Tuesday, March 24, 2009

my first post, my fave book

well, i really didn't know how i would feel about this boook. and the only kind of "graphic novel" i have ever read is foxtrot and calvin and hobbes. but upon reading the first several pages on the train to purdue over break, i was hooked. it really changed my perspective on anything i ever knew about iran and really broadened my understanding on the history of the revolution. also, one something that really didn't get discussed-  lily posed this- was on p. 156. lily brought up the symbolism of capitalism, the other girl- shirin being a symbol of capitalism- selfish and petty almost, as another country- iran (as marjane) views her. i thought this was a very interesting a valid point that was discussed right over in class, seeing as how marjane, as another country, had endured hardship and much troubles. marjane is very troubled by all the dying she faces in iran and is upset when shirin is merely chatting about her scented pens. i thought it was really cool when lily loosely tied this to capitalism. anyone else agree? also, who else agrees with me on the finding it semi-okay to allow marjane to marry reza even knowing she would divorce him, on her father's part? (sorry, i phrased that poorly).. i know i wrote far too much, but then again, i have never blogged and there is a lot to say on this! 

6 comments:

  1. I definitely agree that her marriage to Reza was understandable, even though divorce seemed inevitable to her family. With the limitations put on their relationship at the time, it would have been impossible for them to find out if they were compatible without marrying. If she wouldn't have taken that chance, Satrapi might have regretted finding out if their relationship worked.

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  2. I totally agree with you, I have never read a graphic novel either, and I was pleasantly surprised. As for the marriage, I do think that they had to get married to understand that they were not compatible. It is interesting, however how that works because seeing divorce was looked down upon (at least if done by the female) then why woulndn't the culture allow the couple to explore a relationship before making that commitment? It seems a little backward to me. Don't you think?

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  3. When I first opened this book and saw it was a graphic novel, I was taken back too. I think this shows the tendency we have to label any memoir outside the traditional form as having less academic merit than the convential narrative. For this reason, I am gald I had the opportunity to this novel and correct my misnotion.

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  4. Also, I wanted to say that in my opinion, I agree that it was relatively okay that Marjane's father "allowed" her to marry Reza even though he knew she would divorce him. I think people need to figure stuff out for themselves and it's not like her marriage would cause her serious harm. In fact, if she hadn't married Reza she might have gotten in serious trouble if the police had caught her with him unmarried.

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  5. Okay, first, I never read a graphic novel before, but I thought it was awesome and I got a lot out of it. I read the whole book in one plane ride, and I was just entranced by it. Also, I think most of us are symbols of capitalist decadence and it's sad but true- I think that at least if we are aware of it then we are a little less pitiful. Finally, I thought it was okay that she married Reza too, you have to live and learn, She had to make some mistakes- she's human- plus she is a rebel and radical feminists like her are always rebels.

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  6. I had also never read a graphic novel before, but this ended being my favorite book we read this semester. I was really able to get a lot from this book, more than I thought I would.

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