Hi everyone. Sorry for the delay on posting the next assignment.
I'd also like to meet with everyone either 6th or 8th block on WEDNESDAY of this week.
Assignment #6, due no later than Monday, April 3. (I'd prefer it by this Friday, but I want to honor the Monday-to-Monday arrangement.)
Read: Finish Persepolis.
Write: Respond to one of the following questions in a bit of a longer format: Aim for at least 400 words, and post this to the blog.
1. If you've seen the movie, how does it compare to the graphic novel? How does her story work differently on film?
2. Do you think there is a broad audience for Persepolis? Consider groups in the United States that might have the highest level of misunderstanding or hostility toward Iran as a country. Would Persepolis help them understand Iran on a deeper or more nuanced level? Why or why not?
3. Write about Marji's evolving perception of war throughout the graphic novel. How might Marji's perspective compare or contrast with someone growing up in the United States?
4. How are you and Marji similar and different? (If you go with this prompt, push yourself to go past superficial comparisons.)
5. Who do you think influences Marji the most? Why? What's important or meaningful about her relationship with this person?
Nothing to watch, unless you haven't seen the movie version and want to watch it.
After break, I'm going to ask you to embark on a text of your own selection. I'll have 5-6 to choose from and you can pick the one that interests you the most. (If you have ideas for books or even films that you feel really connect to the ideas of this class, let me know.)
I do think there is a broader audience for Persepolis. I think the typical audience would include people interested in war, Iranians and those wanting to learn more history. Since Persepolis is a graphic novel and less dense than other books on this subject, it’s easier to become engaged in the story. One of the groups in America that I think would have be able to learn a lot from the novel is the group of people that are pro-war in Iran. Seeing Marji’s story and how war impacted not only her life, but also the lives of her family and friends. A misconception that Americans in that group have is that they believe all people from the Middle East are violent. When reading Persepolis, you realize just how normal the characters are despite them living in the middle of a war. They do things that are expected from people whose culture is being threatened by their government. I also think that since Persepolis is a graphic novel it helps in a deeper understanding of Iran and its people. The book does a great job at explaining why the government is the way that it is since it’s all from the perspective of a child. I also think that since this story very personal, it leaves you thinking about individual people in a situation rather than a large group of people that you don’t know the story of. Personally, after reading Persepolis I started to think about what I would do if I was in a situation like Marji’s. I also started to think more about kids in war-torn regions, like Syria. People generally don’t want to be hostile toward children because of how innocent and unaware of the world they are. Being able to see the children being shipped off to fight in the war, killed or having to grow up without their loved ones really makes you think about whether the fight is worth it or not. I also think that seeing how children are affected by the actions of people they will never meet, is very powerful. Marji was impacted by the results of the war for the rest of her life. I really think that American involved in the oil industry should read this because often those people are willing to fight for their “welfare”. They start to put their personal needs and the needs of our country before the lives of people who are just like us.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the way that this story helps us relate to people living in war-torn regions. It's really easy to view countries that the US is in conflict with as faceless and so (for lack of a better word) foreign. You're right, I think, that stories like Persepolis force us to recognize the "normalcy" of people who are living in these circumstances.
DeleteResponse to Q4:
ReplyDeleteI think this is an interesting question because Marji and I are no doubt shaped by our experiences growing up which are without question very different. Also, our personalities are judged by how we respond to the things we experience. One thing I would say about Marji's personality is that she clearly wants to be a part of the larger movement and understand everything that is going on. Although it may have been harder to deal with, Marji wanted the truth over a censored lie, as opposed to Laly, for example, who was content with and did not question the story that her father was on a trip when in fact, he was in prison. This may have a large part to do with how she was raised. She was brought up in a household that was not only resistant to the changes, but also, for the most part, did not shelter Marji from the truth of what was happening. She recalls adult conversations that took place right in front of her as a very young child. I relate to Marji in all of this picture. Albeit my truths are usually much lighter than Marji's, for the most part, my parents have not been the type to shelter me from the real world and I desire to know the full, messy truth. Marji's desire to be more involved in the conversations taking place at the time leads her to become the incredibly educated and knowledgeable at such a young age. I too used to get so frustrated when I couldn't partake in a mature conversations. I can't stand getting talked down to and understand the value education has on allowing me to have deeper conversations. I also identified with Marji's yearn to be part of the resistance. She is clearly frustrated in her own way and passionate protest is how she deals with that, but even before she could fully comprehend all that was going on, Marji knew she wanted to join the group that was standing up to oppression. I can identify with a perhaps somewhat blind desire to be part of a group fighting for justice, even when I wasn't entirely clear what that entailed or meant.
There were instances when Marji did not show as much fear as I would expect myself to in a similar situation. For instance, upon returning from nearly getting taken to "The Committee", I would think I would be afraid to ever return outdoors even worse not tell my mom what happened so I could continue to go out. If I were threatened, the first thing I would think to do is find my mother or some trusted adult. This fearlessness is something that sets Marji and I apart, however, I understand we are growing up in different times and places and thus I cannot say for sure how I would have reacted if I had the same background as her and such horrendous stories were part of my everyday life.
Your point about Marji's desire to be involved and understand the world is a good one--it would be easy to think that in times of war/strife, anyone would be more motivated to learn about the larger political forces shaping their circumstances, but I don't actually think that's true. Like you, I think Marji's engagement was largely fostered by her upbringing and her family life. This makes me think a lot about how we approach big, world issues even in the lower and middle school -- recognizing the full, messy truth as opposed to putting forth a simpler half-truth in order to protect some measure of childhood innocence.
DeleteThanks for this reply!
Question 4:
ReplyDeleteThe way that Persepolis is told from Marji’s young perspective had me thinking about my own life as I read her story. Obviously her tumultuous upbringing in Iran is incredibly different from anything that I have experienced, but despite our contrasting circumstances, I have still found ways that I can see myself in her.
I relate to Marji’s relationship with her parents. She is very close with them and they speak to her like she is another adult. Her mother is very strong-willed and her father is intelligent and wise. It broke my heart when she had to leave her family because of the bond they have with each other. Her family is very tight-knit, and so is mine.
I also appreciated Marji’s curiosity and passion for understanding the world around her. For example, she stayed up all night reading about political ideologies when she was young so that she could be engaged in intelligent conversation with the adults around her. Marji also asks lots of bold questions and is fascinated by other’s stories and opinions. In these ways, I see myself in her. She seeks knowledge and doesn’t want to be left out of the broader conversation, no matter how old she is.
Marji and I also don’t like to be told what to do. I was angry for her when she was forced to wear the veil, forbidden to wear what clothes she wanted, and essentially, forbidden to express herself. I felt disgusted as a young woman for her and her mother when they were told that they were sluts for not wearing the veil. I saw myself in Marji when she and her classmates made the “mourning of the dead” ceremony at school into a total joke. And I felt sad when her identity was slowly being stripped away. Obviously, I haven’t experienced anything even close to what she has, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not able to identify with her in this way.
However, Marji is much bolder than I am. I’m not sure if I would be as quick on my feet if I were confronted by one of the members of the woman’s branch of the Guardians of Revolution. I also don’t think that I would have gone to the protest if it meant risking my life. Of course I’ve never been in that situation before, but I think that she isn’t as afraid of taking big risks, and she is absolutely fearless. I would’ve had much greater reservations about something that dangerous.
Your comment reminds me of Emma's in emphasizing the importance of Marji's parents in the way her worldview has been shaped.
DeleteIf you read Persepolis 2 (I think we talked about this last week, but for the benefit of everyone else reading :) ), a HUGE part of that story is Marji dealing with the absence of her family and the difficulty of having to navigate life on your own before you're really ready.
Obviously, our restrictions in America or in schools aren't quite like the veil, but I see "dress codes" imposed on women all the time in so many circumstances in the US, and it's really crazy how much they are rooted in the same inherently sexist principles as the veil is.
Thanks for these ideas. :)