When first exposed to “The Complete Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi, Marji’s way of thinking about the world around her is shown. She has a lot of ideas, and conviction within her that was brought about by the things she has witnessed. For example, in earlier chapters such as “The Veil”, the confusion about why they have to wear their veils is shown amongst all the kids around her. Marji can seemingly pick this apart and see it on a higher level of understanding compared to the others. Leading up to “The Letter”, Marjane and her mother were worried about whether her father was going to return from taking pictures at the protests. He had been taking much longer than usual, and was not home at their expected time. In this moment, it was sort of a wake up call to Marji. Fortunately, her father returned and was not harmed in any way. In “The Letter”, it was around that point that Marji began to be more aware of things that she hadn’t thought too much about. While reading more books, by an author such as Ali Ashraf Darvishian, she realized the work that others had to go through due to their social class. Such as kids cleaning windows at the age of 3. This was further reinforced with her relationship to Mehri, as she thought about how she had to take care of her from an age such as 10 years old. I believe that this is a very important chapter because it starts to bring the things that Marji was talking about closer to her. Ironically, as she became more aware of these things, she still ended up going to a protest with Mehri even though many others had lost their lives in this. It was a symbolic notion as it displayed Mehri and her being equals despite their social class, but also an allude to her outlandish behavior. In a way, it showcased the dangerousness of knowledge as well how it can impact one’s empathy.
Category: Coffeehouse #2 (Page 1 of 2)
In chapter twelve, “The F-14s,” the war was officially announced even though it started about a month ago. While Marjane was with her father at work, they hear bombing outside. Iraqi fighter jets bombed Tehran. This was the first time Marjane saw fighter jets. At the beginning of this chapter, Marjane has strong opinions on what should be done after the bombing. She expects her father to join the war, which he shows no interest in. There is a small rift between Marjane and her dad when it comes to retaliating for the bombing. She tries to make a point by saying Pardisse Entezami’s dad was a pilot and how he was going to bomb Baghdad. Mr. Satrapi shuts this down by informing Marjane that Entezami’s father was one of the first to be jailed. Marjane feels as if her father isn’t a real patriot because of how pessimistic he is of the situation. They start to bond again after hearing of the 140 Iranian bombers who attacked Baghdad. This came at the cost of many jailed pilots. After Marjane finds out that Pardisse’s father was one of the fallen soldiers, she tries to comfort her. Marjane however, has a different outlook on the loss of Pardisse’s father. She sees Mr. Entezami as a hero, but Pardisse would rather her father be alive and in jail. Throughout the chapter, Marjane is eager to fight back without the realization of how much she could lose in the process. She seems to come to this realization after finding out how many pilots died and how it affected Pardisse at the end of the chapter.
So far, My favorite chapter of “The complete Persepolis” is F-14. In this chapter the main character Marji, is seeing how the war is viewed by different people. Marji believes that her dad isn’t patriotic enough at one point throughout the chapter due to his low optimism about Marji’s ideas. You can tell from reading the rest of the chapters that Marji is passionate about her country and you can see it even further in this chapter when she’s asked to present a paper at school. But what I love the most about this chapter is the interaction between Marji and her friend Paradise at the end. Marji tells Paradise her dad was a hero and Paradise simply responds that she wishes he was alive instead of a hero. You can see in the drawing her facial expression changes, as if she’s almost surprised her friend would say something like that. This is due to the fact that not everyone shares the same ideas as Marji about the war. While Marji is passionate about the war, others in her life are less ecstatic about it. These two interactions are what makes F-14 my favorite chapter so far. Another reason why F-14 was so interesting to me is when the Iranian National Anthem started to play. The emotions depicted in the Illustration stood out to me because they represented the emotion of hope. When Marji’s family heard the Anthem once again after it was banned, they began to feel hope for their country once again.
Throughout “The Complete Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi, there are many great chapters, but the one that brought my attention the most as of this moment is the chapter called “The Letter.” This chapter, showed me, as the reader, major character development in Marji, from being an innocent child to someone aware of the conflicts that are happening in the society she is currently living by almost experiencing death. While also making a connection to the other previous chapters, in “The Water Cell,” it shows how her innocent mind is filled with stuff that is not true from her “teacher and god” and later explained by her parents the actual true story. This shows how at a young age she is still absorbing the knowledge that is placed on her from her parents and society, making her more curious in searching for the truth. However, in “The Letter,” Marji experienced the pain, sadness, and danger society has for people who weren’t in the same social class. While reading this chapter, it made me feel sad and lonely, as if I were to connect with Mehri because I knew someone who also had gone through this and it touched my heart seeing Merji being supportive and helpful no matter what social class Mehri was in. Also, another reason why “The Letter” is my favorite chapter so far, is the shocking moment that Mehri and Marji almost faced. Even as they decided to join the protest, they came back home safely, not knowing the danger they almost faced. On the other side, other people who were there did suffer deadly consequences, which was death. This event was known as “Black Friday.” Seeing the face Marji had when being punished by her parents shows how her character is now developing during these challenging times.
After reading “The Complete Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi, I came to a realization of one of my favorite chapters from the beginning of the comic and it has to be “The Bicycle”. The reason behind it that being my favorite chapter is because of the meaning and context behind it. Marjane describes what it means for a revolution to occur and what happens if the wheels stop. What happens if the cyclist stops pedaling? It falls. For a revolution to succeed, you’ll need individuals on the bike constantly pedaling to keep the bike moving. Without movement, you’re stagnant. No matter what is thrown your way, everyone on the bike must continue pedaling in order to win. You begin to understand Marjane’s faith and how she became the way she is. In the chapter, you also hear the conversation between her mother and father. They’re talking about the unforeseeable events that occurred in a cinema. How it was all part of a scheme to allow four hundred lives to either be injured or lost. Marjane overhears the conversation and is willing to join her parents to help fight this revolution. Her parents explain the dangers of doing this and brushes off her question. This is another reason why I enjoyed this chapter because it shows how much of a child Marjane is. She believes that this is all a game and doesn’t understand it’s true horrors. On how much she believes that she can help the cause but doesn’t understand the consequences of doing so. Marjane wants success and she strongly feels that she’ll bring change at her age. To then conclude the chapter with her wondering where God is at so she can perhaps vent her anger on why she isn’t allowed to revolt.
My favorite chapter in Persepolis was the end of “The Party” because the mom taught Marji a valuable lesson. Marji was going to beat up Ramin with nails for the actions of his father but her mom stopped her and asked her how would she like to have her ears nailed to the wall, and said that even though Ramins dad killed people and Ramin himself believed it was the right thing to do she should forgive him because he’s too young to understand, which shows that even though they are going through all this trauma, and people turning on each other Marji parents are still trying to teach her to forgive those who have done wrong even if they go against what you believe. Another one of my favorite chapters was “The Jewels” because it remined me of the pandemic when everyone was stocking up on supplies and how they were fighting over toilet paper just like the ladies in the market were fighting over the last item. I also found it funny how Marji mom criticized the women in the market for taking more than what they needed and then suggested going to another store to buy more things just in case. She was being a hypocrite and even Marji was confused.
Reading “The Complete Perespolis” I have two favorite chapters so far which are The Veil and The Sheep. The Veil chapter was a great way to start off the story it shows how the main character Marji’s life dramatically changes when the Islamic revolution takes place and the divided view on the veil and if its a sign of oppression or not. I like how the main character is very spiritual and determined to make a change in not only her and her family’s life but other people’s lives as well, and that is why she wants to become a prophet and that was her destiny. As the story progresses and war breaks out my other favorite chapter is The F-14s because of how chaotic it got, and it shows how living in a war-torn country destroys innocent people’s lives. For example, in the chapter when Marji is at her dad’s office at work and fighter jets flew by to attack was a surreal moment, Marji was angry, and her father rushed home to check on Marji’s wife. That was a sort of edge on my seat moment, I was eager to see if the mother way okay or not. Also, another reason why this was one of my favorite chapters was because of how I could relate to how war can destroy people’s lives. I’m from Yemen and my family that live in Yemen are terrified because of the civil war that is happening there and I’m sure that they can relate to Marji and her father when they heard the explosion from the jet attacks.
My favorite chapters from the book Persepolis would have to be Moscow and The Sheep. These chapters went in-depth on the difficulties of how the Islamic people were forced to not speak out their truths nor personal opinions on the Islamic revolution. Throughout these chapters, we meet the narrator’s uncle from her fathers’ side and how he was the first hero she had met within her own family. Marjane saw her uncle as a hero at the time mainly because he went to prison (signified that he was a part of the revolution); he was the secretary for his uncle Fereydoon, who proclaimed the independence of the Iranian province– not so long after Marjane’s uncle is working for Fereydoon he is soon arrested from the Iranian police which sadly leads to Marjane’s Uncle having to escape Iran and become a refugee on the run. Marjane’s uncle moves to Moscow to escape his awaiting prison time and tries to live out a normal life, he even marries and has two children– not so long after he divorces his ex-wife and is suddenly feeling homesick he, therefore, tries to go back to Iran and sadly gets recognized and arrested right away. As a reader, after hearing his story and knowing that Marjane’s uncle has finally been released from prison which is why he is even able to talk about this to his niece made me feel some kind of relief for him– at least he is still alive– but I was very mistaken to have quickly assumed that. Transitioning to the next chapter, The Sheep; this chapter was my favorite because it talked about the saddening realization of what would soon become apparent to me; not every story has a happy ending. With the continuation of the Iranian government wanting to silence any views that differed from their rules– we start seeing many people within Marjane’s life trying to flee from Iran. Not only do we see people trying to flee but we also are quickly informed that Marjane’s Uncle has been arrested and has been put up for execution. We are even given a saddening moment where he asked for Marjane to be his last visitor; it’s a very emotional encounter where they embrace each other. Her uncle tells her that she’s the daughter that he wished he had and that he still has hopes for a better future despite the conditions he’s under. Not only was this chapter very disappointing and saddening for me since we see someone who truly did no harm nor was a threat to society get executed for having differing opinions from higher authorities, but it also went to show how truly devastating of a time it was to be a citizen in Iran: losing loved ones and being forced to follow certain ideologies that some people might just not agree with. It was very much an eye-opener especially since we live in America, a country that is very open with freedom of speech and expression.
Although I do not read many comics, I found myself enjoying this one. In particular, My favorite chapter was definitely “The Letter”. Reason for my choice was ,because I found myself realizing that education seems a central theme in the book. You could even make a conclusion that education, or lack thereof, is the culprit of all the suffering and degression that took place during and after the Islamic revolution. For example, in the beginning chapter 5, “The Letter”, we learn from Marji that her maid, Mehri, fell in love with her neighbor’s son. Although she confesses to loving him, her low social status prevents her from ever being with him. This chapter highlights to Marji from her personal experience and readings of poor children, that she is different from other people economically.
In fact, there is this message across the entire book of how education is stigmatized in Iran. We see this in the divide between female and male students, where females have to wear veils to cover their hair. We see this in the abrupt switch from secular education to that of a religious one, where old books are burned. We see this in the way the Shah uses religion to remain in power. Even to the point where educated citizens, those with a secular education, are seen as a direct threat to the Shah order.
I see “The Letter ” as a pivotal chapter in Marji’s life where she realizes that her self-education is what’s giving her a sense of independence and freedom. She see’s all the problems Islam is facing, because as others immerse in religion and are blinded, she see’s everything holistically by immersing herself in different points of views and teachings.
I found the story of “The Complete Persepolis” unique and interesting. I didn’t expect the whole story to be a comic book, however I really liked that twist. I’ve never been really into comics, but I really liked this one. After analyzing several stories, I concluded that with comics it becomes easier and more fun to read and stay entertained. I’m a visual learner so I enjoyed all the pictures. It made me have a better idea of how things were happening and where they were taking place. Furthermore, my favorite story was “The F.14s.” This was my favorite story because somehow, I made a connection with the war that was happening in the story, and the one that is happening right now between Ukraine and Russia. At the beginning of the story their fear was being portrayed and that reminded me of the fear we all have with the current situation that is happening right now. Another thing that really caught my attention was the end of the story. When the little girl says, “I wish that he were alive and in jail rather than dead and a hero.” This line really touched my heart because it made me think about all the lives that have been lost at war and all the lives that have been taken in this current conflict . In conclusion, this story made me see things from a different perspective and have more respect for those who have lost family members at war and those who have current families in it.
