Persep. Blog 1

Written as a memoir, is Persepolis more powerful than if Satrapi had fictionalized the story? Why or why not? Compare this book to other memoirs you have read. What are the benefits and drawbacks of memoirs?
Persepolis gives off a more powerful message since it is a memoir and isn't fictionalized. Memoirs actually tells the reader what has happened is true and took place in history. Fictionalized stories on the other hand are created by one's imagination. Therefore, it sends a message that it is not as strong. I haven't read any other memoirs before this one, but I think the benefits of a memoir is that people who have been through the same shit can relate to it. Drawbacks of it is that the story is not as exciting as a fictional story. For example, in a fictional story, if you throw a freggin grenade, the person can fly like high as heck in the air and the gernade will explode beneath them and they will survive. However, in real life, a person does not have the power to fly and hover over a gernade explosion and survive, plus whoever witnesses this would be traumatized.
They would probably have a hard time with their daily life after what they've seen.

How is Persepolis organized and structured? What has Satrapi chosen to emphasize in her childhood? How is the passage of time presented? Describe Satrapi's drawings. How do the drawings add to the narrative of the story?
Persepolis is structured as a graphic novel. It's basically a very long comic book. Satrapi chose to include the part of her life during the Islamic Revolutionin her graphic novel. I think she chose it because it had a major impact on her childhood. The passage of time is presented during the first few pages of the novel. On page 3, it says the revolution took place in the year 1979. Satrapi's drawings makes this story very simple and easy to understand for slow people. The drawings explain things that the words do not. For example, there are images of people being tortured. It is not exactly explained how people are tortured, so the visuals help people see what exactly happens to the people that are arrested. I personally have not done anything like this but if I were to write a graphic novel, I'd probably put a very important time of my life in there also.

Describe the writer's voice. Is it appealing? Which aspects of Marji's character do you identify with or like the most, the least? Did your reaction to the little girl affect your reading experience.
The writer's voice is very strong and confident. However, this often gets her into trouble. For instance, on page 8, she told her teacher and classmates that when she grows up, she wants to be a prophet. This made the teacher believe that she was disturbed and talked to her parents. I liked her the most when she was younger because she was so curious and very random. But, as she grew older, she learned more and it just wasn't the same. I, myself, understand that when we grow older we change, but I still liked her better when she was younger. I didn't really have a reaction to the little girl. I just didn't care. I just thought the book looked cool since people were being tortured so I read it.