Bobby Stroud

The Complete Persepolis ended up being a surprisingly interesting book. It gave me an outlook on Iran and their culture that I had never known. The graphic novel was also a very easy read compared to some of the other books and stories that we have read. The writing was straight-forward and very simple as opposed to complex reading that needs to be interpreted, which was a nice change of pace. I found myself reading the book and not even realizing how far into it I had gotten which was another pleasant surprise.

One of the major topics discussed in class is whether or not Marji's mother should have sent her to Europe. I agree that this was a good idea because I believe that something bad would have happened to Marji if she stayed. Not only was merely being in the area and prone to a bombing dangerous, but the fact that Marji was becoming extremely rebellious was a danger as well. I don't think she would have tolerated by the authority figures much longer. Her parents made the right choice by putting her in a better situation/protecting her.

Post #11

Writers all have a way in which they express themselves in their writings. In Marjane Satrapi's case, she expresses herself by making "Persepolis" a comic book, rather than a novel. By making it a comic book, she shows that she still considers herself as independent as she was when she was younger. Through what she tells us in "Persepolis" it is clear that she has always done things the way she wanted to. Many would have expected her to write a novel instead of a comic book, but by writing the comic book, it is only another example of her strong personality and desire to do things the way she sees best. Chelsa Wlodarczyk, Post #11

Adam Swift Post # 11

In class we talked about whether or not it was the right decision for Marjane’s parents to send her away to Europe. I think that they did do the right decision because it is very dangerous in Iran. Marjane was also a very rebellious and did not conform to the rules. She even took out some anger on her principal. I think that if she had stayed she would have gotten herself or even her family in trouble. Europe was a chance to live a better life and have more opportunities. If I were In this situation I would have wanted to go to Europe because in there you can act your age and have fun. In Iran you are forced to grow up much more quickly.

She ends up facing some difficulties in Europe. She cannot speak the same language and her nationality is holding her back at time and she had to with the stereotypical though of those opposing Iranian way of life. She tries very hard to fit in with the others. One thing she does is cut her hair and where make up. I think that Marjane is being hard on herself because she feels guilty that her family is suffering back home. Last class we summed up Persepolis by going back thought the book looking for a frame that we could relate to our lives. I found I rather difficult to find one that I could relate to. I found one scene where Marjane is studying really hard for an exam and she turns to God for a moment asking for his help. I think that we all can relate to his situation. There are many times when we encounter a difficult situation and just don’t know what to do and rely on God. Over the winter break we traveled Florida for Training. I had never swam as hard and as much in my entire life and there we times where I wanted to quit and I thought “god just get me through this week, please” in the end we always get through it. I enjoyed reading Persepolis and am looking forward to watching the movie sometime in the future.

Leah Villari

I really enjoyed reading The Complete Persepolis. I felt like Marjane is a relatable character in a way because of the experiences she goes through. I thought that a breaking point in the story was when she almost shuts down after she walks in on her boyfriend cheating on her. Although they dated for two years, it almost seemed like they were dating out of convience. I felt like she was so broken up about this because of everything she was going through. She had been through so much with the war in Iran that she never really took the time to just sit and realize everything she's experienced. Everything from being away from her family for so long to feeling alone. This was a breaking point because until this point she dealt with everything that was being thrown at her in a good manner. The boys who denied her and used her didn't effect her for long once she started dating Marcus. She learned to move past things and I think this helped her for a while. But once she did break up with Marcus, all her hardships hit her hard.
I also liked this book because it seemed very real life. The situations she was in with drugs and bad friends are things that some teens go through at certain points in their life and I think Marjane did a good job with showing the paths you can choose to go down. Also I felt like it let teens and adults alike, know that it's okay to break down and go through some tragic times because you can only get stronger from it, and I felt like this was a main point of the story.

Molly Rutter, Post #11

I have a few comments after finishing Persepolis this week. I can definitely walk away from this book knowing I am more knowledgeable than I previously was about life in Iran. However, I feel this newfound awareness is only a slight one. The stereotype of Iran I once had is not too much different than how it is after reading. Perhaps this is because I never felt very emotionally connected to Satrapi’s story.

The abundance of historical facts I found to be distracting, and most of the time difficult to understand. Because of this, I felt the book seemed rather dry and uninteresting most of the way through. There were portions of Persepolis I did enjoy though, like the clever lines of comedy and the fact that it was written with images that were equally important as the words. Having never read a graphic novel before, this book was an interesting one to read and certainly broadened my understanding about this type of literature. I can say with confidence that I enjoyed the book, although I was never able to fully relate and understand the context and storyline.  

Jaime Wallace, Post #11

It has been a great experience reading The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. I have only read one other book like this and it was very enjoyable. Reading this graphic novel changed my perspective of Iran greatly. In class we talked about Marji and how she over came war and hardship but the break up with her boyfriend drove her crazy and put her over the edge. I feel like it wasn't just her break up but it was many evens in her life that just built up until this last thing pushed her over the edge for sure. She is away from her family and that was the only person she thought she could trust and went it fell through it changed her life completely. It was also really great trying to connect our lives to the life of the main character in this graphic novel. I chose the one frame on page 35 of Marji's made falling love with the boy next door. I really liked the frame where she is sitting on the ground in her nice dress thinking of him with hearts all around her head. This frame reminded me of my first crush. That is how it related to my life. She looked so excited in the frame and that is the same way I felt with my first crush! Jaime Wallace Post #11

Zack Schwartz Post 11

Reading "The Complete Persepolis" has been a great experience these past few weeks. Stylistically speaking, I have never actually read anything similar to it before. I have read the comics in the newspaper before, but never an entire book in this format. It made the reading go by much less painfully and quickly, as well as making it much easier to understand. Seeing visual evidence of how the characters were feeling made the story flow and allowed me to fully connect with the characters of the story. I felt as though reading this book was a combination of reading and watching a movie, as elements of both were utilized in learning Marjane's story.

The story itself was one of the most compelling that I had ever read. Before reading, I had a very different view of Iran as a country. I looked at it as a merely a country comprised of people all with the same attitude. I believed everyone hated America, agreed on a backwards system of government and individuals did not have similar problems that exist in America. I now realize that Iran is a country of individuals, much like any other country in the world. Everyone has different views, and both good people and bad people exist. Marjane experienced a very trying life, and had the problems most Americans had as well as much more. This book has helped me not to judge someone until I am fully aware of their situation.

Laura Giunta Post 11

Reading Marjane Satrapi's The Complete Persepolis was a great learning experience. I have actually learned a lot more about Iran and its Islamic culture than i knew. It was sad to see all the hardships Marjane went through, but her making it into a novel was a great idea. The world should see how people have had to suffer because of their culture. In the United States we are lucky to have our freedom to live and dress as we please, but other countries do not, and reading about that was a wake up call to me. In class on Friday we had to relate a part of Satrapi's novel to our lives. It is very interesting to see how what she went through was very similar to what we have encountered in our lives. In life we all make mistakes, but like Marjane we learn from them and move on.
I am very happy that this was one of the novels we read in class this semester. We saved the best story for last. Unlike the other stories we read i found this one the most interesting and easy to follow. It could have been because it was in the style of a comic book, and the picutres made it more enjoyable but also enjoyed how she added humor to it as well. The pictures helped depict the story very well.

maggie demarco post 11

I found it very interesting how Marjane and her family were against being conservative and wearing the full covering outfit. When we went into discussion about the veils, and how they are banned in France, it was brought up that not allowing the women to wear the veils is just as oppressive as making them mandatory. We shared the opinion of Marjane, who is very against wearing the veils, however she feels that it should be up to the decision and choice of the women. I agree in this case, because either way the government is making the decision for the women, so either way it is wrong.

This week we discussed Marjane and the how her life is very similar to ours. She has faced many things in her life that are similar to what we have. Today, by drawing the comic strips, we were able to see that although they may have been a bit different, we had situations that were relatable. I found it interesting that each person related in some way, even though from a first look, it could be said that we are much different from Marjane and her way of life. She is in fact a normal girl who happened to survive much in her life, and was fortunate enough to tell her story.

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi had many different elements all involved in one book. As I researched and found out from my critical presentation this week, many people found that all these different elements together made the book memerable. Everyone can relate to the book in some way whether it is because of the culture, the family atmosphere, or just the part of growing up and developing your "self." When we first began reading I was not very interested one, because it was a graphic novel, I was never really into comic books, and second because I did not know much about Iran other that what was seen on the news. Once we began reading I ended up really enjoying the story and especially the way it was written. It being a graphic novel the story went very smoothly and was easily understood. I could also relate to Marji. Although I do not know how it feels to be in the middle of the revolution or have bombs going off in my yard, I do know about growing up. We have all disagreed with our parents, been broken up with, wanted and acted like a rebel, and had a party and got caught. In most cases the punishments were never as harsh or as threatening as Marji's but we all know how she would feel which allowed the book to be enjoyable. Cassidy Weeks, Post 11

Allison Shubert Post # 10

This week I feel like the focus on what we were reading was surrounded around being an outcast. In the graphic novel The Complete Persepolis the main character named Marji faces very serious problems going around around her very calm and simple which at the time is not very realistic. She comes off as very naive and not understanding of the chaos going on around her. Her perspective on what's going on makes her viewed as an outcast because she is not reacting like others around her, which ultimately makes her feel alone.

The other story we read called "The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch" by Neil Gaiman in the main character seemed allienated and outcasted by society. This is because of her intelligence and her attitude towards society which comes off as misunderstood. She can't seem to get along with society and seems to be distant towards everyone due to her lack of communicating.

Kaitlyn Dickey, Post 10

The graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is one of my favorite things we have read in class so far. I love reading it because it's so much different from anything I have ever read in school. I like Satrapi's style because she tells the story very well but doesn't make it as heavy as she possibly could. She uses a lot of humor and the pictures are fun to look at and portray the frame extremely well. I like that it's easy to read the story and you can cover a lot of it in a short period of time.

It's surprised me how much I've enjoyed reading this novel. Because she is Muslim I didn't think that I could ever relate to her as much as I've realized I can. Although my lifestyle differs from hers, the things we go through and the emotions we feel seem to be extremely similar. This novel has made me have a new respect for the Islamic culture.