Book Talk - Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi

What?

Persepolis is a graphic novel aimed at young adults. It’s a first person recount of a period in the author’s childhood featuring the events of the Islamic Iranian revolution in 1980. The author offers an interesting point of view as her grandfather was a leader in the overthrown by the CIA government in 1953 (this event is also briefly described). The reader comes to understand how various social/political issues are addressed and influenced by the author’s progressive, socially active family, society around them, the fluctuating Iranian governments, and the world (via media). In addition, the novel paints a vivid picture of the benefits, downsides, and struggles of activism.

Why?

I chose this text because my mentor teacher said that many schools have tried to ban it, but teachers continue to defend and teach it. I wanted to know what it is about this novel that people don’t want children to learn.

Who? I would say this text is appropriate for anyone 8th grade and above. The vocabulary is not challenging, the sentence structure is simple (it’s told by a child), the text is not lengthy, and the ideas introduced are not based on prior knowledge that would require more than a day to introduce. The book is very reader friendly, as it allows them to learn along with the protagonist. It took me an hour and a half in a noisy environment to read the entire novel. It can be used as a text for struggling readers instead of a non-graphic novel that deals with the same themes. It can also be used to support a social studies lesson because it wouldn’t be a time-consuming read.

How?

• Student can make a timeline or chart tracking main events, the changes in government, and the change in society. Later they can make a similar device outlining a part of history that they are studying, or the current president’s term, or events happening in the U.S. during the time period of the novel.
• Students can make predictions using graphic novel journals. Students can make their own graphic novels.
• Students can evaluate the illustrations: How does the graphic novel format help the author reach her purpose? Which parts of the text benefit from the illustrations most and why?

But…

Obstacles: Some districts have chosen to ban the book from classrooms and libraries due to inappropriate content.

Issues: Depending on the the class, this novel can be analyzed on a very deep or shallow level. Some students might just read it so fast that they miss out the social and political issues addressed, thus finding it boring.

Administrators’ response: Depending on the level of nationalism that the administration has chosen to promote, some may have an issue with a few of the facts in the novel.

Parents’ response: Since Iran is a country that recently often figures in a negative light in the scope of mainstream media, some parents may disagree with the author and even question her honesty.

Students’ response: Though it is a graphic novel, which might make it an easier sale, there are definitely characters that students will find more relatable than a 10 year old Iranian girl living in the 1980s.

Note:

The book is very bias when it comes to addressing the Shia-Sunni cultural conflict.