01 Tuesday April 12

Class Notes: Tuesday, April 12, 2011 by Ashley Riggelson
In class today, we discussed Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis. Dr. Mathur opened with a brief introduction to the novel’s historical context, and particular emphasis was placed on the ways in which power has shifted over the centuries to form modern day Iran. She explained that the Arabic invasion of the Persian homeland has caused Westerners to have difficulty distinguishing between the two cultures, and this confusion is a key aspect of Satrapi’s work. In addition, Dr. Mathur illustrated how Western Imperialism impacted the country’s revolutionary attitudes and indicated that these revolutionary beliefs are paramount to understanding the novel’s political climate.

Dr. Mathur also explored the graphic novel as a medium of literature. She distinguished between comic books, which typically revolve around super heroes, and graphic novels. These are open to a myriad of genres.

Following this presentation, we were asked to engage in group discussion. My group was asked to consider the relationship that Marji had with her uncle, Anoosh. We decided that the reason for her affection was that, due to his politically radical tendencies, he is imprisoned. This qualification makes Anoosh appear to be a hero in Marji’s eyes, and she enjoys listening and retelling his stories because they give her a sense of pride in her family.

We were also challenged to consider how Marji juxtaposes political and personal relations in her everyday life. We concluded that, rather than separating the two spheres, as juxtaposition would imply, Marji internalizes both of these aspects of her life. Accordingly, aspects of her political position manifest themselves in her play with friends. We referred to a panel on page ten of the novel to substantiate this claim. Finally, we suggested that Marji’s stories about her family indicate her true immaturity, since she demonstrates a tendency to exaggerate and her stories are “too much” (Satrapi 54, 61).

The other groups in the class also discussed questions which dealt specifically with Marji’s beliefs and politics. Group one evoked Marji’s apparent belief in social equality and indicated where the novel discussed Marji’s want of prophetic power. They also showed how the similarity between the depictions of God and Karl Marx demonstrate both religious and secular influences in Marji’s thought.

Group two discussed how political figures, like Fidel Castro, present alternatives to Iran’s repressive regime, even though they are not necessarily viable choices. Additionally, this group spoke of how the bicycle metaphor Marji uses demonstrates that she is astute in ways that her parents are not (Satrapi 10)

Group three spoke about how oil motivated Western Imperialists. They also spoke of the ways in which the political opinions that Marji holds are unbiased in comparison to those of her parents. Furthermore, they suggested that these opinions are contradictory due to the combination of Marji’s school and family influences.

Finally, group four addressed the liberal views of Marji’s parents as compared with the Communist opinions of her uncle. They suggested that the revolution impacts Marji negatively because she loses her uncle and her faith in God.