Reyner 1

I have read, understand, and am in compliance with the Academic Honesty

policy. In particular, I have not committed any kind of plagiarism. There are
no un-attributed direct or indirect quotations or paraphrases from printed
materials, websites, other students papers, or any other sources in my
essay.
Need a Title!!
Communication is a vital quality that binds families together. In Farnoosh Moshiris
short story The Bricklayer, communication is emphasized as she narrates the life of the
Parvins, a family of Iranian exiles who fled to America. As they attempted to shake the horrors
they witnessed in Iran, grieve over their executed son, and face the aftermath of their fathers
stroke, their miscommunication proved to be their fatal mistake which dissembled their already
shaky family ties. Moshiri uses their instability and disjunction to portray the detriment of
suppressing grief. Throughout the story, Mrs. Parvin hinders her husbands healing process by
silencing his attempts to communicate with the family, and harms herself as well as her two twin
daughters as a result.
Speaking is a healing process, a mechanism that Mr. Parvin uses to grieve his son. By
imagining heroic tales of his sons bravery prior to his death, he was able to temporarily suppress
the haunting image of his son dying alone. Although Mrs. Parvin did not directly forbid him
from speaking, she stifled his communication as she denounced his stories. Throughout the
story, Mrs. Parvin numerously admonishes her husband with such statements as He is making
this part up. They didnt hit him(160) and No one wants to hear it. Its all in your head. No
one was there to know how it happened(162). By not allowing her husband to communicate,

Reyner 2

she withheld him from healing. Consequently, Mr. Parvin expels his emotions to a hallucinogenic
friend he named The Bricklayer.
The Bricklayer allowed Mr. Parvin a temporary escape from reality. His reliance on
this fallacy secluded him from the rest of the family. All he wanted was to be left alone, and
they wouldnt let him be (155). Abi and Bibi, the Parvins twin daughters, ultimately bore the
brunt of their parents conflicting coping mechanisms. As they witnessed their mother suppress
their fathers stories The girls blamed their mother for withholding information about their
father and brother (163) They realized that their fathers stories were imagined but
acknowledged that this was his way of remembering his son and their brother. Frustrated, one of
the girls even insisted that He is not insane, Maman. We have to let him talk. (164) and
followed to ask Why do you shut him up? (164) As the twins implicated their mother for
withholding details of their brothers death and for distancing their father, the further their family
secluded.
Mrs. Parvins denial rattled her familys journey of depression, however, she inflicted the
most consequence on herself. Memories of her son were to painful to bear and therefor she
avoided them altogether. She realized that by accepting reality, all the emotions she battled to
suppress would resurface. Throughout the Bricklayer her sorrow is personified by crying in
front of mirrors (164), weeping into her napkin (160), and [glancing] at their sons picture,
and [sniffling] (166). She grieved internally over her son instead of openly grieving with her
family. In order to heal her wounded heart, she needed to address her grief to escape the
confinements of her denial. Because Mrs. Parvin repressed memories of her son, she is left stuck
in an infinite cycle of depression. Although her husbands tales caused heartache, hoarding her
emotions and ignoring her grief proved to be a lot more damaging.

Reyner 3

The Parvins fled to America in search of freedom. However, even on free soil Mrs.
Parvin continued to revoke her husbands right to speak. Although Mr. Parvins tales inflicted
pain on his wife, bottling up her emotions had higher consequences. As Mr. Parvin confided in
The Bricklayer, he ostracized himself from the family, initiating Abi and Bibis resentment
towards their mother. Ultimately, Mrs. Parvins internalization denied her family a sense of
peace, healing, and the vision of a hopeful future to shine through.

Works Cited

Reyner 4