Persepolis

Reading the first half of Persepolis was very interesting and engaging to read because it was a graphic novel. Not only it was entertaining but the graphic novel gave me a clear image of what message Marjane Satrapi was trying to get across, rather than trying to picture it in my head on my own. Reading Persepolis was an eye opener for me, starting with the veil. I had a misconception of middle east women always wearing a veil, and i didn't know exactly why. However reading it got me an understanding of that it was forced, not desired to wear the veil and they didn't really have a choice in that matter. It's so interesting to get Satrapi's own interpretations and her stories, especially the way it's written as a child's point of view. Another thing that caught my attention was their lifestyle, and how risky disobeying the rules was for them at that time, but still managed to live somewhat how they wanted.

It's true that most of us have negative views towards Iran and generally middle eastern countries, due to many terrorism threats since 9/11. However Persepolis clearly shows that it is not the case for all the people, just like how any stereotypes can be false in any groups. Most people in the story including Satrapi's family, did not much have control or say to the government, but was forced to obey strict rules. I think Marjane Satrapi did a great job in writing this and having different 'chapters' with each titles helps to understand better. Although I thought some parts were really sad, the way it was drawn kept making me think that it was fiction. Maybe I just interpreted it wrong, but some parts like demonstrating and things like "key to heaven" made me think about how bad the situation was for her childhood. Also I didn't fully understand the God part in the beginning, but it was really interesting to read and see different point of views on Iran.

Hoon Song