Persepolis - · PDF fileBACKGROUND INFO: WHY READ PERSEPOLIS: •"If people are given the...
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PERSEPOLIS: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL
Transcript of Persepolis - · PDF fileBACKGROUND INFO: WHY READ PERSEPOLIS: •"If people are given the...
PERSEPOLIS:
THE GRAPHIC NOVEL
BACKGROUND INFO: WHY READ PERSEPOLIS:
• "If people are given the chance to
experience life in more than one
country, they will hate a little less. It's not
a miracle potion, but little by little you
can solve problems in the 'basement' of a
country, not on the surface. That is why I
wanted people in other countries to
read Persepolis, to see that I grew up just
as other children do.“-Marjane Satrapi
BACKGROUND INFO: WHO’S THE AUTHOR?
BACKGROUND INFO: WHAT’S WITH THE BOOK?
• Book is split into ten sections--from the
end of the Islamic Revolution taking
power to the Iran-Iraq War.
• Originally published in French
• 2007 with the same name received an
Oscar nomination for Best Animated
Film.
BACKGROUND INFO: WHAT’S PERSEPOLIS?
PERSEPOLIS: THE ANCIENT CITY PERSEPOLIS: THE ANCIENT CITY
BACKGROUND INFO: WHAT’S PERSEPOLIS?
PERSEPOLIS: THE ANCIENT CITY
• The title Persepolis refers to the great
Persian Empire’s capital city
• Persepolis was the “crown jewel of the
middle east according to Alexander the
Great
• Operated as the central hub of high
political and social society
PERSEPOLIS:
BACKGROUND INFO: WHERE ELSE DO WE SEE THE NAME PERSEPOLIS IN THE TEXT?
ALL-SEEING EYES…. …NOTICE THE ALLUSION?
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE ALLUSION?
BACKGROUND INFO: WHERE ELSE DO WE SEE THE NAME PERSEPOLIS IN THE TEXT?
WHY WOULD SHE REFERENCE THE
OLD CITY HERE? “MY GRANDPA WAS A PRINCE”
BACKGROUND INFO: WHY SHE WROTE THE BOOK
• Satrapi stated “I wrote Persepolis in
hopes it would combat the negative
images people had of my native
country.” When the Iranian
Revolution broke out, most people in
the West only saw images of the
revolutionary leaders, which did not
“reflect the lives of ordinary
Iranians,” she said.
• Satrapi also stated that she wrote
Persepolis to “find a way to get the
book to young Iranians, perhaps
through the Internet, so that more of
them could learn the truth about
what happened in their country in
the early 1980s.”
PERSEPOLIS SO FAR….
1) What are your thoughts on the book so far?
2) What are the key events so far?
3) Are there any clear themes?
4) Considering Satrapi’s introduction, why do you think this novel may be a useful read in
Western educational institutions?
