Book name: Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood.
Assignment
Format
We
have already discussed Iran under the Pahlavi Dynasty since 1925.
“Introduction” to Persepolis also
briefly explains the modern history of the country. So, you don’t need to do
any additional research or cite any sources on Iran for this assignment.( I attached the powerpoint for lecture of Iran)
This
is a critical book review assignment. Please make sure that you don’t just
summarize the book. I want you to analyze it critically with your own comments.
Please avoid direct quotations from the book and use your own words.
Your
paper should be
·
in an
essay format
·
4 pages,
not including the appendix page with images (see below)
·
typed and
double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font
·
printed
one sided (hard copy is due on Friday, April 22, 2016 at the beginning of the
class
·
electronic
copy uploaded on Folio by 11 P.M. on the same day (Please note that this is a
part of the assignment)
Content
of Your Paper
In
your introductory paragraph, you will introduce the book and briefly explain
what it is about. You can start with a sentence like this: “In her 2003 graphic
novel, Persepolis: The Story of a
Childhood, Marjane Satrapi introduces the revolutionary changes in Iran in
the 1970s through a child’s eyes….”
The
rest of the paper will be your analysis/review of the book. Please answer following
questions in your paper:
1) What
does Marjane, as a child, think of the shah of Iran? What were the political
views of her family members during reign of the shah?
2) Considering
the fact that the anti-shah movement paved eventually the way for an Islamic
state, does Marjane regret that they had been against the Shah whose regime was
more “modern” or “Western,” if not democratic?
3) How
can you describe Marjane’s family? If she had been born into a different family
from a different social class (i.e. a more conservative lower class family) do
you think her book would have given a different account of what happened in
Iran in 1979? If yes, how?
4) Why
were Marjane and her family disappointed with the new regime after the fall of
the shah in 1979?
5) How
did people show their loyalty or opposition to the new Islamic regime? What
kind of activities or objects, forbidden or restricted by the new regime,
became the symbols of freedom in Iran after 1979?
6) How
is America or American culture depicted throughout the book?
7) Marjane
talks about her country’s war with Iraq? According to the book, how did the war
impact the Islamic regime and its opponents, like Marjane herself, in Iran?
8) In
the book, we see men and women representing the Islamic regime. Which ones, men
or women, do you think, limit the freedom of Marjane most? Are there any “good”
or “sympathetic” characters that are on the side of the Islamic regime?
9) At
the end of the book, Marjane leaves her family and her country for Austria. If
you were in her shoes, would you leave your country for your own freedom, or
stay and struggle for the freedom of all Iranians?
10) In
your conclusion paragraph, please tell me what you think of the genre of the
book, a graphic novel. Would it be more
or less influential, if it was a written in a classic novel style?
11) What
is the lesson you have learned from this book?
In your paper, you are expected to refer to 2
or 3 images from the book to support your arguments. Please scan those images
from the book and add them to your paper in an additional appendix page (in
addition to 4 pages of text). In the text, you can refer to them like this:
“(see Image 1 in Appendix)”
Once you finish your
paper, please proofread it to make sure it is well written with no typos or
grammatical errors.
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