Literary Analysis- Marina Dissinger

Marina Dissinger,
Humanities, Block 3.8,
Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi


Is the book’s structure chronological or does it move back and forth between past and present?  Does the author use a single (first or third person) viewpoint or shifting points of view?  Why might the author have chosen to tell the story this way and how does it influence the reader’s understanding?

Source

Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, is a novel that is not chronological. The story moves back and forth from the present and past. Firstly, this is one of the most contrasting books I have ever read, as it is written as an autobiography (this means that the author is telling the story of their lives). Because of that, the book's structure is very distinct. In my opinion, the book has three dimensions. Firstly, Marjane tells the story about her life; because of this, the book is already not chronological. Additionally, in the story, when she is little, she asks her mother, or father, or grandmother to tell her stories about the past. This adds to be also not chronological because the novel goes back and forth from the stories told by her relatives. Also, in the book, there are some flashback of history, telling and explaining about what happened. Because of this, the book has one more chronological dimension. In conclusion, this is why the book isn't chronological at all. It has three dimensions.

Source

          The author uses only one single viewpoint, her own. This is because the novel is written as an auto- biography. So, she tells the story of her life with only her opinion, and her experience overall. I think the author chose to make the book this way so that the reader gets the full idea that this is her story, and that she tells everything that happens there. This could affect the reader's understanding by BIAS. So, the reader wouldn't understand the topic very well because it is from the viewpoint from one single person, not many people.