Sophomore Presentation Connects Life to Literature

By Meredith Sloan

On May 17, 2013, Medfield resident, father of two, and Iranian Revolution evacuee, Mr. Darian Ahmadi came to share his story with sophomore World Literature classes at MHS. Ahmadi left Iran at the age of fifteen. At the time, he did not realize that he would permanently live in the US.

The Iranian Revolution was a time of demonstrations against the Shah. Ultimately, this revolution developed into a campaign of civil resistance; it was partially secular and partially religious.

Ahmadi said that he spent 15 years of his life in Iran and has been in Medfield for 35 years. Throughout his life in Iran, Ahmadi lived a "sheltered, privileged life." Ahmadi also said that his "father was a supporter of the Shah."

During his talk, Ahmadi said that his driver, Siamak, had a "huge influence on his life." Ahmadi's relationship with Siamak branched from the "great stories" that Siamak told.  

Sophomore Alex Ahmadi, a student in Mrs. Brown's World Literature class and Mr. Ahmadi's son, noticed parallels between the novel his English class was reading, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, and his father's story. 

Mrs. Brown, sophomore World Literature teacher, said, "Alex brought the idea up to me!" She added that she was delighted to have Mr. Ahmadi speak to the students about his life in Iran. Ms. Lettieri's sophomore classes also attended the presentation.

According to Amazon.com, The Kite Runner tells an "unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons-their love, their sacrifices, their lies."

After Mr. Ahmadi's presentation, sophomore Riley Godshall said, "It was really interesting to hear his story was from a wealthy perspective rather than a poor perspective."

Sophomore Jake Strehlke found the presentation beneficial to "hear it from the first-person perspective."

This article was written by Meredith Sloan, a Medfield High School student and member of the student newspaper, The Kingsbury Chronicle. The piece is part of Medfield Patch's weekly series, "Warrior Weekly," helping provide information about MHS to the local community.