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).  

Week 3 : The Theme in Persepolis

After reading Persepolis, the main theme of the book is concentrated about cultural revolution in Iran before the Monarchy stepped down and after the new Islamic Republic government took over.  During this time, the revolution has changed the point of view of the main character, Marjane, about Islamic religion.  From beginning of the book, she describes about her childhood with a strong belief in God, because she “was born with religion” (6), and she believes that one day she will become a prophet, “at the age of six I was already sure I was the last prophet” (6).  At age ten, she is forced to wear a veil her school, and her French non-religious school is closed by those that called for a cultural revolution. Even her mother, from a very modern family, joints demonstrations to protest against the changes, but she still hopes that she will be the symbol for “justice, love and the wrath of God all in one” (9).  However, when her parents find out she helps her maid, Mehri, writing the letters to their neighbor’s son, Marjane belief is turned over after her father explains that Mehri’s love is impossible “because in this country you must stay within your own social class” (37). Marjane feels angry with her father’s explanation, she thinks “when I finally understood the reasons for the revolution” (38), then she asks Mehri to go and march with the demonstrators the next day.  Her behavior is changed toward the traditional culture because social classes cannot mix and people are from lower class cannot be treated equally.  Especially after the King stepped down many demonstrators who opposed the Regime are killed and executed together, such as her uncle, Anoosh.  After her uncle’s death, Marjane refuses to talk to her God forever because it breaks her childhood image of God that represented love, justice, and holy wrath.  

One day, Marjane sneaks out with her friends to Kansas for burgers, and later all her mother finds out the she skips class. Her mother gives her a lecture about learning is the most importance when she is grown up. Marjane fells upset and goes down the basement and smokes a cigarette that she stole from her uncle. By smoking a cigarette, Marjane states that her rebellion against her mother. The cigarette is also symbolized of rebellion in the same way of opposite people against their regime leaders. The act of smoking a cigarette also is presented of freedom and mature inside Marjane, “with this first cigarette, I kissed my childhood goodbye. Now I was a grown-up” (117).  Two years later, when Marjane wears a bracelet that she get from Neda Baba-Levy who is killed in the bombing in her neighborhood. Marjane is not allowed to wear jewelry and jeans at school and she is kicked out of school after refusing to give up her jewelry to the principal. That is shown that Marjane’s rebellion against religion at school. When she is transferred to another school, she disagrees with her teacher about the Islamic republic, she says “my uncle was imprisoned by the Shah’s regime, but it was the Islamic regime that ordered his execution” (144), and all her friends clap hands to agree with her.  Finally Marjane’s mother is so scared that her rebelliousness could cost her life and Marjane is sent to Austria for continuing her education.  

In conclusion, throughout the book Marjane illustrates the cultural revolution spreading from her childhood through her youth. Marjane identifies all details of circumstance of her life, her reaction to society and rebellion against Islamic republic.

Character Description

Persepolis is a story about a Marjane Satrapi’s childhood in Iran. The book is concentrated on Marjane’s family during the demonstration against Shah, religious revolution and The Iran-Iraq War.  From the beginning of the book, Marjane is illustrated her identity by herself with other four friends in the same class wearing veil. However, there is the conflict between Marjane’s loyalty to Iran and its culture.  Marjane strongly identifies herself is one of the last prophet that heritage from her family and she says that “I was born with religion” (6) and she was obligated to God. She really wants to fight for the poor and working class people because she is not happy when her maid does not eat on the table with her family.  On another hand, her mother is one of the demonstration against the veil, and she is really proud of her mother. Her life is a study in contradictions and inconsistencies, that is confused her as she thinks “I really didn’t know what to think about the veil. Deep down I was very religious but as a family we were very modern and avant-garde.” (6)   Furthermore, Marjane learns that her grandparents have suffered through poverty and social disadvantage after her grandfather was overthrown. She is so excited and proud that she is inherited from royal family. However, she is disappointed that her maid, Mehri, is still mistreated and is not received the advantages of education even though Mehri was adopted.  Thus it is really confused her and she does not understand it fully about the social class conflict. She thinks “the reason for my shame and for the revolution is the same: the difference between social classes.” (33)  She does not feel right about her maid is not allowed to fall in love her neighbor who is the same social class with her.  She is upset with her father for  being so harsh with her maid by going to tell her neighbor that Mehri is his family maid but not his daughter.  She disagrees with her father’s saying “… because in this country you must stay within your own social class.” (37) Marjane is a little girl but she thinks about justice and everyone should be treated equally. Even she was born in religion but she was raised in modern.

My mother never ...

My mother never said NO to any my ideas and activities. I was from Saigon, Vietnam where most of parents were influenced by Asian culture. Normally parents were demanding and controlling their children. Excepting for my mother, she did not demand her children to follow her instructions or directions but rather than listen to us for reasons. In addition, she usually taught us “time is valuable and do not waste it.” When I was small, every summer I asked her that I wanted to enroll in embroidery class because I saw my friend going there. Even she knew that I just learnt for fun anyway she still agreed to give money to me to enroll in. I knew that it was hard for her to give money away because by that time my family was not very well in finance. For the most important of my life and also for her, when I was about twenty years old I decided to escape from Vietnam by boat. From beginning, it was hard for me to convince her that it would be alright and that I would arrive safely to the third country. I told her “just imagine that you and me travel from city to our home town.” My home town is way down of the south, it takes about twelve hours if I go by boat. I kept telling her everyday and finally she agreed to let me and my younger brother to leave. Luckily for us that we arrived to the Indonesia refugee camp safely after seven days throughout the storm and Thai pirate. After hearing our escaping journey, she felt so scared and relieved that we were survived. That is my mother, she never regretted to say no to us.