Persepolis Research Paper

To the human eye Persepolis can seem to be only a graphic novel of black and white comic strips with little literary value but it is much more. A graphic novel written from the perspective of a young girl in Iran, Persepolis offers a large amount of valuable information on the Islamic Revolution. The Ithacan Newspaper claims that Persepolis is only a little more then an advanced comic book, but it offers way more then a comic book. Persepolis gives students an insight to the turmoil in Iran during the nineteen hundreds. College students should read Persepolis to gain a better understanding of Islamic Culture and the hardships of Marjane Satrapi. Persepolis may lack strong diction but the information Marjane provides us with
makes up for it. Although this is a graphic novel it is nothing like a comic book you read for fun. Persepolis covers the Islamic Revolution, with very graphic detail and serious situations not commonly found in a comic like novel. Issues like executions, torture and different views on culture are part of Marjane’s life from a very young age. The Ithacan claims that Persepolis’ literary value falls short but college students need more then high literary value in a novel to keep them engaged. “But at some point, this idea of catering to different tastes only furthers the declining reading comprehension.”(Ithacan) The graphic novel consists of serious material that not everybody could pick up and read. It Persepolis provides the reader with information not found in simple comic books. When people think comic books they think fun, cartoons, and comedy. Although Marjane’s life does have some comedy to it, Persepolis is nothing like a laughter filled comic book. “The idea of a graphic novel goes against the grain of typical required reading”(Ithacan) Persepolis is an unforgettable novel about political turmoil and the Islamic Revolution that should be read by all college students regardless of the disagreement about going against the grain. Persepolis is a novel full of illustrations. Some may argue that illustrations lower the reading level of a story, but Marjane’s illustrations further enlighten the reader. Persepolis informs us of the naïve thoughts of Marjane as a young child growing up in a time of war and chaos. The illustrations show a great deal of emotions and help the reader picture a certain situation. A serious topic like torture is shown on page 256. Marjane shows us what her vision of torture is through her illustration. Marjane’s pictures will keep college students engaged in the exhilarating novel. Some students may be turned away to other novels on the Islamic Revolution because they do not want to know about the horrible torture. Persepolis relays all the information about the Islamic Revolution and culture but allows the reader to become more comfortable with the subject. The illustrations keep graphic and gory images aside and just fulfill the imagination of a college student. At first glance readers may think that Persepolis is only a comic book with little blurbs and cartoon illustrations, but until they finish the novel they will find out how intriguing and important the story really is. Persepolis is an intense graphic novel dealing with the issues of the government of Iran. The novel is written from the perspective a young girl, engaged in the turmoil. All though the novel is written in graphic form with many illustrations it is much more then an “advanced comic book”. Persepolis deals with strong social issue that a reader of a comic book may not be able to understand or read for pleasure. The illustrations of the novel help keep the college student interested and help picture each scene further then the small blurbs.