Hope Pierce- Persepolis

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Persepolis was different from everything the we've read this semester. Although I am not a fan of graphic novels, this was a nice change from a long plot intensive novel. I like how Satrapi used a young girl to tell her story of such tough and violent subjects such as execution and government control. It makes her very relatable to the reader. Her child like mind tries to make sense of what is happening in the world around her and she uses her strong connection with God to give her some direction. This would be a great book to teach in the classroom because of the fact that it is a graphic novel. This book has the ability to reach students who aren't big on reading while still teaching them about other cultures and important events that surrounds them that are guaranteed to not be taught in a normal history class.

Like some of the other books that we have read this semester, this book has some sensitive material that may be difficult to teach in a classroom, but the beauty of the graphic novel aspect is that it does not go into deep detail of what is happening on the religious and political fronts of Iran, but it does inform the reader of what is occurring. The graphic novel does a great job of handling the sensitive material such as Uncle Anoosh's execution, the burning of the movie theater with the people inside, and even Marji turning her back on God and religion (70-71). I would definitely recommend teaching this in the classroom to probably middle schoolers and even ninth graders.

Overall, it was an interesting read. Like I said earlier, I'm not a fan of graphic novels, but this was a good one. I enjoyed reading it.

Comments

  1. StephanieDawkinsNovember 21, 2016 at 6:33 PM

    I am not a fan of graphic novels either, however I love that we got to experience something different, something that we are not use to. I also agree that the book has sensitive content, especially when it comes down to religion. I think that pieces of the book would be fine to teach but not the entire book.

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