Marji raises her hand and says with a stern glare, "With this first cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye" (117). Although the reader would feel that Marji has already lost her childhood, Marjane Satrapi chose to place it in an ironic part of the book. We still feel a sense of sadness for the character Marji when she states her personal loss. What makes one loose their innocence? Can it be exposure to horrific events, a realization of the world around you, or can it be as simple as smoking a cigarette? One fact can be for certain however, Marji lost her innocence way before her first puff of the cigarette.
Marji tries to make sense of the revolution from the beginning. Being a ten-year-old girl, understanding the world around you does not come right away. She doesn't start becoming interested in the truth until after she couldn't make sense of things anymore, "Cadaver, cancer, death, murderer, laughter?" (32). Marji begins her first true loss of innocence with one realization, "I realized then that I didn't know anything. I read all the books that i could" (32). Marji exposes herself to the hardships of her history, country, and its people. "My favorite author was Ali Ashraf Darvishian... He told sad but true stories" (33). Marji beings to understand the laws of social classes in her country and becomes emotionally affected by it, "But is it her fault that she was born where she was born???" (37).
After Marji gains some insight on the struggles of her country she is educated even further on their government. Marji intently listens as her parents' Friend Moshen exposes Marji to the cruel punishments he faced in prison. "My parents were so shocked... that they forgot to spare me this experience..." (51). After Marji hears Moshen's story a small part of her innocence is lost from being exposed to such surreal events. "I never imagined that you could use that appliance for torture" (51), Marji says with a scared look on her face. The happy-go-lucky mentality of a child is no longer present in Marji. She has lost a part of her innocence by not knowing the horrors of the world.
As Marji continues to grow up she naturally beings to come to realizations about herself and her country. As she enters her last years of childhood and beings to make the transition into adolescence, she enters into a rebellious phase. With her courage to stand up to authority and speak what she believes in her last bit of childlike conformity escapes her, "You say that we don't have political prisoners any More...How dare you lie to us like that?" (144). Marji goes from being an uninformed child to an educated young adult with a thirst for justice.
Throughout the course of the Islamic revolution, Satrapi tells the story of her childhood. Although her childhood experiences are unlike my own i still find her experiences to be somewhat relate able. As you grow older and out of childhood, you remember the experiences that got you there; the milestones to adulthood. Satrapi's novel is a story about her loss of innocence and the absence of a normal childhood.
Monday
A Different World: A Reader Response to Persepolis
"With this first cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye,"(117) Marji states as she raises the lit cigarette in her hand. Persepolis, written by Marjane Satrapi is the story of her unforgettable childhood, and the history of her country, Iran. Satrapi's memoir shows her family's struggles as well as the people in her country.
As a reader, I have an incredible cultural distance to the characters in Persepolis. I found this book difficult to read because I could not understand where the characters were coming from. I have been blessed with luck for growing up in a Democracy where peoples' ideas are used and embraced. I am not too familiar with the conflicts that have gone on between the Iraqis and the Iranians for many years. With that being said, it became more of a history lesson rather than a close cultural look at Marji's story.
In addition, this had been my first experience reading a graphic novel. I thought that the book was a quick read but I know it was because I didn't spend nearly enough time studying the pictures as I did the text. I have become so accustomed to reading and studying the text rather than pictures so it was difficult to do both. I ended up going back to the beginning of the book and taking a closer look at all of the pictures. I enjoyed Satrapi's use of black and white in her drawings. The sharp contrast added drama and intensity to her drawings.
Not only did I enjoy the pictures, I also enjoyed the characters. Marji captured the mentality of a ten-year-old with perfection. Through her early teenage years, Marji developed into a determined revolutionary, much like her mother. Marji's parents were strict, yet they demonstrated liberalism in the revolution. I felt that one scene in particular skewed my image of her parents. I did not understand why Marji's parents would chose to endanger their lives and their child's life by secretly making alcohol in their basement. To me, it seemed out of character and I'm not sure why Satrapi would include this particular incident. The characters introduced within the plot intrigued me. Anoosh was one of my favorite characters in the story. I became just as interested in his life as Marji did when he told her his life stories, and I was crushed to read that he had been executed.
The story of Persepolis offered an interesting perspective of the conflicts going on in Iran. It opened my eyes to many issues such as social class, religion, religion, and government influences. One would usually read about events like this in a history book written from the American perspective. The way that Marji told her story made me feel shocked and annoyed with myself. How did I not know that something like this happened? I didn't realize how lucky I am to have the life I have. "Don't forget who you are and where you come from,"(152) Marji's father tells her before she boards her plane. The story of Persepolis left me emotional in my seat and really opened my eyes to the hardships of different cultures.
As a reader, I have an incredible cultural distance to the characters in Persepolis. I found this book difficult to read because I could not understand where the characters were coming from. I have been blessed with luck for growing up in a Democracy where peoples' ideas are used and embraced. I am not too familiar with the conflicts that have gone on between the Iraqis and the Iranians for many years. With that being said, it became more of a history lesson rather than a close cultural look at Marji's story.
In addition, this had been my first experience reading a graphic novel. I thought that the book was a quick read but I know it was because I didn't spend nearly enough time studying the pictures as I did the text. I have become so accustomed to reading and studying the text rather than pictures so it was difficult to do both. I ended up going back to the beginning of the book and taking a closer look at all of the pictures. I enjoyed Satrapi's use of black and white in her drawings. The sharp contrast added drama and intensity to her drawings.
Not only did I enjoy the pictures, I also enjoyed the characters. Marji captured the mentality of a ten-year-old with perfection. Through her early teenage years, Marji developed into a determined revolutionary, much like her mother. Marji's parents were strict, yet they demonstrated liberalism in the revolution. I felt that one scene in particular skewed my image of her parents. I did not understand why Marji's parents would chose to endanger their lives and their child's life by secretly making alcohol in their basement. To me, it seemed out of character and I'm not sure why Satrapi would include this particular incident. The characters introduced within the plot intrigued me. Anoosh was one of my favorite characters in the story. I became just as interested in his life as Marji did when he told her his life stories, and I was crushed to read that he had been executed.
The story of Persepolis offered an interesting perspective of the conflicts going on in Iran. It opened my eyes to many issues such as social class, religion, religion, and government influences. One would usually read about events like this in a history book written from the American perspective. The way that Marji told her story made me feel shocked and annoyed with myself. How did I not know that something like this happened? I didn't realize how lucky I am to have the life I have. "Don't forget who you are and where you come from,"(152) Marji's father tells her before she boards her plane. The story of Persepolis left me emotional in my seat and really opened my eyes to the hardships of different cultures.
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