Kendall Henderson - Persepolis

By -
I'm already someone who likes graphic novels, so I was really excited to read this. The thing that stuck out to me in this book, and which I really loved, is that Marjane is so curious and headstrong. I think she is such a great example for younger readers. She's vocal about things she believes in, she participates in the world, she seeks out new ideas, and she has ambitions and believes in herself. I think it's so rare and important to see young protagonists, especially girls, that don't let the world push them around or belittle them for being adolescents. It communicates such a good message to younger readers: that because they are young doesn't mean they're powerless and that speaking up for yourself and your beliefs is still important even if you think it might not matter. In a world that seems to try increasingly to suppress strong and passionate voices that go against the norm, Marjane is a great example of an engaged person who is always seeking to learn and improve the world. She examines her beliefs and the world around her and believes that she can make a difference.

I also think the political themes are especially relevant. On one hand it's so important for people to have an awareness of what's going on in other countries, especially since our culture is so increasingly global and things are always interconnected. Even just in the preface I was shocked to learn that "the CIA, with the help of British intelligence, organized a coup against [Mossadeq]" (2)  to gain access to Iran's oil. With international relations so opaque to the public stories like this are essential to staying informed about politics, human rights, and economies abroad and how our own government is involved. I think this novel does such a great job of warning against ignorance or neutrality. Having the story in the form of a graphic novel also really works to communicate something that otherwise might be complex or uninteresting for many readers in a way that humanizes the story and makes it accessible. This is especially great for young readers, who might feel or be perceived as too young to understand these things, to learn that everyone is affected by world issues and it's not just a "grown-up problem." This shows younger readers the experiences of someone in an entirely different culture than theirs and can hopefully give them a better perspective on their own lives and the experiences of those in places totally foreign to them.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Growing Pains - The Symbolism of the Tree in Speak

By -
I have felt the paralyzing pain of internal disease. The kind of trauma that causes your mouth to curl in and swallow you whole. I, like so many other women, are walking the halls in Melinda’s shoes in “Speak.” I thought Laurie Anderson did a phenomenal job of twisting all of the tribulations a high school girl goes through, into the tree that Melinda is. Whether we’re as strong as an oak or weak as a bush, we have all gone through the disease that strikes Melinda from the inside out. Melinda is like a half-dead tree. Some parts of her strive to blossom and create beauty. Other parts are broken and diseased. Like a dead tree, Melinda needs to save herself and “cut off the damage, [so it] is possible for the tree to grow again” (187). The symbolism of a tree is significant in “Speak.” Trees reflect her growing process. In the beginning, Melinda is a sick and lifeless tree. Her view is negative and dark. She’s so far past repair, bursts of sunlight do her no good. Sunlight would be pe
Read more

How Starr Goes from Acting to Embracing in The Hate U Give

By -
In The Hate U Give, Starr Carter is caught between two worlds. She lives in a predominantly black neighborhood, but her father sends her and her brothers to a private school where she is surrounded by white people. She talks about acting differently depending on what group she is around, which can create some identity problems. She says on page 11, "Funny how it works with white kids though. It's dope to be black until it's hard to be black." When at Williamson, she sees white kids that think it's cool to engage in black culture, but she knows they don't understand what she goes through in her Garden Heights community. She witnessed her friend Natasha's death when she was 10 years old, and she sees gang activity in her community all the time. When she is among her black friends, like at the party, they tease her for hanging out with the white kids. This reminds me of a Drake song where he says, "I used to get teased for being black, and now I'm
Read more

Speak and the Symbolism of Nature

By Anonymous -
   Laurie Halse Anderson's,  Speak , dives into the murky, muddy waters of adolescent rape culture. When the book was published in 1999, rape was not a comfortable topic to discuss with adults, let alone teenagers. Anderson writes about Melinda Sordino and her freshman high school experience which is turning out to be rather negative. Soriano stands as a thriving young role model for struggling teenage girls all over the world. Although she isn't an outstanding student or have plenty of friends to juggle, through Melinda, other young women can see that it's completely normal and okay to struggle in high school not only academically, but socially and emotionally. One of my favorite parts of the novel isn't a super obvious quality. Throughout the novel, Melinda's attitude changes and grows with the coming of spring and through nature and art, she learns to move past her troubling end of summer experience and once again find the importance of her voice.    Melinda st
Read more