Persepolis Connection Captain; Julianna Mello

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Persepolis has changed the way people think about childhood in many ways. Some may think that her childhood was sad and should be pitied, but others may think that they have to savor their childhoods. I remember that feeling of falling asleep with with my parents and magically teleporting and waking up in my own bed the nest morning. But, first of all what is childhood even? Is it the time you have as a child, is it the life you live as a child, or could it be what you learn as a child. I feel that the definition of that word changes as you get older. We all know how we all wanted to grow up be in control. Yet, as we get older the memories we most treasure are the ones we have as kids. Where it was normal to have absolutely no care in the world which is why most people think the childhood story in Persepolis is abnormal. As I still am young I understand the times where kids would want to feel grown up, but I also do understand the times that kids would want to be babied. In the story of Persepolis you can easily watch and experience these times with Marjane Satrapi near the start of the story especially. In the beginning of the story the protagonist wants to be treated as an adult and accompany her father to the protest. However, on the next page she already asks for he father to carry her to bed, which is something very common when you are young. No matter what definition you have of childhood I believe that all of them are all the same.

Question Commander – Juliana Vieira

Question Commander

Persepolis Introduction + pp. 3 - 62

Juliana Vieira


1- Why does the author choose to depict God as a character that visits her and that she talks to?
Since Satrapi choose to make this a very lighthearted book, she had to make some adaptations to the story. One of those is religion-wise. Religion is something that can immediately make something very deep and controversial. In order to avoid that, Marjane choose to make God a character that she talks to. This leaves it unclear for the reader whether she is showing us that she actually imagined God visiting her, or if she wants to just keep the subject lighthearted. In my opinion, it is the latter, for the whole purpose of this specific graphic novel is to turn a very controversial subject into a lighthearted one.

2- Does Marjane Satrapi narrate the story as it was, or are some details untold, exaggerated, or modified?
Since she is telling us the story of her life ever since she was ten, some details were forgotten, faded with time. She might have left out something important within the narration that may have affected the story. Adding on to that, some details may have been exaggerated. Children have a different way of seeing things than adults. Something that she may have remembered as enormous may just have been regular-sized, for example. She may also have had to modify some details in the story. Since she makes the book very shallow, she may have had to leave out some disturbing yet important details that would have been too deep.

3- How does Satrapi make such a controversial topic into a lighthearted story of her life?
The main way in which she does that is by telling the story in a child's point of view. A child's perspective will always be more innocent, lighthearted, and even humorous than an adult's. So far, she has narrated the story as a ten-year-old child. She shows only her thoughts and opinions. One may dig deeper and find the real meaning, but in the surface, it is only the story of a child's life. This reminds me of Maus, also a graphic novel that talks about a very controversial topic in a shallow manner. The way Art Spiegelman depicts the characters as animals - Nazi as cats, Jews as mice - is similar to the way that Marjane Satropi narrates the story from a child's point os view.

Maus

vs

Persepolis

Risk Taking Researcher

Risk Taking Researcher

Persepolis

Julianna Mello

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 Marjane Satrapi is a novelist born on November 22nd and is now 44 years old. Marjane was 38 when she wrote Persepolis. Persepolis is based on Marjane's childhood although, she made it clear in many interviews that it shouldn't be considered an autobiography as she felt she had put a fictional twist on the story. Marjane was born in Rasht grew up in Tehran, Iran in a middle-class family. She has been happily married to a man named Mattias Ripa after a divorce with Reza a veteran from the war. Marjane spent her teen/high school years in Vienna, sleeping at friends houses and was even homeless and slept on the streets for 2 months. She obtained a masters degree from Islamic Azad University in Tehran.  After the death of her uncle Marjane's life went very down hill she began to act out and get in trouble every chance she had. She would get in trouble with the police by doing things like buying music banned by the government. However, this all came to an end when Marjane wrote and published Persepolis. Now knowing the life Marjane Satrapi had growing up it makes me very exited to read more into her childhood.

Thomaz - Line Illuminator - Persepolis

" 'We will do our best. if God wills it, he'll be better. Everything depends on God.'

I need your authorization so he can get his passport!'

'If God wills it.' " (pg. 121)

This is a conversation between Marji's aunt and the director of the hospital, a former window washer. She is trying to get a passport for her husband, whom just recently had his 3rd heart attack and needs to go to England for proper treatment. I chose this quote because it shows how people were very fond of God, but I doubt he actually meant it because, I mean, how can he know it God wills it or not? He just apparently makes up excuses because he knows the country can't afford such transportation: he is trying to hide the truth from the people.

Part of pg. 121

"I couldn't just go. I turned around to see them one last time. It would have been better to just go." (pg. 153)

This is Marji while leaving Iran, with Austria as her destination, and she is in the airport. I chose this quote because I was confused as to what happened to Marji's mother. She appears to be unconscious and in her husband's arms. It doesn't seem as if she's dead because she didn't mention any gunshots or explosions and the people around her seemed normal, not bothered by that scene; however, the way she said it was very dramatic, just as if she had died or a tragedy had just happened, but it doesn't seem like it so I was confused.

pg. 153

Thomaz - Risk-Taking Researcher - Persepolis

Persepolis is an autobiography in which Marjane Satrapi outlines her experience during the Islamic Revolution. It has four volumes and the first one (the one this group read) was first published in 2000. It was originally printed in french, later getting translated into a couple of different languages, english being one of them, of course. The title of the book, Persepolis, refers to the capital of the Persian Empire.

The book is about young Marjane Satrapi's life during the war between Iran and Iraq, also known as the Islamic Revolution. She is very much interested in the topic and wants to know more about it; however, her parents are not willing to share the entire truth with their daughter, worrying she might become afraid and, possibly, traumatized by this experience. As Satrapi grew older, she became very much a rebel: she wore hipster clothes (which, in fact, were strictly prohibited), listened to rock music, talked back to teachers, skipped class, secretly smoked, etc. She got into trouble a couple of times because of this, like when she almost got arrested by the guardians of the revolution for wearing all her hipster clothes, but she, by a miracle, got away. The book mainly deals with Satrapi's rebelty to the new ways of life during the war and how a middle to high-class person lived during this Islamic revolution.

Satrapi back in French school

Satrapi secretly smoking

Satrapi getting caught by the guardians of the revolution

Guilhermo Gonzalez, Line Illuminator.

This role is to select two passages from the reading selection that you think are worthy of being read, shared, and possibly discussed with your readers. The Line Illuminator writes down the passages word for word in quotes, citing the page # from where the lines come from in parentheses at the end. You are free to pick whichever quotes you like, but they must have some sort of significance or importance. Pick lines you find insightful or lines that confuse you and throw you for a loop. Under each passage, in one concise paragraph per quote, you must explain the significance of the line and why you selected it.  Add and properly cite 2 images to complement your post.

"Everywhere in the streets there were demonstrations for and against the veil." (pg.5)

To begin with, the quote I choose today reflects a big problem the society now a days lives every single day. This has been a concern all around the world and especial the middle east. Many people consider this religious act a morality abuse. The veil reflects many problems we man and women live upon day after day which is persecution. Although this is a strong statement I interpret that the veil system hides the character, appearance and personality of a woman or girl. There are many agrees and disagrees in the fact of baning this so vigourous system. In matter a fact, I agree in the end forever of this system. “We are all equal in the fact that we are all different. We are all the same in the fact that we will never be the same. We are united by the reality that all colours and all cultures are distinct & individual. We are harmonious in the reality that we are all held to this earth by the same gravity. We don't share blood, but we share the air that keeps us alive." (unknown) I believe that in the world of today we should live under a principles of justice and especially unity. The world depends on the wonderful women spread around our globe,  women and men are essential to the continuation of the human species. We should respect each other. What the veil creates is a shield that hides their faces from the real world, it builds a world of shame in where men are more powerful than women.

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"The reason for my shame and for the revolution is the same: the difference between social classes." (pg.33)

Many people have died building what the world of today. There were many obstacles in their ways, however they had the courage and determination to keep on going. One of the  obstacles many people had to face was the difference between social classes. Early in our past, a man who was born poor would forever will remain poor and die poor. Let us take in consideration, the people who lived the early era of the feudalism in europe. A pleasant born in that time period would have to provide a service, labor, and goods to landlord according to arrangement and degree. They were required to work on fields, taking care of the livestock, and provide physical help on building projects. They worked several days per week on the different domains there lord assigned them. Yet, it did not matter how much work and determination a pleasant consitsed and exerted he would not jump up a social class. Which lead to create great boundaries of differences between social classes. Although we have lived a system of social class very strict we have know created a world of opportunities in which man can move up or down the social classes. Now a days it does matter the determination one man has since it will face his outcome in life, whether he will be a richer man or a poorer one.

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