First Impressions

Why hello there everyone!
So I just read the first 16 pages of Persepolis, a graphic novel about a girl growing up during the Iranian Revolution. I had never read a graphic novel before and was so surprised by how it's just like reading a comic book. I have a feeling that I'm going to really love this book :) It's so easy and simple! When I turned the page after finishing the introduction, I was caught off guard at all the pictures, since I didn't know this was considered sophisticated literature. It's strange I haven't stumbled upon this book myself, since I always try to find things outside of my comfort zone. 
I never knew Iran has such an interesting history! It always just seemed like a poor little country that the US hated for some reason. Or maybe it was Iraq that people hated. Or both. Huh, why must there be so much hate in the world? Honestly, if we all have the same goal of being happy, we should all just put aside our differences and get along!

 

Anyway, I found it so terrible how Iran was taken advantage of so many times, just because it was rich. Couldn't it just share its money and avoid all the battles and conflict? Maybe if they shared everything equally everyone would have been happy and a revolution wouldn't have happened to cause such extreme conditions now. I can't believe how horribly Iranians have it--being forced to practice Islam and wear veils. It isn't fair at all!
The girls' reaction to the veils was pretty funny. To them, the pieces of cloth were just new things to play with. I couldn't believe how the girls and boys had to separate because of Islamic revolution. How could they do that? Not being able to be around the other gender is like losing a source of joy and excitement! I guess the girls still had each other, but going to an all girls school doesn't seem that fun. I don't mean to be sexist, but I feel like guys tend to be more funny and lighthearted. Of course, girls can be hilarious and carefree too, but it seems to be less common.

Mmm...decadent desserts...

It was also crazy how all the bilingual schools had to close down because they represented "decadence" ( Satrapi 4). How exactly does speaking two languages mean decadence and why is that bad? Since when was it bad to be a little fancy? I know my friends and I love to get all dressed up for a nice night. It's so fun to splurge a little on yourself once in a while. I mean, some companies use decadence as their slogan, so it should be a good thing, right? 
So then I read on about her dream of becoming a prophet and was so touched! This little girl wishes to end all the suffering and inequality in the world at the age of ten! She was even able to understand the social status in her house, with the maid in the kitchen and her dad with a Cadillac. It was kind of sad to see her family have a different view, since she wasn't able to express her love of God as much as she wanted to at home. But her parents were still so supportive! I love how they stood up to the teacher and claimed there was nothing wrong with their child's dream.

It was a little unnerving to see her and those two little boys with machine guns, marching on their lawn. I don't really get what happened after that, though. It seems like Marjane says the religious revolution failed, since, like a bike with wheels that don't turn, it fell. But then she says the revolution awakened the people. Which suggests that the revolution succeeded! Huh, I'm confused.
I also wonder who bought Marjane all those sophisticated books. I certainly didn't care about philosophy when I was ten. I'm pretty sure 99% of it would have gone over my head anyway! In fact, I didn't even know some of the people she mentioned, let alone their references! What does Marx mean when he exclaims, "Says you!"? Man, I thought this book was going to be easy!

Also, when she compares Marx to God, I wasn't sure whether that was offensive or not. I'm not religious, but I thought God is supposed to be this high and mighty being that can't be compared to anything because he is so great. It seemed like she was battling between her faith in religion and Marx's philosophy. I don't know what Marx's philosophy is, though, so maybe they don't actually clash. Maybe they are really in line with each other and everything is actually fine!
I couldn't understand why God was talking about the next day's weather, but I thought it was funny. 75 degrees in the shade is very nice weather indeed! But then the talk about the burning cinema kind of killed the mood. Why were the firemen so late?! I wonder if there was another situation the required the firemen. Huh, they need more firemen!
And why does God leave Marjane? Isn't God supposed to always be there for everyone? This is so sad already!

I'll see you next time!
♥Angie♥

Well that was an interesting start. Very reflective of the ridiculousness of people. Seriously, why are people so crazy about power and money? Iran has had so many dictators and war, with no help from other countries. "Oh! Iran has money? We must possess it!" "Oh! Iran has oil? We must own it!" I'm glad Marjane Satrapi is trying to stop people from just thinking Iran is a messed up country that doesn't matter.
I have never read a graphic novel before, mostly because I never considered it literature. Sure some people say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I feel like pictures just dumb things down. I mean, children's books are just pictures with a few words. What's the difference between that and this graphic novel?
The start of the novel was relatively engaging. Clearly the girls didn't know the point of the veils. Isn't it more disrespectful to play with the veils than to not have them at all? What's the reasoning behind giving children something they don't understand how to use? This new group saying they can decide for everyone in Iran is completely unjustified. What makes them think they can just push their crazy views onto unknowing children? Their ideas seem completely made up too--I mean, bilingual schools being considered a "decadence"? Oh no! You can speak French and Persian? What a disgrace to humanity!

It's great that Marjane's mom protested and everything, but her paranoia after getting her picture taken further displays the absurdity of the world. How can the government be so messed up as to strike enough fear into a peaceful protester to force her into hiding? I don't understand how these types of people get enough power to do this. Maybe they just get enough guns and torture devices to consider themselves legitimate.

Wanting to be a prophet so young is a little strange. She knew she wanted to be a prophet at 6? Didn't she say her family was progressive and not super religious? How did she even get exposed to prophets then? I can see why such a naive girl would want to solve all the little problems that she sees around her, but thinking the only way to do so by becoming a prophet is absurd. Well, the notion that she could even do anything to help the world is absurd. But anyway, she shouldn't have been taught that religion can solve everything. That just sets unreasonable expectations. When she realizes that God doesn't exist, she's going to see that there is no predetermined path in life. She's going to see that people's greed is what dictates what happens in the world. Sure it was cute to read that she wants to cure her grandma's arthritis, but it showed that if she became a prophet, she would only help the problems she sees around her. All the suffering elsewhere would continue just because Marjane is oblivious to it.
Then when the teacher asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, I was slightly annoyed. What's the point of asking children this question? Their goals undoubtedly change as they get older, so to ask is really just a waste of time. The laughing classmates only added to my frustration with people. Children are so cruel. Well, no, I take that back. Children are only so cruel because of what they are exposed to. I'm sure their parents must have told them how ridiculous it must be to want to be a prophet. Even the teacher thought Marjane was disturbed. Sure the idea was radical, but she's the teacher! How could such a closed minded lady get hired for an elementary school teacher? I'd have expected the parents to be a little more practical. Hearing about their daughter aspiring to become a prophet should have provoked them to talk her into something more profitable, no pun intended. I guess Marjane is only 6, so they probably weren't too concerned about her dream job.
Still, her wish "to be justice, love and the wrath of God all in one" strikes me as odd. Was religion pushed on her that much to even know of all this at such a young age? Religion shouldn't be forced on kids so little--they don't even know what to think of it! It's just like adding more sheep to the herd. Of course if a kid grows up his or her life being told that God is almighty and his word is the only thing that matter, then he or she will be as easy to manipulate as a piece of clay! People say the kids can decide later in life to continue or not, since they'll have understood the truth behind the teachings, but this is unreasonable. How can you expect a child to go against what they have been taught for so many years? Honestly, children are so impressionable that whoever gets to them first basically determines their futures.
So of course it makes sense that Marjane would be on board with the Islamic Revolution. Perhaps the people who participated really believed in the ideals of Islam, but I'm sure many of them just followed because they grew up with Islam as life. The leaders had so much power because of this thing that united them all--this thing that the people didn't really have any control over. I think it was just a bunch of power hungry maniacs looking for some factor that everyone could relate to in order to gain control of the country. Maybe it didn't start like that, and the Shah really was just an oppressive jerk that needed to go, but after he was kicked out, Iran seemed to go into some deep trouble.
One thing I enjoyed was Marjane's fascination with philosophy. I loved that a young girl would enjoy and understand the theology of all these different people. It was also quite humorous to see her joke about Descartes and Marx. She clearly understood their differing views and what conflict they might have had. When she compared Marx to God, I knew there was going to be conflict. While, yes, there are philosophers who are deeply religious, philosophy tends to question the reasoning behind thought and can get rather technical. Marjane's old view of religion seemed to be that she could magically solve all problems by becoming a prophet, but once she learned about reality through all those books, her view must have been questioned. Putting Marx and God side by side made it seem like a battle between faith in God and faith in interpreting the world. 
Apparently, interpreting the world started to win, since she paid less attention to God.
When her parents talked about the cinema burning down, most likely because of the Shah, I was reminded of the saying "power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely." I was actually surprised that there was going to be a demonstration because of the fire and the firemen arriving late. Generally, I see people as very passive. I mean, even her mom disguised herself to hide. 
It's sad how long people have to be taken advantage of before they rise up, though. According to the book, Iranians have been oppressed for 2500 years and only now they revolt. Of course, life after the revolution hasn't been great either. Life is so depressing.
I do wonder why God didn't show up when Marjane wanted to participate in the protest. Did Marjane think she didn't need him anymore? I thought she was participating in the religious revolution, so shouldn't that mean she still believes in God? Or maybe it's supposed to symbolize that the religious revolution really didn't have anything to do with religion--it was all about power. Well, I don't know.

Alright, bye.
Deb.