Did you know that when in the process of creating graphic novels, illustrators use many specific details such as lines and shading to differentiate characters?, These details can symbolize way more than just another character and sometimes even convey a message that is really significant to the literature piece in order for a proper understanding of the author's main theme. With the use of graphic weight in the graphic novel Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi reinforces the distinct separation of the oppressed and the oppressors that can be easily muddled during war time, a distinction that was changed after the attacks on 9/11 and during the beginning of the war on terror. In doing so, Satrapi demonstrates the importance of ensuring people know about …show more content…
With the use of her drawing techniques, Satrapi demonstrates her desire to eliminate the moral ambiguity in the western world. Moral ambiguity is when a lack of clarity is present while dealing with an issue that has moral elements within it. Satrapi uses the lines and color contrast in her graphics to clarify ethical decision making when the westerners are making their opinion on Iran and the middle east. Due to Satrapi’s clear and distinct separation of the oppressed and oppressors in the graphic novel, she was able to tell the world what Iran truly was. When the graphic novel ‘Persepolis’ was translated in 2002 it was after the attacks on 9/11, these attacks had all Americans shook and the dislike of such “islamic nations” was very common, Dislike and hatred was spread throughout the westernized world and it only got worse as presidents spoke out in frustration and anger about Iran, this anger turned into the perspective of many westerners as they were never exposed to the real truth of what Iran was. It was because of the use of graphic weight in the graphic novel Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi reinforced the distinct separation of the oppressed and the oppressors that was easily muddled during war time and contributed to the many changed perspectives of Iran. Not all Iranians want to force religion and extremism, some also want to play and have fun like the rest of the
They can convey these emotions and opinions without any words, the images illustrate the feelings of the characters, the use of words unnecessary. These images are used effectively to resemble more than words or phrases ever can. The use of these images is effectively presented in Marjane Satrapi’s exquisitely presented novel, Persepolis. These images are thoughtfully presented and drawn out in the novel to show Marjane’s loss of innocence, her experience with social classes, and the large impact of religion in Marjane’s life.
Tim LaRocca Persepolis KPA In the book “Persepolis”, the author Marjane Satrapi, uses excellent diction to help the reader obtain knowledge and gain understanding of her main purpose in a specific passage or chapter of the book. Despite her specific word choice, it is challenging for readers to truly understand her main purpose only through literary terms and devices used throughout the book. Therefore, to help increase the readers ability to understand the main purpose of a certain specific passage, Satrapi uses an extensive amount of precise graphic elements. For example, in the passage “Kim Wilde”, Satrapi is able to express her main purpose that when governments tend to restrict the people too much, and become oppressive, the people tend to resist their law and rebel against the law by using the graphic elements of shading and facial expressions to express her purposes in and easier and clearer visual way.
Have you ever heard two people having a discussion about a topic, but they have different opinions? Acknowledging the fact that people could have different opinions based on their own perspectives is very important. In Persepolis, Marjane writes as her 10 year old self, sharing what she experienced in Iran, while they were in the middle of a revolution. Throughout the book, she gets older and her perspective changes multiple times over several different topics. Marjane Satrapi’s perspective affects her presentation of imperialism, religion and loss of innocence.
The twentieth century holds abundant enormous alterations within several aspects of life; graphic novels as a branch of literature are a part of these changes. It employs visual and verbal terminology to shape the story. One of the prominent novels in the twenty first century is Persepolis which is a story about Marjane Satrapi's childhood life (the writer of the novel) in Tehran. The graphical and textual narrative of the book provides many events including removing Reza Shah from power and replacing him by his son, ending western power over Iran, and fighting between Iran and Iraq which arose during 1979 – 1988. During these years Iranian people have gone through plenty of fluctuations and changes which are analyzed in numerous ways by
Marjane Satrapi uses a variety of graphic techniques, specifically on pages 61 and 137, to describe the way that Iran’s oppressive environment has forced Marji’s young, optimistic mind to think in a way that is painfully realistic. Throughout the book, Satrapi’s style of drawing is signature and
An impenetrable way through perseverance and resistance in the book “Persepolis” has sent a powerful message to audiences everywhere. This graphic novel is a story of small Marji, who had to face formidable obstacles through her childhood. Living in Iran surrounded by war and thousands of deaths, inspired the little girl to fight for her rights. On page 102 of the book, we can see a powerful juxtaposition, where both of the panels have a profound effect on the reader. Looking at the elements of a graphic novel, Satrapi uses caption, movement and mood in both of the panels in order to enhance the significance on the narrative.
During the Islamic Revolution, religion was very important to the fundamentalist Islamic regime that took power over the secular state. In her graphic memoir, Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi, a spiritual young girl, suffers a deep loss of faith due to the oppressive fundamentalist religion in Iran. This loss of faith causes Marji to experience disillusionment and a loss of identity, which greatly shapes her character. Through her experiences with God, Satrapi comments on the difference between spirituality and fundamentalist religion and displays the negative repercussions of an oppressive religious state.
God is her strongest outlet for the stressful Iranian Revolution. God is her hero in disguise, he does anything to bring her comfort and make her feel safe, yet as she gets older her hero is stripped from her due to growth and oppression. Satrapi demonstrates the removal of her heroes through many graphic techniques such as graphic weight, eminata, and gutter. Furthermore; graphic weight demonstrates the change in the relationship between her and her hero, God.
The role of politics in Marjane Satrapi 's life is a critical one, as seen in her graphic novel Persepolis, which narrates her experiences as a young girl raised by revolutionaries during turbulent times in Iran. Particularly, Satrapi uses juxtaposition between her parents and children to highlight the hypocrisy and myopia of the upper class revolutionaries when it comes to the interpretation and implementation of their political ideology. Satrapi builds the foundation of her criticism through the superficial comprehension her child self exhibits regarding her parents '—and, by extension, upper class communists '—ideals, then warns about the dangers that such lack of understanding presents through child soldiers who are fed ideologies and then sent to war. However, while pointing out the shortcomings of the movement, Satrapi 's use of children as the vessels for comparison entails that there is room for the communist community to develop, like Marji does as she matures from child to teen, and encourage equality through the removal of social barriers created through binaristic thinking to truly promote communist ideals. The first point of juxtaposition is Marji herself, particularly her initial myopic thinking as a child.
It also illustrates a belief in personal freedom because she is wearing clothes that are frowned upon. In this panel, Satrapi is challenging the negative stereotypes about Iranians by showing that people do still want to be free and not part of the Islamic regime. In the book Persepolis the author shows many reason as to how everyone in Iran didn’t want the Islamic regime. Satrapi challenges stereotypes about Iranians by showing people still want a better life and also by showing Individualism in Marjane.
The theme of repression is an ever-present issue in Persepolis. The picture on the right shows a bearded Islamist explaining to children why the veil needs to be imposed to counter Westernization. However, Satrapi’s home was a place of liberal values and free expression. This is shown in the scene where Marji is split between
The graphic novel, Persepolis that is written by Satrapi depicts the coming of age story of Marjane and her experiences during and after the Iranian war. Through Marjane’s experiences, the character frequently encounters the hardship and conflict of growing up. However, these hardships are major factors that shape Marjane as a character and establish the context of the novel. Within this novel, Satrapi uses graphic novel conventions and literary devices to convey the conflict of Marjane; with herself, with man (in the form of her teachers), and with the society that is revealed in Persepolis.
Often, comic books get read at surface level and the reader only sees the image and words surrounding it, but there is much more to many of these graphic novels. Behind the pattern of images, dialogue, and captions, there is depth to the stories. By looking closer and analyzing each page, panel, and image, themes and symbols are discovered. Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis is just one example of a graphic novel with a deeper meaning hidden inside of the black and white pages. At first glance, the novel seems to be a simple story about a young girl that grows up during the revolution in Iran in 1979, but there is much more.
Everything can be viewed from two perspectives; A fist fight, a murder, bullying, just to name a few situations. This is still the case with Iran and it’s people. Iran and its neighboring countries are often portrayed negatively as terrorist, or failed nations. This is not always the truth, however, and one can learn that through Marjane’s coming of age story, Persepolis. The personal nature of the story is told through Marjane’s loss of innocence, her opinions on religion, and her observation of the prominent gender roles.
After the Iranian Revolution, it became compulsory for women to wear the veil as the Islamic dress code and all women were removed from government positions, leading to increasing oppression and inequality in Iran. The use of black and white on the first page of the book creates a very clear image that a lot of people are unhappy with the new rules that are introduced by the government. The use of images shows us the oppression of freedom in a way that it would be hard to imagine with words. The first panel shows Marjane in a somber mood, crossing her arms to show her defensive thinking against the veil and the world. In the following panel, the girl’s expressions range from neutral to dislike or discomfort, which shows the general thoughts from people on how they think of the veil.