Duvan Diaz
Eng 102-107
Prof. Barnes
April 28, 2017
Research Essay
War has always been a profitable business for Imperialistic Entities like the United Kingdom, United States and many others. But the damage caused by the war is what the people do not worry about. The story Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, and the poem “I Never Seen Such Days as This” by Sholeh Wolpe, tell the story of Iran and the conflicts in it, from a different perspective from the one the media has shown so far; meaning that we as readers, get to see the war from the civilians where this battles have been fought. Both texts show the damage and suffrage the civilians who lived in these war zones have had to deal with, oppression by their own government due to the way it changed,
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and how it affects the civilians’ style of life. Due to the good geographic location of Iran, and the amount of natural resources that the country has, it has often been victim of invasions that led to political and economic conflicts that eventually resulted in war.
In the book Persepolis the author states: “From Alexander the Great, from its Arab neighbors to the west, from Turkish and Mongolian conquerors, Iran was often subject to foreign domination.” (Satrapi,1). She refers to different invasions throughout the history of the country. As an example, the victory of Alexander the Great, when the Battle of Gaugamela, was fought in the year 331 BC, on Iranian territories, called Persian up to that time. The battle led to the defeat of the Persian Emperor King Darius III, and the territories of Mesopotamia, Babylon, and half of Persia, were now under the reign of Alexander. (“Alexander defeats the Persians, 331 BC. 2000). Or when the Mongols Invaded Iran after the death of Malik Shah, the king in 1092. Iran was under control of different Mongol Dynasties, that on a period of 200-300 years, conquer many other dynasties over the middle east. Genghis Khan and the rulers after him, didn’t really worry about the improvement of Iran; which was going through a hard situation because of so many casualties due to the many battles (Courtis, Hooglund. …show more content…
2008). In the story Persepolis, talks from her own experience, with war in her country, and demonstrates how terrible is war, no matter what part of a social class someone belongs to. Unfortunately, she was part of a family with money and had more opportunities; although this did not prevent that her or her family would be affected. For example, in the book, she demonstrates how her parents would get her the gifts she asked for, when they went to Turkey for a short vacation (Satrapi, 130.) She discusses her own life as a child, while the Islamic Revolution starts, eventually leading the nation to conflicts with many international entities. The economy of Iran, was increasing since the early 1950s, mainly due to the revenues coming from the petroleum industry. Around the early 1070s, due to the increase in population, demand of oil, and the instability of the world’s economy, Iran’s economic progress started to seemed affected. Besides the economic failures, the social and political situation in the country was getting tense due to the regime of the Shah Mohammad Reza. The repression of the Shah’s regime, started to upset many other political parties who always found themselves oppressed and with no chance to act for their country, by the Shah. (Afary) In Marji’s life, many members of her family and their friends, were either war prisoners, or served in the war. Along the story, the author writes a conversation with her dad, where he explains her more of the background of their family, and mentions that his grandfather was the son of the emperor of Iran at the time, before the Shah’s regime started: “The emperor that was overthrown was grandpa’s father. Grandpa was a prince?” (Satrapi, 22). After this conversation, the story gives the reader a better understanding of how the new Regime developed. Iran, was always a reason of social-economic problems between Great Britain and Russia. The real impact of war is left to the civilians to deal with.
Marjane talks about many cases, involving her friends at school, and many members of her family. As she says in her story: “After my friend’s departure, big part of my family also left the country” (Satrapi, 63). In her family, as in many others, complete families had to leave the country because of the new regime, and many of them flew to United States and different countries in Europe. Later in the story, her Uncle Anoosh, is mentioned; a character who she never heard of before because he had been gone for more than 30 years. He had been the assistant of his own uncle, the minister of justice who had proclaimed the independence of one of Iran’s provinces. After the Shah’s new regime started, his uncle was arrested and he had to be in exile. Anoosh was in the USSR, had a family there but after the separation with his wife he decided to come back to his natal country, where he was arrested and sent to prison for more than 9 years (Satrapi, 54). Marjane loved her Uncle because he was a hero and had a lot in common with her. Besides the fact that he explained many things to her. In the story she explains how he is sent to prison because they were blaming him of being a Russian spy, and eventually executed. (Satrapi,
70)
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” by Marjane Satrapi is a memoir that depicts the troubled life of Marjane Satrapi. Marjane Satrapi, the author, was born in Rasht, Iran in the year 1969. She was born to a rich family in Iran and grew up in Tehran during the revolution and revolt against the Shah, the ruler at the time. She lived during the era where Islam was emerging in Iran and becoming the predominant religion. Marjane lacked academics for two years in Iran and suffered indeed from the bombings of Iraq. These horrific events impacted her and her parents, so as a result was sent to Austria for a better life. Her juxtaposed life in Austria and emergence of maturity is described in Marjane’s second installment of Persepolis.
In Marjane Satrapi’s memoir, Persepolis, the characteristics and qualities of revolution are portrayed through rhetorical devices such as visual text, similes, and pathos. Satrapi’s use of rhetorical devices enhances and supports her expression of the revolution in Iran. Persepolis was Marjane Satrapi’s way of allowing people to see how the revolution in Iran affected her family's lifestyle and her upbringing. This memoir also allows the readers to analyze how war changes the way of the people and government in a country.
Due to the serious tensions looming in the air, many people would think it is strictly forbidden to laugh a little or have fun in Iran. The constant political instability makes it seem like the citizens live like robots under extreme oppression. However, in Marjane Satrapi’s biography, Persepolis, she gives an inside look at her experiences growing up in Iran and adds comic relief throughout the novel. As the main character, Marjane, evolves from an innocent girl into a mature woman, Satrapi adds bits of comic relief to highlight her typical personality while living in the midst of an oppressive society.
The introduction to Persepolis gives a great deal of background information to the unrest in Iran leading up to the Islamic revolution. Iran had been in a state of unrest for “2500 years” (page11). Iran was ruled by foreign nations and exploited by the western world for its rich expanses of oil. In 1951 the prime minister of Iran tried to take back his country’s wealth by nationalizing
In Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis and in Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone, both authors commentate on the romanticism of violence that is often associated with war. Because of this, the authors are able to dispel misconceptions surrounding war. Furthermore, the memoirs allow the authors reflect upon their own experiences of war during their childhoods, as well as examine how cultural shifts perpetuated by both war and the increased influence of western culture that took place within their cultures shaped who they became. Through their memoirs, the authors portray the reality of war and violence through cultural experiences.
The Peloponnesian war involved Greece’s two most prominent city-states, Athens and Sparta, between 431-404 BC. Both Athens and Sparta held numerous alliances, causing essentially the entire ancient Greek world to be engulfed in war. The Peloponnesian war was perhaps one of the most momentous wars of its time and is meticulously documented in the historian Thucydides contemporary account History. Thucydides stated that the most prominent cause of the war was Sparta’s unease at the rapidly growing power and capital of Athens. Other events caused friction between the city-states, notably Athens intervening in a dispute between Spartans ally, Corinth, and her colony Corcyra over the city of Epidaurus. The revolt of Potidaea against Athens and the Peloponnesian Leagues interference in the event caused an undeniable tension across the Greek world. It was perhaps Athens hostile decrees against Sparta’s ally Megara that made war inevitable.
From watching the video “Engineering an Empire: The Persians” I learned about the Persian Empire. Persia is today the country of known as Iran. Led by Cyrus II the Great (576 – 530 BC) Persia became one of the largest and most successful empires of all time. The reign of Cyrus the Great is said to have lasted from twenty eight to thirty one years. In that time he stretched his empire over much land, including; parts of the Balkans and Thrace-Macedonia in the west, to the Indus Valley in the east. Because he was a just and benevolent leader who refused to enslave his conquered subjects he was given many titles including; The Great King, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer among many others. In 539 BC Cyrus conquered Babylon, but instead of presenting himself as a conquer he presented himself as a liberator, freeing those people from their cruel leader.
Persepolis is a book that centers on the author’s family during the Iran-Iraq war that lasted for eight years. Marjane’s experience of the war is quite innocent since she saw it from the eyes of a well protected child. She grew up with need to help and make things better for everyone without really understanding what it takes to make the world a better place. In her mind the only possible way to make a change is by becoming a prophet and using supernatural powers to make the world a better place. Marjane’s childhood is proving that children form defense mechanisms to deal with difficulties. These defense mechanisms take children to “happy” places where things are better and everyone is happy unlike in the real world.
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.
In the novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Satrapi’s childhood was highly impacted by American culture. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the affect American culture had on how Satrapi viewed the Iranian Revolution.
Throughout the evolution of cultural ideas and representations, propaganda has played an important role. Propaganda consists of ideas and information that is deliberately spread in order to either help or harm a person, group, movement etc… (Dictionary.com). These ideas and information are typically in the form of testimonial, framing, and/or bandwagon forms of propaganda. These different forms are then used mainly in politics and advertising. An example of this can be seen during WWII during the reign of Hitler and the Nazis and their posters against Jews. Throughout Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, propaganda is used to create a positive image for the Shah, gain more support for the war against Iraq, and aid the development of the Islamic Republic.
The novel Persepolis, written by Marjane Satrapi, portrays a diverse amount of symbolism throughout the novel which contributes to the protagonist developing into a young women. The main character, Marji Satrapi flourishes at an early age in her life due to the setting of the novel. Satrapi acquires knowledge about different insights of the Iranian government which constitutes her self judgement. Satrapi reckons that the individuals that make up the population of Iran should all support the idea of the government before the ministry of Iran can commence a war. “For a revolution to succeed the entire population must support it" (Satrapi 17). Marji expresses that the revolution will vanish due to many individuals not supporting
Even though Marjane returns to Iran because of the events that destroyed her state of mind, she ends up carrying over the emotional effects like depression, over dependence and Isolation/loneliness back home.
Despite the fact that Marjane is born and raised in Tehran, Iran, she is as much a product of Western customs as of Middle Eastern customs. The younger Marjane showed how the Iranian Revolution affected her life. The Iranian Revolution was the exiling of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and its concluding substitution with an Islamic republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution, supported by a mixture of leftist and Islamic organizations. The new government became more suppressive by enforcing Islamic laws into the constitution and prohibiting westerner influence of any kind. On the contrary Marjane is raised by Marxist parents, who believe in freedom and tend to adapt to a more westernized upbringing. Marjane is similar to any other teenager, she starts to grow up and rebel against her elders and her traditions. Her revolt takes the form of a better awareness of and interaction with western culture. Marjane have many items ...