Feedback

     I have received the comments and feedback from two Peer Reviewers, unfortunately most of them are "NO". This is the first rough draft, there are many parts needed to improve. From beginning, I have spent much time on thinking how to organize ideas and put them into paper, so I did not have enough time to complete it, thus I have to find a title and add a conclusion to it. Because it is the first draft, I could not control ideas clearly, I just gather the points and quotations from the book but I did not organize them well. Another point, my paper argument was not well-organized with TEA paragraphs and Quote Sandwiches. As a result, there are a lot of works I need to get fixed. First, I have to re-read my draft over and over again to find what I have to work out and/or to improve. Then, I have to rewrite and edit most of paragraphs in order to make my paper clearly so readers would understand what I have tried to focus on my paper.

Revised Formal Paper Rough Draft

Kim Yen Phung

Instructor Knapp

English 1B         

16 October 2011

Irony in Persepolis

Persepolis is a story about Marjane Satrapi’s childhood and growing up during the revolution in Iran. As a young child, Marjane was confronted with difficult situations that happen around her, such as chaos during revolution, the conflict in social class, the death of her uncle, and the harsh rules of the new Islamic religious leaders. As consequence, Marjane loses her believe in God and finds herself lost without direction. While growing up, she stands up as an independence adult to rebel against the dictation of her mother at home and the untruthfulness of her teachers in school. Throughout the novel, Marjane uses graphic pictures with dialog to illustrate verbal irony and irony of situation. Each of these plays a role in forming the story that is impacted in changing the protagonist to become a rebel.

From the opening page of the novel, Marjane and her friends in religious school show their disobedience against authority. Marjane describes that it is obligation that she and her friends to wear the veil at school, she mentions that “We didn’t really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had to” (3). In the same page, she illustrates herself and her classmates using the veil to play all kinds of games due to the fact that the new rules and regulations do not make sense to them. She used to go to French non-religion school under the Shah that she was not required to wear veil. After the King stepped down, all bilingual schools were closed down, because the new rulers said “They are symbols of capitalism” (4). It is ironic that people have fought so hard to overthrow the King because he was brutal to his people, then the new government system takes place in contradiction people still live under hash rules without freedom and peace. As an innocent child, she demonstrates that she disobeys against authority that she perceives the rules are nonsensical to her.

There is the conflict in social class in the society that Marjane’s childhood can acknowledge it is unfair. Marjane’s father denies the love of his maid, Mehri, with his neighbor. He tells her that “In this country you must stay within your own social class” (37). Furious with her father, she lies down with Mehri in the same bed even they are not in the same class. Marjane tries to comfort her maid and begs her maid to take her to demonstrate in order to fight against the unfair and injustice in the social. By the end this scene, both Marjane and her maid get a slap in their faces, because they disobey her mother’s authority and their fighting for justice never become to reality. The black hand marks on her and Mehri’s face are ironic for them to earn to what they fight for fairness. They get home safely but in fact “It was really our own who had attacked us” (39). As a young child, Marjane is a tender and soft heart, and she feels deep grief when she sees Mehri crying. She disagrees with her father’s explanation about the social class in Iran and people are treated in different ways, like her maid is not allowed to eat in the same table, and she also is not permit to fall in love with her neighbor. Marjane does not understand completely, but it does add the general feeling of injustice that she is aware as a childhood.

After the King was overthrown, Marjane and her family are happy and believe that the new potential government will bring the new justice and freedom. With the scene, the nation is happy to celebrate the glorious victory with a huge party. Marjane’s family feels relieved and delighted as her father said “Let’s enjoy our new freedom!” (43). However, Marjane uses the graphic with a large evil head dragon wrapping around the picture, representation of untruth. After the joy of the new transition, all schools are closed and then reopened, when Marjane comes back to school her teacher asks “Children, tear out all the photos of the Shah from your books” (44). As a small child, she is outspoken and tells her classmate that their teacher “Was the one who told us that the Shah was chosen by God!” (44). Because of this comment, she gets a punishment by standing in the corner. This is confused her because her teacher used to teach her one way in contrary another. It is ironic that Marjane and her family believe the potential government will reform the new system to bring better life to people, however the first thing she learns from the new fundamentalist regime government is lying right in her school where is a place leading her to act as a rebel.

Marjane admires all political heroes and their courage to rebel against the government. She loves her uncle, Anoosh, on the first sight because he is “A hero in my family” (54). He is represented of family and love due to the fact they are more important than political and social ideals. Her uncle has been a political prisoner under the Shah and he is released under the new Islamic regime. When the new Islamic government takes over, Marjane’s friends and her other families fled the country one after another but Anoosh announces and comforts her parents that “Everything will be alright!” (65). Ironical it is hard to believe, he is executed under the new Islamic regime that he has believed that everyone could live under peace. After the death from her uncle, Marjane pushes God out of her life and loses her belief without direction. She loves her uncle dearly and they are closed together. Therefore, her uncle’s death is impacted to her belief in God, and it breaks her thought of God is represented love, justice, and holy wrath for evil. As a result, her uncle’s death is so painful; it hurts her feeling badly and does add to her mind of disbelief in religion.

Marjane starts smoking cigarette to show her act of rebellion against her mother’s dictatorship. After Marjane skips class and hangs out with her friends at Kansas, as result her mother finds out and she yells at her. Marjane feels that her mother is one of the “Guardian of the revolution of this house!” (113). Disagree with her mother, Marjane sneaks away to her basement to smoke a cigarette that she has stolen from her uncle. She states that “I sealed my act of rebellion against my mother’s dictatorship by smoking the cigarette” (117). She feels it is unfair that her mother to treat her like a small child. By smoking cigarette to state her freedom and adult independence, it is also shown her reaction to her mother’s authority that is so hard on her. Even smoking cigarette tastes awful, but she determines not to give in, and finally she declares “With this first cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye” (117). This is the moment that she is transformed from a childhood to a grown up, it is also added to her reaction of rebellion. However, Marjane introduces her uncle Tehar in the next scene, he dies from both heavy smoke and emotionally tress from the war. Ironically smoking is represented of freedom but it is also the way leading to destruction.

In conclusion, Marjane is transformed from an innocent child into a grow-up adult during the chaos of revolution, the conflict in social class, the death of her uncle, and the harsh rules of the new Islamic Republic government. As a small child, she shows her act against teacher who has taught her one thing in contrary to the real life. She also tries to break through the social class that everyone is treated equally, but ironically it cannot become in reality. In addition, she suffers her pain from the death of her uncle, therefore she does not believe in God any more. Furthermore, she tries to fight against her mother by smoking cigarette in order to have freedom, it is irony that may lead to consequent problems. As a result, she becomes a rebel against religious fundamentalist regime and her mother.  

Works Cited

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. New York: Pantheon Books, 2003. Print.

Week 5 : First Formal Paper Planning

On my formal paper assignment one, I plan to write about the irony in the novel. I will use the Formalist theory to identify irony in my paper. Marjane uses visual together with narrative verbal in order to show us ironies. From the opening page of the novel, Marjane describes that it is obligation she and her friends to wear the veil at school, even she mentions that “we didn’t understand why we had to” (3). In the same page, she displays herself and her classmates using the veil to play all sorts of game. The children show their disobedience against authority due to the fact that the new rules and regulations do not make sense to them. The next, there is the conflict in social class in the society. Marjane’s father fights against the love of his maid, Mehri, with his neighbor. He tells Marjane that “in this country you must stay within your own social class” (37). On the same page, she with her maid in the same bed even they are not in the same class. She tries to comfort her maid and begs her maid to take her to demonstrate in order to fight against the unfair and injustice. By the end the this scene, both Marjane and her maid earn a slap in their face, because they disobey her mother's authority and their fighting for justice never become to reality. I will also use Marjane’s uncle, Anoosh, to analyze the irony. He has escaped to Moscow to complete a doctorate in Marxism-Leninism, he had a peaceful life there and got married with two children. However, he did not have a happy life and he tried to return to Iran because he missed his country, parents and brothers, even he understood it was dangerous. Once he told Marjane that “what my wife made me suffer was much worse” (60). Next, I will use the Cigarette scene to identify the irony. Marjane starts smoking cigarette to show her act of rebellion against her mother’s dictatorship. By smoking cigarette to state her freedom and independence, she tries to show her reaction to her authority that is so hard on her. Marjane sneaks away to her basement to smoke a cigarette that she has stolen from her uncle. Her uncle Tehar’s smoking habit to calm down his emotion of decision to send his son away to Holland and consequence he is died because of tress plus his heavy smoke. That all are for my first draft, hopefully I may find more details to identify irony in my paper.

Week 4 : Experience Reading Persepolis

From beginning to read Persepolis, it was interested in me right away. With the comic graphic novel styles, it made me pleasantly and eagerly to read more and more to find out what would be going to happen next. It helped me understanding and learning about history of Iran, especially during the religious revolution and the war with Iraq.  

Marjane shares her memory about her childhood experience during the revolution.  She is confused about the religious that she has learnt from school that is conflicted with her parents' point of view in real life. When her father tries to explain the history of the revolution against the King, gradually she understands more about her background. After the King steps down and the new republic government takes over, people start to celebrate and enjoy the new freedom. They wish to have a better life that they have tried so hard to fight against the King. However, in the reality is not true. Under the new rule of Islamic regime dictator, many people, including her classmate and relatives, move to the United State and other countries in order to escape this new fundamentalist regime. Her uncle, Anoosh, is a political prisoner under the King. Under the new control of the government, he is released from the prison and he is executed as the charge of being a Russian spy. In her mind, her uncle is represented for family and love. It is not fair that he has to die, she feels empty and alone to suffer for this loss. By then she does not believe in God anymore (70). During the war, there are million people die. There is one scene Marjane describes the story of her classmate, Pardisse, about her father died during mission in Iraq. After hearing the story, all people are in the class crying to sympathize with her classmate that she endures her pain for the loss of her father during the war (86). Another scene, she witnesses that her neighbor, Neda Baba-Levy, dies during bombing raid in her neighborhood. She uses the black picture to express her suffering and anger against the violence and darkness of war (142). From one scene to another, Marjane carries on her emotional journey from childhood to teenager. By using her own family, as in general for all Iranian people, she tries to illustrate all circumstances that people have gone through from the old government to the new government, and during the Iran Iraq war.

This is the comic graphic novel, there are some scenes that make me laugh when to read over and look at illustrated pictures. There is one evening, when her grandmother, her mother and Marjane are waiting her father for hours. Everyone is so worried that her father may get arrested or killed. I am so anxious about his safety, and wondering that bad thing is probably going to happen to him. Finally he gets home alright and tells everyone a story that he has gone to the hospital to take pictures. The crowd has carried the old man body and called him a martyr. The old man’s widow has stopped them, telling that he has died from cancer. Later all the old woman joined in the crowd to demonstrate against the King. The story makes everyone laughing (32).  During the war, foods are low in the country and tensions increase among people. Mali, friend of Marjane’s mother, and her family come to stay in Marjane’s house because the Iraq bombers have destroyed their house. One day in the grocery store, one woman finds a can of kidney beans and says that they will make chili. Marjane comments, “We’ll forget about the flatulence factor” (92). One of the boys asks what flatulence is, then they start laughing so hard.

There is another thing I learn from this novel that the tradition of Islamic religion. In the twentieth century, Iran has been influenced western culture. There are two groups of people: one group still keeps traditional culture and another follows modern style.  One day Marjane’s mother is assaulted on the street by fundamentalist because her mother does not wear the veil around her head. Her mother thinks that she should follow the rule in order to avoid this problem. Then women are required to over their heads in public. Marjane describes the way people dressed became an ideological sign. For fundamentalist woman, she wears the long veil that covers the whole body, so in public people can see her face only. For modern woman, she shows her opposition to the regime by letting a few strands of hair show. In the same manner, there are two sorts of men to appear in public. For the fundamentalist man, his face is covered with beard and his shirt is hanging out.  For the progressive man, his face is shaved with or without mustache and his shirt is tucked in (75).