Persepolis

Hello all,

Again thank you so much for fallowing my blog! Last week we talked about the novel The Outsiders. This week we are going to be talking about a different genre of Adolescent Literature: Graphic Novels. We will be discussing the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. This book discusses a story of a child growing up during the war between Iran and Iraq. As in my other blogs, I will be evaluating this book on three things: if the book is educational, if the book sends a message, and if the book makes student’s want to read.

Firstly, this book is very educational. Like Funny Boy, this book is showing us what life is like for a young adolescent in a different culture. I feel like many people, youth especially, play into stereotypes of Iran and Iraq based on what we see on television today. I believe that this graphic novel gives a harsh true description of what life is like growing up in a culture that is so heavily controlled, like the one Marji is in and what happens when people speak out against it. From the first page of the graphic novel we are immediately hit with what the culture is like for women in the chapter called “The Veil” this shows us that women did not have a voice and were mostly hidden. This book also shows the cruel things that can happen in the Iranian prison. This also gives us the reality about young boys growing up in Iran. The books shows us that young women were supposed to stay hidden and not have a voice while the young men from the young age of thirteen were expected to join the army and fight for their country. The vivid details of Iranians not being able to leave their country without a fake passport is a great example of what the culture was like. Another insight into what the Iranian culture was like is the description of anyone going to jail that didn’t want to fallow the regime.

Secondly, I believe that this book does send some type of message to youth. Even if it is the message that life is different everywhere and is hard even for people at a young age. This book also sends the message of how lucky we are to have the freedoms that we have in America and that even today harsh governments such as communism and dictatorships still exist.

Lastly, I believe that this book will make student’s want to read. I believe that presenting this book in the style of a graphic novel will only make the students want to read it. Majority of youth today have proven to be visual learners. I believe that as teachers, providing students with a novel tat provides vivid visual detail of what is happening in the book can only help our students.

I hate for this to be my last blog but I hope you have enjoyed my analysis of Adolescent Literature. Remember Teachers, keep your students reading and allow them to never be afraid to ask questions.

Best,

Ben Jones

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