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Can an individual ever truly know that his/her decisions are his/her own?…

- - - - Here, Nafisi is describing her thought process behind the decision of creating her literature class. She recognized that the class would enable her to go above the restrictive social expectations of education. Nafisi was in full control of her decision to start up the class since she did not conform to the restrictive educational norms imposed by the Islamic Republic.
    - - Now Darwin is seen describing the conception of his theory of evolution. It was only when he was able to let go of any external influences on his decision-making that he was able to formulate his theory on evolution. If Darwin still allowed external influences of society, especially in his time period, to affect his conclusions, his theory of evolution would have been shot down as a taboo to society's expectations. Likewise, Nafisi did not allow the external forces of society to take charge in her decision to establish her literature class. If that were the case, such a class would be immediately be classified as taboo and shot down. This clearly demonstrates that an individual can only have full control over their decisions once they have eliminated any intervening outside influences.
  - - - [1] This quote makes explicit the severity of the hindrance imposed by the Victorian era's social expectations upon Darwin's ability to think freely. This social restraint was severe enough to impair Darwin's ability to fully control his decisions, which directly went against the social norms of the Victorian Era.
    - - [2] Here, Nafisi makes it clear that her harsh sociopolitical environment is not conducive of teaching, which itself is a large part of Nafisi's identity. Had Nafisi never been skeptical of the Islamic Republic's strict education policies, she never would have been in full control of her true identity's development since her passion for teaching would be stifled by external forces. Similarly, by not allowing his vision to be filtered by Victorian society's taboos, Charles Darwin was able to see the world without the confining lens of Victorian England. Both the Islamic Republic and Victorian social norms are very debilitating to both Nafisi and Darwin. Both institutions would have negatively affected the ability for them to assume absolute control over their decisions and identities.
  - - - Manna narrates that the Islamic Republic is largely responsible for her euphoric taste for intense colors. However, Nafisi mentions that her desire for ecstasy in colors can be scaled to describe her lifestyle, stating that "Manna was one of those people who would experience ecstasy but not happiness" (Nafisi 426). This is an example of uncertainty over the ownership of one's decisions. Did the Islamic Republic alter Manna's lifestyle by coarsening her color taste? Or was Manna always ectasy-seeking and therefore her change in color taste had no effect on her? This uncertainty is troublesome for the development of Manna's identity, as it becomes unclear whether she is actually ectasy-seeking or if the Islamic Republic made her ectasy-seeking. Therefore, the element of uncertainty of one's descisions inhibits the development of one's identity since it gets defined by decisions and choices that may have been heavily influenced by external influences. arises when an individual does not have full control over their decisions.