Persepolis Discussion Questions 1

IB English HL I
Dr. Malashewski
Persepolis: Discussion Questions
Directions
For the next class, choose one of the questions and write a formal response (150-200
words). For the other questions, write some brief notes to record your thoughts.
1. The early chapters of Persepolis focus as much on Marji’s internal fantasy life
as they do on the harsh realities of daily life in Iran. Imagining herself to be
the “last prophet,” for example, Marji elbows her way into an all-male
line-up that includes Muhammad, Jesus, and Abraham (6). Later, after
relinquishing her desire to become a prophet, Marji fantasizes that she will
become a revolutionary hero in the tradition of Che Guevara, Fidel Castro,
and Leon Trotsky (10, 16). Why do the early chapters devote so much space
to Marji’s fantasy life? How does Satrapi depict the function of fantasy?
The book is told through a child’s perspective. Even though Marji’s life is hard and filled
with violence and war, she is still just a little girl with a big imagination. To her, there are
always solutions, no matter how dire the problem may be. She believes not only in the
ability to solve any situation, but also in herself. She wants to be the one to help her
family and country, she wants to do good in the world, and when surrounded by so much
hate, being a prophet seems like the best way to conquer the problems. Her wanting to be
the next Jesus or Leon Trotsky is the same as a comfortable and safe American child
wanting to be superman or the president. The difference between them is in the problems
around them, and their understanding of the world’s true nature.
2. What do you make of this graphic novel’s visual aesthetic? How might
Satrapi’s use of sharply contrasting black-and-white images be well-suited to
the novel’s content? How might her use of abstract ideographic images be
appropriate to the novel’s content? Why doesn’t the author make use of gray
areas, shading, or color? Why does she dispense with fine-grained detail?
- The graphic novel has both visually charged symbolism and a look chosen for the
true nature of the story
- Symbolism: No gray areas, you are one thing or the other
- Look: Dark and grim, less gruesome, and somehow more gruesome
3. Americans have been primed by the mass media to perceive veiled women as
silent victims who lack the ability to make free choices and require liberation
through Western military intervention. Is it significant that, on the first page
of her novel, Satrapi depicts schoolgirls taking off their veils and using them
as resources for creative play: as a monster mask, a skipping rope, a harness,
and so on (3)? And what do you make of the fact that the first image of
Marji’s mother, Taji, depicts her as engaging in a street protest (5)? How
might Satrapi’s novel complicate the construction of Islamic women as
passive victims?
- Women are fighting throughout the book beside men
- The children playing with their veils act like any other children, relating the reader
to them quickly
- What makes them so powerful is that they are playing and rebelling in the
face of violence and oppression
- They aren’t submitting
4. What do you make of the author’s depiction of Marji’s effort to imagine what
a man who has been “cut to pieces” (52)? Is the panel a realistic depiction of
a dismembered man? Or does it more closely resemble a disassembled doll?
What might the image reflect about Marji’s understanding of the event?
Does the image convey that Marji’s innocence has been lost? Or does it
convey that her innocence has been preserved? Why might Satrapi spare the
reader from having to confront such horrors in realistic detail?
- The gruesome details of the book are often lost within the black and white colors,
keeping the reader in the perspective of a child who could see the whole picture.
- The cuts are clean, there is no bleeding
- The face of the victim speaks to how much Marji does knows about the war
- By her image of a person being dead looks as it would, she has faced death
and see it herself
5. When a series of popular protests results in the Shah’s being removed from
power, the people of Iran hold what Satrapi describes as “the biggest
celebration of its entire history” (42). In the panel where Satrapi represents
this celebration, what does her depiction of the clothing and hairstyles worn
by the Iranian people reveal about their attitudes toward individuality and
self-expression? What does this image suggest about how the Iranian people
will respond when women are required to wear the veil?
- With only black and white it is hard to show true individuality, and so, by using
patterns Satrapi shows that every person is, in fact, their own individual
- They have their own styles, their own personalities.
- Hairstyles, clothes, boys with girls, girls with boys
6. When Marji learns that her country has come under attack, how does she
respond? How does her attitude towards the Iran-Iraq War differ from the
attitudes of her parents? Do you notice any parallels between Marji’s
patriotic fervor and her early religious fervor?
- Marji is ready to fight for her country
- Pride in her country

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IB English HL I

Persepolis: Discussion Questions

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