Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi - Essay Example

Persepolis: A Reaction AS YOU READ THE NOVEL HOW DID YOU REACT AND RELATE TO THE OPRESSIVE AND WAR-LIKE LIFE IN IRAN HOW WERE YOUR VALUES CHANGED OR SUPPORTED WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT WAR AND OPRESSION THROUGH THIS NOVEL PLEASE CONNECT TO THE SPECIIC EVENTS AND IMAGES THAT ARE STRONGLY AFFECT YOU. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a graphic novel depicting the author's own autobiographical narrative. The author discusses her childhood in Iran as she grew up during the 1979 Iranian Revolution. During this revolution, the government was overthrown. After this, theocracy came into being in Iran, and a war started with Iraq. Satrapi's focus is on her life from when she was eight to fourteen, covering this time period with the historical concepts in the background. She begins with a powerful idea; a school photo, and this photograph demonstrates many young girls in their veils. These girls would usually remove these holy veils to play on play breaks (Book Review). The author is finally able to leave the mess of the war, with her parents seeing her off at an airport, so that she can head to the safety of a school in Austria. However, the war did affect her for the rest of her life, and through adulthood we see the scars that are attributed to this experience. From the beginning to the end of her experience in Iran, the author's young life is veiled with the feelings of the oppressive, war-like life in Iran. (Book Review). It becomes quite apparent that like her own parents, many of the young children of this time were encouraged to leave the country in order to find safety. The country was in such an upheaval that even young, promising children of the next generation were not safe. Therefore, this had a profound effect on the author's life, and this effect would change her life forever. Growing up with a war at her doorstep, the author had to consider on a day to day basis how to survive, and had to also worry about her parents' survival. The emotional descriptions present in the book leave readers with a very strong sense of emotion in themselves. For example, I was quite affected by the knowledge that such a young child had to quickly grow up in order to understand the issues around her. Many of the terrible things Satrapi witnessed should never have to be witnessed by a young child. As a reader, I experienced a strong sense of a lost innocence, destroyed because of a war that the child did not necessarily understand. This certainly makes me, as a reader, feel sympathy and sadness toward the author, and this feeling continues for the narrator throughout the novel. The emotions are continually conjured up in the readers as the novel progresses. The book is presented in a very simple way, as small details are introduced to reflect on powerful concepts of emotion in the novel. By doing this, Satrapi shows how much the little things can matter, and how the slightest action can demonstrate a type of emotion (Book Review). The emotions present in all the characters, as they are all affected by the war going on in the background, is very obvious throughout the book. However, it takes some skill to be able to learn to read these small, simple, signs; as for many of us in secure western countries, we do not always see this kind of response in the individuals that surround us. Satrapi herself, as a young child during this time, often depicts the emotions of astonishment and confusion. She is chronically bewildered at having to wear a veil at only ten years old. She also becomes confused upon seeing the picture with her Uncle's former wife's head defamed (Book Review). She is further confused by the notions of justice and God (Book Review). Because the war was going on for so long in the background of her life, it must have seemed to her that God was unjust, and this would have greatly confused a young girl. She has to deal with the change all around her demonstrated in politics, and it was noticeably difficult for a young girl to understand the reasons and necessities for this type of turmoil. As a child, she begins to understand that one needs to suffer in order to comprehend the full meaning of what was going on: In life, you'll meet a lot of jerks. If they hurt you, tell yourself that it's because they're stupid. That will help keep you from reacting to their cruelty. Because there is nothing worse than bitterness and vengeance . . . always keep your dignity and be true to yourself. She also has to deal with the way both adults and children act and respond to the concepts of the war. She obviously wants those close to her to be heroes and to do the right thing; but at the same time, she doesn't have a full understanding of what it would mean to be a hero in this context(Book Review). This confusion stems from her youth, obviously, but also from the varying cues she is presented around her at all times, because of the overall confusion of the war. There is even more confusion present in her childhood as she strives to understand the government's censorship issues. As a reader, I felt a lot of pity for the narrator because of these issues. Since I have no experiences with my life that are even close to being similar, all I can feel is pity for this experience. I can only imagine how difficult the entire scene must have been for this child, and how, having to endure this for so many years, it must have affected her view of the world. It seems that somebody who had been so affected by such a bloody war for so long would probably be more ambivalent about items as he or she grows up, and this certainly happens in this case. Because what was going on in Iran was so horrible and difficult for a child to understand, it would completely change her universe forever. While readers like myself do experience a lot of pity for the author, there are still some other items to consider when reading this book. Satrapi, however, is at least given choices and options. This was not true for many people living in Iran during this time. She comes form a more well to do family, so this has given her more capabilities to escape than other people might possess(Book Review). This does not mean that she did not suffer as a child; she most certainly did. She did, for instance, suffer the loss of friends and family to the struggles going on in Iran at the time. Also, she does have to leave her family at a very young age, another thing that must have been frightening for such a young girl. However, she did have the money and the opportunity to escape and this, in itself reflects on her status. Not many people had this option in Iran. Therefore, it can be assumed that things were probably even worse for the majority of the people, and this is a frightening thing to imagine when dealing with this very tragic war. Regardless, while she did have opportunity to leave, she was obviously always affected and scarred by the war. Again, these reflections do cause a deep sympathy in the reader as a response. However, there is a slight feeling of hope for the narrator because she does have a way out, and this makes her much luckier in comparison to some of the other people suffering from the war. However, this also creates additional feelings in the reader. The reader begins to wonder about those people who come from the poorer classes, which are the majority of the people in Iran. What was their end How much did they suffer Overall, a great deal of pity is enacted in readers of this story because of the horrible situations. I, myself, continued to feel this pity not only for the narrator, because she is a child and this very fact tugs at the heart a bit, but also because of the knowledge that there were many other people in Iran with a lack of money or income in order to escape from this situation, and they must have therefore suffered a far worse fate. Another fact that affects any reader approaching this book is the historical context of the book itself. Knowing that this actually happened and took place in history conjures up some very sympathetic feelings. As a result of the emotions triggered in the reader and the very history of the book itself, it has drawn comparisons to other novels with similar concepts. nThis book has often been compared to a work called Maus, written by Art Speigelman(Book Review). Speigelman's book is actually about the Holocaust viewed through his own father's interaction with it(Book Review). However, Satrapi, on the other hand, is actually coming of age and maturing in her novel, in the background of the revolutions(Book Review). This child, we observe, is forced to grow up quickly and to realize and understand things that many young children do not have to deal with. This forced her to make more adult decisions and have more adult considerations, which can be very difficult for a young child mixed up with the war. Furthermore, the implications of losing friends and family was also very difficult for a child to understand. Loss was a very big part of the war, and a frightening aspect for a young child. Therefore, the confusion and fright is apparent throughout the book in the author's eyes. Satrapi changes drastically in the novel mainly because she is forced to change. She progresses from a type of happy middle class blindness into righteous indignation, and finally to an adult ambivalence. At the end of the book, it seems as if her personality has come full circle and adapted to the issues at hand. The terrible things that the war has brought into her life have become such an everyday part of her life that she is no longer deeply shocked or affected by what the war brings. Knowing that this affected the child in such a profound way creates even more sympathy in the reader. By watching her grow up with this horrible war in the background, I could only pity her, because I knew that she underwent many things in her life that no child should have to deal with. Her innocence was destroyed and she also did lose a sense of faith in the world. One could only imagine this type of thing happening to one so young. It must have been devastating and must have destroyed her positive view of the world. As a reader, I can imagine how difficult this must have been for her. However, there is a feeling of hope toward the end of the novel when the narrator does actually find the opportunity to escape. Still, there is a great deal of sympathy felt in the reader as she does leave for Austria, because this young child is forced to part from her family. She could only therefore worry about what would happen to them, and she would have to realize that she would no longer be able to help them in a far away country. Inevitably, however, the author begins to miss her home country. She decides to return to Iran after she completes her graduation. Even though she suffered through most of her life in Iran, she still wanted to go back to start her own life. She has a difficult homecoming, and she has to face the evolution that has occurred in her country, and the growing up that she, herself, has experienced. She views her experience in Austria as a failure and this creates much negativity in her character. Her past deeply affects her during this time period, and she is continuously haunted by events that took place previously. As Satrapi moves into adulthood and marries, finishing her school and becoming an adult, we see her progress as a woman through her relationships with her friends and family. It is quite clear that, even as an adult, she is highly affected by the scars and the memory of the war. They seem to have created a structured ambivalence in her adult personality, simply because she saw so much terror as a child. Whether or not this is a healthy aspect can be up for some consideration. However, I can understand how she developed this attitude into adulthood. It is certainly a survival technique resulting from her own bad experiences in childhood. As a reader, I can certainly see how this would have helped her become an adult and sustain her life in a more positive way. I also feel and understand how and why these issues would have affected her through her adulthood. The war was a very dramatic thing to live through, and it caused her a lot of pain and suffering. It gave her, as an adult, a solid respect for friendship and love. Since she had lost friends and family members in the war, as an adult, she shows a clear feeling of respect for the deep relationships she is able to develop. These relationships have a profound impact on her as an adult, allowing her to find the stability and happiness that was lacking in her world as a child. She therefore is able to produce a happy ending, as her life progresses and she reaches out to others. It can be said that she lived a fairly "normal" existence after she left school. This creates a feeling of hope in me as a reader, because it helps me to see that even though there was a horrible war that this person had to live through, in the end, she was able to overcome it. Thus, the author becomes a sort of model for women all over the world. While many women and many individuals cannot relate to the struggle that she experienced, it can still be said that there is a deep level of understanding and reaction that the reader experiences because the emotions the author presents are timeless and universal. Through the varied emotions, such as confusion, fear, terror, and happiness, the reader is able to understand exactly how the narrator felt, and what the narrator had to go through in order to successfully reach her adulthood and therefore come of age in the novel. Satrapi does bring a very new perspective to the Iranian struggle. She allows us to see this historical time through the eyes of a young child. This allows us to start out with her, experiencing a feeling of innocence, and understanding how the transition to adulthood with the war in the background would affect her personality forever. There can be no more innocence in a child when so caught up in the war. As mentioned previously, this movement also caused the author to grow up rather quickly and adapt to an adult world, because she struggled to understand the issues that were present in the war. Furthermore, through the agonizing losses she was forced to experience, she realized very quickly that she would have to grow up in order to develop the resources to deal with the issues going on all around her. However, even though Satrapi has provided us with a very detailed account, she does not present a full picture. We don't see, for example, how the poorer classes dealt with this issue, and they were the majority during that time. It would have been nice to see a more detailed analysis with a wider perspective, in order to understand how issues were handled throughout the population. Therefore, when analyzing this novel, it is apparent that there is a lot of emotion and terror expressed in the story. It is a very emotional read for most readers. I, myself, experienced a good deal of emotion and pity when analyzing the novel and reading it from an outside perspective. Since I have no concepts in my own life to compare this type of experience with, I cannot empathize with the narrator, but I can imagine how terrible these types of experiences must have been for a child. No child should have to undergo the type of terror and stress experienced by the narrator. It obviously changed her outlook on life and her faith in the world in a very different way. She will always look at the world with a different perspective than those of us who have not gone through a similar situation, simply because perspectives are often formed by environment. However, it is comforting to know that the narrator did become a successful adult, although she came of age during a very difficult time period of history. She does seem to have been scarred in adulthood with a type of ambivalence that most people do not suffer from. This is probably a result of a defensive strategy she used to cope with the terrors of the war. If she was able to get the point where very little would shock or upset her, she would not have to deal with painful emotions. I can relate to this feeling as a reader because many individuals react to painful issues like this, and therefore the narrator presents another timeless, universal emotion that readers can relate to. The book is a very good demonstration of the type of strength it does take in order to overcome such a situation, and to live through a very confusing part of the world's history. Furthermore, the author presents her concepts with a very modern perspective, and this also allows modern readers to relate well to her story. The progression of the story overall is also a very important factor when readers analyze the book. The fact that the book demonstrates the development of the narrator's life through adulthood allows readers to see how the war impacted her as an adult. However, there was some very good reactions that did come out of this experience for the narrator, as she was able to gain a profound respect for the experiences of happiness and friendship. She has, perhaps, a better understanding of these issues than most people, simply because she lived through a horrible war. Therefore, readers need to look on the author with the respect and reverence she deserves, and the author is certainly able to evoke this feeling of respect in her readers. Works Cited Book Review: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. 22 June 2009. http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-persepolis-by-marjane-satrapi/page-2/ Read More