Question 2: Written as a memoir, is Persepolis more powerful than if Satrapi had fictionalized the story? Why or why not? Compare this book to other memoirs you have read. What are the benefits and drawbacks of memoirs?
The only other memoirs I've read are the weird ones, and my total memoir reading to this point is: Maus and Maus II by Art Spiegelman, Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut, and Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. All of them were awesome. In a completely different way than Persepolis.
Maus and Maus II (excuse me if I stop the italics, they seemed to be getting excessive) were probably most like Persepolis, since they were all graphic novels. Personally, I liked Maus better, just because I'm more interested in WWII than Iran, but both were excellent.
As a memoir, Persepolis is much, much better than as a fictional story. As just a comic, I'd have zero interest in it. The fact that it's true, or mostly true, makes it much more better. Real life stories are always more exciting than fake ones, like I'm sure you can tell by all these fake memoirs that keep popping up. Why do they publish them pretending they're real? Because they don't think they'd get published any other way. (And they're probably crazy, too, you know.) Real life stories are automatically more interesting, because it REALLY HAPPENED.
Question 5: Describe the writer's voice. Is it appealing? Which aspects of Marji's character do you identify with or like the most, the least? Did your reaction to the little girl affect your reading experience?
When I first read it, I was a little annoyed by her. She was too annoying. She didn't understand anything, but tried to act like she did. She was loud. She didn't respect authority. She showed off too much. I dunno, but I kind of have changed my mind? I like her better now. And I think she shows some character development, if you can really say that about a memoir. I like how she always wants to understand more and more about the war, even though she's just a little kid, and kind of like how rebellious she is. Because it shows how you can be totally normal, even though you live in an oppressive regime. And stuff like that.
When I first read it, I was a little annoyed by her. She was too annoying. She didn't understand anything, but tried to act like she did. She was loud. She didn't respect authority. She showed off too much. I dunno, but I kind of have changed my mind? I like her better now. And I think she shows some character development, if you can really say that about a memoir. I like how she always wants to understand more and more about the war, even though she's just a little kid, and kind of like how rebellious she is. Because it shows how you can be totally normal, even though you live in an oppressive regime. And stuff like that.
Question 9: "In spite of everything, kids were trying to look hip, even under the risk of arrest." How did they do this? What do you think you would have done had you been a child in this environment? What acts of rebellion did you do as a teen? In what ways is Satrapi just a normal kid?
It's kinda funny to ask us what acts of rebellion we did as teens, since we're actually still teenagers. But. Whatever. The kids in the book, they kept doing the cool thing, the Western thing, even though they could get arrested. Not just in trouble. Arrested. Possibly tortured.
Now see, me, I break the rules but only when I think I won't get caught. So here, I would for sure not be doing anything wrong. Because I wouldn't want to be arrested just so I didn't have to wear some clothes. Even if they were hot, unattractive clothes. But I guess they rebel stronger because the rules are stronger, so that makes Marji just a regular kid. A little more rebellious than most, but. Still pretty normal. I think she was just raised rebellious. Her parents are pretty crazy that way too.
It's kinda funny to ask us what acts of rebellion we did as teens, since we're actually still teenagers. But. Whatever. The kids in the book, they kept doing the cool thing, the Western thing, even though they could get arrested. Not just in trouble. Arrested. Possibly tortured.
Now see, me, I break the rules but only when I think I won't get caught. So here, I would for sure not be doing anything wrong. Because I wouldn't want to be arrested just so I didn't have to wear some clothes. Even if they were hot, unattractive clothes. But I guess they rebel stronger because the rules are stronger, so that makes Marji just a regular kid. A little more rebellious than most, but. Still pretty normal. I think she was just raised rebellious. Her parents are pretty crazy that way too.
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