Persepolis Blog

This is not late, and I am not a procrastinator.

AND THERE ARE LIKE, 10 DAYS LEFT OF SCHOOL
and here teachers are expecting me to still work and pay attention. Man, last time last year we were just working on final projects and doing some stupid matrix stuff in math.

Ugh. These are deep questions. More than 500 word responses if I want to answer in my own "creative voice."

I also just remembered that my Great-Grandma is coming up from Illinois this week and next weekend. So I kinda sorta have to finish my graphic novel this weekend. Fun. I need to do the spring cleaning on my ghetto computer first.


QUESTION 1
The New York Times hails Persepolis as "the latest and one of the most delectable examples of a booming post modern genre: autobiography by comic book." blahblahblah
Why so popular? Why chosen to be told this way? something long...Have you read other graphic novels? How are they similar/different if you have? Would you call them a comic book? Where would you put it in a book store?

Well, one of the reasons this must be so popular is how easy things are to understand in a picture form. While else would half our knowledge on world history come from videos projected on a screen? It is easy to follow, and images can help show how specific scenes are supposed to play out, not leaving as much space for misinterpretation. I believe the author chose to share her story this way because so many more people can get a handle on it at a younger ager. When I first read Maus back in seventh grade, I got a much better understanding of the holocaust in this graphic novel than the novel Night that I read in eighth. Persepolis is not a comic book. Comic books are strips that are about super heroes. Duh. It is its own different genre. Graphic autobiography. If I ever made an autobiography for myself, you'd better expect it to be a freaking graphic novel- i would be offended if it were anything less. Not only that, I could have the drawings go from really suck-AWESOME by the end to signify my rising action, and then leave a scribble at the end if the problem was not resolved. Oh I am so creative. Graphic novels need their own section in the library. So there.


QUESTION 2
Written as a memoir, is Perseptolis more powerful than if Satrapi had fictionalized the story? Why or why not? Compare this book to other memoirs you have read. Wat are the benefits and drawbacks of memoirs?

I have not read very many memoirs to tell you the truth. I like me some hilarious fantasy books thank you very much. But, I have read enough of them to answer this.
I believe that Persepolis could be equally powerful either way. (this is going on dictionary.com's 6th definition of the word having great power, authority, or influence) If Persepolis was written in the way of something like Animal Farm I am sure it could be more powerful. Simplifing events in history down into something nearly anyone could understand can make everyone more knowledgeable, and having the power of knowledge is important. I think she does not need to fictionalize this story of hers. The way it is now-as a graphic novel, is just the way I would pick to learn about the Iranian revolution. Dude, all the History I have ever learned has come from a) videos, b) HETALIA- a webcomic or c) maus or persepolis and maybe some from an actual textbook. I don't like memorizing dates for history tests. But man, personify each of the countries into people and I TOTALLY GET IT NOW. I can tell you almost anything about WWII or the places/flags of all the cool countries. HA. I FAIL NOW.

QUESTION 5 are you even still reading this?
Describe the writer's voice. Is it appealing? Which aspects of Marji's character do you identify with or like the most, the least? Did your reaction to the little girl affect your reading exprience?

Personally, I like the author. She is pretty freaking hardcore. haha, it is late. She is very clear in getting her point across, and I like that. People dance around what their real aim in a conversation too much. The way Marji tells it, makes me understand what is going on without a lot of extra stuff to confuse me into not getting the picture. Like, how a story can be told quicker with panels then writing. Not that panels can be misinterpreted. I totally messed up on the last quiz because of it. BUT THAT WAS HARD. Sure, i could draw each of the characters from memory and remember the exact shape of their nose, but the words escape me.
back on topic now mkay.
I don't think my reaction much took away from the writing in and of itself. Sure I like the main character, but it is not in such a way that I would be swayed into only seeing her opinion. My middle school social study's teacher beat that out of me for three years. I must keep an open mine. WHEN EVERYONE KNOWS COLUMBUS WAS A LYING MURDER AND KILLED AMERICA.