with adulthood. She wants to feel equal to her mother and be treated as an adult. On page 113, Satrapi refers to her mother’s age when she was considered an adult because it wasn’t far from her own. Since she wasn’t getting the respect she believed she deserved, Marjane did something she associated with adulthood, rebellion. I do not agree that she grew up at that moment, because she still cannot make choices her parents and other adults around her do.
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This means that Marji has finally grown out of herself. She feels that with this cigarette she is doing something adult. I find this relatable to Finding the Sun by Edward Albee. Fergus, one of the main characters talks about how there are no corrupting influences surrounding him. And how if he could just fall into one of these corrupting influences he could grow up and live a life as a normal human being. I think Marji in many ways agrees with this as well.
I am split in between weather I feel Marji grew up in this moment. I think she did in a sense because of the symbolism of her act. Children are often shunned away from cigarettes and Marji steps out of that role. But still in a sense, she yearns and leans toward childhood because she still has fear of this war and what will become of her and her family.
Pablo
Marji means that when you smoke a cigarette for the first time, it will seem like you are a grown up and moved on away from childhood. Smoking a cigarette is something an adult would do and she wants to grow up.
I do not agree with Marji because i know that smoking a cigarette is something that a child or 12 year old isnt supposed to do until they're grown up and an adult, Marji just wants to grow up. but she has to grow up slowly and it will just come to her but she wants it now. I think that she shouldn't have smoked that cigarette, making her seem more adult-ish but in a way, if she didnt smoke that cigarette than she wouldn't come up to the moment of her not being a childand coming up with the title of the chapter. I also think that she did grow up during that moment because she did smoke a cigarette and thats something that an adult or grown up would do.
Brianna<3
Yay!! Im seconnd!
(:<3
I feel like the cigarette is a symbol of rebelion. We've reached this point in the journey of Marji that she has had to put up with the fact that she is too young to protest, and be a part of the revolution. Her smoking a cigarette is this bridge to adulthood; she is doing something rebelious, something that she knows she would get into trouble for. Marji has showed us that she is fed up with the fact that she is too young to do alot of things that she wants to do. She responds to this fact by going against rules, and smoking, making her somewhat adult-like. Marji is making a statement that she is basically the maker of her own rules.
Like pablo, I am also mixed. Marji has gone out of boundaries to smoke. This is something a child would never do then. Her smoking is crossing over the bridge of being a child to being an adult, and doing things for herself. While this action is adult-like, its also suprising, and also immature. Her smoking is sort of extreme. She is going against rules concerning her health. But we've reached the point in the story where the message of what it means to grow up to Marji is clear. She thinks that being rebelious, and free is to grow up. Her smoking and telling us that she has grown up is really interesting, just because in different peoples eyes, her rebelling can be considered immature.
In the tradition of her family and throughout all of her childhood (as far as we know about it) she has seen revolution and even rebellion as a mature thing. Also, she seems to have always wanted to be grown up. Because of these two factors I think that she saw playing hooky and smoking a cigarette against society and her parents orders as a symbol of her maturity.
I don’t agree that smoking represents growing up. She might have because adults have more freedom of choice of action than children do, but there is also a sense of more responsibility and thinking about the consequences of actions as well. I think that there is more to growing up than just one action or choice.
I think that Marjane meant that smoking that cigarette made her more "older" because smoking is a very dangerous thing for a child her age to do, she has no business smoking and maybe she felt that doing something that her parents didn't aprove of would make her the type of "tough" girl who smokes because she feel like it and she feels she can pick up something that can cause death at any moment and just to smoke it because she wasn't feeling good is NO good at all.
I do and don't think that she grew up at the same time. Smoking is something that I think adults (if anybody) should be smoking. It isn't good for young lungs to inhale the smoke so I think that she was trying to grow up and making such a dumb decision by herself kind of shows that she is growing up, not because of the decision that she made but it is because she made the decision by herself. She is also still being kind of childish s because smoking is not something that people should do.
Marji believes that she is capable of functioning without the guidance of her parents, who in her opinion is preventing her from reaching her full potential. As proof she light a cigarette, which “burns away her childhood”. Marji feeble attempt of rebellion is merely a manifestation of her longing, her longing for guidance. Since losing her faith in god Marji has been a drift. Becoming friends with children much older in hope of finding a way of life. Marji simply adopted what others value and in “her world” that happens to be independence from her parents. I.e. Maji really isn’t grown up just because she smokes a cigarette.
this means that Marji believes she has left the bonds of kinship, she has become an adult and will act as one. she finds that smoking is the sign of an adult and by doing so she is becoming one. i have to say that i disagree with the idea of Marji growing up in that instance. smoking is actually the opposite of growing up. maybe in Marji's eyes smoking symbolizes adulthood but in reality going to such lengths to prove your matureness is frankly stupid. she is proving symbolically that she is an adult but is actually pushing herself further away from adulthood by doing something like this.
When Marji has the cigarette it acts as a symbol of growing up because so many adults smoke. She thinks that by smoking a cigarette herself, she'll then be and feel more mature and grown-up. She wants to believe that she's growing up and is very serious at the moment about what she's doing and the sacrifice she's making by giving up her childhood for responsibility and adulthood. Marji truly feels that she is doing something that will change her and thinks that it's an officiant way to become more grown-up. I think in that moment she is really growing-up but mainly because she strongly believes so herself and would make it happen. There's also a side in this moment that could show she's not growing up as well because of the fact that even as she's smoking a cigarette as a symbol of growing up, it seems mindless and childish to try something like that just because she believed it would make a difference symbolically. Marji also seemed to be doing it in a young and excited way to be trying something different.
I think to Marjane the cigarette is a symbol of a being grown up like her mother. Smoking the cigarette to her is something that takes away your childhood. It makes you identify with an adult because it is something that only an adult would do. She did not really grow up at this moment, she was just using the cigarette to make herself think she is grown up and to reinforce the appearance that she is grown up. The cigarette is a sign of rebellion from her mother, father, and childhood and the apparent dictatorship that they create. She was also copying the actions of people around her and the things that were going on in the revolution. She was copying them to make more sense out of them and to try to understand them better.
Marji thinks that she has become an adult be indulging in adult-like behavior. Smoking a cigarette is what she has seen most of the authority figures in her life do, so she thinks that it will make her an “adult”. She believes that being an adult is just acting in the same way as adults. In that way, she is naïve.
I think that she has not become mature by smoking a cigarette because smoking is something that is destructive to your body and not something a mature person would do. And since maturity is more crucial to becoming an adult than imitating adults, I don’t think that she is really growing up because she is engaging in immature behavior.
Also, becoming an adult involves finding your own way to be a mature individual. Smoking is not only destructive and non-intelligent behavior, but it is one of the least individual ways of behaving. When a kid like Marji smokes, she is usually just following peer pressure. Instead of copying others, she needs to develop her own way of being an individual.
She wants to believe that by committing this thing she see's her parents doing it makes her like them, a grown up. She wants to have an opinion in what is going on in her home. She knows her parents are fighting and are have their opinion, but she does not. Marji is stuck with being a child and no one paying attention to what she is saying. By smoking this cigarette she believes herself to be grown up, so that now she may have an opinion and people will listen to her. i personally do not think she grew up at all by this act. if anything i think it slowed down her growth to adulthood. this shows that she still has the will of a child. she knows times are tough, so she smokes. that does not make her adult anymore then if she had a taste of wine. having a taste of something that grownups drink doesnt make you one at all. Marji is so caught up in becoming an adult and losing her childhood that she thinks anything will work. it wont though. Smoking does not make you an adult.
I think that this quote means that marjane is influenced by her surroundings. her mother smokes as an adult and marjane copies his to "grow up." she is not exactly an adult as a result. instead I think she has become even more childish than before.
I think she means that by preforming an adult act, she is entering adult hood. she is acting as a child would in an overstressful situation. this showes the level of stressfull adult situations she is being forced into. i don't agree that she has grown up in this moment. thinking that preforming unhealthy acts will make you an adult simply garantese that you aren't an adult.
What Marji means when she says that "with this first cigarette, i kissed childhood goodbye...Now i was a grown-up." is that she thinks that by smoking the cigarette she is showing that she is old and mature enough to smoke a cigarette. She thinks that by smoking the cigarette she is showing that she is no longer a child. I do not think actually smoking the cigarette made her an adult, i think that all the things happening in her life that made her want to smoke the cigarette, all the things that made her want to prove that she is no longer a child is what made her grow up. I think the cigarette is a symbol of wanting to fit in with the fourteen year-old girls, it is a symbol for wanting her mom to not be so strict, and it is a symbol for wanting to be taken seriously about her beliefs and ideas about the war.
This quote means that Marji thinks that she is a grown up now. She thinks that by taking a cigarette, she is somehow maturing. I think Marji is not maturing because she is not sounding smarter or mature. She seems to be trying to act like an adult through this action but can not because she is way too young. She wants to grow up faster so that she could help her family in this whole war. She is struggling and is right now trying to figure out who she really is in life. In way this sort of relates to the person's idea on maturity and growing. I forgot what it was but it had something to do with the stages of growing up.
-nico
This means that Marji feels that she is an adult because she smoked a cigarette. She feels that when you smoke a cigarette you are mature or like an adult. Marji is fed-up with all of the change in her culture, her country, and her community caused from the war. She felt like she was not able to do anything as a child but now that she "is an adult" because of smoking the cigarette she will try to do something. She feels she has more power "as an adult."I also get the sense of peer-pressure with this act. For many kids, smoking a cigarette or not following the rules is something that teenagers or young adults do to be cool, to feel more powerful, or to escape. Marji probably wants to escape from the war and all of the problems going on in her country. She also wants to be friends with 14 year olds and she feels by smoking she may get more respect from older girls.
I do not agree with her growing up because of this event but I feel that she was already grown up. I feel this because of the efforts that she put in to try and make change even though she knew she was just a small child when she did things to try and help (demonstrate). I also do not agree because doing something like smoke a cigarette does not make you anymore of an adult or anymore mature then you are because it is just an object. I believe that the only way to make you stronger or more mature is an action that will benefit you and other people. Smoking does not benefit anybody.
It's the whole idea of symbolism. To grow up in Marji's is to be a rebel and Marji's way of being a rebel is to smoke under the veil of a basement. She feels like she needs to either grow up or shut up. She undrstands that it is the kids that are being targeted and that in order to remain a shooter she needs to become an adult.
It is often said that adults have more power they are the ones every child looks to for their next command. But Marji feel like she has evolved from the monotony of the cliched parents vs. kids, she feels she has a greater purpose and by smoking the cigarette she feel like she has broken the chain she has been attached to because of the cliche of the parent and child. Smoking is a step in many toward the craziness of adulthood. one thing I think Marji has failed realize is the responsibilities that come with the burden of adulthood.
I think that with this step in Marji's life, Marji is starting to mature and take on a new persona. I think that her definition of an adult is someone who is older and has taken matters and current events into her own hands. I think that Marji's decision shows that she wants to be involved in this whole war conversation but at the same time she is afraid of the war, thus making this quote a very controvesial statement. Personally, I think that for her age she is very advanced and adult like but Marji is still a child. As Pablo, the first to post said, "Children are often shunned away from cigarettes and Marji steps out of that role". I agree with Pablo. As a symbol yes, she did grow up, but technically she is still a child.
POSTED BY BRANDON JOHNSON @ 6:30 pm.
In “The Cigarette” Marji “grows up”. She says at the end of the chapter (page 117): “With the first cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye.” Marji’s country is at war, she observes many people and their direct actions. These actions of her people seem to largely influence her in ways such as rebellion. Her mother reprimands her after she cut class and lies, like most children would, Marji reacts negatively and gets upset inside and “rebels” against her mother. Smoking the cigarette made Marji feel superior, mature, and independent from he parents.
This was a while ago, so they didn't know how dangerous it was to smoke, but still kids didn't smoke.
Marji thinks it's important to cut a class so she could be friends with 14-year-old girls, she starts to smoke as a 13-year-old girl, it's like she really want to grow up! Like she wants to help with the war, so she has to smoke, to show that she's a grown-up.
She didn't really grow up at that point, no one grows up as a teenager. She is political, dares to say what she thinks, but still, she is so little that she need's an escape to go to when things get hard. She goes down to the basement after she fought with her mom after she cut the grammar class.
-Hanna
I agree with Kira that the cigarette is a symbol of rebellion. When she says she kisses childhood goodbye, I think that she is saying this because she has changed alot during the time of the Iranian Revolution. Before, her parents were hiding the truth about what was going on in thier government and not letting her join the protests. However, now, she is joining the protests, handing out flyers with her parents. I feel that the Iranian Revolution, as she is living in it in the book is making an impact on her brain to become a rebel as well.
I think that because there are so much things that are banned in Iran during this time, Marji isnt thinking twice about the actions she does. What was allowed before the Iranian Revolution, she didnt want to do. What was not allowed during the Iranian Revolution, she wants to do. I think that the Iranian Revolution has made a huge impact in the way she thinks.
I also think that the fact that the Iranian government is banning various things, the people of Iran will fight for the freedom to use the banned items and since Marjane is aware of what is going on in the Iranian Revolution, I think that she as well is thinking 'why cant we use these things? why are they banned?' and I guess the symbol of smoking a cigarette is her way of rebelling to the government and I also feel like it is a rebellion to her age.
♥ Emma Francesca ♥
P.S.
Smoking a cigarette is a symbol of adult hood however, Marji smoking a cigarette at her age is a symbol of naivety and naivety is connected to being in your childhood stage.
♥ Emma Francesca ♥
I personally do not think that this was the best choice for Marji. Smoking cigarettes are a symbol of being mature, though it is just a drug that kills you. This reminds me of the book the "Greasers" because they smoke daily, and it is a symbol of being cool and being mature, but being mature is the only symbol that relates to this chapter. Some people in the world smoke because they think it will relieve their stress. I think that the purpose of her smoking a cigarette is to relieve her stress about this whole war, even though she said it was a symbol of becoming an adult. I don't think Marji realizes that growing up has many challenges, and that one thing won't change her lifestyle.
I strongly agree with Emmett in saying that smoking is not a symbol of growing up. To many children smoking is seen as cool and it is to them what mature grown ups do. To many actual adults, smoking is frowned upon and is done by immature people. She may see smoking as a symbol of growing up but she is ooking at this from a very childish perspective which I think is not a symbol of growing up. I think it is a more a symbol of freedom in this book.
-Karina Caban
i think that this moment does show that she is growing up and leaving her childhood behind. this act seems to be very adult like to her because as a child she would never be allowed near such a thing. this same action is done by many teenagers all over the world for the same reason: as a symbol of growing up and stepping out of the ignorance that has formed a shell to protect children and their innocence. however much smoking seems to be a thing that only adults should do and doing it proves you as an adult. this is not true in all cases the way that marji was sneaking around, stealing the cigarette and forcing herself to smoke it seems even more childish than staying protected. it makes it seem like you are not ready to become an adult but you are forcing yourself to grow up which is not nessecarily a good thing.
I think this is a sign of not really growing up in real world, but growing up in "her" world. I think she believes that smoking a cigar makes her feel older than she is because she sees smoking as something done by adults. I think she's also probably mad at her mom about skipping school.I think all of these events from when she lied that she had religion to now where she's smoking a cigar, really have an impact on how she's changed in the book. And I think that's a really important part in the book so far.
I don't agree that this is a symbol of growing up because it doesn't seem that big of a step. As doing something more jurassic in a way. But also I agree with Pablo because in iran, children that were 12 yrs old and maybe even older, didn't smoke. And to her that seemed like a big step for her to come from point A and arriving at point B.
In "The Cigarette" when Marji thinks that she has left childhood because she is smoking which is a adult thing to do. In the book the people that smoke are adults, and kids are told not to smoke.
I am half and half weather Marji has actual grown-up or not. I think that she did grow up not because she smoked but that she understands the situation so well, and is able to talk to adults about the situation, and that she knows a lot of facts about the war. I don't think that she is grown-up because she made a childish decision because smoking made her feel grown and in many people's view and mine she seemed very mature about the war and seeing the wrongs in what some of the adults are doing. For example when her mom says that the women in the stores should only take what they need so there would be enough for everyone, but when they leave the store she wants to check a different store for rice.
To Marji smoking a cigarette was a grown-up thing. Technically it is. Many countries have a smoking age. Many people in that time smoked, mainly adults and "rebellious kids." Marji has been around many people you have smoked. All of these people to Marji are adults or mature. Being mature can sometimes make people considered adults.
I disagree that she became an adult. If anything this makes her even more of a child and very immature. Kids/Teens love to act like they're adult like. When ever they get the chance to prove it or act like it they do (I know this from experience)! Marji is rushing to be an adult, even though she is not ready. As you grow older you learn from your mistakes and learn lessons from your actions. Marji has learned a lot, but not as much as she does later on in life. Many people have definitions of an adult; turning 18, becoming mature, learning an important lesson about life, moving out, I could keep going. My definition of an adult is someone who has learned enough to be able to live on their own and is trusted to do so, someone who is responsible, and someone who knows whats right from wrong and knows when and when not to do things. This does not fit Marji's characteristics, atleast not yet.Marji still has a lot to learn, she has a lot coming to her!
peruana801 is Katherina
It means that smoking is considered an adult thing. By doing that they consider it to be a mature thing as well. It symbolizes pain and everyday struggles. They are considered common as she blows out smoke. Her coughing at the beginning symbolizes unexpectedness of independence and how it would feel to be stressful when it all falls down upon Marji as if it came out of thin air.
I don't believe that Marji has grown up. One reason is because it is unrealistic that it would have been exhausted instantly after growing up as if they didn't ease into it. The second reason is the way she proclaimed it. Usually people would acknowledge the growth of a person. That person would not really proclaim their growth and independence. In this way it shows that she is obnoxious and irritated by someone or something. This shows she is immature and in return, has not grown.
(Just noticed but when I began typing this there where 19 comments here. Now I am the 32nd to comment!)
What she meant is when she smoked her first cigarette she became rebellious to her family which in her opinion made her a grown up because she was not listening to her parents anymore.
I think that she was already kind of growing up before she started smoking but i actually think when started smoking it made her seam childish and made her seam like she was just rebelling for no reason.
When she says that she is kissing her childhood goodbye, I think that she means that she believes that she is emotionally ready to leave the innate innocence that comes with childhood. She refers to this cigarette as the beginning of her adulthood because it seems like a more mature action. But she is really on the bridge of childhood and adulthood. Marji has gone through so much in her life, and it would seem like she would be ready to move on. But her age is surprising and seems impossible for someone her age to grow up so fast. The Iran War forced Marji into adulthood, sooner than she was ready for.
Personally, I do not believe that this moment signifies the beginning of her adulthood. And in general, I do not believe that someone can just pinpoint a single moment in their life to do so. But I do believe that this epoch marked the beginning of her becoming more aware of her surroundings, and herself. But this moment does show her rebellion. It also shows her confidence in herself. She believes in herself enough to flat out say that she is, from that point on, becoming an adult. And I believe one has to be very sure of themselves if they were to make such a brash statement. Marji, in this time of her life is learning how to grow and expand her already drawn borders.
Marji wants to be rebellious. She wants to stand up to those who are oppressing her. She feels that in public and even in the private of her home she is being controlled by the Guardians of the Revolution, and she wants to be able to act out against them. In her own home she also feels like her mother is controlling her and one of Marji's least favorite feelings is the sense that she is being controlled. Marji feels this pressure as a teen and reacts in a way that many teens do, she tries to rebel. With her first cigarette she is rebelling against those who are controlling her. She is horrified by the violent world around her and wants so badly to speak out and she feels that to speak out is to be rebellious.
I think that Marji did grow up in this instance, part of growing up is experimenting and this cigarette was very much an experiment for her.
When Marji made this statement, she said it out of anger and frustration. She only said it because she felts that her mother was trying to control her, and kept treating her like a little kid. She didn't feel like her mom was treating her like a 12 year old. Instead she felt that her mother was controlling her everyone move and that her mother wasn't giving her enough space to be on her own. At this moment she felt very tough and not her self that she stated "I kissed childhood goodbye... Now i was a grown-up." Marji didn't mean it at all, it was just a phase. Everyone child goes through that same experience but they know in the end they really haven't grown-up and it is going to take time for them to realize that.
I don't agree that she grew up at this moment, because to break a rule does not mean you've grown up. So in this is case she smoked a cigarette to show she's more mature. In my perspective that was a little immature because it doesn't change the person you are. It was a mistake and she will eventually realize that but at this moment she feels out of placed, and doing that made her feel like an adult. There is some much going on in her life that she probably felt the only way she can escape the world and feel that she can take care of herself is to prove that she can smoke like any other adult she knows.
I, much like my peers, am unsure of weather or not this act is considered mature or if it shows a child like sense. The cigar is mostly associated with adults, who are known to make good, mature, wise decisions. However, many adults do not fulfill this stereotype, and make rash decisions, the cigarette being one of them. Smoking creates breathing problems and other health issues that can maim you or plainly end your existence.
When Marji smokes her stolen cigarette, she does it for many purposes, as she is confused and unsure of how much the war is really affecting her and her life she believes that smoking will make her older and safer. This yearning for age is also manifested in the way Marji hangs out with 14 year olds while she herself is only 12. Marji tries the cigarette out of curiosity because it has drifted in and out of her life, but she has not tried it. The way her body rejects it shows that she is not ready for it, even though i personally believe that you can never be 'ready' to smoke.
The Islamic revolution inspires many changes within Iran, but Marji's fixation with the cigarette does not last. The way she seems to be fascinated by it one minute and the next she forgets bout it shows that she is still a child because children's attention flits from thing to thing often. In sum, I believe that she remains a child.
The picture of Marji smoking and the picture of the firing squad above her (on page 117) symbolizes that she despises the war and despises what the regime did to the people who oppsed them. She thinks that many lives could have been saved if they had just avoided the war altogether. She says on page 116 "They eventually admitted that hte survival of the regime depended on the war." "When I think we could have avoided it all...it just makes me sick. A million people would still be alive." Smoking the cigarette symbolizes her rebelling - not just against her mother, but against the war and especially against the regime. When Marji says she "kissed childhood goodbye...Now I was a grown-up", this meant she now had her own opinions, not just what teachers or her parents said. She didn't just grow up in this moment - she led a private act of rebellion against what she believed was wrong.
When she kissed the cigarette she meant that she thought that she didn't need to be controlled by her parents any longer. So since she knew that adults smoke, she thought that if she takes a puff of a cigarette that she would be considered an adult. This was like a ceremony into adulthood that she created for herself and she was the only one there. The quote is also her starting her own revolution in her household.
I think that in the moment she believes that she grew up more than she really did. That hard aspect of this question is that she is already very mature and intelligent for her age. This doesn't mean that she grew up. In moments like these sometimes people harden. She seems to be caught up in the moment so i think that she didn't really grow up. It is true that a lot of sadness can make someone grow up a lot faster then normal which is probibly why she wants to become a grow up.
-James
What Marji means when she says "With this first cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye...Now I was a grown-up."is that she feels like because she is smoking a cigarette she is doing something more mature. Its her first time so its like now she is an adult. Her smoking a cigarette is part of her rebellion. She goes through a face where she is talking back to teachers and disobeying her mother which I feel is part of puberty, which is part of growing up.
Marjane associates smoking cigarettes with adulthood. She wants to feel equal to her mother and be treated as an adult. On page 113, Satrapi refers to her mother’s age when she was considered an adult because it wasn’t far from her own. Since she wasn’t getting the respect she believed she deserved, Marjane did something she associated with adulthood, rebellion. I do not agree that she grew up at that moment, because she still cannot make choices her parents and other adults around her do.
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