E. Persepolis as a Graphic Text Dr. Rufel Ramos World Literature II Fall 2010

1. Why Words & Images? Clarifies an otherwise mysterious and unknown time, place, history, and culture: Iran, And uses Satrapi’s expertise as a graphic artist. Words & Images = work together to fill in her story that neither words or images alone could do

2. Satrapi’s Drawing Style Simple, black & white, and modern -- like in children’s illustrated books and comics. Contributes to the demystification of her otherwise “exotic” story, making her childhood home and experiences as relevant to her Western readers as possible

3. Black & White World? The post-1979 Iranian government makes the world seem black & white, but Satrapi’s world has many shades of grey – like any real person’s life. Drawings easily convey complex experience, using vivid imagery, facial expressions, and ironic placement of positive and negative images.

4. Characters: Inner & Outer World Juxtaposition of the characters’ outer world – harsh, painful, dangerous, classist, sexist, adult – with the characters’ inner world – nurturing, fun, safe, equal, childlike. Example: “the key to paradise” and “a necklace with chains and nails” (102)

5. Best in Pictures – Ten Examples Split Marjane (6) “2500 Years of Tyranny and Submission” (11) Fire victims (15) Torture (51) Uncle Anoosh’s death (70) “Fundamentalist” vs “Modern” (75) The Keys (102) The Bracelet (142) The Vegetable (189) Disneyland in Tehran (329) And so on and so forth...

6. The Comic Book Version Satrapi plays with the common expectation that comic books are just for children.

7. Images: Strengths & Limitations Strengths  Clarifies Satrapi’s visuals in her memories  Makes non-threatening and familiar otherwise foreign and mysterious people, places, and culture Limitations:  Images are only as good as the artist  Limits the visualization of the reader to what Satrapi gives

8. Traditional Novels Traditional novels with foreign concepts and hard-to-visual settings may benefit from a graphic format:  Orwell’s Animal Farm  Dickens’ Great Expectations  Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter

Conclusion Major Points:  Both words and images tell Satrapi’s story  Simple style doesn’t mean simple story  Ironic use of images  Comics are for adults, too Recommendations:  Graphic format not for every novel or memoir, but some could benefit = introduction to new cultures and difficult concepts.  Other graphic novels to check out: Art Spiegelman’s Maus (about the Jewish Holocaust in WWII) and Larry Gonick’s The Cartoon History of the Universe.