Natalie Nuzzo, Instructor – Brooklyn College English Department Spring 2012
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Speak Up, Even if Your Voice Shakes
Marjane Satrapi -- Iranian born graphic novelist, illustrator, animated film director and children's book author.
24 comments:
Tzirel Norman
said...
Page 101 "I was just talking to my maid. She said they're recruiting children for the front. Really!!?" "It's awful. every day I see buses full of kids arriving." "They come from the poor areas, you can tell. First they convince them that the afterlife is even better than Disneyland, then they put them in a trance with all their songs..." "It's nuts! They hypnotize them and just toss them into battle. Absolute carnage."
The idea of social levels in society, especially the extreme class separation mentioned previously in Persepolis I think is epitomized by this passage. Here, Shahab, Marji's cousin who is a soldier in the army illustrates how there is no regard at all for the 'peasants' or lower class. Their only worth is the be used for the upper classes' purposes- in this very tragic instance, as cannon fodder.
Page 70-71 "Everything will be alright..." "Margi what seems to be the problem?" "Shut up you! Get out of my life!!! I never want to see you again!" "And so I was lost, without any bearings... what could be worse than that?" "MARGIE RUN TO THE BASEMENT! WE'RE BEING BOMBED!" "It was the beginning of the war."
On this page Margie is dealing with mixed feelings, unlike the beginning where Margie is feeling connected and in peace with god, now she feels as if the execution of her beloved uncle has changed her views on everything and she can't even trust her own beliefs. Whether or not if she felt that god had made these plans or failed to save her uncle could also be one of the factors. This part of the story is also important because you can notice a huge change in Margie where she is vulnerable and she now sees the reality of the current dangers her country and family are in.
“SO, MY GREAT DREAM WENT UP IN SMOKE. I WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO GO TO THE UNITED STATES. KAVEH, THEY CLOSED THE U.S EMBASSY TODAY. (Page 72)”
When Marjane Satrapi writes that her dreams of a greater education were torn from her mind, I was astounded and thought it was unbelievable. Why should a war interfere with child’s future? Because of a problem that the older generation’s created, the new generation shouldn’t be punished for it.
“IF HAIR IS AS STIMULATING AS YOU SAY, THEN YOU NEED TO SHAVE YOUR MUSTACHE!(Page 98)”
I think Marjane Satrapi was very clever because she included a bit of humor into her writing about a sad part in time. Satrapi stated that humor is part of life and is one of our base emotions. The quote is great evidence to support her idea of humor in her book, and it gives the book a sense of reality.
As I was reading the text, I came across few quotes that intrigued me. Marji's mother said "They insulted me. They said that women like me should be pushed up against a wall and f**ked. And then thrown in the garbage... And that if I didn't want that to happen, I should wear the veil. (Pg.74)
Often in in Islamic societies women are looked upon on differently. They are required to look and behave in a certain way. They are held to different standards than men. In the the text, during this time period in Iran, women were obligated to wear the veil. If a women did not wear one, she was punished and sometimes even killed. Marji's mom refused to wear the veil, she was insulted and threatened by two random fundamentalist guys who have no authority or control over people. Man however, were tolerated more than women even if they looked and dresses a certain way.
Over all I think its important to analyze the illustrations as well as the text. On page 86, fourth caption. Pardisse is heading to the front of the classroom to read a letter about her father who passed away as a fighter pilot in the war with Iraq. Notice that you don't see Pardisse's facial expression. Her back is facing the viewer. The only expressions you see are through her class-mates and teacher. It is almost like this Illustration uses the veil as a metaphor. She is wearing a veil. Her facial expression is expressed through other people. Pardisse's veiled body cast a shadow that runs thought the center of the illustration and ends touching the bottom edge of the drawing facing the viewer. Her shadow acts like a veil in so far as it gives just enough information to the reader. Its almost like her shadow replaces her absent facial expression.
Also an page 91. I can't help but notice in the second to last illustration the two blankets resembling the american flag (stars & stripes). Is this a subliminal message? - Anthony Sivio
"They come from poor areas, you can tell...first they convince them that the afterlife is even better than Disneyland, then they put them in a trance with all their songs..."
"It's nuts! They hypnotize them and just toss them into battle. Absolute carnage."
It shows how the young poor children are being used because they don't know that much, so they wouldn't know that they are being lied to or doing the wrong thing. I think it's wrong that they even used songs for the children to sing so that they really thought they were doing the right thing. I also think they probably used young poor children because they could not get that much men to join their team. They probably know that men are smarter and would not want to help them anyway. These things go on in other countries as well, where poor children are tricked into joining wars thinking they are doing the right thing or that they are going to benefit from it.
Page 75 "But let's be fair. If women faced prison when they refused to wear the veil, It was also forbidden for men to wear neckties(That dreaded symbol of the west). And if women's hair got men excited, the same thing could be said of men's bare arms and so, wearing short-sleeved shirt was also forbidden."
Marji explained the laws of her society during the revolution. It showed that people, both men and women had limited freedom and are not allow to bear their hair or skin. The fear of prison and torture are the usually method to get people to listen. In another passage, when a few liberal women went to rebel against the veil, a lot of them go injured and even stabbed. Fear has a control over people and it affects people traumatically. Another thing the Islamic fanatics hate are western influence such as the suit and bow-tie.
"It wasn't only the government that changed. Ordinary people changed too. Look at her! Last year she was wearing a miniskirt, showing off her beefy thighs to the whole neighborhood. And now Madame is wearing a chador. It suits her better, I guess." ( pg. 75)
In this quote, Marji clearly illustrates the towns hypocritical conforming actions. It is not that Madame chose to dress in the chador, it is the governments strict regulations that has caused her to change. The people have changed in fear of rejection, prosecution from the government.
"The key to paradise was for poor people. Thousands of young kids, promised a better life, exploded on the minefields with their keys around their necks." ( pg. 102)
The governments self-interest led them to fool the innocent male children. By handing the boys " the key to paradise" the boys are willing to face death in order to reach the doors of heaven. These troubled, poor, and innocent children are blinded from the reality of war and chose to follow what they have been falsely promised.
pg. 86 "Your father acted like a genuine hero, you should be proud of him!" " I just wish he were alive and in jail rather than dead and a hero"
I really liked this quote because it relates to a friend of mine that has her husband in the army. "People just don't care about the army" Her exact words. Armed forces risk there life to protect the country and die. Many people don't care they just go about there life. I like this quote because to me it is trying to say is that nobody cares about a hero. So many people die why should this person be considered a hero more than another. Words have no meaning if the person you love is gone. At least if he is in jail he will still be with his family instead of leaving them forever.
"Our country has always known war and martyrs. So, like my father said: 'When a big wave comes, lower your head and let it pass!'" "I agreed with my mother. I too tried to think only of life. However, it wasn't always easy..."
I find this short dialog between Marji and her mother expresses a theme that is scene throughout her story and even in her writing style. Her family continues to try to provide themselves normal experiences, despite surrounding events. They attempt to maintain humor in every day life. Despite this, I feel the events that occur shape and change them. Often, in Marji's play (and attempts at being her age) there is an underlying violence paralleling the political activities.
This particular attempt, is clearly seen at the end of chapter titled 'Key'. Marji talks of how young poor kids were being manipulated to die in minefields and then does a quick switch to how she attended her very first party.
"The key to Paradise was for the poor people. Thousands of young kids, promised a better life, exploded on the minefields with their keys around their necks..." "Meanwhile, I got to go to my first party. Not only did my mom let me go, she also knitted me a sweater full of holes and made me a necklace with chains and nails. Punk rock was in."
One can see an underlining link regarding the surrounding violence, with wearing of chains and nails to the story of minefields. The holes in her sweater seems symbolic of the poor, underprivileged children.
"It's not important. Everything will turn out fine. In a country where half the population is illiterate you cannot unite the people around Marx. The only thing that can really unite them is Nationalism or a religious ethic..." (62).
This statement was said by Marji's Uncle Anoosh. The Islamic revolution has had a major impact on Iran and it's civilians. Anoosh believes that many Iranian's are endorsing this revolution only because they were not educated and they were afraid.Only the educated were aware of the negatives of the Islamic state and do not agree with it. Many men were being prosecuted for supporting Communism; Marxist theories which is completely different from religious or nationalist ideas. Different political views is one of the main problems that Iranian's are dealing with, along with many other nations. In Iran, politics was being mixed with religion;how to govern the citizens.
In amazement, after reading pages 74-75, you notice the impact of the importance of the veil. " They insulted me. They said that women like m should be pushed up against a wall and fucked and then thrown into the garbage... And that if I didn't want it to happen I should wear the veil...( page 74 ) A traumatizing experience like the one Marji's mother experience demonstrates the fear that was implied to the women of this community. To imagine that women had to be put through submission of humiliation mentally or physically to wear the veil is remarkable. What amazed me the most is that after that incident... "And so to protect women from all the potential rapists, they decreed that wearing the veil was obligatory. Women's hair emanates rays that excite men. That's why women should cover their hair! If in fact it is really more civilized to go without the veil, then animals are more civilized than we are (page74)." Basically arguing that not wearing the veil is the cause of the rapes, because of the women's hair is ridiculous. Any normal person would argue that before the addition of veil was obligatory upon the women, there was no real incident in which a women was raped because for not wearing the veil. In addition to that, the man on the television clearly downgraded women, stating that if your stupid enough to not wearing the veil, then she might as well be as stupid as an animal.
Page 52: "My father was not a hero, my mother wanted to kill people...so I went out to play in the street." "Those stories has given me new ideas for games..." "The one who loses will be tortured." "Back at home that evening, I had the diabolical feeling of power...but it didn't last. I was overwhelmed."
In Persepolis, it seems as if all the children are judged based on who their parents are, and what they have accomplished. Although Marjane seems to be different than anyone else by the levels of passion she has for being involved, her parent's actions still shape how she feels and acts about herself. When she realized that her father wasn't a hero, and her mother wanted to kill, she tried to become who her parents were by trying to "torture" other kids if they lost a game or not. In other words, she wanted to be like her parents and all the other adults who were being violent. In some sense, it was easier for her to follow into her parents footsteps than create herself into a hero without the influence of her parents. This part of the graphic novel really demonstrates how although Marjane might have the ambition of an adult, she is still a child and mimics the people who are closest to her, whether it is what she truly wants or not. When Marjane is back at home and feels overwhelmed with the power she accumulated with her friends, the reader can further see how much of a child she is. This shows how pure Marjane's heart is. Although everyone around her seems to be violent or support violence, Marjane is smart enough to realized that having that type of power isn't for her.
Page 75 "Look at her! Last year she was wearing a miniskirt, showing off her beefy thighs to the whole neighborhood. And now Madame is wearing a Chador, it suits better, I guess"
"As for her fundamentalist husband who drank himself into a stupor every night, now he uses mouthwash every time he utters the word 'alcohol'"
These comments were critical to the text as a whole because it shows you that Marji's family wasn't completely bias to the new system being forced upon them. Though they were against the veil and things of that sort, they still saw that these new acts were making some people better in a sense where it helped them to develop more respectable characteristics. This is also important because it also enforces the reason why some people wanted the women to wear veil.
"Everything will be alright..." "Marji, what seems to be the problem?" "Shut up you! Get out of my life!!! I never want to see you again!" "Get out!" "And so i was lost, without any bearings... What could be worse than that?" pg 70-71
In these few lines we see the drastic change Marji has towards religion compared to that of the last panal on pg 53. Where we clearly see her being sheltered but now after the death of Anoosh she is lost and confused and no longer finds comfort in God and as we see in the dipiction of here on pg 71 she is withing the darkness with nothing to sheild her from hthe harsh realites i think in that picture says alot and in a way Marji is lost without her faith as her sheild she doesn't know what to believe anymore.
" That was My last meeting with my beloved Anoosh..." Newspaper reads "Russian Spy Executed"
I picked this quote for many reasons. Margi was extremely close and fond of her uncle Anoosh. she was really surprised when he left without saying goodbye.You could tell that him leaving really impacted her. I also feel that she knew something was going to happen to him. I think this is an influential part on Margi's story because once this happened she began to act different. She began to question what she believed in and how she felt about the war.
"Mom, I spoke to Ramin, he says his father did the right thing in killing communist." "My god! He repeats what they tell him, he will understand later..." - Page 46
The mother's response to her daughter questioning is a great representation to the story up until that part. Marjane who's political opinions are based almost completely on what her parents have told her is being told that she has to be understanding of others opinions because that was merely how they were raised and that they would become more open minded in the future. I feel this panel is a great representation of the book itself though the irony escaped both of them at the time.
"It wasn't only the government that changed. Ordinary people changed too." "Look at her! Last year she was wearing a miniskirt showing off her beefy thighs to the whole neighborhood and now madame is wearing a chador. It suits her better, i guess"
I chose this quote because I was surprised that the mother started to find reasons why the fundamentalist changes were good. She was one of the most vocal protesters of the new regime when it first was brought about but it was interesting to see how the entire family was all slowly getting accustomed to a bad political system.
The four quotes that I chose from the reading are from pages 74 and 75.
pg 74 "And so to protect women from all the potential rapists, they decreed that wearing the veil was obligatory.; Women's hair emanates rays that excite men. That’s why women should cover their hair! If in fact it is really more civilized to go without the veil, then animals are more civilized than we are. Incredible! They think all men are perverts! Of course, because they really are perverts!"
pg 75 “In no time, the way people dressed became an ideological sign. There were two kinds of women. The fundamentalist woman. The modern woman. You showed your opposition to the regime by letting a few strands of hair show.”
Pg75 “There were also two sorts of men. The fundamentalist man: Beard, shirt hanging out. The Progressive man; shaved with or without mustache, shirt tucked in. “
Pg 75 “But lets be fair. If women faced prison when they refused to wear a veil, it was also forbidden for men to wear neckties (that dreaded the symbol of the west). And if women’s hair got men excited, the same thing could be said of men’s bare arms. And so, wearing short-sleeved shirts was also forbidden. There was a kind of justice, after all.”
In these quotes you get to see how the Iranian society distinguishes between men and woman. The first quote talks about how women in Iran are forced to wear a veil. So that a woman does not get raped they must cover their hair because it attracts or seduces men. I find it really absurd how women must have to be forced to do something that they are against. Aren’t we all free to do as we please? This is kind of stereotypical because it does not refer to all the Iranian men. In the following two quotes Marji explains the two types of men and women in her society. You have the fundamentalist, modern women, and progressive man. The fundamentalists are the people who follow the traditions or fundamental principles of society. In this case it would be the women who wear a veil and men who have a beard and shirt sticking out. A modern woman goes against what the regimen wants. The progressive man does not let his beard grow out and tucks in his shirt. In the last quote Margi explains her view against the veil. Although Marji is just a little girl she is aware of what is going on around her and is able to express her feelings. I think that the author is trying to show that children are widely aware of what goes on around them. Marji believes that is there is a punishment for women who don’t wear a veil then there should be one for men.
“I wish he were alive and in jail rather than dead and a hero." -Page 86
During this part of the story Marji and her classmate Pardisse are asked to write about the war. Their compositions bring up the many feelings (some that differ) that pertain to war. Marji's composition came off as patriotic and pro-war, but very naïve compared to Pardisse's. Marji glorified war. Pardisse's composition presented the often grim realities of war. Neither of the compositions however present an absolutely correct view because both views are valid. Even Marji who is set in her ways about war begins to rethink things when Pardisse tells her, “I wish he were alive and in jail rather than dead and a hero.” That statement seemed to stay with Marji.
"The educational system and what is written in school books, at all levels, are decadent. Everything needs to be revised to ensure that our children are not led astray from the true path of islam"
This made me think of how in school Marji was taught that the shah had been picked by God. It shows how they targeted kids because they are vulnerable to believing what they are told and the government imposes what is desirable to them. Boys are given "the key to heaven" if they fight and die for their country. They also paint pictures in the young boys heads of heaven with lots of women and other desirable things.
Mr. Satrapi: "The Iraqis bombed us!" ... Marji: "We have to bomb Baghdad!"
These two scenes shows Maraji's increase in violence. The nonchalant expression on her face shows that she's been dehumanized because of the war-riddled environment she grew up in.
Because this was her initial reaction, without any thought of the innocent civilians in Iran such as herself- Marjane is almost a mental prisoner of war and its effects on society.
Page 75 “But lets be fair. If women faced prison when they refused to wear a veil, it was also forbidden for men to wear neckties (that dreaded the symbol of the west). And if women’s hair got men excited, the same thing could be said of men’s bare arms. And so, wearing short-sleeved shirts was also forbidden. There was a kind of justice, after all.” Marji makes great points in these four sentences. She shows that the men in her country were hypocrites. If the female sex has to hide her body to not cause men to get aroused, how come they don't have to cover their bodies? This shows that this rule is only to oppress the females in their country, by controlling how they were allowed to express themselves.
24 comments:
Page 101
"I was just talking to my maid. She said they're recruiting children for the front. Really!!?"
"It's awful. every day I see buses full of kids arriving."
"They come from the poor areas, you can tell. First they convince them that the afterlife is even better than Disneyland, then they put them in a trance with all their songs..."
"It's nuts! They hypnotize them and just toss them into battle. Absolute carnage."
The idea of social levels in society, especially the extreme class separation mentioned previously in Persepolis I think is epitomized by this passage. Here, Shahab, Marji's cousin who is a soldier in the army illustrates how there is no regard at all for the 'peasants' or lower class. Their only worth is the be used for the upper classes' purposes- in this very tragic instance, as cannon fodder.
Page 70-71
"Everything will be alright..."
"Margi what seems to be the problem?"
"Shut up you! Get out of my life!!! I never want to see you again!"
"And so I was lost, without any bearings... what could be worse than that?"
"MARGIE RUN TO THE BASEMENT! WE'RE BEING BOMBED!"
"It was the beginning of the war."
On this page Margie is dealing with mixed feelings, unlike the beginning where Margie is feeling connected and in peace with god, now she feels as if the execution of her beloved uncle has changed her views on everything and she can't even trust her own beliefs. Whether or not if she felt that god had made these plans or failed to save her uncle could also be one of the factors. This part of the story is also important because you can notice a huge change in Margie where she is vulnerable and she now sees the reality of the current dangers her country and family are in.
“SO, MY GREAT DREAM WENT UP IN SMOKE. I WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO GO TO THE UNITED STATES. KAVEH, THEY CLOSED THE U.S EMBASSY TODAY. (Page 72)”
When Marjane Satrapi writes that her dreams of a greater education were torn from her mind, I was astounded and thought it was unbelievable. Why should a war interfere with child’s future? Because of a problem that the older generation’s created, the new generation shouldn’t be punished for it.
“IF HAIR IS AS STIMULATING AS YOU SAY, THEN YOU NEED TO SHAVE YOUR MUSTACHE!(Page 98)”
I think Marjane Satrapi was very clever because she included a bit of humor into her writing about a sad part in time. Satrapi stated that humor is part of life and is one of our base emotions. The quote is great evidence to support her idea of humor in her book, and it gives the book a sense of reality.
Yassine Mouaddab said...
As I was reading the text, I came across few quotes that intrigued me. Marji's mother said "They insulted me. They said that women like me should be pushed up against a wall and f**ked. And then thrown in the garbage... And that if I didn't want that to happen, I should wear the veil. (Pg.74)
Often in in Islamic societies women are looked upon on differently. They are required to look and behave in a certain way. They are held to different standards than men. In the the text, during this time period in Iran, women were obligated to wear the veil. If a women did not wear one, she was punished and sometimes even killed. Marji's mom refused to wear the veil, she was insulted and threatened by two random fundamentalist guys who have no authority or control over people. Man however, were tolerated more than women even if they looked and dresses a certain way.
Over all I think its important to analyze the illustrations as well as the text. On page 86, fourth caption. Pardisse is heading to the front of the classroom to read a letter about her father who passed away as a fighter pilot in the war with Iraq. Notice that you don't see Pardisse's facial expression. Her back is facing the viewer. The only expressions you see are through her class-mates and teacher. It is almost like this Illustration uses the veil as a metaphor. She is wearing a veil. Her facial expression is expressed through other people. Pardisse's veiled body cast a shadow that runs thought the center of the illustration and ends touching the bottom edge of the drawing facing the viewer. Her shadow acts like a veil in so far as it gives just enough information to the reader. Its almost like her shadow replaces her absent facial expression.
Also an page 91. I can't help but notice in the second to last illustration the two blankets resembling the american flag (stars & stripes). Is this a subliminal message? - Anthony Sivio
Page 101
"They come from poor areas, you can tell...first they convince them that the afterlife is even better than Disneyland, then they put them in a trance with all their songs..."
"It's nuts! They hypnotize them and just toss them into battle. Absolute carnage."
It shows how the young poor children are being used because they don't know that much, so they wouldn't know that they are being lied to or doing the wrong thing. I think it's wrong that they even used songs for the children to sing so that they really thought they were doing the right thing. I also think they probably used young poor children because they could not get that much men to join their team. They probably know that men are smarter and would not want to help them anyway. These things go on in other countries as well, where poor children are tricked into joining wars thinking they are doing the right thing or that they are going to benefit from it.
Page 75
"But let's be fair. If women faced prison when they refused to wear the veil, It was also forbidden for men to wear neckties(That dreaded symbol of the west). And if women's hair got men excited, the same thing could be said of men's bare arms and so, wearing short-sleeved shirt was also forbidden."
Marji explained the laws of her society during the revolution. It showed that people, both men and women had limited freedom and are not allow to bear their hair or skin. The fear of prison and torture are the usually method to get people to listen. In another passage, when a few liberal women went to rebel against the veil, a lot of them go injured and even stabbed. Fear has a control over people and it affects people traumatically. Another thing the Islamic fanatics hate are western influence such as the suit and bow-tie.
"It wasn't only the government that changed. Ordinary people changed too. Look at her! Last year she was wearing a miniskirt, showing off her beefy thighs to the whole neighborhood. And now Madame is wearing a chador. It suits her better, I guess." ( pg. 75)
In this quote, Marji clearly illustrates the towns hypocritical conforming actions. It is not that Madame chose to dress in the chador, it is the governments strict regulations that has caused her to change. The people have changed in fear of rejection, prosecution from the government.
"The key to paradise was for poor people. Thousands of young kids, promised a better life, exploded on the minefields with their keys around their necks." ( pg. 102)
The governments self-interest led them to fool the innocent male children. By handing the boys " the key to paradise" the boys are willing to face death in order to reach the doors of heaven. These troubled, poor, and innocent children are blinded from the reality of war and chose to follow what they have been falsely promised.
pg. 86 "Your father acted like a genuine hero, you should be proud of him!" " I just wish he were alive and in jail rather than dead and a hero"
I really liked this quote because it relates to a friend of mine that has her husband in the army. "People just don't care about the army" Her exact words. Armed forces risk there life to protect the country and die. Many people don't care they just go about there life. I like this quote because to me it is trying to say is that nobody cares about a hero. So many people die why should this person be considered a hero more than another. Words have no meaning if the person you love is gone. At least if he is in jail he will still be with his family instead of leaving them forever.
"Our country has always known war and martyrs. So, like my father said: 'When a big wave comes, lower your head and let it pass!'"
"I agreed with my mother. I too tried to think only of life. However, it wasn't always easy..."
I find this short dialog between Marji and her mother expresses a theme that is scene throughout her story and even in her writing style. Her family continues to try to provide themselves normal experiences, despite surrounding events. They attempt to maintain humor in every day life. Despite this, I feel the events that occur shape and change them. Often, in Marji's play (and attempts at being her age) there is an underlying violence paralleling the political activities.
This particular attempt, is clearly seen at the end of chapter titled 'Key'. Marji talks of how young poor kids were being manipulated to die in minefields and then does a quick switch to how she attended her very first party.
"The key to Paradise was for the poor people. Thousands of young kids, promised a better life, exploded on the minefields with their keys around their necks..."
"Meanwhile, I got to go to my first party. Not only did my mom let me go, she also knitted me a sweater full of holes and made me a necklace with chains and nails. Punk rock was in."
One can see an underlining link regarding the surrounding violence, with wearing of chains and nails to the story of minefields. The holes in her sweater seems symbolic of the poor, underprivileged children.
"It's not important. Everything will turn out fine. In a country where half the population is illiterate you cannot unite the people around Marx. The only thing that can really unite them is Nationalism or a religious ethic..." (62).
This statement was said by Marji's Uncle Anoosh. The Islamic revolution has had a major impact on Iran and it's civilians. Anoosh believes that many Iranian's are endorsing this revolution only because they were not educated and they were afraid.Only the educated were aware of the negatives of the Islamic state and do not agree with it. Many men were being prosecuted for supporting Communism; Marxist theories which is completely different from religious or nationalist ideas. Different political views is one of the main problems that Iranian's are dealing with, along with many other nations. In Iran, politics was being mixed with religion;how to govern the citizens.
In amazement, after reading pages 74-75, you notice the impact of the importance of the veil.
" They insulted me. They said that women like m should be pushed up against a wall and fucked and then thrown into the garbage... And that if I didn't want it to happen I should wear the veil...( page 74 )
A traumatizing experience like the one Marji's mother experience demonstrates the fear that was implied to the women of this community. To imagine that women had to be put through submission of humiliation mentally or physically to wear the veil is remarkable. What amazed me the most is that after that incident...
"And so to protect women from all the potential rapists, they decreed that wearing the veil was obligatory.
Women's hair emanates rays that excite men. That's why women should cover their hair! If in fact it is really more civilized to go without the veil, then animals are more civilized than we are (page74)."
Basically arguing that not wearing the veil is the cause of the rapes, because of the women's hair is ridiculous. Any normal person would argue that before the addition of veil was obligatory upon the women, there was no real incident in which a women was raped because for not wearing the veil. In addition to that, the man on the television clearly downgraded women, stating that if your stupid enough to not wearing the veil, then she might as well be as stupid as an animal.
Page 52:
"My father was not a hero, my mother wanted to kill people...so I went out to play in the street."
"Those stories has given me new ideas for games..."
"The one who loses will be tortured."
"Back at home that evening, I had the diabolical feeling of power...but it didn't last. I was overwhelmed."
In Persepolis, it seems as if all the children are judged based on who their parents are, and what they have accomplished. Although Marjane seems to be different than anyone else by the levels of passion she has for being involved, her parent's actions still shape how she feels and acts about herself. When she realized that her father wasn't a hero, and her mother wanted to kill, she tried to become who her parents were by trying to "torture" other kids if they lost a game or not. In other words, she wanted to be like her parents and all the other adults who were being violent. In some sense, it was easier for her to follow into her parents footsteps than create herself into a hero without the influence of her parents. This part of the graphic novel really demonstrates how although Marjane might have the ambition of an adult, she is still a child and mimics the people who are closest to her, whether it is what she truly wants or not. When Marjane is back at home and feels overwhelmed with the power she accumulated with her friends, the reader can further see how much of a child she is. This shows how pure Marjane's heart is. Although everyone around her seems to be violent or support violence, Marjane is smart enough to realized that having that type of power isn't for her.
Page 75
"Look at her! Last year she was wearing a miniskirt, showing off her beefy thighs to the whole neighborhood. And now Madame is wearing a Chador, it suits better, I guess"
"As for her fundamentalist husband who drank himself into a stupor every night, now he uses mouthwash every time he utters the word 'alcohol'"
These comments were critical to the text as a whole because it shows you that Marji's family wasn't completely bias to the new system being forced upon them.
Though they were against the veil and things of that sort, they still saw that these new acts were making some people better in a sense where it helped them to develop more respectable characteristics.
This is also important because it also enforces the reason why some people wanted the women to wear veil.
"Everything will be alright..."
"Marji, what seems to be the problem?"
"Shut up you! Get out of my life!!! I never want to see you again!"
"Get out!"
"And so i was lost, without any bearings... What could be worse than that?" pg 70-71
In these few lines we see the drastic change Marji has towards religion compared to that of the last panal on pg 53. Where we clearly see her being sheltered but now after the death of Anoosh she is lost and confused and no longer finds comfort in God and as we see in the dipiction of here on pg 71 she is withing the darkness with nothing to sheild her from hthe harsh realites i think in that picture says alot and in a way Marji is lost without her faith as her sheild she doesn't know what to believe anymore.
Page 70
" That was My last meeting with my beloved Anoosh..."
Newspaper reads "Russian Spy Executed"
I picked this quote for many reasons. Margi was extremely close and fond of her uncle Anoosh. she was really surprised when he left without saying goodbye.You could tell that him leaving really impacted her. I also feel that she knew something was going to happen to him. I think this is an influential part on Margi's story because once this happened she began to act different. She began to question what she believed in and how she felt about the war.
"Mom, I spoke to Ramin, he says his father did the right thing in killing communist." "My god! He repeats what they tell him, he will understand later..." - Page 46
The mother's response to her daughter questioning is a great representation to the story up until that part. Marjane who's political opinions are based almost completely on what her parents have told her is being told that she has to be understanding of others opinions because that was merely how they were raised and that they would become more open minded in the future. I feel this panel is a great representation of the book itself though the irony escaped both of them at the time.
"It wasn't only the government that changed. Ordinary people changed too." "Look at her! Last year she was wearing a miniskirt showing off her beefy thighs to the whole neighborhood and now madame is wearing a chador. It suits her better, i guess"
I chose this quote because I was surprised that the mother started to find reasons why the fundamentalist changes were good. She was one of the most vocal protesters of the new regime when it first was brought about but it was interesting to see how the entire family was all slowly getting accustomed to a bad political system.
The four quotes that I chose from the reading are from pages 74 and 75.
pg 74 "And so to protect women from all the potential rapists, they decreed that wearing the veil was obligatory.; Women's hair emanates rays that excite men. That’s why women should cover their hair! If in fact it is really more civilized to go without the veil, then animals are more civilized than we are. Incredible! They think all men are perverts! Of course, because they really are perverts!"
pg 75 “In no time, the way people dressed became an ideological sign. There were two kinds of women. The fundamentalist woman. The modern woman. You showed your opposition to the regime by letting a few strands of hair show.”
Pg75 “There were also two sorts of men. The fundamentalist man: Beard, shirt hanging out. The Progressive man; shaved with or without mustache, shirt tucked in. “
Pg 75 “But lets be fair. If women faced prison when they refused to wear a veil, it was also forbidden for men to wear neckties (that dreaded the symbol of the west). And if women’s hair got men excited, the same thing could be said of men’s bare arms. And so, wearing short-sleeved shirts was also forbidden. There was a kind of justice, after all.”
In these quotes you get to see how the Iranian society distinguishes between men and woman. The first quote talks about how women in Iran are forced to wear a veil. So that a woman does not get raped they must cover their hair because it attracts or seduces men. I find it really absurd how women must have to be forced to do something that they are against. Aren’t we all free to do as we please? This is kind of stereotypical because it does not refer to all the Iranian men. In the following two quotes Marji explains the two types of men and women in her society. You have the fundamentalist, modern women, and progressive man. The fundamentalists are the people who follow the traditions or fundamental principles of society. In this case it would be the women who wear a veil and men who have a beard and shirt sticking out. A modern woman goes against what the regimen wants. The progressive man does not let his beard grow out and tucks in his shirt. In the last quote Margi explains her view against the veil. Although Marji is just a little girl she is aware of what is going on around her and is able to express her feelings. I think that the author is trying to show that children are widely aware of what goes on around them. Marji believes that is there is a punishment for women who don’t wear a veil then there should be one for men.
Pages 85-86
“I wish he were alive and in jail rather than dead and a hero."
-Page 86
During this part of the story Marji and her classmate Pardisse are asked to write about the war.
Their compositions bring up the many feelings (some that differ) that pertain to war. Marji's composition came off as patriotic and pro-war, but very naïve compared to Pardisse's. Marji glorified war. Pardisse's composition presented the often grim realities of war. Neither of the compositions however present an absolutely correct view because both views are valid. Even Marji who is set in her ways about war begins to rethink things when Pardisse tells her, “I wish he were alive and in jail rather than dead and a hero.” That statement seemed to stay with Marji.
"The educational system and what is written in school books, at all levels, are decadent. Everything needs to be revised to ensure that our children are not led astray from the true path of islam"
This made me think of how in school Marji was taught that the shah had been picked by God. It shows how they targeted kids because they are vulnerable to believing what they are told and the government imposes what is desirable to them. Boys are given "the key to heaven" if they fight and die for their country. They also paint pictures in the young boys heads of heaven with lots of women and other desirable things.
pg. 81-82
Mr. Satrapi: "The Iraqis bombed us!"
...
Marji: "We have to bomb Baghdad!"
These two scenes shows Maraji's increase in violence. The nonchalant expression on her face shows that she's been dehumanized because of the war-riddled environment she grew up in.
Because this was her initial reaction, without any thought of the innocent civilians in Iran such as herself- Marjane is almost a mental prisoner of war and its effects on society.
Page 75
“But lets be fair. If women faced prison when they refused to wear a veil, it was also forbidden for men to wear neckties (that dreaded the symbol of the west). And if women’s hair got men excited, the same thing could be said of men’s bare arms. And so, wearing short-sleeved shirts was also forbidden. There was a kind of justice, after all.”
Marji makes great points in these four sentences. She shows that the men in her country were hypocrites. If the female sex has to hide her body to not cause men to get aroused, how come they don't have to cover their bodies? This shows that this rule is only to oppress the females in their country, by controlling how they were allowed to express themselves.
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