Persepolis and Neruda's Poem

The panels that I chose to look at were on pages 142. In this scene Marjane has just found out that there was a bombing in her neighborhood. At the time she was out shopping with her friend Shadi, and rushes home to ensure that everyone is ok. When she arrives she is greeted by her mother and they hug. Marjane's mother tells her that the bomb struck the Baba-Levy's house, and on page 142, we see their house in shambles, a pile of rubble...

Marjane is upset as she knows that her friend Neda was most likely home when it happened, and upon seeing the turquoise bracelet, her worst fears are confirmed. Although the text doesn't say that they were indeed all home when it happened, I got the feeling that they were. In the first panel, where it shows the house in shambles, I think of Neruda's line in his poem that says "and the blood of the children ran through the streets without fuss, like children's blood. We do not see any blood in the actual frame, yet we know blood was shed. A child represents a certain level of innocence, and it is this loss of innocence that makes us feel sad when reading through this part of Persepolis. I'm sure there was a struggle on the Baba-Levy's part to escape, yet there was no great 'fuss' in the end. The people responsible for the bombing accomplished what they had intended.

Another line from his poem that I thought was similar was when Neruda says "Come and see the blood in the streets". This line is suggestive of all of the turmoil and grief that fills the streets and lives of people during war and conflict, conflict that is obviously affecting Marjane and her loved ones.

This conflict transforms identity because it ultimately changes how Marjane views herself, her country and her faith in the country. She is left to deal with the fact that she must leave Iran to go to Vienna so that she can live a life without problems, yet escaping to Vienna proves almost as difficult for her. She changes her image, her habits, and her beliefs to try and fit into a 'world' that she doesn't belong in. Vienna is not her home...Iran is. And this takes some changes in herself before she realizes this. I think her attitude towards life and the faith in her country changes as the novel progresses and in the end, I think she has realized who she is.

Part One Persepolis and Poems...

I must say that I was a bit surprised after reading through the first part of the novel and the poems that were posted on the blog. I was shocked at the attitude of the Satrapi family. I guess I just believed the typical stereotypes that we all hear on the news about the people in the middle eastern countries. I couldn't believe that they were so forward with their beliefs and thoughts. i found it interesting that they were so in touch with the 'modern' world, while the world around them was ravaged and changed without consent.
The poems that were posted all spoke o the text as well. I think each had its own aproach, and addressed the 'good' and 'bad' aspects of war. I think that Satrapi thinks of the war as both good and bad in that she has her own beliefs about what should be happening and what should not be happening.
The first part of the book was interesting, and I'll be curious to see how it ends...

Oranges and Coming of Age (from Monday Oct 13th)

I think that every person has his/her own beliefs, yet we all choose to act on those beliefs in different ways. My family has strongly shaped my belief system, although as I have grown I have developed my own beliefs as well. In Oranges, belief in God is always upheld, especially by her mother and the Pastor. Jeanette's belief in God and sexuality change as the novel progresses. She begins to question her beliefs at a young age, and eventually explores those beliefs with Elsie, Melanie, and Mrs. Jewsbury. On page 134 Jeanette said "If there's such a thing as spiritual adultery, my mother was a whore." You can tell Jeanette is upset and is questioning her role, and her mother's. Even though in the end Jeanette seems to be okay with her mother, I think she still is struggling to figure out where she belongs. Jeanette tells Melanie "I love you almost as much as I love the lord", showing her struggle to accept the fact that it is possible to have such strong feelings for both of them. In church, page 104, the Pastor tells the congregation that both Melanie and Jeanette have fallen under Satan's spell. The church all seems to believe this statement and the girls are escorted out.
Another thing that I notice in the book so far was the foreshadowing. The oranges that her mother has been feeding her eventually turn into the orange demon that she must face while making decisions. The story of Winnet and the sorcerer runs somewhat parallel to Jeanette's story too because in the end, both are abandoned and shunned by the one person who claimed to love them. They both seem to face their own demons in life at a young age, but both grow and learn from it too.

A Panel from Blankets

The panels that I chose to write about were the panels on page 168. In this part of the story Craig is asking his mother if he can take some time off of school to go visit Raina. Up until this point his mother had a fairly negative opinion of the whole idea, but once Craig tells her that Raina's parents are Christian, then everything is good to go, and there are no longer any issues. You can see his face brighten, and her frown turn into a smile. It is obvious that Craig knew that as long as his mother knew they were Christian, then he had a fighting chance to go see her.

Now, in my opinion, the mother seems a little naive about the circumstances. She is choosing to believe that just because Raina's parents are Christian that Craig and Raina will not be together and there will be no problems with sleeping arrangements. The role of religion is a reoccurring factor throughout the first half of the book. Not only is it made clear that his mother is religious, but his Pastor asks Craig if he plans on going into the ministry, and urges Craig to do so. Like Jeanette, I believe that Craig is struggling to find where he 'belongs'. I also feel that all of the religion that he has been bombarded with will somehow influence his decisions on what he wants to do with his life later on. 

Another set of panels is on page 61. In this set of panels he is in Sunday school, and his teacher is talking about hell, and Craig is imagining the night his brother was put in the cubby hole. That night seems to run parallel to the way the Sunday school teacher is depicting hell to be. This worried me a little for Craig's sake. As such a young child, I wouldn't think that that was normal, or even right to teach children in that way. Visually it is intimidating because the background is black and all of this negative energy is being remembered. Another set of interesting panels is on pages 201-208. In this scene Craig gets in trouble for drawing pictures of naked women on the bus, and is made to feel guilty by his parents because he has disappointed God. With all of these negative forces around him, its no wonder why Craig is hesitant on whether he want to join the ministry or not. I think that religion runs parallel to a good chunk of the text so far, and is interesting to note the similar struggles that Craig and Jeanette seem to share.