Story Teller

September 22nd 2016

It is difficult to determine whether a personal account, through all its detail and biases, offers more or less sincerity than historical texts or sources.  Public knowledge is, statistics, facts, and records, the very building blocks of a story.  Although the stories told through public and personal perspectives share very similar information.  The experience of reading a journal, or another type of personal text connects the reader on an emotional level.  I see Marji’s perspective, and I can place myself in the situation.  Marjane Satrapi deals with this battle constantly in the graphic narrative, Persepolis.  In Persepolis, specifically the scene where Marji and her family discuss the bombing and fire at the Cinema Rex in Abadan, Satrapi uses the concept of public history with her father’s perspective on the situation blaming the government.  Although today, it is known that the SAVAK (Iranian intelligence) was not responsible but rather Islamic Militants, her father’s view offers other information.  Even though the fault was not the government’s, Marji’s father Ebi’s accusation implies his mistrust in the government gives historical context to the political turmoil of 1978 Iran.  I think that Satrapi is aware that she is balancing the history of her nation with her own experience.  In that light she is not just telling her story, but she is playing the role of a storyteller, recounting the struggles of families and even a nation.. 

My parents found it odd that I was never very interested in my family’s history.  It was when my grandma was visiting and, out of politeness, I listened to her story about my heritage. My family came out of Germany in World War Two , I knew that much, but as she explained further I noticed the same relation of what I heard from my grandma and what I learned in school.  I learned that although he was unsettled by the Nazi’s actions and rule, my great grandfather led a Platoon in the Nazi army out of pride for Germany.  At the same time his wife, my great grandma, harbored Jews and protected refugees.  Hearing this swayed my belief that war was a two sided conflict.  The thousands of intricacies of even family history just build to a community’s history, up to a nation’s history.  I think the most important aspect of being a global citizen is understanding.  Much of the world’s ignorance, conflict, and even hate come from a lack of understanding.  Because of this the idea of memory and history being opposite sides on a coin is brought into question.  Satrapi’s Persepolis is informative but through her own account she offers this understanding.