ENG 360 – WEEK 4: Marjanne Satrapi’s Persepolis 1 (TUESDAY)
and article by Ochs and Capps (THURSDAY)
Marjane Satrapi Biography
· Bio/history of writer (the Guardian)
· After Persepolis 1 was released
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/mar/29/biographyAnd after Persepolis 2 was released
Background/BIO:
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Marjane Satrapi was born in 1969 in Rasht, Iran.
She was the only child of two parents in her country.
Marjane studied at the Lycee Francais which was a French high school in Tehran, Iran.
Following her studies at Lycaa Francais, her parents sent her, at the age of 14, to Vienna
(Austria) to her get away from a oppressive regime
Later, Satrapi ended up briefly living in a convent, followed by drug use, relationship
drama, and pretty much total anarchy. Finally, when things were at their worst, Satrapi
ended up homeless in winter and woke up in a hospital.
When Satrapi was 18, she moved back home with her parents and attended college in
Tehran. Upon returning to Iran she got married to a man named Reza
-In 1994 she divorced him and moved to France.
Following college, Marjane moved to Paris, France where she was formally introduced to
the art of Graphic Novels, which inspired her to write Persepolis I and II.
In 1979, Iran's Islamic Revolution: didn’t end up giving people the freedom they had
demonstrated for. Resulted in:
-Mass transmigration(nearly 2 million Iranians), mostly to the US
-Aftermath of women who fled to their homeland are confronting dual identities.
“Persepolis,” the name of Satrapi’s graphic novels, is the name of a city in ruins in Iran –
an ancient city of Persia, northeast of modern Shiraz in southwest Iran. It was the
ceremonial capital of Darius I and his successors. Its ruins include the palaces of Darius
and Xerxes and a citadel that contained the treasury looted by Alexander the Great
Published Works
Persepolis, published in France, 2000
Persepolis 2, published in the United States, 2004
Embroideries, published in the United States, 2005
Recounts and afternoon of tea drinking and talking between Marjane, her mother,
grandmother, friends and neighbors. Subjects include: love, sex, vagaries of men, they
share secrets, regrets and their outrageous stories, from how to escape marriage,
miracles of plastic surgery, benefits of being a mistress and how to fake your
virginity.These are stories about the lengths to which some women will go to keep a man
or, most importantly, keep up appearances
Awards
- Prix Alph'art Coup de Coeur (beginning comic artist award), Angouleme
International Comics Festival, for Persepolis, 2001
- Prix du Lion, Belgian Center for Comic Strips, for Persepolis, 2001
- Prix France Info for best news comic strip, France Info, for Persepolis, 2002
- Prix Alph'art for best script, Angouleme International Comics Festival, for
Persepolis Tome 2, 2002
- Fernando Buesa Blanco Peace Prize, Fernando Buesa Blanco Foundation, 2003
- Prix d'Angouleme for best book of the year, Angouleme International Comics
Festival, for Chicken and Plums, 2005.
B. INTRO TO PERSEPOLIS:
Satrapi's biographical comic is both factual and eye-opening. Not only is the text of her book
captivating and ravishing by itself, but the art and imagery portraying her story along with the
dialogue and narrative. This helps the reader cultivate a visage to better grasp the details of her
story. As Jennifer Worth presenters in her Persepolis analysis paper, "Unveiling: Persepolis as
Embodied Performance", she dissects Satrapi's work into several categories that made it such a
sensation. Marjane Satrapi has never been one to remain within prescribed norms which govern
our thinking, rather she seeks to be marginalized. As a result of the mass emigration of Iranians
during the Iran-Iraq war, many Iranian-American authors have written traditional memoirs
recounting their experiences. Marjane, however, chose the format of a Graphic Novel in order to
simplistically yet effectively convey her story in a manner comparable to theatre. Her
transformation from a young girl to an adult serves as a microcosm for the political and social
events which have left scars upon her homeland.
Think of these…not as “still lives” but as almost “moving images” or as “theatre”
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In order to understand Persepolis, we must have an understanding of the format that conveys its
narrative as well as women's stature in traditional Iranian theatre
Street performance and public storytelling are long established traditions in Iran
Performers, called Naquin, were almost exclusively men
Women who performed were banned by the clergy
The Rezah Shah temporarily brought women into the public sphere until the revolution struck
The nuanced interplay of political and personal history is formative in Marjane's development as
an individual
Format of Graphic Novel suits the source material by conveying a much needed visual aspect to
supplement the written word
Comics as Performance
Will Eisner, a comic artist himself, was the first to theorize graphic novels as an art form
Graphic Novels allow the narrative to always "be in the now", even if the subject material takes
place during a completely different era. It is a perpetual present
 There is a focus upon the dynamic nature of Marjane's life as both an Iranian and a displaced
foreigner. Every narrative development centers around personal development (On Page 35,
Satrapi utilizes several panels in order to document the ever awkward process of puberty)
 A representation of Marjane's body takes place of her physcial body in Perseoplis. her dynamic
and self-aware nature makes her representation comparative to an actress in theatre.
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C. Why does S. begin with an introduction to Iran and Iran’s history – with specific
dates? Who is her audience? How does her work an attempt to “mediate” or
intervene in (if not abolish) preconceived Notions of Iranians
In the Article “Rebel In Exile,” (located here: Rebel In Exile) Satrapi states that writing
Persepolis was “an attempt to put the record straight…to correct assumptions about Iran
that, despite all she had witnessed, she knew to be unfair: the notion that everyone was a
religious fanatic, for instance, or that all Iranian women were cowed and submissive, or
the assumption that her people in Iran were essentially different from Europeans.”
1. FIRST, I would like a list of the specific images/captions that were significant
to you. The graphics are deceptively “Simple” and we tend to buzz trough them
fast – without paying attention to the incredible details and nuances. I found that
reading it together with a class revealed all sorts of things I missed/overlooked.
2. What are some preconceived notions of Iran/Iranian women/Arabs? Let’s
list them – really. Let’s write the list of words that are conjured up in our
heads when we hear the word “Iran”…so where are these images and words
coming from? It’s not like we just woke up and had them…
3. Why would it be interesting/beneficial to us to learn about the struggles of
Iranians, instead of assuming, based on what we know about the tyranny of the
Iranian leadership/politics? And why was it so important for Satrapi to offer a
voice different from that of an oppressive/repressive regime that meant her own
exile?
4. Throughout the memoir, Satrapi does not paint a pretty picture over the events
that are unfolding. What does she offer us instead?
5. How do we see her family, their interactions – particularly what her grandmother
tells her, what her father tells her, the relationship between her father and mother?
6. How does Satrapi aid in our quest to better understand a nation that seems so alien
to us? What is it about her story that helps us step outside of the American news
version playing in our heads?
7. How do the images in a graphic novel aid in creating “empathy”/compassion for
the characters, rather than help us note our vast differences? (You’ll notice that a
lot when you see the film, too).
8. Cartoons/Graphics as a way to transcend boundaries: Satrapi takes a
surprising approach to retelling her/ the Iranian history in the form of a cartoon.
While visually thrilling, it is a foreign and lesser-known way to express oneself.
(In class video clips will help add to this section of discussion. Students are also
encouraged to read an interview involving Satrapi here: The Believer).
a) Why might the author have chosen the cartoon medium to tell her narrative?
What can be gained by “lightening” the mood of a story through cartoons? Can
anything be lost?
b) When visualizing people in black and white caricatures, is it easier to leave
behind the stereotypical notions that have already been set out for them? Can this
help a reader start at the beginning of a story, instead of in the middle?
c) In The Believer interview, Marjane says, “You see a picture and you
understand perfectly, immediately, the basic thing that’s happening.” How might
this be beneficial for the reader? Cite specific examples from the text. Example:
Might the impact of realizing her uncle was executed be lessened if we could not
see his face on the newspaper?
THURSDAY: Narrating the Self and Persepolis
A QUICK OVERVIEW OF “Narrating the Self” by Ochs and Capps (below are Qs for you):
“Through narrative we come to know what it means to be human” (31).
To Narrate means – to tell, rehearse, or recite, as a story; to relate the particulars of; to go through
with in detail, as an incident or transaction; to give an account of.
Children are often seen as exaggerators of an event, and their accounts are discarded; children
are often pressured by their parents to tell a narrative of the parent’s preference (34). This
prevents children from sharing their feelings on an event, moulding their response to the parent’s
liking.
a) “Self is defined as- an unfolding reflective awareness of being-in-the-world, including a sense of
one’s past and future.” (21);
b) “Narrative and self are inseparable because the act of narration is to tell about experiences that
you, yourself have had.” (19)
c) “We come to know ourselves as we use narrative to apprehend experiences and navigate
relationships with others.” (21)
d) “Narrative emerges early in communitive development and is a fundamental means of
making sense of experience” (19), and “Each telling of a narrative situated in time and space
engages only facets of a narrator’s or listener/reader’s selfhood in that it evokes only certain
memories, concerns, and expectations.” (22)
e) “Narratives are versions of reality. They are embodiments of one or more points of view rather
than objective, omniscient accounts” (21). “While narrative does not yield absolute truth, it
can transport narrators and audiences to more authentic feelings, beliefs, and actions and
ultimately to a mote authentic sense of life.” (23)
f) Narrators may alter the chronology: For slower disclosures, to enhance dramatic effects and
maintain suspense. And: certain details may portray protagonist in a certain way…
g) Personal narratives about the past are often told from the perspective of the present, and
shaped to accommodate the setting, knowledge, stance, and status
h) Although narratives are a personal experience that only the person in the situation can
experience, these narratives are often defined by the people and things surrounding him or her
(28).
As we become aware of everything surrounding us, we find that we extend into these people and
things as they extend into us (31).
QUESTIONS FOR YOU:
According to the Ochs and Capps article, “narrative…is a fundamental means of making
sense of experience…is simultaneously born out of experience and gives shape to
experience…provides tellers with an opportunity to impose order on otherwise
disconnected events,” and “narratives bring multiple, partial shelves to life.” In other
words, it helps to restore order to an otherwise chaotic world.
1. How does Satrapi use heavy historical truths and her point of view to tell her account of
the Islamic Revolution/Iraqi War?
2. So, Ochs and Capps say, “Narratives are versions of reality. They are embodiments of
one or more points of view rather than objective, omniscient accounts” (21). “While
narrative does not yield absolute truth, it can transport narrators and audiences to
more authentic feelings, beliefs, and actions and ultimately to a mote authentic sense
of life” (23). Does this mean that memoirs are “fake”?
In “Narrating the Self,” the authors Ochs and Capps state that “narrators may shift back
and forth in time as bits and pieces of a tale and the concerns they manifest come to the
fore” (24).
3. What are a few examples of Satrapi using this approach in Persepolis? What are some of
the advantages? Remember “the use of the present tense to relate past events may
indicate a continuing preoccupation; the events are not contained in the past but rather
continue to invade a narrator’s current consciousness” (25).
Also, “while some narrators emphasize the truth of a narrated text, others grapple with
the fragility of memory and the relativity of point of view.” As readers, it is easily
recognizable that Satrapi uses both forms (emphasizing truth and relative point of view)
to tell her story.
4. How might her point of view differ from that of other Iranians during this time period
(1970’s-80’s)? Think of how young but well educated Marjane was. How might this
education have helped her to attain a different standing on the events in her life as
compared to others of a lesser income/educational background? Who would be more
easily influenced to go to war, find salvation in religion, etc. (who is more likely to join
the military/have higher rates of church attendance in the U.S.)?
“Personal narratives about the past are always told from the temporal perspective of the
present” (25). By breaking the story into a past and present voice, (the present is shown in
the interactions of the characters, and the past through the narrative panels), Marjane
enables us to read as both an academic adult, and emotional child. By narrating her story
this way, readers establish a larger connection with the nation and its people, and are
better able to differentiate between the truth of humanity, and the falsehood of irrational
terrorists.
5. How might putting the events of the so-called “Islamic Revolution”/Iraqi Invasion in
chronological sequence help aid the author in achieving a larger sense of self?
Remember, “We use narrative to apprehend experiences and navigate relationships with
others.”
“Silencing is a product of internal and interactional forces in that a person may repress and
suppress emotions and events, but these processes are linked to external circumstances,
including others’ expectations and evaluations” (33).
6. How does the Iranian government try to suppress Iranians voices, emotions, and actions?
Cite specific examples from Persepolis. Were these forms of “linguistic oppression” or
something even deeper? Explain.
7. Ochs and Capps state that children are often seen as exaggerators of an event, and their
accounts are discarded. How do her family treat her “narrative”? What implications
does the way this family functions have when Marji must live among those who feel they
are “freer”(and therefore superior to her) than she ever could have experienced?