Blog Post 13: Veils and Heroes
Persepolis is an autobiography by Marjane Satrapi told in the form of a graphic novel. While some in the United States associate cartoons with infantile humor, don't let this fool you: Satrapi uses cartoons to tell a story of a child living in a time of revolution. The story juxtaposes the ordinary struggles of a child trying to learn her role in the world while tremendous violence and social change rush around her.
Answer the following prompt. Use at least six specific pieces of information total and at least three specific pieces of information no one has yet used in their blog posts, ONLY from the Introduction of page 53 of Persepolis, with a page citation for each; also, use at least 300 words in your answer.
1) How do Satrapi's emerging religious and political beliefs agree with and differ from her family, and why? What are some of her heroes growing up, and how are they similar to and different from your heroes growing up? How do cultural contexts and distinct personalities help us explain these similarities and differences?
Answer the following prompt. Use at least six specific pieces of information total and at least three specific pieces of information no one has yet used in their blog posts, ONLY from the Introduction of page 53 of Persepolis, with a page citation for each; also, use at least 300 words in your answer.
1) How do Satrapi's emerging religious and political beliefs agree with and differ from her family, and why? What are some of her heroes growing up, and how are they similar to and different from your heroes growing up? How do cultural contexts and distinct personalities help us explain these similarities and differences?
ReplyDeleteOne of the ways Marjane Satrapi agrees with the political beliefs of her family is that they both disagree with the current leader. To show their disagreement, both parties demonstrated. “My parents demonstrated everyday…After marching and throwing stones all day, by evening they had aches all over, even in their heads” (18). Satrapi also demonstrated despite the fact that she was not supposed to. “Tomorrow we are going to demonstrate” (38). Though Marjane’s parents seem to be “supportive” of her choice to be a prophet, she still seems to be hesitant to tell the truth. Despite the fact that being dishonest does not necessarily mean conflicting beliefs, one could interpret it that way. “So tell me, my child, what do you want to be when you grow up? A prophet. I want to be a doctor” (9). “You want to be a doctor? I thought that…No, no, I will be a prophet but they mustn’t know (9). Another way their political beliefs differ is when social class comes into play. Satrapi believed that Mehri could fall in love with whoever despite her social class; her parents, specifically her dad believed otherwise. “You must understand that their love was impossible…Because in this country you must stay within your own social class” (37).
Some of Satrapi’s heroes were of interesting choice. When she was talking to God about the demonstrations, one of her heroes was Fidel Castro. Castro was a politician and a communist revolutionary making her hero choice “unique”. “Don’t you think I look like Che Guevara? Maybe I’ll be even better as Fidel Castro” (16). Another one of Satrapi’s heroes was Che Guevara. Guevara was a revolutionary and a military theorist; again an interesting choice of hero. “The year of the revolution I had to take action. So I put my prophetic destiny aside for a while…Today my name is Che Guevara” (10).
Satrapi’s heroes are similar to mine because you want your hero to be someone who is strong and somewhat powerful. You look up to that person because of their decisions and if it seems somewhat correct, they can be seen as a hero. Her heroes differ from mine simply due to the fact that hers are military leaders. Though military leaders can be seen as heroes, revolutionists are not my first option. When I choose a hero, I pick them because of the similarities we share. The cultural contexts explain the similarities and differences because I have not first-handedly experienced a revolution. When someone is in a revolution, one of their heroes is obviously going to be one that participates to reach a solution. Satrapi’s distinct personality shows that personality also dictates the type of hero. One’s personality can determine who their hero is because that hero may have the same distinct personality.
Tess Song
ReplyDeleteIt is apparent that Satrapi’s views differed from that of her family’s as a child because she did not understand much. However, her parents tried to correct her ideas when she explained that she loved “the king, he was chosen by God...it’s written on the first page of our schoolbook” (19). Her father explained to her that it was not true. It is just what is said. You can see the difference between Satrapi and her parents material wise. Her father and mother both had nice, luxurious times, but Satrapi was “ashamed to sit in…[her] father’s cadillac” (33). It became obvious to her why she disliked being in her father’s car after he explained that her grandfather was a communist. Satrapi emphasized that “the reason for…[her] shame and for the revolution is the same: the difference between social classes (33). Further along, she explains the story of the young woman that watches her who fell in love with the neighbor. However, her father protrudes by communicating to the young man that she was his maid. Marji, however disagrees with her father that “their love was impossible” (37). She was confused by her dad’s stance because she knew it was not the young woman’s “fault that she was born where she was born” (37). On the other hand, Satrapi agrees with the taking down of the shah as she attend the demonstration exclaiming, “Down with the Shah” (39)!
Satrapi’s heroes included Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. She tried to emulate Castro with a hat on as she looked at herself in the mirror. She also seemed to have a small relationship with God as she aspired to be a prophet, but soon lost interest. She portrays that disconnect with a conversation between she and God. He asks, “so you don’t want to be a prophet anymore (13). In response, she avoids the question and asks to “talk about something else (13).
Satrapi’s heroes are similar in the fact that they are strong, ambitious people who continue to reach their goal. However, I do not look up to military leaders with backgrounds such as Castro and Guevara. Cultural background explains these differences because her parents went through different circumstances that influence her. In addition, location is a big factor based on the ideas brought to her and the manner in which they are brought to her. Finally, distinct personalities play a role into these differences because usually one picks a role model in which they aspire to be like. Satrapi’s strong-willed personality reflects her choices in heroes.
Haley Melita
ReplyDeleteOne way that Satrapi’s religious and political views agree with her parents is when the Rex Cinema was burned down, “The doors had been locked from the outside a few minutes before the fire. The police were there. They forbade people to rescue those locked inside. Then they attacked them. The firemen didn’t arrive until forty minutes later. The BBC said there were 400 victims. The Shah said that a group of religious fanatics perpetrated the massacre. But the people knew that it was the Shah’s fault!!!” (14-15). Following this incident, Satrapi begs her parents to let her participate with them in the upcoming demonstration, “I want to come with you tomorrow!...For a revolution to succeed the entire population must support it” (16-17). Although her parents refuse, this act shows that Satrapi’s personal beliefs align with her parents. Satrapi’s views differ from her parents when she realizes that a big problem in the world is the division in social classes, “The reason for my shame and for the revolution is the same: the difference between social classes” (33). Here, she also discovers why she feels ashamed to ride in her dad’s car, “I finally understood why I felt ashamed to sit in my father’s cadillac” (33). Not only does she notice that her father drives a nice car, but she also notices that she has a maid at home, “But now that I think of it...We have a maid at home!!!” (33). These discovers about her family lead her to further believe that the revolution is due because of the gap in social classes. A hero of Satrapi’s growing up is God. This is seen countless times when Satrapi turns to God for guidance, “God, where are you?” (17). Satrapi’s hero growing up was similar to mine growing up in the sense that you can always turn to God for guidance and use religion to help you through your daily life. However, at such a young age I also had heros from books and T.V shows. These cultural differences can be explained by examining the limited freedoms and rights given to those living in Iran during the revolution.
Heather Penna
ReplyDeleteAs a child growing up during the revolution in Iran, Marjane Satrapi develops beliefs that differ from those around her. First and foremost, Satrapi begins the develop acknowledging her deep belief that is the last of the great prophets (pg.6). This belief of hers is very much so disapproved of at her school and she soon decides that she needs to keep her belief to herself and be a prophet in secret (pg. 8-9). More than just religiously, Satrapi differs from her parents by believing that the king was chosen by God (pg.19). Her parents who were fighting against the king, did not believe this to be true; however, according to everything that Satrapi had learned in school it was.
Growing up, Satrapi had some heroes. Fidel Castro, the revolutionaries of Iran, Karl Marx, and Descartes were some of her heroes mentioned on page 12. It is interesting that these are her heroes, because most of these people are painted as the "bad guys" in America. In Iran, the citizens fighting against the King wanted to become communist nation. This can be seen when Satrapi strongly opposes her classmate who believes communist are evil (pg. 48). This is very different than in America where we are taught to believe that communism is ultimately destructive and evil.
Your cultural plays a very large role in the people you look up to and what you believe to be true. American culture teaches democracy and the horrors of communism. Whereas, in Iran the large class divide (pg.37) caused many people to prefer and support the idea of communism. An individual's personality is also important in creating a sense of what you believe to be true. Satrapi is an extremely confident child, which is why she is able to so strongly support the revolution and her belief that she is a prophet.
ReplyDeleteSatrapi’s and her family’s religious views differ and agree in a few ways. Satrapi talks about how her and her friends all hate the newly implemented veil on page 4 and 5. We can see through her mom’s facial expression in the cartoon that her view is similar; she is against the veil as well (5). We can assume that her parents do not agree with how religious she is or wants to be. Satrapi says that only her grandmother knows she has a Holy Book (7). Furthermore, when her parents find out that she wants to become a Prophet, she lies to them and tells them she actually wants to be a Doctor (9). They like that idea way more than her being a Prophet. Another differing factor of Satrapi and her family is believing how the King became appointed. Satrapi is a believer of God, so she thought that God chose and appointed the king (19). Her dad explains to her that the King was not chosen by God, and in fact he was chosen by the British people to take control of Iran’s oil (24).
One of Satrapi’s heroes was Zarathustra. He was the first prophet in her country, and she wanted to be the last (7). She mentions his three rules: “Behave well, peak well, act well” (7). Satrapi says she “wanted to celebrate the traditional Zarathustrian holidays” as well (7). Two people in the revolution were her heroes too- Fidel Castro and Che Guevera (16). She wants to be involved in the demonstrations and makes a joke and says don’t I look like them (Castro and Guevera)? She tries to imitate them. These are interesting heroes. I can relate to her prophetic hero, Zarathustra because I have heroes of my own from the Bible. I can also relate to her other heroes in the way that they are strong people standing up for what they believe in and trying to make a change. But I do not agree with or look up to militaristic, communist leaders like them. Culture plays a role in this because a lot of times you look up to someone who society or your parents say someone who is respectable should look like. Culture influences how you perceive people and look at things. Personalities also play a role because people are attracted to people who are similar to them. In this case, Satrapi is strong willed which reflects her heroes.
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ReplyDeleteDuring the beginning of the novel Persepolis we see that there is a shift in religion and this is what has caused the conflict primarily. “We didn’t really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had to. And also because the year before, in 1979, we were in a French non-religious school” (4). We see immediately why there is conflict involving the veil, the community had never practiced this custom and then it was mandatory all of a sudden. When looking at the political and religious beliefs of Satrapi’s we see that her parents are very much against what is happening. He mother was captured in a photo demonstrating freedom from the veil by a German photographer, which caused many problems later for her (5). This shows that her parents were not strict when it came to wearing the veil. In contrast “I really didn’t know what to think about the veil, deep down I was very religious but as a family we were very modern and avant-garde.” (6) Within her family there was conflict regarding their beliefs. Her family took the modern perspective, while Satrapi was still confused. “ I was born with religion” (6) Satrapi wanted to be a prophet and was very determined in her faith. These were some of her heroes she wanted to obtain the powers she believed they had. She wrote up rules that she would implement as prophet and would recite them to her grandmother. A couple of the rules that she established were “Rule number six: Everybody should have a car. Rule number seven: All maids should eat at the table with the others. Rule number eight: No old person should have to suffer. In that I’ll be your first disciple. Really?” (6-7). These a are some of the things that Satrapi wanted to enforce and her grandmother was supportive, and told her that she would be her first follower. Her heroes or the people that she looks up to and wants to be when she grows up were spiritual figures. “ What do you want to be when you grow up? I’ll be a prophet.” (8) Growing up in my mind I would never have imagined wanting to be a prophet, although I am a Muslim and was also born with a strong sense of religion. My heroes were my parents or police officers or fire fighters. I never imagined embodying the characteristics of a prophet.
ReplyDeleteNeal Vogel
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of Persepolis, Satrapi goes into detail about the influence her religion had on her growing up. She writes “I was born with religion” and explains how every night she talked with God (6-8). It is clear that she got her religious beliefs from her family, but we do not know much about her parents’ religious practices. She expresses wanting “to celebrate the traditional Zarathustrian holidays”, implying that her family does not currently celebrate them (7). Similarly she openly expresses her wish to become a prophet to her grandmother but keeps it a secret from her parents (7). This implies that her parents, while certainly not opposed to Zarathustrianism, are not as devout as Satrapi or her grandmother. They seem to be much more politically involved rather than religious, as shown by the books they buy Satrapi about revolutionary Iranian figures and foreign revolutionaries such as Castro (12). However, her parents do not seem to be communists; they certainly oppose the Shah’s rule and openly demonstrate (18) but they also have a maid and enjoy luxuries like a Cadillac (33). Furthermore, Satrapi’s father tells her at a young age “In this country you must stay within your own social class” and it is not clear that he is as opposed to these class divisions as a communist would surely be (37). Satrapi meanwhile sees the class division and the wealth of her family and seems to sympathize with communist beliefs that would abolish class systems (33). Her heroes are even communist revolutionaries such as Che Guevara and Fidel Castro (10). Not only does this reflect her emerging favorable view of the communist cause, but also the kind of world in which she lives. Satrapi lives in a world of political instability and revolution in which people are fighting to keep the shah in power, to institute democracy, to institute communism, and to institute an Islamic theocracy (3, 23, 40, 47-48). She lives in a world where massacres, political imprisonment, and torture are commonplace, to the point that she even plays games involving torture with her friends (53). Given these circumstances, it is no surprise that not only are Satrapi’s childhood heroes revolutionary figures who were involved in violent political struggles, but that even at such a young age Satrapi has political views and a desire to participate in anti-government demonstrations (38).
Satrapi and her family have a few similar views in regards to religion and politics but have many differing views as well. Satrapi believes that God told her she is the last prophet, but her family and the leaders at school seem to believe she is making things up and is lying. (3) After the cinema was burned down, Satrapi wanted to go demonstrate but her father said she was not allowed to because it is too dangerous and she doesn’t need to be there. (17) Satrapi then starts speaking about how their king was chosen by God but her father says she is wrong and goes into a long story about how the king was actually chosen. (19) Satrapi spoke about the veil and how her and her friends didn’t understand its purpose and disliked it. On the same page, we see her mom have the same opinion about the implement of the veil. (4) Even though her parents did not exactly agree with her view of being the last prophet, her grandma seems to support Satrapi’s religious views, because she is the only person that knows about Satrapi’s Holy Book. “In that case, I’ll be your first disciple.” (7)
ReplyDeleteSatrapi had many heroes growing up such as Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and Trotsky. (10) She also looked up to her grandpa, “My grandpa was a prince!” (22) Her heroes were very different from my heroes growing up because my heroes were people in movies or princesses not political leaders. One of her heroes, her grandpa, was a similar hero as one of mine. I look up to my grandpa for his courage, loving heart, and kindness.
Cultural contexts and distinct personalities help us explain these similarities and differences. Her culture helps explain why military leaders are her heroes and why she plays dress up as Fidel Castro rather than Cinderella. Satrapi has a very strong personality that is quite different from my own because she is always ready to take charge and go against what others are doing around her. Her choice of heroes reflects her personality because she aspires to be a politic or religious leader that changes the world.
Unlike many other stories Satrapi’s parents are not her heroes; in fact, their beliefs differ in polar opposites usually. For example, when it comes to forgiveness, her mom says that “Bad people are dangerous, but forgiving them is too” (53) where as Satrapi writes in the introduction that “One can forgive but one should never forget” (II) ergo hinting towards the idea of a more liberal use of forgiveness. Another way that that Satrapi’s beliefs conflict is her ardent emphasis on religion (especially as “every night [she] had a discussion with God” (8)) showing that she views God as a hero for herself (or at least an extremely important figure). In another sense, Satrapi originally agrees with her parents’ communist belief (even going so far as to dress up as El Che: “Today my name is Che Guevara” (10)) where as, once the revolution was over, her beliefs of what was right was challenged to the extent that “[she] didn’t know what justice was. Now that the revolution was finally over once and for all, [she] abandoned the dialectic materialism of [her] comic strips” (53). However, she still held onto some of her a-hierarchical stances on society (“But is it her fault that she was born where she was born?” (37)). The reasons for these disparities can probably come down to her parents’ absenteeism (for example, when Satrapi ask to participate in the revolution, the parents’ response is often no: “You can participate laster on” (17) in an obvious attempt to protect her). So while Satrapi is by herself in school, or at home with the maid, she develops her views in reference to her surroundings: her holy book, what she hears from her friends and sees on the streets, etc.
ReplyDeleteFor me, this is different in the sense that my heroes haven’t been, for at least 10 years, a deity or a family member (like that of her grandpa), but more of those I read about and hear about in reference to political movements and online activist (and similarly, this is the same place where I find those that I dislike). Of course, this can be mostly accounted for by the fact that Iran, in general, is a much more oft war-torn country and has developed from a less ‘Western-only’ framework but of a synthesis of the Eastern and Western invaders and thereby cultural influencers. This prolonged peace that the US has leads to more opportunities for frivolous research and mindless banter and, especially with the access to technology, more of a synthesis from a lot more diverse group of people than what one could find from a book in their house or hear from their teacher and schoolmates. Her social situation is much more contained in that her Overton is much smaller (hence why the revolution was very destructive) and beliefs cannot really be challenged by outside opinions due to an access to technology of the time.
Benjamin M Aaron
ReplyDeleteThus far, I have found this graphic novella to be a very good insight into the world of a typical Iranian family. Through the eyes of the child (Marjane Satrapi), we see that the world around us is not so cut and dry. Although later in this section we know that Islam is pressed heavily on the country of Iran, the child seemed to be religious; albeit a different, more personal religion, religion none the less. Her political beliefs seem to be similar, yet different than her parents. At the time, she finds political leaders (dictators) to be her idols. At one point, she took part of playing rebel in the back yard with her friends as Trotsky, Fidel, and Che Guevara. (10) With her parents participating in the revolution as kind of middle-road supporters, she disagreed at the level of action they were taking. On, one set of panels, she noticed that her parents were not as supportive of man, woman, and child participating in the rallies. (17) So, clearly, they were not wholly committed to the idea of revolution. (or at least radical enough as she would have wanted.)
Reverting back to her aforementioned role models; I found that interesting. We know know that every single one of her role models were evil men, or they were the master minds of ideas that have been disproven time and time again. She mentioned Fidel Castro multiple times as someone who was able to complete a revolution successfully. (12) She mentioned Karl Marx as well as someone of whom she looked forward to. We know now that if they would have adopted communism in Iran, it would be equally as bad as it is now, if not worse. While she was mentioning this role models, if found it curious that these of all people would be the ones she looked up to. Upon further thinking, I realized that the Shah that was in charge of Iran at the time was deeply against matters of the west; so It would make sense to have texts from the leading dictators and socialists idealist of the world. The only person that she mentioned that has any repute in the world was Marie Curie.
Satrapi was very religious, but as a family they were very modern and Avant- Garde. She wanted to be a Prophet. (6) Satrapi wanted to be apart of the revolution, to demonstrate on the street with her parents. She believed for a revolution to be successful, the entire population must support it. She didn’t understand what her parents were fighting for at the time, she just wanted to be a part of something bigger. (16-17)
ReplyDeleteSatrapi’s parents would participate in demonstrations everyday to show support against the King. Satrapi states that she loves the King because he was chosen by God. Her father wants to know where she came up with this idea, only to learn it came from her teacher and God. (18-19)
Her father explains to her that she was misinformed. She now realizes that she did not understand anything, so she decided to research and learn the truth. (32)
As she read and educated herself, she came to a realization about her shame and the revolution, how it was connected: The differences between the social classes. (33)
After the Shah’s departure the schools closed during this period, eventually reopened and were no longer teaching that the King was chosen by God anymore, also to tear out all his photos from their textbooks. (44-45)
Satrapi struggles with the topic of Justice. Satrapi’s mother tells her it is not for us to do justice, we have to learn to forgive. That someone should not be judged by the actions of their father. (46)
Satrapi’s heroes consisted of Fidel Castro, Karl Marx, H. Ashraf (Castro was a communist. Marx was a socialist. Ashraf was a guerilla fighter against the shah). God was also one of her heroes. This is seen numerous times when Satrapi turns to God for guidance, “God, where are you?” (17) I can always turn to God for direction and use my religious conviction to help me through my everyday life. At a young age, I also had heroes from books that I would read and shows that I watched. These cultural differences can be explained by examining the restricted freedoms and civil liberties given to those living in Iran during the revolution.
Your cultural backgrounds play a very large role in the people you look up to and what you believe to be true. American culture teaches democracy and the uncertainties of communism. Although, in Iran the large class divide caused many people to prefer and support the idea of communism. (37) An individual's personality is also important in creating a sense of what you believe to be true. Satrapi is a tremendously poised child, which is why she is able to stalwartly back the revolution and her belief that she is a prophet.
Satrapi’s political and religious beliefs differ from her family’s in that she wished to be prophet and she upheld her moral ideals, as opposed to her parents who believed in a more practical life. Satrapi states the she was “born with religion,” and that “at the age of six” she was certain that she was a prophet (4). When Satrapi discovered that her maid could not marry her lover because they were not in the same social class, she asked, “But is it her fault that she was born where she was born?” (35). Satrapi’s parents, however, held a less idealistic view of reality. When they asked Satrapi what she wanted to be when she grew up, she answered, “a doctor,” even though she wanted to be a prophet—she felt the need to hide from their expectations (7). Furthermore, when her father discovered that the maid was in love with a man of higher social standing, he went to the man and explained the maid’s standing, as opposed to Satrapi who encouraged their love (35).
ReplyDeleteSatrapi’s two main heroes are God and her grandmother. One of the primary reasons she wished to be a prophet was because her grandmother’s knees hurt constantly, and she wanted to eradicate the pain that her grandmother felt (4). She also saw God as a place of refuge—referring to God, she said, “the only place I felt safe was in the arms of my friend” (35). I too look to both God and my grandmother for encouragement and inspiration. I always call my grandmother for whatever advice I need, and God is the inspiration for my morality and is my safe place in good times and bad. Satrapi’s cultural context was generally very religious and family-oriented. Although those qualities have diminished in the United States, I relate to Satrapi because my own loved ones values family and religion very highly, and thus she and I have had similar heroes.
ReplyDeleteIn the graphic novel Persepolis, we as the audience are shown the perspective of a young girl who is living in the time of a political revolution in Iran. The main character, Satrapi, is doing her best to process and keep up with what is happening in her country. Early on, she tells us that she was “born into religion” (6). This means that her and her parents agree religiously because she was raised with the same religious views as her parents. When she was young, she experienced firsthand the effects of the political changes in her country when she was forced to wear a veil to school and separated from her friends (3-4). She did not quite understand what was the reasoning behind this act, and because of this, she was against it. Her parents were against this too, but for deeper, more political and religious beliefs (5). In a way, her and her parents agree that the girls being forced to wear the veils is wrong, but the logic behind why differs. Even though she was raised with the same religious beliefs as her parents, at one point she was scared to admit her desire to become a prophet to them (9). Satrapi was in trouble for saying this at school and when her parents found out about it, they were unfazed (8). This shows how supportive they are of their daughter’s pursuit of religion. Nonetheless, when Satrapi was asked by her parents what she wanted to be when she was older, she lies and says she wants to be a doctor (9).
Satrapi’s heroes range from her own family to dictators of foreign countries. The first person we see that she looks up to is her own mother. Satapi talks about how proud she is of her mother after seeing a picture of her protesting (5). The next hero of hers we meet is Fidel Castro. She says that she reads a lot of books surrounding him (12). Later on, she says, “Maybe I’ll be even better than Fidel Castro” (16). It’s because of this quote that we can see exactly how much she looks up to him. Her choice of heroes differs a little from my own. We are similar in the way that she admires her parents and the courage that they have. My parents are definitely some of the biggest heroes in my life. I’ve always looked up to them. However, I have never looked up to a dictator. I understand how she sees Castro as a hero because of the power he demonstrates, and we are similar because some of the people I look up to also have powerful positions in our world.
Dalton Shettle
ReplyDeleteIn this graphic novel, it doesn't take long for you to realize that Satrapi wants to be a prophet when she grows up. This however went against her family's religious attitudes. Evidence of this is on page six when she says, "I really didn't know what to think about the veil. Deep down I was very religious but as a family we were very modern and avant-garde" (6). A thing that Satrapi wanted to do that went against her family's political beliefs was to go in the street to demonstrate. Evidence of this is on page seventeen when she says, "To demonstrate on the street! I am sick and tired of doing it in the garden" (17). Evidence that this goes against her family's political beliefs is on page sixteen when her parents say, "Tomorrow there will be another demonstration. Obviously, we can't let things like that happen" (16). Growing up Satrapi's hero was the king chosen by God. Evidence of this is on page 19 when Satrapi says, "As for me, I love the king, he was chosen by God" (19). Growing up and to this day one of my heroes is and will always be God the Father. In this book, Satrpi's god is different than my God. Her god is the Father of the Shah which is a different religion from mine. Evidence that hers is different is on page nineteen when it says, "... Father of the Shah..." (19). The fact that Satrapi is an Aryan gives evidence as to why her cultural differences are different. Evidence that she is a part of the Aryans is on page 27 when it says, "I am the light of the Aryans. I will make this country the most modern of all time. Our people will regain their splendor" (27). A similarity between this culture and my culture is the way in which martyrs are treated and honored. On page 31 there is evidence of this when it says, "People came out carrying the body of a young man killed by the army. He was honored like a martyr. A crowd gathered to take him to the Baheshte Zahira Cemetery" (31).
Nathalia Goncalves
ReplyDeleteIn “Persepolis”, young Marjane Satrapi aspires to follow her parents’ footsteps and live a life much like theirs. Although she questions a lot of what they do and sometimes, even struggle with their reasoning, Satrapi is morally a lot like her parents. As previously mentioned, although much like her parents, Satrapi still seems to be more faith oriented when they are. Her parents seem to keep religion and politics more apart than she does. For example, after Satrapi’s parents left the teacher meeting and said: “so tell me child, what do you want to be when you grow up?” and although she wanted to reply saying “a prophet,” she instead said “a doctor” (8-9). This shows how Marjane Satrapi did not feel comfortable telling her parents how she really felt. Also, when Satrapi was playing outside in the garden of her house and said that “the revolution is like a bicycle, when the wheels don’t turn, it falls” (10). This quote not only stuck to me, but it also showed how although she did not understand the details of what was going on, she could still understand more than her parents probably wanted her to. This book really shows the different perspectives between children and adults during the revolution. Another example of this is when Marji’s father has to explain to her why Mehri’s love with Hossein was forbidden due to the difference in social classes. It was difficult for Marji to understand this. In the following scene she goes to Mehri’s room states that “we were not in the same social class, but at least we were in the same bed” (37). This shows how Marji’s ideals for society were more advance than what was present in her country at the time. Some of Marji’s heroes included God, Che Guevara , and Fidel Castro (16). God was one of her heroes because she “was born with religion,” which means God was her first hero (6). Fidel Castro and Che Guevara were military heroes to her, which is fitting for the time since Iranians for fighting to become a communist nation. Earlier in the book she states how she “wanted to be justice, love, and the wrath of God all at once” (9). This balance in character can be reflected on her choice of heroes. Later on, her ideals of a hero evolve to considering martyrs heroes, especially the severely wounded, which is also characteristic that is seen in the way people view veterans in the United States today. The way she sees those who fought for a cause as heroes, we do too. Although I don’t see some of her heroes as heroes, I do see why she sees them that way because of the time period. Cultural contexts helps the reader understand why she thinks the way she does and also emphasizes the fact that facts without context can be misleading.
Carrolline Kickhoefer
ReplyDeleteBrendan Payne
History since 1500
Blog Post #4
Satrapi is a young girl living in Iran during a political revolution, with the use of this graphic novel we are able to see how children her age are faced with problems. During this book we will also see how Satrapi and her parents agree and disagree. During this graphic novel we also see who Satrapi looks up to and sees as a positive influence. One of Satrapi’s heros was the first prophet in her country (7). And another one of her biggest heros is Fidel Castro. (16) Satrapi’s biggest hero is her grandfather I think because she says “ My Grandpa is my Prince!”(6) I relate to Satrapi in a lot of ways because when I was growing up my hero was my grandfather.
I feel like Satrapi and her parents disagree on things more than they agree on. One of the things they disagree on is what she will do with her future. Satrapi tells her parents that she wants to be a doctor when in reality she wants to be a prophet.(9) Another major difference between Satrapi and one of her parents is the maid’s love life. The main and a man of higher social standing are in love. Satrapi encourages their love while her dad goes to the man to make him aware of the maid’s social standing. Satrapi’s father tells her “You must understand that their love was impossible…Because in this country you must stay within your own social class”(37). Another big difference between her parents and her is that her parents believe that the king was chosen by the British but Satrapi believes the king was chosen by God(24). There are several differences between her parents that could go on forever.
Satrapi’s religious beliefs came from her family and what she had read and learned at school. “The first three rules came from Zarathustra. He was the first prophet in my country before the Arab invasion” (7). She believed she had the ability to grow up and be a prophet like Zarathustra (6). As the revolution ramps up, her parents are vocal about their opposition to the rule of the Shah and their desire to demonstrate against his rule (16). Some of Satrapi’s heroes growing up were Fidel Castro, Karl Marx and Che Guevara. She idolized revolutionaries of her time (16). My heroes growing up were vastly different from Satrapi’s due to the fact I was blessed to live in a free republic. I looked to our forefathers and remember becoming aware of the President’s role in the lives of citizens when Ronald Reagan was elected. Since Satrapi was raised in a part of the world that had experienced invasion after invasion and the fact she was the granddaughter of the last emperor of Iran gave her a very different view of what heroes were. With her grandfather becoming a communist, it is clear there were influences of Marx that shaped her childhood. When her parents explained why the Shah was not appointed by God, they pointed out that he was not an educated man and became the pawn of capitalists (20). Satrapi also seemed to struggle with the concept of why people close to her family were imprisoned. She struggled with the idea of her grandfather in prison (25). The cultural context of the world Satrapi grew up in was one of upheaval, invasion and change on a regular basis. It is easy to see why the revolution seemed to be the answer to bring stability to a region of the world that had been unstable for such a long time.
ReplyDeleteIn Persepolis, Satrapi is very religious but does not believe in the veil “I really don’t know what to think of the veil” Pg.6. Satrapi believes she is a prophet because of multiple reasons of wealth like her maid and her father’s Cadillac. “In that case, I’ll be your first disciple” said Satrapi to her grandmother on page 7. What she disagrees with her parents on is letting her go to the protests and march. She supports the revolution and her parents do to. They believe she shouldn’t participate in it. When the cinema gets burned down she asks her parents to go with them tomorrow, but she is rejected once more. “For an entire revolution to succeed, the entire population must support it”, Say Satrapi Pg. 17. “You can participate later on”, pg. 17. Satrapi learns facts in school that are designed by the government like her belief in the shah being chosen by the king. Pg. 19. Her father tells her that “the father of the shah, who was a soldier, organized a putsch to overthrow the emperor and install a republic”. Pg. 19. Her heroes seem to be either communists or solely bad people in history such as Castro, Che Guevarra, Trotsky, Pg. 43. The difference in the heroes is how she is looking up to pre-revolutionary generals and dictators, and communist ideologies whereas we would look up to people like a senator or George Washington. Founders of our democracry is what we look up to compared to her communist beliefs that she truly looks up to. Since Satrapi believes she “was born with religion”, pg. 6, she believes she knows what is best for Iran. For Iran, its always a soldier or poor person who wants to make a change, gets in power and takes the wealth for himself. “In any case, as long as there is oil in the middle east, we will never have peace.” Pg. 43.
ReplyDeleteSatrapi’s religious and political beliefs are both similar and different than her parnets’. First of all, Satrapi’s parents both would go demonstrate because they were revolting against their leader. Just as they did, Satrapi wanted to “demonstrate on the street” just like her parents, because she did not agree with the leader either (17). However, they forbade her from going because it was dangerous. That did not stop her from going though. She and her family’s maid “shouted from morning till night” (380). Therefore, both her and her family held the same beliefs. After this, she realized that one main difference in beliefs between herself and her parents was the issue of social class. She believed that her maid, who was also her friend, had the right to fall in love with whoever she wanted to, such as the boy who lived next door, but her father declared that their “love was impossible” (37). Satrapi is extremely confused as to why her father seems to be supporting social class division. She cries out, “But is it her fault that she was born where she was born?” (37). She finally realized that this difference is why she had always felt ashamed to ride in her father’s fancy car (33). This difference between social classes is what really bothered her.
ReplyDeleteThree of Satrapi’s heroes are Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and God. She even tries to dress up as Fidel Castro and Che Guevara by wearing a hat (16). God, however, seemed to be a more intimate hero that she talked and communicated with. She was always having conversations with him, and when she was sad, she longed for his presence and wanted him there.
Satrapi’s heroes have some of the same qualities that heroes of mine would have such as power and leadership. However, my heroes are not political leaders and figures. I think throughout all of time and in most cultures, heroes are people that one looks up to, which commonly leads to famous people becoming heroes for some. I am not someone who is very involved in politics, so me having a hero that is a political leader is very slim. Also, I am not surrounded by people around me getting killed and sent to jail. She does see that on a daily basis, providing her with more incentive to follow political leaders.
Katie Lebo
ReplyDeleteIt is very evident that Satrapi’s emerging religious and political beliefs are very different from what her parents believe. One of the ways Satrapi’s political beliefs agree with that of her family is the veil. On page 3, Satrapi says “we don’t like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had to” (3). On page 5, you can see Satrapi’s mother against the veil as she goes to the demonstration to protest the veil. Satrapi and her parents both disagree on the new leader. On page 18, “my parents demonstrated every day.” Her parents threw rocks and marched all day to protest the new king, whereas Satrapi says she loves the king and that “he was chosen by God” (19). Satrapi and her parents grew up in different times and under different circumstances, so it makes sense that they have conflicting beliefs about the new ruler.
Satrapi’s heroes include Fidel Castro, Karl Marx, and the revolutionaries of Iran. She knew “everything about the children of Palestine, about Fidel Castro, about the young Vietnamese killed by the Americans, about the revolutionaries of my country” (12). Satrapi also plays dress up as Che Guevara and Fidel Castro (16). Most of the heroes I had when I was younger was superheroes or my parents. I think it’s interesting to compare the differences of children based on where they grew up and what circumstances they were living through. For Satrapi she grew up during a revolution and looked up to people who were enlightenment thinkers or rulers of countries or people who fought for what they believed in. As for me, I grew up in the outskirts of Dallas where there was no war going on and my biggest heroes were my parents and people who had superhuman abilities on television. Cultural contexts and distinct personalities help us understand these differences and why she looks up to these military leaders and thinkers.
Throughout the beginning of this book, Satrapi is introduced as a very interesting child in the midst of a revolution. She has her own dreams and expectations: Satrapi wants to be the last prophet in her country (7). Besides the religious aspect, there is also the fact that her parents do not realize her beliefs on politics. Even though her parents have no idea. She talks about how she grew up in a secular household, but she has her own “unshakeable” faith.
ReplyDeleteHer confidence in her grandmother also shows how deeply she cares her her, yet still is unprepared to share with her family. Her grandmother is the only person who knows she has a Holy Book (7). Her belief that the king was chosen by God, even though her parents very much disagree with her, and tell her that the king was chosen by the British people (24).
“I’ll be even better than Fidel Castro” (17), this is a reflection that Satrapi has when she decides she does not want to be a prophet anymore. In this scene, you can see that she values Fidel Castro as a big hero of hers. She also says,“Don’t you think I look like Che Guevara?” (16), which shows where her allegiance also lies in this scenario. She reads several books, through which she discovers her own opinions that are separate from her parents’ views. After her parents talk about how there will be another demonstration the next day, she says, “I want to go too” (16) to God when she talks to Him. The fact that she is only at that point talking to God about what she believes shows how much her views differ from her parents. This cultural difference really opens my eyes because I realized how different it must be to be raised in a culture that is so different in every way than my own. This would make it so much harder to switch your beliefs or conclude something different when you were raised in an environment that treated it as truth.
From the beginning of the graphic novel, it is clear that Satrapi’s family is against the fundamentalists and the oppressive government. For example, there is a panel on page five that depicts Satrapi’s mother protesting against the government with the caption that says, “At one of the demonstrations, a German journalist took a photo of my mother” (5). Satrapi’s beliefs that she develops throughout the beginning of the book differ from her parent’s beliefs in certain ways. For example, when Satrapi’s father insists that God did not choose the King, Satrapi replies, “He did so! It’s written on the first page of our schoolbook” (19). This quote also exemplifies where Satrapi was getting her information that was shaping her ideas. The government controlled the schools and what was taught in them. Throughout the book, Satrapi discusses many of her heroes growing up. I think her biggest hero is none other than God himself. For example, she says, “Every night I had a discussion with God” (8). She sees him as her mentor and at the beginning of the book, he appears very frequently in the panels. She also looks up to her grandmother. For example, Satrapi says, “Only my Grandmother knew about my book” (7). Satrapi only tells her Grandmother about her book because her Grandmother is a hero to her. She also seems to look up to the authors of the socialist books she reads. For example, in a panel on page sixteen Satrapi looks at herself in the mirror and says, “Maybe I’ll be even better as Fidel Castro” (16). Satrapi grew up in Iran which is very culturally different and this is probably why she has very distinct heroes. In the United States, it would be very rare to find someone who’s hero is Fidel Castro.
ReplyDeleteRyan McConnell
ReplyDeleteSatrapi's religious and political beliefs can be seen being different from her parents from a very youg age. Even as a kid in school she "wanted to be a prophet," while her parents wanted her to be a doctor (6). Then due to her school teaching her religious views begin to different from her parents due to the government trying to teach the country's youth the party's own ideals. This can be seen when Satrapi says that " the king, he was chosen by God" (19). Then her father says that "God did not chose the King… That is what they say" referring to the political party in control (19). Some of her heroes growing up are Fidel Castro for example. This is showed when she is standing in the mirror and says "maybe I'll be even better as Fidel Castro" (16). This is very different from my hero growing up who was my Grandpa who served in the Army. He fought for Democracy and fought against Communist ideals. This is exactly the opposite of what Satrapi's hero stood for. This distinct difference is rooted in the cultural and political differences during the time. She grew up wanting "to demonstrate on the street" with her parents (17). While I grew up just wanting to go to the park to play football and have fun with my friends. Then also she faced the problem of facing a boy in school regarding his father's political actions. His father had "killed communists" (46). I can't imagine having this type of conversation with a kid at my school at such a young age. This really outlines how much adversity kids in war torn countries had to face at such a young age. Also how much violence they were exposed to which altered their way of thinking for years to come.
I was having trouble uploading this comment due to service. My apologies.
ReplyDeleteThrough reading the first part of Persepolis, I've come to see the similarities and differences between Satrapi and her family. Just from reading the first few pages, it was obvious Satrapi's belief in God (3). Even though her family and friends believe she is lying, Satrapi knows that she is the last prophet. Her family tended to not trust or believe in Satrapi time and time again. Satrapi begged her parents to let her go protest against those who burnt down the cinema, however, they did not want her to because they believed it was far too dangerous and was not her place (17). Satrapi then goes on to tell her father how their king was hand-picked by God(19). However, her parents disagree with Satrapi's reasoning. Satrapi doesn't even understand why they wear veil's in France when, previously, the veil did not have any religious meaning toward her family (5). It seems to be as thought Satrapi believes in mostly communist ideals, quite like her parents, yet also western ideologies based on her belief in God. Her grandmother seems to be the only person who believes her at all, that is mostly credited to Satrapi's holy book. One of her rules is not allowing for old people to suffer, and this is mostly why the grandmother likes her holy book(8).
One of Persepolis's heroes growing up is Zarathustra, he was the first prophet in her country (7). He says that one should "base everything on three rules: behave well, speak well, & act well" (7). Persepolis looked up to Zarathustra so much because she believed she was the last prophet on Earth chosen by God. She believed she could be "justice, love, and the wrath of God all in one" (9). Along with her religious hero comes political one's. Satrapi looked up to Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and Trotsky because of their communist views (10). Satrapi essentially wanted everyone to be happy.
The culture and overall personalities of Satrapi's community are vastly different than what I grew up with. Satrapi enjoy's learning about political leader's as well as dress-up as Fidel Castro rather than a Disney princess. I believe the culture of the United States does not allow for young girls to foster a love for political or religious leaders. We mostly try to foster our young girls to grow up to be dainty and never get our hands too dirty. The problem with this mindset is that we aren't giving each girl a chance to be whatever and whoever they are wanting to be. Satrapi is fortunate to grow up in a community that allows for her to aspire to be whatever she wants to be. Whether that be a political or religious hero of her country.