Alan Ruff - Persepolis

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“Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi is a graphic novel that tells the semi-autobiographical tale of a young girl growing in the midst of political revolution in Iran.  Satrapi felt the need to share her story after moving away from Iran and hearing stories that didn’t reflect the truth of her homeland.  Satrapi uses her novel to share her story of how religious activists overtook the Iranian government and imposed changes that restricted many of the freedoms that Iranians had previously enjoyed.  She shows how the voices of the opposition were silenced through violence and how girls were treated differently that boys in this male-centered society.

                As in most graphic novels, the images in the story are just as important as the words in conveying the depth of the story being told.  The use of only black and white helps to create the starkness of story.  The vocabulary choice is simple as it is being told by a young girl but that helps to make the story more accessible to younger readers.  Simple doesn’t imply that there aren’t weighty issues being discussed; there are.  Simple is used here to state that the levity of the topic isn’t overwhelmed in language but is presented in a way that makes it easy to understand the changes that are taking place.  It is the images that work to reinforce the seriousness of what is going on around our main character.  I enjoyed how all of the oppressors in the story are portrayed with the same clothes and same face.  It presents them as nameless and faceless killers who are separated from any empathy or emotions toward those being oppressed.  

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 18, 2016 at 12:32 PM

    You're right, all of the elements of this graphic novel work together to tell the story. Without the images, a certain depth would be lost to the readers. The text tells the story, but the images create the tone and seriousness.

    "...all of the oppressors in the story are portrayed with the same clothes and same face. It presents them as nameless and faceless killers who are separated from any empathy or emotions toward those being oppressed." Wow, that is a powerful and true statement. I had to copy all of it to comment here because it is so important. For these people, the enemy blended into a silent crowd. They look like everyone else, but it is what was in the mind that created the conflict. The constant fear of the person beside you being the enemy is not something I could imagine living with.

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