Blog Post #2
Hey readers, Kennedy checking in again! It’s been too long, so much has happened in past two weeks. Our class finished the book Persepolis, we got to write an in class summary, and so much more. What I want to focus on though is the book Persepolis and how it changed my view on the way books are written and how authors may manipulate, or take advantage of the genre of their books to more effectively convey a message. Marjane Satrapi wrote Persepolis in the form of a comic book, which I was stoked about. The illustrations made it easier to not want to kill myself while reading, and she kept me engaged throughout the book. It was so neat to see how she was able to put so much emotion into her graphics and the more I thought about each picture the more meaning I uncovered.
The book itself was riveting, there were points when I couldn’t even put it down. It was the story of a young girl who was thrust into a dangerous and corrupt world. I got to hear her account of the Islamic revolution, and to see a first person perspective really opened my eyes to the type of cruelty and harshness that people in other parts of the world are subjected to. I come from a background where I never feared for my life, I didn’t think twice about what I was going to wear outside, and I never worried about my family being arrested. The world that Marji lived in is something that I had been sheltered from. The fact that Marji was a young adult, such as myself, and going through the same self discovery process that I have gone through and continue to go through made the book all that more relatable.
A lot of Marjane’s art work is very graphic, her depictions provide a “wow factor” that words alone have difficulty doing.
This is a depiction of what Marji imagines to be the execution of man, he is cut up into pieces. When I turned to page 52 this is the first thing I saw, and it honestly took me by surprise. While there is no blood, no gore, or anything like that, the picture is still a startling one. It speaks to the youth and imagination that Marji has, and shows the creativity of Marjane. This book was a really an eye opening experience for me not only in the sense that I was able to learn about the Iranian revolution through the eyes of a young girl, but I was also taught about how genres can be an effective method in communicating a message. I wish I had more time to talk to you guys, but I’ll be back! Thanks for reading, and until next time.
-Kennedy