Persepolis I

The first half of Persepolis was fantastic. Besides the fact that it's a great, and interesting new approach to such a deep and important story, it's incredibly interesting. Marjane Satrapi's drawing appears very simple, but I think she perhaps did it on purpose. One of the most important drawings, I feel, is on page 75, where she portrays the "Fundamentalist Man/Woman" vs. the "Modern Man/Woman". The drawing of the Fundamentalist women is what really stood out to me. She simply just draws a black cone-shaped, and puts a face near the top, while coloring the rest pitch black. To me it really showed the negative image she had of the Fundamentalists. I also found it significant how when she drew multiple Fundamentalists together, it was almost as if she copied and pasted them, making them look completely similar. To me, she was signifying their lack of individuality, and almost portrayed them as slaves of the government.

The chapter entitled "The Key" was perhaps the most depressing chapter in the first part of the graphic novel. To learn that boys are told at a young age that if they are "lucky enough to die" in war, they will have the key to heaven. This only makes the stereotype for the Middle East worse. With the heavy number of extremists and suicide bombers, it almost makes sense as to why people would go to such extremes. They were taught by Fundamentalists at such a young age that they would be lucky to die for their country even if it were an act of terrorism.

It was refreshing to read Sartrapi's story, though, and to learn how normal life can be for her and other Iranians. Not all Iranians are Fundamentalist terrorists, which is what is often portrayed by the media.

--Cameron