Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover

When I first read the story of "Daisy Miller", I judged the character, Daisy, in a negative way because of the aspect that the other characters in the story were seeing. Daisy Miller was her own unique person, and that was why Winterbourne was determine to have her as his lover, because she was different than other people. Nafisi describes how Winterbourne thought she was just "a dazzling mystery at once too difficult and too easy to solve" (Nafisi 195). She was not scared to take risks, independent, yet unaware of what was around her and why people said the things that they did. When Nafisi's story was told, Daisy, instead of being this childish lady that would just be a flirt with any man that comes by, Daisy was a lady with so much courage, and determination that separated her from the norms. Her student's interpretations of Daisy were harsh and blunt because many of these students "were more practical and did not under what the fuss was all about" (195). They wouldn't understand "why did Daisy tease Winterbourne so?" (195) Specific students, such as Mr. Ghomi, had a "defensive and irritating" tone towards Daisy Miller. He stated that she is " obviously a bad girl' she is reactionary and decadent" (195).

These interpretations from the students were just merely from how they were raised and what society had brought upon them. Personally, my judgment wasn't as hashed as some of the students felt, but I did have a negative vibe. Growing up an Asian family, I was more prone to always respect your family, don't ever talk back, and reserve yourself to just one man. Even though I may not come off strongly about it, because I try to not let my judgments get to me by knowing someone.

I eventually at the end did understand that Daisy was actually a hero in the story. She was a type of Mimi, you can say, where she was innocent and felt that at least she was making herself happy, and living the life she wanted, and not live by the government or how society says she suppose to live and act like. They were leaders and not followers, and relative to Nafisi and her students, she could open new doors and views to the world.

It is natural that in reality, when something is different comes into place; it takes awhile to get used to. Whether it would be a new hairstyle, new look, new way to talk, new way to walk, or even new way to act, it needs to be adapted and accepted into society, and then people could view it into a more positive way. With Daisy at first, the students were bickering, especially after a student's view of what he felt. What students couldn't view was that she brought new ideas, ways of acting, and bringing the theory that we don't always have to follow what the society tells you. We need to make our own paths and regulate ourselves. Happiness is the key, even though sometimes it doesn't fit into the norm, It can benefit someone later.

Daisy Miller has the power to influence Nafisi and her students by teaching them to step out of their comfort zone and making themselves happy. The single story effect was brought by society as a negative aspect, and would only allow students to see it in a different bad way. Since it was banned from Iran, it already had a bad first impression. However, the story at the end, after some interpretations and analyzing it down, it had a deeper meaning. Single stories are should to be looked upon cautiously, because sometimes people would just easily judge a book by its cover.