Website for the graphic novel The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi:
https://rhinehartadvancedenglish.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/1/0/22108252/the-complete-persepolis-by.pdf
This paper should not be more than four pages (possibly five depending on the size of your images) but it
must include both text and images.
Requirements:
o Include a minimum of nine images in your presentation
o Ensure that you speak about the images that are included
o When introducing an image indicate the Chapter Title you took the image from
o Use images from any chapter from “The Veil” to “The Dowry”
o Ensure that you have an introduction and conclusion which opens and closes the paper
o Ensure that your images and text are TIGHT WRAPPED. There should be NO SPACE between image and text
Think of this essay like a newspaper or magazine (or comic book) in which both images and text together, telling a story. In essence choose the images based on a specific theme, motif, symbol or metaphor and creating a “2nd comic” in which you discuss these images in relation to the book. Ensure to include a quote from one of the videos to choose from or you may choose a video of your own. You may include a quote from Satrapi from one of her lectures. Conversely there are several videos on Youtube featuring Marjane Satrapi and may choose one of these to include instead. OR may include theory from Michael Chaney in the TEDx Talk “How to Read Graphic Novels.” Also discuss any or all aspects of the image (literal and/or figurative). In some cases, as Chaney points out, an image is figurative because it does not literally convey what is on the page. Consider this as you connect images.
You should focus on ONE theme or metaphor for ALL images. If you choose symbols you may mix them but there should be a connecting discussion of the symbols and how these relate to one another. The Work Cited should include the book and the video you chose to incorporate.
If preferred to write a traditional essay, below are essay questions:
Examples of themes and symbols (there are others):
Gender, Revolution, Family & Friendships, War, Schooling/Education, Public Life vs Private Life
Symbols: the Veil, the Cigarette, the Key, Jewels, God
Essay questions for those desiring to write a traditional essay:
o In the text a fictionalized account of historical events is portrayed through dialogue and imagery. In
Persepolis Satrapi presents a memoir of her childhood and teenaged years based on conflicted, war-torn
Iran. Choosing Persepolis I or II (or both if you feel ambitious) discuss why the author used the graphic
novel form to convey these stories. What advantages and disadvantages occur by using this format? In
your discussion you should have an understanding of the structure, form and mechanics of graphic novels
(which is different from a children’s story book) and be able to convey how and why this is applicable to
the text. You should use specific examples in the form of scenes to support your argument. Note: The
purpose is not to indicate whether you LIKED or DISLIKED the graphic novel genre, again, you
are interpreting and analyzing the author’s point in using this format and using specific scenes to
support either the advantages of a historical graphic novel, the disadvantages or both.
o Write a paper discussing the relationship between the images and the dialogue. For this, you MUST
conduct a visual interpretation in which you analyze the images presented on the page. For example,
think about the faces of characters in either text: When is Marji smiling Why are the images in black and
white vs. color? How are the images placed on the page? How does the author frame her novel? (Think
of frame like a picture frame—what is holding the story together or the outline) How many panels are on
a page and when does this shift? How do the images represent the words associated with them, while at
the same time conveying more detail for the story? Again, you should understand something about
structure in a graphic novel.
If you choose to write about the structure of one of the texts, I recommend going to this site for guidance
about narrative structure in graphic novels:
http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~jbass/courses/402/402_spr10_sns.htm
o Satrapi’s story is told from the perspective of a young girl living during the Islamic Revolution and the
war with Iraq. Unlike Spiegelman’s story this is her account and it is told chronologically; however two
stories are also being told: the history of Iran and the coming-of-age of Marji. Discuss how Satrapi
intertwines private life and public life and interprets it through the eyes of a young girl. How do societal
issues such as politics, war, conflict and religion affect personal issues such as family life, childhood,
adolescence and romance (among others)? Why does Satrapi present history through the narration of a
young girl and how does this relate to the story as a novel rather than a history textbook?
o Dominant themes of the text center on Islam, gender and conflict. Discuss the intersection of these
three themes. In other words, examine how Satrapi portrays Islam from Marji’s perspective and the ways
that this deconstructs often misunderstood beliefs about Islam in Middle Eastern countries. Does the
strict Islamic belief system often portrayed in the West a source of pride/unity or conflict in the text?
Where does this conflict originate and how does it affect young women overall? Much of this text also
focuses on the ways that Marji and her family, especially her mother, negotiate their roles in society.
What is Satrapi ultimately showing the reader about Islam and society; think of this in conjunction with
the regime that has placed strict guidelines of women’s behavior?
o Discuss the historical significance of the novel and how this relates to contemporary issues in Iran today.
You may focus on the various revolutions (religious, political, gendered) that have occurred throughout
the years in Iran, war (Iran-Iraq) (US-Iran), social and political strife, and/or economics (oil). How does
Satrapi’s text reveal one side of a multilayered story about Iran’s social, political and economic existence
in contemporary society? For this essay you MUST tie in current information about the US and the recent
attack on Iran.
