Research on Iranian literature of diaspora, replete with sociopolitical aspects of the texts, has rarely explored humor in the process of identity formation. Two memoirs, Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2003-2005) and Firoozeh Jazayeri Dumas’ Funny in Farsi (2003) play a crucial role in the list of Iranian contemporary literature of diaspora. The problems of a coming-of-age immigrant in Europe and the United States are portrayed in the comical and/ or sarcastic incidents Marjane and Firoozeh experience. For Marjane, the experience is cultural, varying from dress code to gender performance. On the other hand, in Firoozeh’s case, her parents’ version of Farsi English is drastically different from American English. Their attempt to mimic English language leads to ineligible English and mockery thus creating a new definition of Iranian identity. This paper aims to analyze the serious aspects of the postcolonial “funniness” benefiting from ideas of Judith Butler’s “performative identity” and Homi Bhabha’s “hybrid identity” and “stereotype”. Laughter is not a postcolonial marker inherent in the text; it is considered as a self-conscious device in the development of Marjane’s and Firoozeh’s identity. Their memories travel through the bodies and borderlines of Iran and the West. By refusing to represent the finality and coherence of particular events, by integrating the light with the dark sides of humor, these texts challenge and interrogate the political life of their Middle Eastern narrators/ writers.

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