The Idea Behind the Book

Why hi guys!
What an interesting day today! In class, some people gave presentations which talked about the author and the movies of Persepolis. I did not know that some of the book was made up! I thought everything in it really happened! Now I wonder what was embellished and what really happened...
I found Marjane's reason for choosing to make a graphic novel kind of cool. She wanted to be able to address these tough issues without as much heaviness. I think she did a fantastic job! When I read, I'm not too brought down by the horrible events that happened in Iran, but I still get a sense of what it was like. She also wanted to be able to poke fun without seeming to think of everything too lightly. I think she was successful at that. When Marjane sat in the bathtub, trying to mimic what her grandpa had to go through, I thought it was kind of funny. I don't really know what she was poking fun at, though.
Another pro of using a comic book style to write is that her book would appeal to more people. At first, I was kind of reluctant to read about some depressing story about the history of Iran (sounds so uninteresting, right?). But then I saw how it was just a bunch of pictures, and I thought it might me kind of fun. It turned out to be a really easy read, and it didn't dampen my spirits too much!
By using so many pictures, I'm pretty sure younger people will be more open to reading it too, and then they'll learn about the untold stories of Iran! They'll see how false the stereotypes about Iran are and realize that they are people just like us!
I also laughed when Marjane said people without a sense of humor are just stupid. She said we're all going to die anyway, and if we can't laugh, then we're idiots. I can totally understand that! If we don't enjoy life, then there really is no point to living.
The movie trailers looked really interesting too and I hope to watch the whole movie when I finish the book!
Then we went on to some questions our professor thought of.
I do wish I knew the whole history of Iran. I learned a little bit of it in 10th grade history, but I forgot most of it. And I didn't exactly pay the best attention. How I regret that now...

I guess I do have relatives who had suffered. My great grandpa was one of the top 500 richest men in China, but then the Communists took everything he had and his family had to flea to Europe. My aunt says she visited the area her grandparents used to live in and said they owned a tremendous amount of land. Their house would be in the center and their servants' houses would surround it. It was like a rectangle with rectangles around it. Then the government took everything and they left. That's rather sad. At least my grandpa was able to get an education in London and end up a theoretical physics professor! Still my dad says he and my grandma had a really tough life when my dad and his siblings were babies. They were just scraping by.
Hm, there are many things I would protest about! If the government wanted to allow animal abuse, or restrict people from having a good time, I think I would make signs and shout all day long!
Wow, what a deep talk today.
Well, until next time!
Angie :)

Today was alright. We had a couple of presentations and a conversation about Persepolis. I wasn't surprised when I learned Marjane made up some of her story. Everything is about making money, anyway. People just do whatever to sell as much as they can. I guess it's kind of understandable. People don't want to read a boring book. Then again, if the most controversial parts to the book are made up, then people will be having false notions in their heads. If the thing that makes people change their minds about a certain situation is not actually true, then our world would be based of faulty notions.
I guess I can see why she chose to make a comic book. There are probably plenty of all-text books that describe similar events, so something different would attract more people. It might kind of take the situation too lightly, though. By acting like Iran's history can be covered in a few pictures and words, it's as if Marjane is saying that's all there is to it.
I agree that people without a sense of humor are stupid. Seriously, everything in life is pointless. All we accomplish in our lives don't amount to anything in the end, since we all just die. Why not laugh at the stupidity of it all while we can?
I don't think I have anyone close who has ever suffered for a cause. I guess they never saw the point of it. One person isn't going to change anything, anyway. If I send a letter to Congress complaining about some problem I have with their way of running things, nothing is going to happen. My letter is not going to get read. It seems like everyone I know just complains and does nothing about it. That's the way it goes, I guess.
Well, that's pretty much it.
Deb.