The portrayal and description of violence within children’s and young adult’s literature has always been a subject of controversy. While many authors strive to give accurate descriptions of violent or provocative acts in order to stay honest to the story and characters, some would argue that these issues do not belong in a book geared toward younger audiences. The rising popularity of the graphic novel gives the author a unique opportunity to offer greater insight, in various art styles and from different points of view, into the story. One excellent example of a young adult graphic novel which deals with controversial topics is Maus by Art Spiegelman, which tells the story of the authors’ ancestors as they struggled to survive in World …show more content…
Maus has been challenged in various settings “for being ‘anti-ethnic’ and ‘unsuitable for young readers,’” yet its dark themes are balanced with lighter moments between the author and his father (Case Study: Maus). Another graphic novel which approaches similar yet vastly different issues is Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. Written in 2003, the semi-autobiographical book chronicles Satrapi’s life as a young girl growing up in wartime Iran. Young Marji must confront and come to terms with her own identity as well as the violence which perpetrates her country. Despite the heavy material, both authors eloquently weave lighthearted, almost comedic bits into their respective narratives which shed some light onto their writing styles and backgrounds. Examining the balance of humor and tragedy presented in both Maus and Persepolis, and looking at how each author creatively uses similar yet vastly different tactics to deliver their stories of triumph and perseverance in the face of tragedy, can lead to a greater understanding of just how much truth can be conveyed through the …show more content…
Spiegelman describes how “the Germans took from Srodula to Auschwitz over 1,000 people. Most they took were kids—some only 2 or 3 years. Some kids were screaming and screaming. They couldn’t stop. So the Germans swinged them by the legs against a wall…and they never anymore screamed” (Spiegelman 108). In these panels, the reader will notice that darker shading is employed, especially surrounding the Germans. What we see of the child’s body is also in shadow—and the blood spattering from the wound is pure black. This moment is quite poignant because it is allowed to settle—the author is not there to explain what happened but to show and educate. However, as with the previous examples, Spiegelman does include some harmless banter between Art and Vladek a few pages back to maintain that balance. Overall, both graphic novels employ various creative elements, but one thing which both have in common is that they each use humor as a contrast to the dark honesty which is presented. In Persepolis, Satrapi employs an innocent, childlike voice which enables her to see the world through a believable but still slightly idealized lens. Within Maus, with the main character being much older than Marji, the reader is confronted with a much older and more cynical narrative voice. The humor which is found in Maus is not quite the same as the innocent playfulness
To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel written by Harper Lee. The novel is set in the depths of the Great Depression. A lawyer named Atticus Finch is called to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. The story is told from one of Atticus’s children, the mature Scout’s point of view. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, the Finch Family faces many struggles and difficulties. In To Kill a Mockingbird, theme plays an important role during the course of the novel. Theme is a central idea in a work of literature that contains more than one word. It is usually based off an author’s opinion about a subject. The theme innocence should be protected is found in conflicts, characters, and symbols.
Persepolis is a inspirational story written by Marjane Satrapi in the perspective of a young girl’s life during a powerful, historical moment in Iran. The Islamic Revolution was a life-changing moment that impacted her view on the world around her and her innocence shaping her into the woman she is today. Not many people understand what it feels like to feel pain, hurt and abandonment as a child from major and minor things. The author writes this story and decides for it to be a graphic novel to allow the not only young readers, but also for those who do not understand what happens everyday in the world they live in. Satrapi uses all rhetorical stances, ethos, pathos, and logos to show problems, purpose and emotions.
“Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return” is a graphic-novel as well as a memoir, which molds the life of Marjane Satrapi with the use of illustrations and words. In Marjane’s second book about herself, she is living in Austria and speaks about her education there as well as a social life. Marjane lives in Austria for a span of four years where she experiences a lot of hardships and calamities. In this span of four year, Marjane has trouble housing herself when the fam...
“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” This quote by Helen Keller sums up the book Persepolis perfectly. Margi went through many hardships but in the end it strengthened her character and she was able to embrace the world in a better way. Margi is like a baby. The first time they try and take their first steps they topple over in a few seconds but each time they fall they learn and soon enough they are running as happily as can be. The events Margi experiences throughout the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi helps her be able to deal with life`s hardship in .
Poverty and homelessness are often, intertwined with the idea of gross mentality. illness and innate evil. In urban areas all across the United States, just like that of Seattle. in Sherman Alexie’s New Yorker piece, What You Pawn I Will Redeem, the downtrodden. are stereotyped as vicious addicts who would rob a child of its last penny if it meant a bottle of whiskey.
The story Persepolis uses the medium of graphic novel and the perspective of a child to convey her message. The events of Persepolis are very dark and in some
“Often fear of one evil leads us into a worse”(Despreaux). Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux is saying that fear consumes oneself and often times results in a worse fate. William Golding shares a similar viewpoint in his novel Lord of the Flies. A group of boys devastatingly land on a deserted island. Ralph and his friend Piggy form a group. Slowly, they become increasingly fearful. Then a boy named Jack rebels and forms his own tribe with a few boys such as Roger and Bill. Many things such as their environment, personalities and their own minds contribute to their change. Eventually, many of the boys revert to their inherently evil nature and become savage and only two boys remain civilized. The boys deal with many trials, including each other, and true colors show. In the end they are being rescued, but too much is lost. Their innocence is forever lost along with the lives Simon, a peaceful boy, and an intelligent boy, Piggy. Throughout the novel, Golding uses symbolism and characterization to show that savagery and evil are a direct effect of fear.
If I took the text and images as separate elements, I might not have realized the levels of emotional Satrapi portrays or the significance of the larger context of the Iranian Revolution. It is only after reading several graphic narratives that I have realized the multitude of elements that must be acknowledged and understood while reading such texts. This mixture of unique image and text creates a versatile platform that can be an expressive form of art for marginalized persons who feel that they are trapped by the normative literary cannon. As Michael Pagliaro argues in Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words?, graphic novels are useful as people from different backgrounds “can find their experiences authentically and respectfully portrayed” (35). I would further contend that people who occupy privileged positions can also, through graphic narratives, understand representations of marginalized persons who may appear separate or unlike them, as I was able to through Persepolis. Thus, graphic narratives foster a form of expression and understanding that is prime for working to debunk stereotypes, exploring authentic diversity in writing, and ultimately “writing against the
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi captures life in Iran during the 1980’s through a child's eyes. Marjane Satrapi grew up during a time when both the Islamic Revolution and the Iran/Iraq War took place. Personal experiences are expressed through themes including revolution, imperialism, nationalism, religion and loss of innocence and affect Marjane personally as she grows up.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of an oppressive regime on the child Marjane Satrapi as depicted the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.
Satrapi, Marjane. “Why I wrote Persepolis: a graphical novel memoir: writer Marjane Satrapi faced the challenges of life in post-revolutionary Iran. She used the graphic novel format to tell her unique story.” Marjane Satrapi. Writing!, Nov-Dec, 2003, Vol.. 26(3), p. 9(5) Cengage Learning Inc.
The audience’s focus was meant to be on the experience and life of a fun-loving German boy named Bruno. Surrounding this eight-year-old boy were conspicuous Nazi influences. Bruno is just an example of a young child among many others oblivious of buildings draped in flags, and Jewish civilians who are seen briefly being forced out of homes and into loading trucks.... ... middle of paper ...
There are many times when problems in a country affect one's life. Persepolis by Majarne Satrapi recounts the coming-of-age of a girl during a period of war. Utilizing a graphic novel to illustrate, Marjane recalls the struggles of her family and herself living in warfare. For instance, in Persepolis, Marjane's external conflict result in her internal conflict.
Persepolis, a graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, is not a run-of-the-mill comic book. It is written with purpose. Satrapi wrote and illustrated this book to show Americans that their perspective of her home country, Iran, is askew. She believes Americans are too focused on the “fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism” (Satrapi ii), of the nation and that they forget to notice the normality and humanness of it. Since these two perspectives have vast differences, Satrapi wants to change their minds. Thus, it is crucial that she effectively communicate this humanness of Iran to the literary audience in America. Since the literary devices in a work are needed to correctly convey a message, she found it necessary to include these and manipulate them in her favor. Satrapi uses the innocence of a child along with morals in her pictures and a relation of cultures to effectively communicate her message. It is necessary to examine how she manipulates such literary devices in order to gain a full understanding of the text.
Although Art Spiegelman’s Maus: A Survivor I and II, achieved critical success when they were first published, some Holocaust survivors criticized Spiegelman for making a comic book out of their tragedy. In “Cultural Criticism,” Adorno implicates Maus by stating that art cannot provide a voice for suffering “without immediately being betrayed by it” and believes that to “write a poetry,” for instance, “after Auschwitz is barbaric” (Adorno 34). Conversely, Miné Okubo’s Citizen 13660, in spite of being published in the same medium, did not face as much backlash as Maus did given that it was the “first published memoir” of the Japanese American internment experience during World War II (Zhou 51). It seems that academics are still reluctant to accept graphic novels as a legitimate scholarly source