Why Marjane Satrapi Graphic Form

wherefore Marjane Satrapi chose to aver her composition Persepolis in the in writing(p) trunk The vivid wise Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi was create verbally in the lifelike medium to appeal to a wider sense of hearing. Literary critic, Manuela Constantino, proposes that the combi area of a visual representation and a sisters academic degree of view get tos the menstruum easily accessible and consequently attracts a wide range of commentators. (Constantino, 2008 2) Another plausible reason for Satrapis superior to do the unfermented in this medium is the apparent popularity graphic impudents enjoyed at the point of the historys publication.Writing the novel graphically, brings the Middle Eastern novel c unloadr to its westboundern readers. As Constantino wrote Satrapi emphasizes the universal qualities of her electric razor narrator and the details of her experiences that would be receiven to her westerly readers. (Constantino, 2008 2) Persepolis by Marja ne Satrapi in the graphic mold deems effective because it is written in a pee-pee that is recognizable to her betoken readers, written in somewhat a universal language. Satrapi chose to tell her story in the graphic chassis to better ascribe with her readers. It is apparent that Satrapis targeted audience are mainly Western Christians.Over forty percent of the cosmeas population who practice a religion are Christians. The religious stature of the main characters made the novel accessible to its non Muslim readers. be able to observe Christians in a predominantly Islamic country, opens a window to a life Satrapis readers could only dare to imagine. A terra firma where u are told what to believe and what to think. It is therefore logical to target the warm majority of the population to educate about the Persian political scramble and to get her story across. The novel in itself is about driving away(predicate) the West from the conservative Iranian nation.Driving away the things her targeted readers consider their norm. Westerners and others around the adult male try to seek insight into a country and a nation that have been deemed evil and an imminent threat to Western society. (Malek, 2006 10) To aid the West in its quest to seek insight into the nation of Iran, Satrapi wrote the novel in a medium that is very closely think to and very known in the Western culture. As demonstrated in They found records and videocassettes at their place, a deck of cards, a chess set. In other words, everything thats banned. The scene leads the reader to looking unwanted and driven off on base Marji, an Iranian who embraces the readers culture as demonstrated in pageboy oneness hundred and twenty six , from her Iranian world. The reader and Marji form a special bond they become a unit. This harsh ground builds a stronger connection betwixt Marji and the reader leading the audience to note a stronger form of empathy towards the child, as they are now ca ncel of the cultural issue.Satrapi besides chose to relate socio-political issues, conflict and loss to Arabic physical composition as demonstrated in page eighty seven, in the panel where in 2 women are arguing. Satrapi, 2003) Their banter is written in a language strange to her targeted readers leading the reader to classify fighting and arguments as overseas and that the very presence of these women and their conflict is alienating. Another instance is when Pardisse reads her earn to her dead father, a letter written in the same foreign writing grief is then related to this alien language. (Satrapi, 2003 86) And on page one hundred and thirty two, in the panel where The Guardians of the Revolution (womens branch) were introduced, one will observe the same unreadable writing resembling Arabic on their vehicle. Satrapi, 2003) Her use of all these subtle details in the graphic aspect of the novel adds to the effectiveness of the medium in that it forces the reader to lose al l sense of familiarity with the antagonistic characters. The visual aspect of this novel support in Satrapis icon of Marji as someone who embraces the western culture, the readers culture, with the familiar images of Nike sneakers, jeans, jean jackets, and chocolates, as well as Kim Wilde and Iron Maiden songs. (Satrapi, 2003 126) This brings some other dimension to the relationship amid Marji and her readers.Writing the novel in graphic form brings the Middle Eastern graphic novel closer to its Western neighbours because it is in a medium that is recognizable in the West. In addition, Satrapis depiction of Muslim leaders as uneducated, primitive, and narrow-minded brutes strengthens her connection with her Western readers whose detection of Muslim extremists might indeed be quite similar to the one crafted in the autobiography. (Constantino, 2008 4) The novel Persepolis is effective because it was written to please a specialised type of community.It uses language and cultural barriers in the illustrations and text to further fall apart the reader from the antagonists. Satrapis Persepolis appeared, significantly, at a time when memoirs have been experiencing a great surge of popularity. (Malek, 2006 8) The time of the publication of the memoir deemed critical to its success. It was publish around the time where graphic novels were coined the most important narrative path of our contemporary culture. (Miller, 2000 421) It shared the lime light with other graphic novels, the likes of Craig Thompsons Blankets and Joe Saccos The Fixer. Time, 2003) Satrapi chose the perfect time to debut her graphic memoir as she was able to ride the literary high comics were experiencing at that point in time. A probable reason why Satrapi chose to tell her story in the graphic medium is the effectiveness and popularity of graphic novels at the point of the novels publication. Writing the novel in graphic form and through the eyes of a child allows the issue to be diges ted with few objections by the reader. The novel written through the eyes of a child makes it easier for the reader to address the situation.It gives the story a comedic approach to a crushing period in Iranian history. Readers of all ages can identify with the child, feel for her, and learn with her about the complexities of national and international politics. (Constantino, 2003 4) The connection shared between Marji and the reader strengthens their bond and heightens the effectiveness of the story. It is a medium closely related to fun. Writing the novel in graphic form dumbs down the atrocity of the whole situation. A frame on page fifty two illustrates Ahmadis gruesome fate in prison chopped into some(prenominal) pieces. Satrapi, 2003) Another panel depicting the same kind of turned down brutality is a scene on page seventy six where a woman is being stabbed on the leg. These otherwise gruesome scenes can be better understood because the reader can look at it, topic it as it is, and envy the childs innocence and simplistic suasion process. Constantino adds The text is easily accessible and seemingly transparent. It makes many people feel that they are educating themselves while they are being entertained. Although the text might seem, in a way due to its graphic medium, juvenile, its purpose is to educate and tell an untold story. Some might argue that depicting critical situations such as the Islamic Revolution in a form of graphic medium takes away the severity of the circumstances however it can unimpeachably be counter argued by the undeniable phrase its so simple it works. The visual element allows her to include the offstage action as part of the main narrative flow. Instead of having to impart information as separate incidents, where its impact is reduced by removing it from the context of the story, we see things as they happen, increasing the emotional mpact of the moment. The directness of her work allows her to do two things splendid ly to distinguish between individuals easily with just small strokes of the pen and make her depiction of horrors, death, torture, and anguish, emotionally realistic without being graphic or gruesome. Persepolis was written in the graphic form to create a stronger connection with the visible and its readers. Persepolis is a powerful story about a persons struggle for self identity.The different occurrences in Marjis life that influence her for who she is was written in the graphic medium to make it easier for her audience to connect with her as people in search of who they are. Writing the novel in graphic form offers a sense of familiarity with Satrapis targeted Western audience. It brings the unfamiliar Iranian world, issues and their traditions closer to the Wests classification of normal. It uses religion (specifically Christianity) in illustration and text to even deepen the connection between Marji and her audience. It forms a common ground, a sense of belonging to the same movement.It is also plausible that one of the reasons why the novel was written in the graphic form was to ride the growing popularity of comics at that particular point in time. Publishing the graphic novel to a community who openly acquiesce comics as a form of sophisticated literature presented an opportunity for the novel to succeed. And lastly, it was written in graphic text to make it easier for the reader to comprehend the situation as these instances dont usually happen to her targeted Western audience. It makes watching people die a little bit much bearable as it is depicted in a way that a child might perceive death.Satrapi choosing to tell her story in the form of a graphic novel not only shows us how distant that medium has come as a means of expression, but allows us a glimpse into a world that few of us know anything about.Word Count 1707 Citation Arnold, Andrew. The Best and Worst 2003. Time. November 13 2010. Website. lt http//www. time. com/time/bestandworst/200 3/comics. hypertext markup languagegt Malek, Amy. Memoir as Iranian Exile Cultural Production A Case Study of Marjane Satrapis Persepolis Series. Iranian Studies daybook of the International Society for Iranian Studies 39. 3 (2006) 353-380. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. Print. Manuela Costantino. Marji Popular Commix Heroine Breathing conduct into the Writing of History. Canadian Review of American Studies 38. 3 (2008) 429-447. Project MUSE. Cameron Library, Edmonton, AB. 17 Aug. 2010. Website. lthttp//muse. jhu. edu/gt Nancy Miller, But Enough About Me, What Do You Think of My Memoir? Yale Journal of Criticism 13, no. 2 (2000) 421. Print. Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. New York Pantheon Books. 2003. Print mankind Religions. The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2010. 2010. Print.