Persepolis: Kingston Vs The Woman Warrior
In my reading of Persepolis thus far, I have first noticed that this story seems as if it will be a memoir that really shows just how a girl becomes an adult. In the woman warrior, it seemed as if the story was a bit more of an autobiographical account than Persepolis. The life that Marji had to deal with was filled with many tough times. Compared to the Woman Warrior, I believe that the situations Marji had to deal with helped her to be able to better describe just how she evolved emotionally.
One of the themes that seem to be present in the class in general is one of oppression. Both Kingston and Marji had to deal with this but in two different ways. While Kingston’s was oppressed because it was a cultural norm, Marji was oppressed because
of questionable country leadership. Having a government that bans so many things creates a life that requires rebellion. I believe that this control that was put over the Iranians had a big impact on Marji’s seemingly early coming of age. I could have never imagined doing the things she did at that age. Marji was forced into growing up and forced early.
I believe that the other big influence on her coming of age was her parents. Since they had demonstrators themselves, Marji learned early on that she has to stand up for her beliefs, which during that time was dangerous but still done nonetheless. The day her parents let her go demonstrate was a big step in her growing up. Being able to attend something that she had never been allowed to attend before was, just like her first smoking, an immediate and quick help in her transition towards womanhood.
The choice Marji made in deciding to write Persepolis as a graphic novel is an excellent one. The topics that she wrote about could be very grim and morbid. By choosing to illustrate the situation at the time, Marji was able to add a hint of comic relief. This not only made the topics seem a little lighter, but also allowed Marji to convey to the reader that she, or so I believe, viewed the situation at the time as more of a learning experience rather than something terrifying. Due to the fact that I did not view this story as being a dark as it could be, I was more interested in reading it than I would have had it simply been written down. In a more concrete aspect, writing this in the form of a graphic novel opens up the book to a lot of people who may not be interested in reading. I personally have never been one to sit down and read but being able to actually view the story as I read it made the experience much more enjoyable. The images add a bit of life to the pages and keep readers interested. I know that this being a graphic novel helped to keep my focus while I was reading it.
One of the themes that seem to be present in the class in general is one of oppression. Both Kingston and Marji had to deal with this but in two different ways. While Kingston’s was oppressed because it was a cultural norm, Marji was oppressed because
of questionable country leadership. Having a government that bans so many things creates a life that requires rebellion. I believe that this control that was put over the Iranians had a big impact on Marji’s seemingly early coming of age. I could have never imagined doing the things she did at that age. Marji was forced into growing up and forced early.
I believe that the other big influence on her coming of age was her parents. Since they had demonstrators themselves, Marji learned early on that she has to stand up for her beliefs, which during that time was dangerous but still done nonetheless. The day her parents let her go demonstrate was a big step in her growing up. Being able to attend something that she had never been allowed to attend before was, just like her first smoking, an immediate and quick help in her transition towards womanhood.
The choice Marji made in deciding to write Persepolis as a graphic novel is an excellent one. The topics that she wrote about could be very grim and morbid. By choosing to illustrate the situation at the time, Marji was able to add a hint of comic relief. This not only made the topics seem a little lighter, but also allowed Marji to convey to the reader that she, or so I believe, viewed the situation at the time as more of a learning experience rather than something terrifying. Due to the fact that I did not view this story as being a dark as it could be, I was more interested in reading it than I would have had it simply been written down. In a more concrete aspect, writing this in the form of a graphic novel opens up the book to a lot of people who may not be interested in reading. I personally have never been one to sit down and read but being able to actually view the story as I read it made the experience much more enjoyable. The images add a bit of life to the pages and keep readers interested. I know that this being a graphic novel helped to keep my focus while I was reading it.