Hi there! Another week of school has flown by and I’m excited to once again share some insights about what interests me in our learning topics!
This week we were analyzing the graphic memoir ‘Persepolis’ by Marjane Satrapi. The book is absolutely intriguing and I’ve really enjoyed reading it. What I find particularly interesting about Persepolis is that there really isn’t a clear plot or theme. Earlier today a classmate of mine named Kendall approached me to look at my copy as I had ‘The Complete Persepolis’ unlike ‘Part 1’ which she had. We both briefly talked about how we were confused about the abrupt ending and how there really was no clear theme or message.
This really made me think about the effectiveness of the storytelling. In the past I’ve read multiple memoirs however I will compare the storytelling with a more widely known memoir, “The Glass Castle” by Jeanette Walls.
Walls writes her memoir whereas Satrapi chooses to share her story using a graphic ‘comic’ style. I think it’s interesting that Satrapi shares her story using comics as when I think of comics I generally think of a light-hearted story about a super hero or a story that is comical. Although it is true to some extent that Satrapi encompasses humour in various parts of her memoir, it isn’t the goal of her memoir.
When I compare Walls and Satrapi, both authors are amazing story tellers who can convey their messages however I find that Satrapi’s distinctive choice to use a comic is what makes her story so much more effective. I still strongly remember Satrapi’s passionate dislike of the veil because of the graphics she used to portray her dislike – her friends playing, fooling around with their veils rather than wearing it on their heads (p.3). Additionally, Satrapi uses captivating images to contrast different members of society such as the comparison of fundamental/progressive citizens of Iran (p.75). Her graphics, I think is brilliant and excellent to aid in the remembering of the readers.
In addition to the ‘genre’ of the memoir, it really amazes me how there really is no clear plot in Persepolis. Walls’ style really chronologically structured her memoir and as a reader, I feel that it was effective as I was able to associate the various adversities she went through with different stages of her life. Satrapi however shares her story in a rather smaller timeframe using the Iranian Revolution as a ‘plot line’ (although it never shows it ending). It’s almost as if though I can remember her feelings towards certain events but I can’t remember the event in itself. For example, I can only remember the intensity of Islamic Fundamentalism increasing because I remember Satrapi becoming more rebellious however, I can’t associate it within any timeframe during the revolution. In that regard I feel that her storytelling methods could be improved upon, however, I don’t think it was Satrapi’s goal to educate us about the details of the Iranian Revolution but rather share her unique feelings about the events. For those reasons, if I were a historical scholar, maybe analyzing Satrapi’s memoir wouldn’t serve me the best as a source of knowledge as Satrapi’s events are to emotionally based.
All in all, I’ve enjoyed the memoir regardless and I look forward to reading the second half of my complete set and possibly watching the movie after. It would be really interesting watching the movie and comparing it to the graphic memoir as they are both visual representations of Satrapi’s story.
FYI: Next week I will be class blogger but I look forward to sharing my thoughts again in two weeks
Until next time…
Kaveel Singh
peijia ding
November 3, 2015 — 12:39 am
Hello Kaveel! I thought your blog was quite interesting to read since you compared and contrasted the different effects between a written memoir and a graphic novel styled memoir. I strongly agree with you for the fact that I also felt Satrapi’s style of representing her experiences through the form of a graphic novel has much more of a resonating impact on the readers. Not only is her memoir fun and interactive to read, but I believe I would remember it much clearer than I would reading a written version of it.
With that said, why do you think we remember this form of graphic memoir more clearly than just reading a written text? Do you think it is because this form of expression is rarer than just the typical written text, leaving us to recall it better or because her message/story is conveyed much more easily through both pictures and words? If that is the reason, why do you think that people are not changing to the style of graphic novels?
Well, you don’t have to answer all of the questions I asked but I think one of the reasons why people may not be converting to the style of a graphic novel is because there’s a certain stigma around it. I think many people deem graphic novels as “childish” or “simple”, almost as if graphic novels are not capable of forming “deep”, articulate and meaningful expressions. And this might just be off putting/not respected in a professional writing environment.
Anyways, those just my thoughts but let me know what you think.
PS. you spelled my name wrong even though we have been friends for quite some time…
Peijia Ding