For the past week in our ASTU class, we have been reading on ‘Persepolis’ by Marjane Satrapi. We learned that this graphic narrative is not your ordinary comic book you pick out from the stores. As a class, we discovered a deeper meaning and explored the ideologies in this book. This week, most of our classmates decided to blog about ‘Persepolis’ and have expressed their own point of view. Some of our classmates focused on the graphic narrative but some others explored the meaning of wearing a veil, others compared themselves and relate their childhood to Marji’s.

It is interesting to see how memoir is represented as a comic book. As a comic reader, we tend to believe that comics are light-hearted and for a young generation. However, ‘Persepolis’ is not only a comic book to read but also informs others about the history of Iran. The graphic genre presents itself with short and brief sentences, pointed out by Melody, which are very straightforward and provided a cliff-hanging emotion. We do not know what is going to happen next and we are on the edge of our seats. We could also consider that the short blunt sentences is due to the fact Marji is a child. Children are commonly brutally honest and consider only their point of view.

The veil in ‘Persepolis’ is an important symbol for Marji. As a little girl, after the revolution, she did not have any choice to wear a headscarf and she despised wearing it. The veil does create a form of identity for yourself but also forms another identity from the observer side. Interestingly, Amanda explored the motivation behind wearing a veil. The article that she read, presents the veil as a religious symbol as they feel excluded in our society. Perhaps the ladies that wear the veil as a shield from society.

At times, war is a difficult subject to approach. There are so many angles to look at war and perspectives to explain a war. But in any situation, the person who lives through war has the hardest life. They must see a lot of violent events but try to continue to live their lives.  Most of us in the class would not be able to relate to Marji’s experience. But we all had life changing moments such as starting university. We decided for a change and we adapted to the new environment. Nonetheless, we cannot imagine Marji’s violent and oppressed life. As Daniela compares herself to Marji’s childhood, she believes that her survival instincts would kick in. After all, it would be hard to imagine it if we never lived through it. Marji’s story shows us that we can live our daily lives even with war by her side. It’s important to represent living a more positive life in a war zone.

I find it fascinating how everyone feels affected by reading ‘Persepolis’ either on an emotional level or even on a visual level. The simple graphic novel has conveyed numerous messages and we all received and reflected on them.

Amanda Baker : https://blogs.ubc.ca/amandasblog/

Daniela Reis Harary :https://blogs.ubc.ca/danielaastu/

Melody Yu :https://blogs.ubc.ca/melosastu100blog/