PERSEPOLIS BLOG 3

Overall I enjoyed Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. The novel itself kept my interest as a reader. The comic book set up made it easy to read. Especially because it had a picture to go along with the text. However at times it was kind of confusing because she switched from topic to topic when it seemed she was not finished in completeling her thoughts from the previous. Her literary use of irony and symbolism allowed me as the reader to understand some of the ideas she was trying to get across or make. The topics raised by Satrapi are interesting. Things like the veil, revolution, war, social class etc. Although im not of the Islamic faith I felt as though i could feel how they as a people would have felt when certain things went on or took place in the novel. Alot of these situations are present anywhere you go. Like women rights, women rights has been a issue dating back hundreds of years ago. One particular thing that sticks out is the veil. I believe the veil represents bondage or a lack of freedom. It was stated that the veil was supoose to be worn because the woman's hair tempted men. And such temptation was wrong or not of god. They believed the appearance of hair and temptation led to the rape of their women. I thought this was beyond crazy. It seems the government officials needed a reason any reason reason really to justify the enforcement of the veil. In this novel I believe they are things you could learn about life. Like a life lesson. The narrator was continously learning these lessons. When the narrator first learned of social class she felt bad. She realized she would be considered upper class because she had a maid, her father drove a nice car, etc. She soon realized such issues as rights and social class was the reason for the revolution. There were instances where she made fun of a little girl saying her father was not on a trip but that he was dead. Then seeing that he was not dead was to me a slap in the face she deserved, but the bigger slap came when her uncle anoosh was killed. Her experience of being on the other side allowed her to see that you dont make fun of death because you never know when you or your loved one will be faced with the same situation. She learned another leasson when her and a friend placed nails between their fingers and tried to attack the little boy because his father supposedly ordered the killing of thousands of people. She had to realize that you can not punish others for the mistakes of another regardless the relation. Although I could not complete the entire novel because the second part of the book was not available I did enjoy what I could read. As I said before at times I was confused but over all I enjoyed the work.

ZAABALAWI

In Naguib Mahfouz Zaabalawi we as a reader see a young man in search of Zaabalawi. He is known for his cure of illnesses. Mahfouz uses different literary techniques to tell this story. I believe the story contains alot of symbolism. The quest to find Zaabalawi is a journey into ones soul in search of the inner peace that is inside of us. In the beginning of the novel the narrator asks his father about this Zaabalawi. His father responds saying "May his blessing descend upon you, he is a true saint of God, a remover of worries and troubles. Were it not for him I would have died miserably. The father found his inner peace and his journey symbolizes the reults that are possible when anyone finds that inner peace they search for. On his journey the narrator encounters numerous places full of despair and lacking hope. When he saw the Birgawi residence he said time had eaten into the building and now it was nothing more than a rubbish dump. The narrator soon began to give in to the despair himself because he began to loose sight of what the object of his interest was. Which was finding his inner peace. He even states he didnt know if he could hold on much longer. Soon he encounters the calligrapher who tells him a story of Zaabalawi making him out to be more of a man of mystery. He states he would visit often and when you think he is near and dear he would disappear as though he never existed. Next the narrator encounters the musician who tells him that suffering is part of the cure. This would be considered a paradox because at first the statement seems to be incorrect but it does hold truth in the lives of many people. The musician tells the narrator that in the old days it was easy to know where Zaabalawi resided but now times have changed because now the world is cruel, full of despair, and people didnt seek inner peace like they once did, but he should hold out because he still has inner peace to find within himself. He gave the advice of not giving into defeat, this extraordinary man brings fatigue to all those who seek him and have patience in being sure you will reach him. This symbolizes that your journey for inner peace can be difficult and may not go the way you see planned or want it to. The narrator meets a man at the bar who appears drunk after having a few drinks he says he lost his memory and then the future vanished. The irony in the short story becomes evident because the narrator misses his only chance to meet Zaabalawi because he was sleep when the purpose of his quest presented itself. After realizing he missed Zaabalawi the narrator decides to continue his journey. The symbolism in this is a idea of renewed hope. The narrator's lack of awareness that the cure resided in him was the obstacle in his way. The fact he could find, keep, or remember his inner peace was because he has not gained the awareness that Zaabalawi is inside of him in the form of spirit and peace. He had a glimpse of the inner peace he longed for but when he awoke his lack of awareness and doubt took over and he was no longer able to see it. Throughout the story he searched for something that has always been there he just wont allow himself to have it because of his doubt and lack of awareness.

PERSEPOLIS BLOG 2

In the portion of reading I found alot things that took place interesting. Although I find alot of things about the text so far interesting its beginning to become difficult to follow because one minute the narrator is talking about this and then the next she is on a completely different topic that should be placed with other things she talks about. This is beginning to frustrate me as a reader. I think the only reason the author can get by with it in this novel is because of the way it is set up with a comic book format where u have short text and a corresponding picture. If it was a normal novel it would be impossible to follow. The first would be living in a society so focused on being on a accord that they would close all universities because they felt everything and anything needed to be done to ensure that children didnt stray away from the path of Islam. When the narrator found out about this she immediately saw her dream of being like Marie Curie crumble before her eyes. In her case it would be one thing to not accomplish something because of your own lack of will or laziness but to have it taken because of religious beliefs of your nation and theres nothing you can do but accept it would be really difficult for me. Scenes immediately following this the mother is confronted by gentlemen and told she should be pushed up against a wall and raped if she didnt wear the veil. Those are pretty harsh words but it doesnt surprise me completely from what has taken place thus far in the text. The veil becomes a obiligatory thing to wear because a woman's hair brings excitement to a man that may cause him to rape her. Im beginning to think that the government officials are trying to brainwash their people into believing whatever they say. I dont think there is any way possible that hair could excite a man enough to rape a woman. If a man is going to rape a woman its not going to be because of her hair. It was funny when the narrator's mother looked out the window and saw a woman who always wore tight and short clothing having adapted to the fundamentalist style of clothing. A man had to wear a long sleeve shirt because his bare arms wouls excite a woman. I could not imagine having to wear a long sleeve shirt everyday especially in that climate. The narrator sees her last demostration when a fight / riot breaks out and people began to get beat or stabbed. And then learning she and her family would no longer be able to take vacation. I think thats another extreme as well. When they realize they are at war from the grandmother it reitterates the belief by most not just concerning their nation but in any country the government will only let you see what they want to portray to you. especially at a time like war. Our nation saw this with the war in Iraq. When the teacher asked the students to preapare a letter concerning the war I felt bad for the little girl Paradise. Like nthe narrator everyone would say he died a noble death and was a hero. But she felt I rather see him in jail and alive than to know he was dead. It was nice of the narrator's family to take in Taji and her family. Although I didnt particularly care for her boys. They were worried about all the wrong things that was clearly not important. They were spoiled, selfish, and materialistic like their father. And the situation with the maid and her son and the gold key was very strange. The fact that boys who knew nothing about war where being sent to fight. I mean they where still kids how could they possible fight in a war and then told since you are poor when you die this gold key might help buy your way in to heaven. As the reading continues the narrator tells different stories of things that occured to friends and families she knew. With everything been said I just couldnt imaging having to put myself in her position and live her life.

PERSEPOLIS BLOG 1

I find myself quite interested in this novel thus far. I think Satrapi's use of pictures and short text writing like that of a comic book gives more of a visual of what the narrator is talking about. Most good writers use of words can allow the reader to see a visual of what has been written. This novel however is not the typical novel you would read because of the comic book set up. In the first chapter I found the veil explanation rather amusing. I honestly didn't know that woman and even some mean protested against the wearing of the veil. And the fact the narrator and her piers think of the veil as a joke or something to just play with shows that there might not be any point of little girls wearing them. They clearly didnt know what it was made for. The narrator even says she didnt know what it was for even though her family was very religous. The reasons the narrator gives for wanting to be a prophet are amusing but shows she is the typical child who dreams of being certain people or holding a particular position when they grow up because they believe this positions are respected, noble, etc. When the 400 victims were killed in the fire and the narrator is looking for god and he is no where to be found shows her faith. When things go bad we always turn to god for the answer. I found that interesting because she is rather young and most kids cant understand religous aspects. When the grandmother was telling ehr story about the shah and being so poor she had to fake cooking dinner by boiling water was kind of sad. I saw myself putting myself in the position of her children wandering what it felt like to know you was only smelling boiling water. As the novel continues there is a point where the father doesnt return until late that night and the mother thought he was killed. That was my first thought especially when they said taking photos of a demostration were forbidden. After the narrator read the reasons for the revolutions she quickly picked up on the fact she belonged to a different social class and felt ashamed. And the favors she did for the maid in writing to her lover was pretty nice of the narrator but i felt bad for the maid when the guy learns she is only a maid and cant read or write. When they demostrated on black friday and the man hit both of them shows him to be a coward. Hitting women and putting them in their place was accepted in their faith. I just wished I was in the story so I could slap him back for them. When the narrator and her friends grab nails and try to attack the little boy was ironic to me. She wanted him to be punished for something he could not control and had no part in. And when she tells to little girl that a trip meant your father is dead was pretty mean but just shows how some kids make joy out of the sorrow of others. I know she felt stupid when she realized he was not dead. She quickly tried to make up and play with the little girl then. The decriptions of the tortures they faced in prison along with the picture shows the cruel and crazy world we live in. I couldnt imagine being burned on my back with an iron and then cut into pieces. Every child has a hero when growing up. The narrator's was her uncle anoosh. The ironic thing about the situation concerning her uncle was he ended up going on a trip but he never returned because he was killed. Not that I was happy he died but I believe it did show the narrator its not good to make fun of or play with certain situations concerning the lives of a love one because you never know when the same thing may happen to you.