Persepolis

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What I think makes the story of Persepolis successful in captivating its readers is its genre, the graphic novel.  While the story could have been told through a written novel, Satrapi's choice to convey her own story of growing up during a time of political and religious turmoil in Iran through the medium of a graphic novel allows the reader to experience and understand her frustrations as an adolescent living during this period of oppression.  It is through the illustrations and speech balloons that the reader is able to visualize the events of the novel while also gaining insight into the thoughts and experiences of the characters of the story.  As the saying goes, a picture says a thousand words, and this is exceptionally true of Persepolis, in that the illustrations paint a very telling story of what the characters feel and how they react to the various oppressive and dangerous situations within the story. 

Telling Marji and her family's story through a graphic novel allows for great characterazation in that we are able to see Marji's grow through illustrations as she lives through war in her country.  The novel paints a visual story of Marji's growth from a young girl ignorant of the dangers of the political and religious unrest in her country but eager to participate in the demonstrations as seen in The Bicycle to a teenager acting out in school with her mockery of the forced mornings of the war dead in The Key to a 14 year old independent girl leaving her country alone for opportunity in Austria to continue her education and live in an environment of peace.  These illustrations not only provide the reader with a visualization of Marji's physical growth, but mental growth as well.  In the beginning of the novel she is a young girl who has a vague understanding of politics, but is not completely aware of the political and religious stirrings occurring in her country and their consequences.  As the novel progresses and as Marji ages, she also becomes more aware of the oppressive forces at work in her country and begins to feel and understand its effects on her and the people of her country. As readers, we are shown her growth through the illustrations and speech balloons as she ages and better understands what is happening around her.

The illustrations also allow the reader to visualize and experience the range of emotions felt by the characters in a way much more captivating and relatable than could be expressed through just words.  In the chapter The Sheep, we see Marji and her family begin to feel real feelings of anguish and fear as their friends begin to flee the country, and despair as they find out Mohsen, Siamak and Anoosh have been murdered.  It is through the illustrations of the characters and their reactions to the rising violence in the country that we as readers feel empathy for the characters and their situation.  By visualizing these reactions to the deaths of those close to them, the characters are given more life than characters created through just text on a page.

It is through the artistic medium of the graphic novel that the story of Persepolis is able to capture readers and creates great opportunity for empathy and characterization that would not be as successful in the novel form. 

Comments

  1. TashaTOnlineApril 26, 2017 at 8:21 AM

    I love your final statement here, and I totally agree! The medium of Graphic Novel has become hugely popular and is now seen as a valid genre for both YA and Adult readers. It may not yet be part of the cannon, but I think graphic novels have one of their own. I like that you reference specific scenes from the book. I think these are great to use in the classroom because students must learn to SLOW DOWN when they read a graphic novel and pay close attention to DETAILS. If they don't, they tend to miss much of the narrative. I would love to hear about any graphic novels you think would make good classroom reads.

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