I started reading Persepolis, a book by Marjane Satrapi. So far, I've enjoyed reading it as well analyzing its sarcastically comic images. It’s a small book with only 153 pages. In spite of its size though, the book contains lots of information about the author’s previous years of life when she was just a young child, and the people of Iran revolted against the Shah regime at the time, and the consequences that people had experienced as a result of the Iranian Revolution of the 1979. Even though I haven’t finish or read the whole book, what really grabs my attention about the portion I read is Satrapi’s claim to have known herself as a prophet. She indicated that she was the last prophet (6). And this is when she was only six years old.
To better help myself understand on Satrapi’s claim, I explored the situation and read the book a bit further, but I found no significantly convincing evidence from her side on this issue apart from that she had emphasized her prophetic imagination to be from God. And what is more? Just like other prophets that came before her, she said she received a revelation with three simple rules. These rules were: “to Behave well, to Speak well, and to Act well” (7). What a good way to convey a message to an audience. Marjane Satrapi had been a caring and compassionate since her childhood, she was especially so to her parents including her grandmother who was suffering from a pain because of her age. With age, comes pain, and the more one gets old the more pain that comes with it.
As I kept reading Persepolis, I concluded that perhaps Satrapi's perspective on being a prophet was because of her compassion towards others, like her grandmother whom she ones promised to heal her illness and her suffering once she grow up. Satrapi was, without doubt, a charismatic child. She was not like other children at her age who might have been naturally obsessed playing with themselves. Instead, she was curious to know what was happening around her, and even though Satrapi was only a kid, still she has had the inclination to participate the demonstrations that were aimed to topple the dictatorial regime at the time. She started by asking her father questions on the King of Iran at the time, and how he came to be. She thought the King was a chosen King by God as this was a subject taught in her school. This was; however, a falsified information.
Fortunately, Satrapi’s father was able to redress this misleading information given to her by her own school. She learn from her father’s experience and discourse that the King was simply there as a tool of interest. And illiterate King he was! Chosen as a King and installed by Great Britain. In a way, this was why the Iranian Revolution of 1979 was started because illiterate rulers tend to be dictatorial. Thus, they’re bond to cause more harm and destruction to those whom they claim to be their rulers, the people.
You're a good writer. When I was reading this book, I was also taken aback a little when she thought of herself as a prophet. I found this book interesting because it contained history. The author talked about the King, and how he was installed by other world leaders who wanted to succeed and get rich on the expense of others. It was very shocking and sickening to see how leaders could install illetrate people just for their private gain. However, what I did not appreaciate about this book was that the author only gave one view. She talked about the "fundamentalists" from her point of view. She never tried to get into their shoes and see where they were coming from. Also she made
ReplyDeleteit seem like any women who chose not to show her hair was a fundamentalist, and any women who did show her hair was "normal." By that I was a bit disappointed with the author because she showed her thinking in a positive light and the opposing view in a negative light. I feel that authors have alot of responsibilities when it comes to writing, and they can either open one's mind or fill it negative thoughts.
Great start here on your commentary! I am intrigued by the points that you both bring up. I agree that the prophet is very interesting. Even the drawing caused me to stop and reflect. In particular, the long, white flowing hair, which contrasts so much with the rest of the characters in the book. Since we are given visuals in this book, we should consider each detail as important to the narrative. I think the depiction of this "God" that Marjane speaks to in the beginning is tied in with the politics that she initially subscribes too....maybe the author is asking us to think about the ties between the young girl's ideas of God and where they came from in the same way she is asking us to question where the Shah came from?
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the one-sidedness of this narrative, you are absolutely right. This is not a non-fiction history of the Islamic Revolution, but rather "the story of a childhood" that occurs during this revolution. You are correct in pointing out the bias here. We will talk about this and also the communist roots of the protagonist's family. I also like that you pointed out that there is another narrative missing, an important one. I picked this story because it provides us with so many rich and important topics to discuss...like the ones you both have brought up. Great work! On Friday, I will distribute Maysan Haydar's Veiled Intentions: Don't Judge a Muslim Girl By Her Covering." I think Haydar's article provides a very important balance to Marjane's perspective. Thanks for digging in right away and giving us some interesting insights here!