RA: Persepolis

Gamban 5

Amanda Gamban

Professor Knapp

English 1A

24 March 2013

Rhetorical Analysis: Persepolis 

Marjane Satrapi the author of the graphic novel Persepolis also wrote, Embroideries, Chicken with Plums, Monsters are afraid of the Moon, and The sign all have a cultural influence of Iran. In her novel Persepolis she wants to inform people of how life was like in Iran from 1980 to now. Her audience is intended for people who have misconceptions and misunderstandings about Iran, such at the United States and most western societies. Due to western societies seeing Iran only as a threat of terrorism, backwards society, and a rich environment of oil. This novel gives us an understanding of how the Iranian people actually are and the hardship and struggles they have been through.

In the novel the text demonstrates how Satrapi wants the reader to easily interpret her story. The type of character you see in the text throughout the novel is simple but informative by getting the point across. Along side the text is the type of tone Satrapi has throughout as well. She displays a mostly humorous, educational, and very serious tone as she tells us the events of her life. In the beginning of the novel is her tone more naïve and young as she is just starting to learn and experience the beginning of the revolution. Then what happens through the rest of the novel her tone is more aggressive and rebellious as she grows up learns the true facts and experiences many heartbreaking events. 

 What Satrapi is trying to accomplish in the story is to give the reader the truth of what happened during her childhood.  Persepolis gives us a first hand view of how the not only the Revolution from the Shah, but the Cultural Revolution and the Iraq Invasion on Iran. This novel not only informs us the history about the events that occurred but how it affected the Iranian people. This story shows us that the people had no say against the new Islamic Revolution and the affects of the war. Satrapi explains not only what occurred physically but emotionally as well, by giving us opinions of her family, friends, and herself. Such as having strong opinion against the Islamic Revolution and the new government they enforced. Satrapi’s states in class when she was fourteen, “ You say that we don’t have political prisoners anymore. But we’ve gone from 3000 prisoners’ under the shah to 300,000 under the regime. How dare you lie to us like that?”(144). Her tone of her voice as she grows up becomes louder and more rebellious as well.

In Persepolis Satrapi arranges the novel in a way that anyone after reading this remarkable story of her childhood you will have a better and new understanding of Iran. Every chapter within her story emphasized on the importance of learning the truth and experiences that the people of Iran had to face. Seeing these events through her eyes gives us different and more engaging perspective to the reader rather than learning it from a history book. Also by presenting a visual image with her text gives the reader an advantage of understanding the complex story of Iran’s History. The images are a significantly important part of giving the reader a clear and new view of Iran’s turmoil and struggle for a normal society. Satrapi emphasizes on the reality of Iran and does a remarkable job getting it across to any reader.

Reader Response #2

Gamban 4

Amanda Gamban

English 1A

Professor Knapps

17 March 2013

Reader Response #2: Persepolis and Marjane’s Rebellion

            In the second half of the graphic novel Persepolis written by Marjane Satrapi illustrates how her own childhood was more affected by the revolutions Iran has imposed on the their people. Through the period of her life from ages 12-14 she experiences severe changes about not only her society but also her family and herself. She faces the Islamic Revolution (and it’s new regime), the Iraq War, and all of the side affects and turmoil’s that came along with them. Through Marjane perspective we see how she takes in all of the violence, rebellion, and newfound Islamic Laws. Marjane and her family still try to live their lives through all of the corruption their government has put on them. At this point Marjane education, way of living, family, and beliefs are on the line. She had no choice but to either conform to new these new ways or rebel.

The first drastic change that came after the Shah left was the new Islamic regime, which enforced strict laws based on the Islamic Religion. Laws such as changing the way people dress, education reform, and expel anything that had a western influence on society. This new movement had tremendously affected Marjane and her family due to their modern ways of living. They weren’t allowed to have parties, drink alcohol, dress western, and were forced to wear the veil again. She explained, “…[it was] to protect women from all the potential rapists, they decreed that wearing the veil was obligatory” (74). Marjane mother was a victim of men harassing her because she chose not to wear the veil one day. Some women believed it was for the best, while others thought it to be an invasion to their personal rights. Marjane wore the covering on her head at school, but started to rebel by showing strands of her hair. This was the beginning of her showing her beliefs about how she felt about the new government.

            Marjane beliefs started to grow and so did the beginning of the Iraq and Iran war. The war had first brought Marjane a strong feeling of devotion to protect and defend her country. She thought that it was necessary for Iran to win because of the history of the Arabs invading the Persians. As the war started to unravel she saw things that no child should ever have to see, such as bombings of her own town, loss of family and friends, and the sadistic persuasion Iran had to convince young boys to join the army. Her beliefs toward the war evolved into a realization that this war was wrong in so many ways. In the book she states, “[Iran] eventually admitted that the survival of the regime depended on the war. And when I think we could have avoided it…it makes me sick” (116). After her understanding of how many people didn’t have to die, she shows her resentment by smoking a cigarette. This simple act of smoking did not only represent her feelings toward the war, but a rebellion of her mother and the end of her youth.

            When Marjane was at the age of fourteen she had experienced so much pain and bitterness for her country, her beliefs became her morals and rebelled at any chance she could. Toward the end of the novel she strongly states, “After the death of Neda BaBa [a close family friend], my life took a new turn in 1984. I was fourteen and a rebel. Nothing scared me anymore”. (143) She embodied her morals and expressed her true feelings which got herself expelled at one school, but didn’t stop her of bringing them to the next school she attended. For someone who had been through so much, you could only imagine how she would carry herself around a system that is against everything she stands for. As Marjane showed her true thoughts and opinions she put herself in danger, which leads to her parents decision of her parents sending her to Vienna Austria. So then she could finish her French education and grow to become an independent woman.

            Throughout this novel we see Marjane mature into a resilient young woman. We see her develop her opinions to beliefs and her beliefs into strong morals that she will live by the rest of her life. Her childhood was the furthest thing from normal, but with a strong family and mindset she grew up to standup for herself and understand the whole truth of what was occurring in her country. He rebellious ways helped her grow up to become Marjane Satrapi instead of growing up in the eyes of how the government thinks she should have.

Full Narrative: Ayatollah Khomeini

Gamban 3

Amanda Gamban

English 1A

Professor Knapps

10 March 2013

Censorship of the Arts Narrative: Two Primary Goals of Ayatollah Khomeini 

            Ayatollah Khomeini was born in 1900 and through out his life he was a major influential religious leader and emphasized the importance of a true Islamic Country. Later on in his life he became the Islamic religious leader for Life in Iran. How Khomeini got there was by years of turmoil and repression the government had for him at the time. The Shah was the Domain Ruler of Iran from “1941-1979”(bbchistory.com) and his goals were to develop the country in to a more western and modern society by exporting Iran’s Oil, which only benefited the rich and elite. Ayatollah Khomeini strongly didn’t believe in the new pro-western movement and his beliefs against the Shah had him exiled from Iran from “1964-1979” (bbchistory.com). Even when Khomeini was out of Iran his followers were growing and becoming stronger by throwing protests and resilient movements. The Shah grew to be more and more hated as the people resisted, which led the Shah into exile and for only Khomeini to return. When Khomeini returned to Iran he started the Islamic Cultural Revolution and then took his place as “ highest-ranking official in the Islamic Republic [who was as God’s representative on earth]…”(Callamard).
            Khomeini strongly believed that this new Revolution was going to restore Iran to it's true self. So through Khomeini “divine and unconditionally authority to rue over the nation” (Callamard) he started with his two fundamental goals that would reform the country back to a pure Islamic Religious Republic he surely believed in. His two goals were derived from an Islamic conservative point of view.  According to Ruahollh Khomeini, “The first was the destruction of the alien and dependent (mostly western) value system that the Pahlavi regime and its ‘Western masters’ had forced on the Iranian people”(Siavoshi). His second goal was to restore the country in to an authentic Islamic culture, “…that would recapture the dignity of Iran as a Muslim country” (Siavoshi). Through his eyes these goals were for the best for the country of Iran (from a conservative standpoint), but his new plan would only make things harder for the Iranian people.

Khomeini's goals tremendously affected the people of Iran’s freedom of expression. Censorship of the arts, music, theater, literature, film, dance and other forms of expression began to take place in his new regime. He believed that anything that had influence from the West is an offense against the Muslim religion. “Ayatollah Khomeini wrote that expressions of Westernization, such as theatre and dancing, ‘rape the youth of our country and stifle in them the spirit of virtue and bravery”(Callamard). His beliefs to reform this country were so severe and extreme that there had to be certain councils to maintain his vision. The first council that was appointed was the Supreme Cultural Revolutionary Council (SCRA), which was in charge of regulating a “watchful eye” on art forms such as music, cinema, and literature (Callamard). The second council was the Ministry of Culture and Information Guidance (MCIG), which were “an elaborate system of councils that regulate and monitor every sphere of artistic expression”(Callamard). These councils have only have decreased the amount of freedom a person should have. The Iranian society are censored to the bone.

People of Iran are challenged with the fact that they lose the fundamental right of freedom of expression. How is an artist supposed to breathe under the conditions that the government has put on them? The answer to that is they can’t, without breaking any laws or the council scratching out every artistic idea. Ayatollah Khomeini goals have caused a major reversal of Iran’s society. From being allies with the West and reforming the country to a pro-western society with freedom of expression on the horizon to a pure Islamic Country. Where the religion dictates how people are supposed to live their lives. In the words of Stuart Jeffries from Landscapes of the mind, “Artistic revolution often takes place in those countries weighed down by restrictions…”. With Iran being contained by such a strong and dominant religious laws, problems can only build up. Only time will tell if a new revolution will take place with the people of Iran revenging their rights for freedom of expression.

PowerPoint

Works Cited

BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2013.

Jeffries, Stuart. "Landscapes of the Mind." The Guardian. N.p., 16 Apr. 2005. Web. 10 Mar. 2013.

H Naficy, ‘Islamicising Film Culture in Iran: A Post-Khatami Update’, in R Tapper (ed.), The New Iranian Cinema: Politics Representation and Identity( London: IB Tauris, 2002), 27.

Siavoshi, Sussan. "Cultural Policies and the Islamic Republic: Cinema and Book Publications." Int.J Middle East Stud. 29 (1997): n. pag. Web.

Callamard, Dr. Agnes .”Unvieled: Art and Censorship in Iran”. Article19.org,. Article 19 MENA Programme, 25 Sept. 2006. Web. 10 Mar. 2013