Jim's Characteristic

In the beginning of the book, Jim seems to be a lost person looking for his purpose in life.  He moves away so he can begin a new life somewhere else and work as a farmer. He meets a man and they begin to talk about his past. We find out that Jim does not have anybody in his life anymore.  From having an infamous father who was always drunk to having his mother pass away and also his older sister go missing when they were younger.  So Jim really has nothing to lose and wants a fresh start.  So the only way he can find out who he really is, is by joining the party and feeling like he needs to be a part of something that serves a purpose.

Formal Paper

Alex Castro                                                                                                Castro 1

10/24/11

English 1B

                                    Formal Paper on Persepolis

In life we are faced with obstacles and choices that come along with them. Some may be harder to overcome than others. But it’s how we deal with those obstacles that separate us from the rest. Now imagine yourself as a young child having to witness first hand, all of the horrifying events and consequences that take place during a revolution.  Yet, still manage to keep your outlook the same. It’s not a common thing to ask but unfortunately this was not the case for Marjane. In the novel “Persepolis” we view the life of Marjane Satrapi and all of the changes she goes through, written in her memoirs during the Iranian Revolution in 1979. In today’s world there are constant changes happening every day. None of which can compare to the changes she faces with her faith in religion, the oppression being caused by the government and also dealing with any type of authoritative figure.

In the beginning of the novel, Marjane’s belief in religion seems very strong and faithful towards God.  “I was born with religion” (Satrapi, 6).  “At the age of six I was already sure I was the last prophet…” (Satrapi, 6).  Coming from a child, these are powerful words.  She doesn’t mean any harm nor does she wish to go against her religion, but when Marjane starts to see life from a whole other point of view, it changes her whole outlook completely.   Once she starts asking questions to her

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parents about the revolution and why things are the way they are, she gets many unexpected answers. One topic that she brings up is that god chose their current emperor but that’s when her father intervenes and tells her the real truth.  He was not a prophet or a chosen one; he was merely a low class soldier that was manipulated by the British into becoming an emperor instead of a president.  Their plan was to have complete control over their geological wealth because Iran was sitting right above an abundance of oil.  The next occurrence that affected Marjane was coping with death in general.  She experienced first hand on dealing with the death of her grandfather and her uncle Anoosh. When he came to visit her family during the revolution, she made a really strong connection with him and a bond was formed between the both of them.  But when she see’s her uncles face on the front page of the newspaper saying that another spy was killed just devastated her.  Even as an adult it can be heart wrenching to deal with a death in the family.  And for a young religious girl witnessing first hand how cruel life can be, her views on god begin to change.  She would speak to god on a daily basis before she would go to bed and have long talks with him.  Yet when her beloved uncle dies, she has a hard time accepting her religion because she is extremely upset with god.  One night that she was laying in bed, God speaks to her and asks how she is doing and her only response was, “Shut up, you get out of my life!!! I never want to see you again!” (Satrapi 70) This is another changing point where Marjane begins to lose her loyalty to god and all faith as well.  Once she loses her faith, it causes a domino effect where she begins to lose respect for any authoritative figure as well.

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            Marjane goes through a series of events that helps push her into becoming a rebel against any type of authority.  At first she shows that she has a lot of respect for adults and any rule or regulation that is enforced.  For instance she obeys her parents and prays when she is supposed to.  She does not talk back to her elders but simply questions herself in her thoughts about why certain things are the way they are.  Although it was never to a point where she expressed such great oppression.  But when she saw how much impact the revolution was causing, she felt she had to take it upon herself to change and become the leader who she was meant to be all along. She would watch her parents coming home from demonstrations as they were against what the Emperor Shah wanted for their country.  So they acted out and rebelled because they were not happy with their economy.  “When I finally understood the reasons for the revolution I made my decision.  Tomorrow we are going to demonstrate” (Satrapi, 181).  As of now marjane feels that she has seen enough tyranny and oppression that she wants to take things into her own hands and rebel against the government as well.  That attitude carried on with her into school as well.  A once well-respected student became a rebel in the classroom as well.  One type of rebellion is fighting/talking back to the person who is in charge which was her teacher.  Marjane thought it was okay to disrespect her teacher by talking back in class in front of her peers.  Soon after she began to ditch class so she can fit in with the fourteen year olds who would also cut class as well.

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“If I wanted to be friends with 14-year olds, I had to do it. I wasn’t chicken, so I followed them.  I had already broken the rules once by going to the demonstration in ’79.  This was the second time” (Satrapi, 111).  Rebelling against anything with rules was becoming to be another norm for marjane as she looked at it as nothing. Of course once she began acting up in class, her parents would soon be notified of her new behavior in school.  As her mother found out about her cutting class, she confronted Marjane about school.  She lied to her mother and told her it was okay.  When really she did not attend any classes at all.  “There was no other alternative. I had to lie” (Satrapi, 133).  This was only the beginning of her new attitude against all authority.  “As for me, I sealed my act of rebellion against my mother’s dictatorship by smoking the cigarette I’d stolen from my uncle two weeks earlier” (Satrapi, 117).  Marjane is going through a tough time and is handling it by becoming a rebel, but can we really blame her?  After all, aren’t her parents setting the examples for her as they demonstrate against the government.  So why can’t she do the same?  One possibility could be the government playing a huge role in her changes.

            A revolution can cause many problems for any country, but it does more damage to the people who are directly affected and live through it everyday.  Not only does it cause chaos and destruction but it also separates a community into two and divides family and friends based on their outlook towards the government.  All of this has been influenced by western civilization and has caused a war within its own people and stirred up different social classes. Marjanes family would actually

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fall under the upper middle class.  Her father was the only man in the neighborhood that drove a Cadillac.  They also had a made named Mehri who did not eat at the dinner table with them.  This showed Marjane that her family in essence also had power just like the government since they are well off and are calling the shots in their household such as the Emperor Shah.  If her parents showed that it was okay to rebel against the government, why wouldn’t it be okay for her to do the same thing and join her family with them?  We can see that Marjane has been susceptible to being easily influenced when all else goes wrong, she ultimately changed her whole life around because it all revolves around the government.  Not only does it set the tone for its “people” but they also leave the “people” with no other choice but to rebel against them because of their dictatorship and unfairness.  This was never what life was about in Marjane’s eyes.  It was to follow three simple rules from god which are to “behave well, speak well, act well” in order to live a happy and prosperous life.  Unfortunately the government wasn’t religious and did not believe in that which caused so much confusion for Marjane as she had to accept the fact that her emperor was not chosen by god but a fraud.

            Persepolis interprets a story of a young girls journey through changes in all aspects of her life. It’s not easy being able to live a normal life when a revolution is destroying a country.  Yet we can see Marjane is not like everybody else.  She handles different scenarios unlike any other child.  She adapts to situations as if she were an adult and handles it in a rebellious way instead of steering away in fear. 

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Marjane Satrapi develops into a strong and fearless girl because of all the different changes she faces from her religion, government and authority.

WEEK 5 Prompt 1

THERE WERE MANY DIFFERENT THEMES IN THE STORY OF PERSEPOLIS, BUT ONE OF THE MAIN ONES THAT WE SEE THROUGHOUT THE BOOK IS THE DIFFERENT CHANGES MARJANE FACES.  FROM WATCHING HER CHANGE HER OUTLOOK ON RELIGION, ALL THE WAY TO BECOMING A REBEL TOWARDS ANY AUTHORITATIVE FIGURE.  AS A YOUNG CHILD, SHE STARTS OFF LIKE ANY OTHER INNOCENT CHILD WHO IS NIEVE AND ONLY BELIEVES IN ONE THING.  BUT WHEN REALITY STARTS TO SINK IN AND HER FAITH IS TESTED BY THE REVOLUTION, WE SEE HOW QUICKLY THAT ALL CAN CHANGE.

AFTER GOING THROUGH ALL THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CRITICAL THEORIES, I WOULD LIKE TO FOCUS MY PAPER AS A READER RESPONSE.  IT WOULD BE MORE BENEFICIAL TO ME BECAUSE I CAN MAKE A LOT OF CONNECTIONS TO THE BOOK AND ALSO USE EXAMPLES TO SUPPORT IT.

ONE SCENE THAT I WOULD EXPAND ON FIRST IS HER FAITH TOWARDS RELIGION AND THE RELATIONSHIP THAT SHE SHARES WITH GOD IN THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY.  MARJANE IS SEEN SPEAKING WITH GOD AT NIGHT, AND ALSO BELIEVES THAT ONE DAY SHE WILL BECOME THE NEXT PROPHET.  BUT ONCE SHE IS FACED WITH TRAGEDY AND HARDSHIP, SHE IS QUICKLY TO LOSE HER FAITH AND NEVER WANTS TO SPEAK TO GOD AGAIN.  THIS SHOWS HOW QUICKLY HER MIND IS DEVELOPING INTO AN ADULT BY NO LONGER “BELIEVING IN THE TOOTH FAIRY” AS AN EXAMPLE AND REALIZING THAT IT WAS HER PARENTS GIVING HER MONEY ALL ALONG.  SO NOW THAT SHE HAS OPENED UP HER EYES, SHE CAN SEE THE TRUTH BEHIND EVERYTHING THAT HAS BEEN EXPOSED TO HER.  THE GOVERNMENT, DEATH, SOCIAL CLASSES, POVERTY AND REBELLIOUS BEHAVIOR HAVE ALL BEEN ISSUES THAT HAVE AFFECTED HER LIFE IN A HUGE WAY.

IN MY OPINION, I THINK IT IS VERY HEART BREAKING TO SEE A CHILD MISS OUT ON THEIR CHILDHOOD.  ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S BECAUSE OF THE GOVERNMENT THAT IS CAUSING OPRESSION TO THEIR CITIZENS.  INSTEAD OF HELPING PROVIDE SECURITY AND A SENSE OF COMFORT FOR THEIR PEOPLE, THEY HAVE CAUSED CHAOS AND REBELLION TO AN EXTRAORDINARY EXTENT.  IT’S HARD ENOUGH FOR ADULTS TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH THEIR DAILY PROBLEMS, BUT TO ADD TYRANY AND OPRESSION, IT AFFECTS EVERYONE AND LEAVES DEVESTATION TO THE COMMUNITY AND FAMILIES ALL AROUND.  IT ALSO CAUSES FAMILIES AND FRIENDS TO BREAK UP AND DIVIDE THEMSELVES INTO TWO DIFFERENT SOCIAL CLASSES.  ONE SIDE FOLLOWS THE UNLAWFUL WAYS OF THE GOVERNMENT WHILE THE OTHER CLASS OPPOSES AND WANTS TO FIGHT FOR FREEDOM AND JUSTICE.

THOSE ARE JUST A FEW TOPICS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO EXPAND MORE ON BUT IN MY ESSAY I WOULD LIKE TO CONNECT ALL OF THE MAIN POINTS THAT HELPED CHANGE MARJANE INTO THE PERSON THAT SHE BECOMES BY THE END OF THE BOOK.  WE SEE A YOUNG INNOCENT LITTLE GIRL CHANGE THROUGH OUT THE COURSE OF HER COUNTRIES REVOLUTION IN THE MIDST OF FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE AND FREEDOM.  HER VIEWS AND OUTLOOK TOWARDS LIFE CHANGES QUICKER THAN ANYONE COULD EVER IMAGINE AND SOON ENOUGH HAS THE MENTALITY OF AN ADULT.

Week 4 Metacognitive Experience

Thinking about your thinking?  What does that really mean to you as a reader?  To me it’s regurgitating all of the information that you have read and are able to process it in such a way that it can be summarized.  If you read 50 pages from a chapter book, will you be able to stop and ask yourself what exactly did you read and be able to come up with all the main points?  For me, I would need to stop and write small cliff notes to help me remember what important events occurred in the section that I am reading.  But for the novel Persepolis I actually didn’t have trouble thinking about what I read.  What helped me out a lot was that it was all very visual.   I noticed recently that I am a visual learner.  Looking at pictures makes a big difference in my comprehension.  If I can see pictures or illustrations, I will be able to understand it much more fluently versus hearing it. 

Now as I reflect on the whole book, I can think about all of the events that happened.  It must be so difficult for a child to have to be put through so much exposure to violence and politics.  Even for adults, we have a hard time accepting the truth that there will always be conflicts about money and power.  But for Marjane , she had to sit back and watch as her country was split in half by the Government.  While half of the country rebelled from the Emperor Shah and his stupid rules.  Others accepted his laws and encouraged his new ways.  It makes me think about how a child’s mind still has not fully developed yet to understand about all the cruel truth’s about this world, and that there really isn’t a Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus.  Nor is this world a happy place where everyone gets a long and lives happily ever after.  We live in a horrible society that targets minorities, and discriminates them from being equal.  Who knows when things will ever change?  But for Marjane, she has a lot of issues to deal with like missing out on her childhood and becoming an adult faster than expected.  It’s very tragic to see any child have to grow up and lose their sense of imagination and playfulness in exchange for a life of stress and oppression.

Week 4 Metacognitive Experience

Thinking about your thinking?  What does that really mean to you as a reader?  To me it’s regurgitating all of the information that you have read and are able to process it in such a way that it can be summarized.  If you read 50 pages from a chapter book, will you be able to stop and ask yourself what exactly did you read and be able to come up with all the main points?  For me, I would need to stop and write small cliff notes to help me remember what important events occurred in the section that I am reading.  But for the novel Persepolis I actually didn’t have trouble thinking about what I read.  What helped me out a lot was that it was all very visual.   I noticed recently that I am a visual learner.  Looking at pictures makes a big difference in my comprehension.  If I can see pictures or illustrations, I will be able to understand it much more fluently versus hearing it. 

Now as I reflect on the whole book, I can think about all of the events that happened.  It must be so difficult for a child to have to be put through so much exposure to violence and politics.  Even for adults, we have a hard time accepting the truth that there will always be conflicts about money and power.  But for Marjane , she had to sit back and watch as her country was split in half by the Government.  While half of the country rebelled from the Emperor Shah and his stupid rules.  Others accepted his laws and encouraged his new ways.  It makes me think about how a child’s mind still has not fully developed yet to understand about all the cruel truth’s about this world, and that there really isn’t a Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus.  Nor is this world a happy place where everyone gets a long and lives happily ever after.  We live in a horrible society that targets minorities, and discriminates them from being equal.  Who knows when things will ever change?  But for Marjane, she has a lot of issues to deal with like missing out on her childhood and becoming an adult faster than expected.  It’s very tragic to see any child have to grow up and lose their sense of imagination and playfulness in exchange for a life of stress and oppression.

Week 3 - Journal Entry #2

Have you ever come across a time where you were asked to read out loud,

then explain what you just finished reading?  Do you remember if you were able to

successfully summarize the story or was it difficult to even remember what the

story was even about?  When I was growing up, I had a really difficult time

comprehending anything I would read silently or read aloud to the class.  I have

been like that since grammar school all the way up till my second year of college.  To

be honest, I really don’t know why I couldn't grasp the material that I read.  But

two years ago, all of that changed in my English 92/1A class with Mrs. Bell.  I was a

pretty mediocre student with basic English skills.  But by the end of the semester I

turned my weakest subject into my strongest subject in school.  My teacher helped

us view stories from another point of view and taught us how to open our minds to

new things and expand our horizon’s.  The more practice she gave us, the better we

became at it.  One thing that I can reflect on is that it helps out so much if you are

reading a book that you are at least familiar with the topic.  For example, if you work

with children, then reading a book about the psychology of a child’s mind would definitely

interest and keep you engaged.  I believe that the first trick in becoming a better

reader and learning how to comprehend the material is by reading something that

interests you.  Once you go beyond reading the text and start asking questions and

making connections, you will be that much closer to understanding the context.

            Now as for me, I need to have a quiet place to read in order to comprehend the

material.  If there are people talking or yelling in the same room as me, then there

is no way I will be able to regurgitate anything that I read.  I am the type to easily

get distracted if I see something else going on.  So that is why I must be in a room

that is completely silent.  Without that, I will have a really hard time concentrating

and lose complete focus.  I have tried reading while there was music playing or

having the TV on.  But I noticed I don’t give my full attention to the book, therefore I

wont be able to thoroughly go over anything I read.  Also finding time to read can be

a hassle as well.  One of the biggest tasks is trying to balance being a full time

student and working part time while still managing time to schedule room for

homework and reading.  It’s not easy but my only option is to do all my homework

and reading on Saturday’s.  And I wouldn’t say it’s difficult for me to read because I

really enjoyed reading Persepolis, but the only challenging thing is trying to manage

time to read and blog by Sunday evening.  Considering that I have a lot of homework

and other obligations to do, I try to put my priorities first and make time to

complete my homework before the deadline is due.

Prompt 2 choice #2

One of the scenes that I had a really strong connection with was in the passage from pages 67-71.  This is where her uncle comes into the story and Marjane creates a strong bond with him while he is there visiting.  Then one day, her mother tells her that he is on a “road trip” which marjane already knows that saying means that he could be dead.  In a previous passage, found on page 48, marj tells Laly (her friend) the same thing about her father Siamak.  When someone is on a road trip, it means that they are dead.

Following on page 70, Marjane is laying in bed telling herself that everything will be all right.  That is when you see god come back in to the story and ask her what’s wrong.  She is so infuriated of finding out that her uncle was killed that she yells at god and tells him to shut up and never come back into her life again.  As a child it must be so difficult to understand and deal with death, especially having someone so close to you in your life.  This is a changing point where you see Marj beginning to lose her faith in religion because of all the horrible things happening to her in her life.

My connection in the book with my own personal experience also comes with losing a loved one.  It has been exactly one year ago this past Friday (Sept. 16) that my best friend Vince died in a car accident.  I went through a very difficult time back then, I felt a great deal of depression, anxiety and confusion as to what happened to him.  He had such a big influence and impact on my life that I spent some of the best years of my life with him.  Then to get that phone call the very next day while I was at work just broke my heart.  I knew that he had so much to offer that I didn’t want to accept his death.  I began questioning everything, like, “Why did he deserve this fate?” Or, “What could I have done to have prevented this from happening?”  There were so many things running through my mind that I even started questioning my own faith and religion.  I am a catholic so right away I started to ask myself if there was a god and if so, how could he allow someone to lose his life in such a horrific and young age.  I didn’t know what to believe anymore as I started to view life in a different manner now.  I can understand the type of emotions and feelings she was going through in the story.  It is not an easy thing to deal with, especially for someone as young as marj who is still a child and doesn’t have a greater understanding of life as an adult would.

I think this scene in the story has a greater meaning behind it from just reading the context literal.  Yes, Marjane is going through a hard time, considering the fact that she is exposed to a war, death and hatred as a child.  How is this going to impact her life as she gets older?  Will she become an activist and protest against her government when she’s an adult?  Also, I think the author may have put this passage in the story to expand the reader’s own comprehension to view their own life and help appreciate what they have.   How many of us are really affected by the war that is currently happening right now over sea’s?  Our lives still carry on as if there was nothing happening.  We don’t have to see people being killed, tortured, or scavenging for food.  This is something that marj and her family are going through and it has a huge impact on her way of viewing life.  I also believe that the author purposely put this passage in the novel to setup what may be coming up next in our following reading of the book.