Hello all,
I so enjoyed our conversation on Persepolis on Monday. Please post a paragraph or two on your reactions to the next twenty or so pages I've asked you to read. Pay careful attention to the way visual images are used and how they complement the verbal narrative. Also, I'm including some links here to some useful background information. Please read them when you can. Looking forward to tomorrow.
Best,
Laura
http://www.iranchamber.com/history/islamic_revolution/islamic_revolution.php
http://www.theglobalist.com/dbweb/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=2048
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/muslims/etc/faqs.html
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47 comments:
The next 20 pages of Perspepolis narrows down the Revolution and how Satrapi's point of view is portrayed throughout her childhood.
Satrapi is an amateur in the real world and doesn't really understand much until her father is there for her to explain many things. Also, Satrapi found out that her Grandfather was a prince and Emperor who was overthrown and then sent to prison. This shocks Satrapi and she starts to think a lot. The images help the reader analyze the story with the verval narrative. Without the images it would be very tough to try to realize what exactly the writer is thinking.
Throughout these next few chapters, Satrapi continues to use humor in her writing and images. This illustrates the fact that this part of the story is explaining a child's perspective. Children do not view the world the same as adults; they are more naive and cannot fully understand certain situations. Therefore they are unsure what to think. On page 13, I found it interesting how she mentions that Marx and God, to her, looked like each other. This is the type of thing which a child would pick up on and point out.
As the story is progressing, it is becoming clearer that Marji is not accepting the changes occuring in Iran. She is already showing signs of wanting to demonstrate. I believe that this is coming from two places-the influence of her parents actions and the stories she is reading of revolutionaries such as Che Guevara. She is viewing the behavior of protest as heroic and wants to feel powerful herself.
We are reminded of Marji's age many times throughout these chapters through her actions and things that she says. On page 19, she states that she loves the king because she learned in school that he was chosen by God. The Iranian leadership of the time took advantage of a child's malleability in order to brainwash them into believing their ideals and not to rebel against them.
“The Bicycle” ,Marjane explained the bicycle was a metaphor used for a revolution. If a revolution didn’t work with people any more, then people would fall down together from a bicycle. She tried to say people must support their same purpose-“Done with the king”. A belief, sometimes was based on a scientist theory-“Everything don’t exist, because it come from people’s imagination.” However, it was wrong. A truth could correct a wrong belief. At a night, she heard her parent was discussing about the fire in a Movie Theater. The government cheated people that a terrorist made the fire happen. Marjane was clearly to know a government’s plot-to kill anyone who against them. “Where is the god?” Marjane was recalling the god to help her. But at that night, he didn’t come. The bicycle is a good metaphor to represent a revolution. The revolution is working on people. If it doesn’t work any more, then people will disappointment, in other word, they will lose their hopes in their lives.
In the “The Water Cell” Marjane had changed his idea that a king wasn’t choose by a god. Her father told her, a king had his own justification to become a king but it was not a god’s will. A king had a common sense that having much money to do everything they want. But a king must listen to a man who help him to become a king, just like a son of Reza Shah - Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, he became a king under the western countries’ help. But he must offer oil to them to against French. As a result, people began to against their king-Mohammad, because he was a despot. Her father also told her that her grandfather was a son of the king. But he was in jail, because he was a communism. Marjane was surprised to hear her grandfather was a son of the king, but she didn’t hear any more information from her grandmother. Finally, she understood why her grandfather was dead, and why her family gets poor because the king was a despot who controls people’s lives and takes everything from people own. This chapter makes me fell upset, because a government must protect people, right? But why they hurt people so painful? A good leader is protecting people, not controlling them.
In people’s lives, they look forward freedom, hope, happy and wealth. But their leaders take their freedom, hope, happy and wealth. And brings restrict, disappointment, sad and poor to them. What they want to treat people on that way? The money, power and benefit are reasons to explain a bad leader’s fault. China, it has a same problem, people’s lives were enough money to support their families in the past. It was not only a reason causes them to become poor, but also their political opinions (share everything between government and people) affect their lives. However, a good leader is going to service, protect, support people.
Cmathew624@yahoo.com
Christina Mathew
In the next couple of pages, we see how insight this child really was. She compares a bike to the revolution. She wanted to help fight the revolution like her parents so she started practicing in the garden but she didn't realize what it really meant or how dangerous it really was. She was learning new ideas and it felt that religion was getting farther and farther away from her.
She learns the truth about the revolution from her parents and also realizes that what she learned in school was not the actual truth. She learned about her family history and how she wanted to keep on learning more and more. At the end of the chapter, we see her childlike mind. She modeled behavior after her parents. They were talking about a funny thing that happened that day but all the child heard was cancer, death, and murder and didn't understand what her parents were laughing about. She went along with it and started laughing with them. It shows us that even though she is learning and growing, she is still a child. In these couple of pages, we see humor and the point of view of a child. It will be interesting to see how she grows and the ways her viewpoint will change.
After reading pages 10-32 I love how the young girl imagines things in her own perspective. The way she compares the Revolution to an unmoving bicycle or how she feels Marx and God look alike, but Marx has curlier hair. We also see how people can manipulate a young mind when in school on the first page of her book is says that God choose him to the king and she believe it. Even after her father explain that God did not choose him to be king she is still somewhat disappointed. At the end of "Persepolis" we see her innocence when she does not understand why the adults are laughing.
Ashley Martinez
In the following chapters “the bicycle”, “the water cell” and “persepolis”, Marji decides to start reading up about the history of her country to try to have a better understanding of the revolution that is currently going on. Although she does not fully understand all of its aspects, she does discover from her father that God had nothing to do with who chose the King. She then learns from him that her grandfather was the Emperor of the land before it was taken over. Her attitude all of a sudden changed after she learned more about her grandfather, what had actually happened, and the struggles that he went through. She realized that there was a lot more to it then the simple facts; their was violence. Her energy level all of sudden disappeared compared to before when she wanted to play monopoly. After her father came home and told the family about what he had seen that day, they found a way to turn it into something humorous. That was when she realized that she was not on the same level as everyone else. She didn’t know why they were laughing. She didn’t know everything and that in a way upset her because she was reading all the books she could to have a better understanding and was still left in the dark.
“The Letter”, “Party” and “The Heroes”, she was a child, but she had a clear mind about a revolution thought Ali’s book. A revolution caused difference between social classes. During she helped her maid to replay a letter to her lover, she thought social classes were unfair for everyone. Even though she was a child, but she knew a revolution how to affect people’s lives. Sometimes, she didn’t think too much when she was doing something, like demonstration. She didn’t know a demonstration is very dangerous for her. But she wanted to do it. When people felt very happy because the king fell from his position, even he tried to march towards democracy. Marjane knew the United States just cared about oil, not the king. But Egypt was cared about the king, because they were having same position. Marjane was a child, she just believed what she thinks. That was why she still says a king is chosen by a god. She learned that how to forgive people, even he did a bad thing. But she didn’t understand what a meaning of justice is. The only place which she felt safe is an arm of god. In my word, I think she tried to say a god, he is justice. He can protect and forgive everyone. I felt sad when she was crying. How she relate to “forgive”? She thought everyone can be forgiven, but some people didn’t. When the political prisoners were liberated, Marjane knew many details about how the political prisoners lived in prison. She felt unfair because her parents were not heroes. However, she begun playing a game for punishing. Even though she felt very powerful in this game, but she also felt upset. Because she still believed someone could be forgive.
Tiffany Lallkissoon (tiffany32090ja@yahoo.com)
In "The Letter", "The Party", and "The Hero", we see get to see a little deeper into the revolution and her family. In "The Letter", we learn about her maid, and what Satrapi did for her. We also learn about their caste system, and how it affected her. She felt too privileged and ashamed of their status. In "The Party", there is a turning point in the revolution. The Shah tried to take a step towards Democracy, but it didn't work out; he ended up leaving the throne. This brought utter delight to citizens who celebrated their mini victory. And not too long after this victory, 3,000 prisoners were liberated. In "The Hero" Satrapi get a to really understand the revolution from a sufferers view point. So far, I am really enjoying this book. I love how naive Satrapi is at this time of the book because it reminds me that she is a child. I say this because during these times of uproar(whether in a book or in real life), children are rarely asked how they feel about such an happening.
Stephanie Balroop (sbalroop100@qc.cuny.edu)
In the next three chapters of Persepolis ("The Letter", "The Party" and "The Hero")we learn of a person who has been a part of Marji's life since she was born but was never really mentioned, Mehri the maid. (she was mentioned in beginning where Marji says she wants to be a prophet so the maid doesn't have to eat alone.) In learning about the maid Marji is also exposed to the concept of social classes for the first time. She learns that this is the reason for the revolution.
Later we see the Shah's downfall and everything seems to change. What Marji was once taught in school was not true anymore and this confused her. We also see some pretty crude behavior from Marji when she gathers friends to torment a kid whose father was in the savak. She quickly sees how her behavior was wrong when two communists who were in jail are released and tell their stories of how they were tormented.
Bianca Barabas
bgbt714@hotmail.com
In the beginning of “The Letter” and the following chapters we discover why Marji never liked the fact that her father drove a Cadillac; it showed the difference between social classes. Marji then goes on to explain the story of the maid that works for them, and how, although they were from two different social classes, they were inseparable. After the story of Mehri and her love for the neighbor, Marji’s father reveled to the neighbor that Mehri was a maid. Marji got upset here because she didn’t understand whether her father supported the social classes or was against it. In the mean time, the revolution had finally come to an end. There was peace and freedom. The last chapter introduces two men who participated in the revolution to help make a change. As the two men talk to Marji and everyone else, Marji is shocked by the stories of violence that she hears from the men. However, she still does not understand how serious the situation is. She finds it as a joke and decides to come up with a game that involves torturing the loser. Marji still has a child’s mentality because she is not seeing the reality and truth to every situation. She only sees it from her eyes and in a way, is a game. She seemed to have this mentality during the revolution where she felt as if she had an obligation to help the people and help seek justice. Because she doesn’t know what justice is, or how to go about it, she turns to someone who knows everything, and this relates back to her relationship with God.
In "The Letter" Satrapi shows her feelings towards social class. In the beginning of Persepolis she explains how she feels towards her father's Cadillac. She says that when she becomes a prophet she will make sure that everyone has one. Now she understands the reason she hated riding in her father's car was because of the reason of inequality. She now understood the difference of social class. As for example, she tells of the story of her maid, who is from a poor family. When her maid, Mehri, falls in love with a neighbor, her family ends it because of the impossibility of their love. Satrapi, however, does not understand the reason which shows her innocent belief of equality. She shows her belief by stating that its not the maid's fault in which position she was in born in.
"The party" describes the celebrations that took place after The Shah had left. In this chapter Satrapi shows a lot of confusion. She does not understand how at one moment her teachers can say that The Shah was chosen by G-d and the next moment to disagree to the same thought. She also did not understand how to forgive. She came into situations of people who she thought needed to be punished. She had to understand that they may have different views but she needs to forgive anyways.
"The Heroes" tells of when the prisoners were liberated. When two of the prisoners came by to tell their experience, Satrapi becomes mad as to why her father was not in prison. This shows how naive she really is, because she can not see how lucky her family is. Instead she views it as a game of who is the hero and who is not. In the end, Satrapi shows her confusion because she does not know real what real justice is.
In the next three chapters I read things change a lot. Marji is reading a lot about the revolution and how it came about. She begins to realize about social classes and how it was a major impact in society. She then tries to help the maid in the house. She writes love letters for her and tries to help her get closer to her love. It doesn't work out to well, because Marji's dad finds out about it.
After all the revolts/protests finally the Shah walks out. At last the revolution has come to an end and everyone is happy. People are being freed, such as the prisoners. Two of the prisoners free, were friends of Marji's family. They explained there rough times in prison.
Panagiotis Serris
XiosJP@earthlink.net
In "The letter" you can see how Marji starts to realize about social classes and how they effect her own life and the revolution. This chapter focused on the relationship between the maid and Marji. In my opinion it seemed as if the maid was not taking good care of Marji as a child. It seemed as if the maid took care of herself more then Marji. Social class was a major aspect in their society because when the maid fell in love with the next door neighbor, their relationship failed because he found out that she was the maid and not from the same social class. Towards the end of the chapter Marji and Mehri go to one of the demonstrations. When it was time for them to leave Merji looked upset as if she wanted to stay for more but knew she couldn't. When they got home they both got slapped in the face. I thought the last scene was funny because they tried to add a little humor how they didn't get attacked at the demonstration but got attacked at home when they both got smacked.
In "The Party" chapter the shah decided to try a democracy out. You can tell that people were still not happy because they would drop down his statues. All the people wanted was for him to leave, and so he did. Everyone was happy after and when Marji went back to school they told her to cut out all the pictures of the shah from her text book. In the beginning of the book they told her that the shah was chosen by god but now the teacher is telling her otherwise which shows Marji that what she is taught in school isn't always the truth. At the end of the chapter you see how the children were influenced by their parents. Ramin believed that his father wasn't a murder because he was doing the right thing by killing the communist.
In the chapter "the heroes" you read about the prisoners being released back to their families. Marji hears stories about how the people in the jail were tortured for information. In the end of the chapter Marji is left confused not knowing which side she should take. Should she forgive those who totured the people or should they get revenge on them. The only place she felt safe was in god's arms. After a few chapters of god not being shown god finally returns.
In the next few pages we see the innocence of a child and through their perspective. In page 10, marjane and two other kids are playing as leaders such as, fidel, che guevara, and trotsky. They can only pretend to be them because their only childern. They want change and want to be involved with the revolution but can't since their too young. The bicycle also represents the revolution but all the people who try to run it all collapses. It needs to be run by the people but they cant even power it. Marjane also invented God, like how man created God and not the other way around. God is her safety blanket, her best friend and security. We can also see simliarities to marjane and her mother when she was a child. They were too young to understand the real world matters. Not until we're older and look back on it do we really understand what really happened. Marjane tries to grow up faster and tries to understand the grown ups but although she tries really hard, she still has the mindset of a child.
Persepolis (P54-79)
“Moscow”, “The Sheep” and “Trip”, Marjane saw uncle Anoosh who was a political prisoner. She very loved him, because he was a hero. But in her mind, she thought her uncle was more honor than Laly’s father. Though she had paid attention to listen her uncle’s story, but she only cared about comparing with her uncle and Laly’s father’s experiences. She was an ignorant child, because she didn’t understand what the meaning of hero is. In her idea, she thought a person who went to prison that meant the person is hero. Sometimes, she was a poor child, because some adults would denounce her when she told them about her wrong opinion. But she didn’t know why they denounce to her. When an Islamic Regime was coming, her feeling was very sad because she had seen her friends and her relatives were leaving to other countries. Also, she had heard her relatives were killed by other people. She was only a child, but she had seen and heard very terrible things include her uncle would be dead. She very loved her uncle, when she heard her uncle was in prison, she felt very upset and disappointment. Even so, she was angry with god, she wanted to order god to leave her alone after she knew her uncle was dead. She lost her relatives, her friends and god. In the beginning of a war, her mother felt deeply insulted because she didn’t wear veil. Nevertheless, she decided to against them with Marjane. But they were failed. Marjane didn’t have any idea with this event, she just followed her mother very words and movements. But when she heard her country was going enter a war, she decided to fight with them. She was very brave.
The next few pages makes me think that marji, like most children likes attention. Her way of showing it is by grabbing her friends attention by telling them stories that she hasn't herself lived but members of her family. When her uncle arrives and tells her of experiences he has lived through she somewhat neglects her father and clings to him. She finds her father boring and even like a coward because he was never put in jail. Marji is unable to understand that it takes much boldness to fight for your beliefs with the harsh consequences that would follow. throughout the reading Marji begins to grow up. She starts realizing the true extent of the revolution but still it revolves around the effects it wil have on her. When her uncle was taken away she was only concerned with why didnt he say bye to her and not the reasons for his departure. When schools were closed she wasnt concerned with the effects it would have on society but instead she was concerned with what she will do with her life.
Panagiotis Serris
In the chapter "Moscow", you notice in the beginning of the chapter Marji hates the fact that her father isn't a hero. She lies to the other children so that they could think of her father a true hero like Laly's dad. Then she met her uncle Anoosh. Marji believes that her uncle was a hero because he went to jail. Marji grows very fond of her uncle and loves to hear stories about his life. I believe Marji is jealous of Laly because she is always trying to compare how her uncle Anoosh was a bigger hero then Laly's dad.
In the next chapter "The Sheep" it starts off with Marji's uncle and her father talking about a political event and how the republic wanted to be called Islamic. Threw this chapter a lot of Marji's friends and relatives left the country because they believed it wasn't safe anymore. Marji liked one of her friends named Kaveh who moved to the United States because of this problem. Marji's mother thought that they should leave too but her father believed that everything was going to go back to normal. He believed they were just going threw a transition and once everything settles down their family members will return too. From then on things only got worse. People were starting to get murdered. It showed how devoted and afraid people were to get out of Tehran that they would cross the border hidden between a flock of sheep. The end of the chapter was very sad for Marji because her hero was killed. At the very end of the chapter god comes to Marji to ask her what the problem was but Marji yelled at him and told god to get out of her life. I noticed Marji did this because Marji says to god please don't let him be dead. The day after she visits her uncle was killed and I believe she blames god for it this.
In the chapter "The Trip" you start to see Marji's life to change in many different ways. First both her dreams of going to the United States and her dream of wanting to study chemistry were destroyed because of the Fundamentalists. Schools were closed for 2 years. You can see now how more women are being pressured to wear the scarves because they are being threatened of being raped. They would lie to the people telling them the reason why men would rape women was because they could see their hair. In one year life changes for Marji, for example her parents were going to protest and her mom told her she could come along. The protest got really violent so they ran off and never went to another demonstration again. What I didn't really understand was how Marji could say she wanted to fight against the arabs at the end of the chapter when she was screaming for her dad at the demonstration. She obviously doesn't realize that she is not capable of fighting.
The next three chapters of "The Persepolis" were very important. At first Marji discovers that her uncle was a hero. She learns of him in the chapter "Moscow." Her uncle tells her stories of his hard times as a young child to when he was put in prison at an older age. Before he was put in prison, he had exiled to Moscow. He lived there as a student. He soon married a Russian lady and had two kids. Then he had arguments with his wife and had a divorce. Soon after he was caught in disguise and put in prison.
In "Sheep," Marji finds out that one of her best friends is moving to America. Many people were beginning to move, because they couldn't handle the problems in the country. Marji tried to persuade her family to do the same, but it didn't work out for her. Later that day, we learn about the murder of Mohsen and Siamak's sister. Siamak escaped to a different town. Soon after those incidents, Marji's uncle was taken back into prison. Marji was sad and went to visit him. After the visit he was killed in prison.
The last chapter I read was the most important, because it was when the war was started again. The females were forced to wear veils. This was very harsh treatment, because all the freedom the citizens had earned was taken back. Along with that all universities were closed down for all the teaching material to be revised. All this happened while Marji and her family were on vacation in Italy and Spain.
Pages 33-53 in Persepolis, sigifies a shift in Marji's beliefs. This is reflected through her child point of view. She no longer wants to be a prophet but a revolutinary, or demonstrater, in order to make things fair within social classes. The saddness she sees her maid endure motivates her to make things happy for the less fortune as well.
She's also confused about what her parents actually belief. Were they fighting for true Communism. The lifestyle they protraty contridicts the lifestyle they fought for while the Shah was in power. Marjji is confused and lost. The thing she fights for she even doubts that her own parents support it. She's alone.
The chapter "Moscow" introduces Marj's uncle, Anoosh, who will play a very important role in her life. In the beginning of the chapter, Marj is dissatisfied with her father, wishing he could be a hero like so many of her friend's fathers. Once she learns of her uncle, she is ecstatic that there is a true hero in her family. A few times in the chapter, a bubble is shown with her thoughts and she often compares how her uncle's heroic acts outdo those of Laly's father.
Anoosh tells the story of his uncle Ferydoon and of his escape to Moscow and his life there. It is interesting to note how after all the suffering he went through, the most emotion Anoosh shows is when he is describing his brutal family life.
At the end of the chapter, Anoosh finishes the story by saying he disguised himself to escape the authorities (which brings to mind the way in which Marj's mother disguised herself in the beginning of "Persepolis") and by telling Marj that although she may not understand his story, it is very important that he pass it on. It is the first time we see someone address the fact that Marj is only a child and that the ideas of prison and revolution may be too much for her.
On the last page we see Marj accurately telling over her uncle's story. Because of all the other lies she had said, though, her friend don't believe her although now it's actually the truth.
(Temimah Zucker)
The chapter "Moscow" was very important. In this chapter Marji's uncle, Anoosh is introduced. Marji was very upset that there was no hero in her family, but when she learned of her uncle she was excited. Her uncle spent time with her, telling her stories about his hard times. when he was younger. He had tried to work with his uncle, but had to exile to Moscow, because his uncle was taken in by the soldiers. Anoosh was also put in prison after he was found by the soldiers. He spent nine years in prison and finally was released. Marji was very happy to hear her uncle's stories, because now she had a hero in her family just like her friend Laly did.
Panagiotis Serris
In the article "The sheep" you notice that Marji is starting to be considered an adult because while her father and uncle were talking about how the republic wants to be called Islamic, she was allowed to stay. I noticed that what ever she sees on t.v. she considers her own opinion.
She loses the boy that she really liked because he had to move to the United States because his family believed it was not safe to stay. After Marji's relatives and friends started to leave too her mom wonders if they should leave. Marji's father responds that it was just going threw another change and once it was over everyone would return. I think her father wasn't willing to lose everything to go to the United States when there was a chance of everything going back to the way it was. Later on the people they know start to die and now there starting to be afraid.
At the end of the chapter Marji thought that her uncle Anoosh was going to pick her up but he didn't. She noticed that her parents were lieing to her that he gone bak to russia becasuse she knows his wife and him didn't talk. Anoosh and her uncle were very close and when he was killed she was heart brocken. When god came to see her that night she was mad at him for not protecting Anoosh. She asked god to make sure Anoosh was not dead but they had killed him. She tells god to leave and realizes she has no where to turn to for comfort. She's lost in place.
"The sheep".
This chapter spoke of when it was getting near the time of war. Her uncle Anoosh, who was finally released from jail, was staying with them. Marji tries to involve herself in the adult conversations by stating her opinions. However, as a child she was naturally just repeating exactly what she had seen on TV. This causes her father's anger, those she is too naive to understand why.
Alot of their family members including her close friend, Kaveh, are immigrating to the US to except the dangers. Though her mother suggests they do the same, her father shows his stubbornness in wanting to stay.
After they find out that their friends are being killed, they become extremely frightened. I think when the uncle says, "everything will be alright", he wants to calm them down. I believe that he take it upon himself to bring peace and be the bigger man so they are not frightened.
Marji is able to suspect that something is wrong the second her uncle does not pick her up. Finally, after her father admits what has happened, Marji goes and visits him in jail. When he is killed Marji takes out her anger at g-d. She blames him for the death of her uncle. In the end, Marji is just floating in space lost and alone.
“The F-14s”- The war was coming to Marjane’s country. During the war, she thought her father has no patriot, because her father didn’t go to fight with their enemies. But she was wrong, she felt her father was very love their country as much as she did. Marjane was a smart girl, she knew exactly thing which happened. She didn’t look like a normal girl, but she had an idea and opinion of something which happened in her life. Just like this chapter, she was living in a terrible war, and she knew she needs to be stronger than others for fighting her enemies. Every time, her parents treated her like a baby, they didn’t pay attention to her words, although she was exactly know what is going on. Her behavior and speak were more like a boy, because she cared about a person’s achievement. As she told to her friend, “You father acted like a genuine hero, you should be proud of him.” her friend answered, “I wish he were alive and in jail rather than dead and a hero.” She thought a man was a hero even though he was died in a war, but for her friend, she thought a hero didn’t make sense to her, because she needed her father beside her. Marjane got shock.
“The Jewels”- During the war, a supermarket was almost empty, and everyone was going to pick everything they want. Marjane’s mother didn’t believe that people quarreled among themselves just for one thing, such as food. After I read this chapter, I found one thing which I never seen in last papers, that was Marjane loved her mother very much. When her father yelled her mother, she tried to make her father to stop yelling. She yelled back to her father with her tears, “Don’t talk to my mother like that!” The war almost destroyed her country, like gases. Marjane’s mother’s childhood friend went to her house because her friend’s country was destroyed by Iraq. Marjane saw her two boys who were very prince, because their parents were rich persons. Marjane felt sorry and shamed for her mother’s friend’s family. Because she knew they are refugees and everyone hated them, even though she had ever a bias to against her family. In other word, she thought they were materialistic. But this time, she knew that the war took everything form them. They were very poor now.
“The Key” – The war still affect her life, because her government stared to pick boys into an army. And they told to those boys that a key would bring wealth, women and house to them if they were died in a war. However, it was a lie. Every time, she put on funeral marches to beat her breasts in her school. But she didn’t like this way to remind people who were dying in a war. Moreover, she and her classmates tried to make fun in these situations. She went to a party by wearing a punk style. I think her imagine try to say every people begin to against their enemies and their lives include young people. Because a punk is about anarchy, in other word, people must not follow any forms of authority and they must obey no laws but the ones they create for themselves.
“The Wine”- The government didn’t allow people to participate or have in a party, although I don’t understand why they want to do that. Marjane had a party in her relative’s house because her cousin’s daughter birthday. During a sign started to wail, she noticed that some mothers are caring about themselves, not their babies. This case makes me think a war is not only affecting people lives, but also influence their minds. After she came back her home with her family, she saw two men were trying to capture his father, because his father drunk some wine, and wore western style. Finally, her father was saved. Because these men just need money, if they had money, then they would make you free. That was Marjane seen and heard.
In the chapter Moscow, Marji introduces her favorite uncle Anosh. Her uncle Anosh is the hero Marji cannot find in either of her parents. He's the only adult that tells Marji the truth without changing the story around because of her age.
Marji is amazed and intrested by the stories and trials of her uncle. Marji potrays her immaturity as a child by comparing Anosh's terrible tortute to that of Laly's father. Marji wasn't really concerned about the pain her uncle endured. She wanted to know if it was greater than the pain Laly's father endured. Marji was looking for a way to dominate over Laly once more; a way to gain power again after Laly snatched it away the second day she came over.
Despite Marji's desires to be treated like an adult, Marji is still a child, with childlike thoughts and intentions that influence her actions. Even though Anosh speaks the truth to Marji, the question is can Marji handle the truth seriously as an Adult? Her child like thoughts and actions will always influence her understanding of life for the time being.For example, the protest Marji and the maid attended. If Marji had the true mind of a mature adult her reasoning behind her decisions would not only be driven by emotion but common sense and the consequences of her choices and actions.
Chapter "The F-14's" talks about the beginning of war in Iran. Having been bombed by Iraq, the Iranian government retaliates by releasing the jailed pilots. Marji sees the events in a very narrow light. She lacks the broad understanding of the war itself. In the end of the chapter she is still hung up on the "hero" concept, not realizing that sometimes it is best to not be a hero but be alive.
"The jewels" chapter describes how the war affects the general population. Aside from the lack of food and gas, there is also a strong civil factor. The refugees that flee from the border towns and settle in others are not welcome and often openly hated. It seems Marji is beginning to realize that war is not just about heroic deeds but also the suffering and misfortunes of the people as well.
In "The Key" chapter Satrapi tells about the government's "movements" addressing the war. Mourning the dead becomes almost ritualistic. Kids at school are made to hit themselves as a part of the procedure. Boys as young as 14 years old are faced with the possibility of being drafted. The existance of difference in social standings is portrayed by the fact that mainly the poor families' children are recruited. All these things mentioned, the post-revolutionary government seems to differ little from the one it replaced.
In the chapter “Moscow” Marji meets her Uncle Anoosh for the first time. Marji is very excited to meet him because he was the only person in the family considered a “hero” and that fascinates her. She asks him to tell her stories and he begins with a story about his Uncle Fereydoon. Fereydoon was elected minister of justice and had beliefs of democracy. Because his ideas were not the same as his father, his father abandoned him and told him to go join his brother who shared his same stupid ideas. However when Anoosh had a nightmare and wanted to see his brother to make sure he was okay, he saw him being taken away by the soldiers to be tortured. Anoosh ran away from the republic, went to stay with his parents, and soon went to the U.S.S.R. Anoosh then begins to explain how he had a wife and two kids but was divoreced and was lonely ever since. By the end of the story Marji is shocked to hear of his story and what happened. She tells her friends of all the stories she heard because now she feels proud to say she had family members considered to be a “hero”.
“The Cigarette” – Marjane was a little older girl now, she tried to make friends with older persons, although they had different ways of thinking. Marjane cut her class with her older friends, and they went to free place to stay and eat. I know their lives was controlling by their governments. Because their governments closed many public places for them to stay. Her mother was angry with her, because she didn’t say any truth to her mother. She said her mother was the guardian of the revolution of this house. In other word, I think she try to say her mother as a guardian who had never given them freedom. Marjane liked to go down to her basement, because only this place was very safe and quiet for her to stay. During she was walking down the stairs, she memorized her government against a settlement which Iraq proposed. If they accepted it, which meant the war would finally end. But they didn’t do that, because they thought they should conquer Karbala. The war was not over, but still exists in her live, deeper than before. Marjane thought a government can stop a war to destroy people’s lives, and keep them survival. But they didn’t. Marjane tried to smoke, because she thought she would become an adult if she was smoking. An adult was very important to her, because it meant freedom and independent, although she could not how to smoke.
“The Passport”- Marjane visited her aunt’s place. Her uncle’s the oldest son was leaving her country to other country. And his uncle was very missing him that caused him get sick more often. He told to Marjane’s family about a government would capture some children and kill them if their parents were communists. Marjane tried to tell her parents that she wanted to become an independent girl, but they had never listen to her. Her uncle went to a hospital, and they were going to visit him. Marjane saw many sickness people in a hospital, and some of them were still lying in the floor. A war caused many people get sick and hurt. That was Marjane felt. Her aunt went to a director’s office for requiring a passport. And the director always said everything depends on god, although it was a lie. But they could not do anything about that. So Marjane’s father tried to order a fake passport for Marjane’s uncle. In her father’s friend’s basement, they observed a girl was hidden in his place, because the government was looking for her who was communist. However, her uncle was dead. And that girl was dead, too. The terrible things which happened were based on a result of their governments and religious, especially a revolution.
“Kim Wilde”- Marjane’s parents had already picked up their passports, and they tried to travel in Turkey. According to this chapter, I know her government and religious refused any concept of resistance, because Marjane asked her parents to bring two posters of Kim Wilde and Iron Maiden from Turkey, and the two men were representing a resistance. Her parents tried to hide these posters in her father’s jacket when they came back to their country. Marjane was very happy when she received these things from her parents, and she tried to buy same radio about Kin Wilde and Camel. We can see how she likes these two persons very much. In addition, we know she has such strong spirit to against her government through her behaviors. Marjane was a clever girl and good at disguise her emotion when she was found by the guardians of the revolution. But she was scary, too.
In “Moscow”, after Marji feels inferior because her father was not considered a “hero”, she learns of and meets Uncle Anoosh. He tells her of his Uncle Fereydoon who was a believer in the western idea of democracy. Fereydoon was tortured and executed. Uncle Anoosh ran away to Russia where he started a family. This story makes Marji feel good because now she has a “hero” in her family. She shares it which all her young peers. It is interesting to see how the children interpret this. They are essentially competing with eachother to see who has a family member who suffered more, and this highlights their naiveness to the real situation.
Stephanie Balroop
(sbalroop100@qc.cuny.edu)
In the next 2 chapters marji meets her uncle Anoosh who in the short time he is mentioned seems more like a father figure to Marji then her own father. Over the two chapters Marji becomes very attached to her uncle Anoosh.
The two communists who were released from jail are later killed and uncle anoosh is next. Anoosh leaves and Marji's parents tell her that Anoosh went on a trip. She immediately interprets that as his being dead, but he is not, he is in prison. Anoosh and Marji meet for the last time in prison and he is later executed. At the end of the chapter we see a confrontation between Marji and god in which she tells him to get out of her life and that she never wants to see him again. Marji's anger is probably due to the fact that she asked god to please let him (Anoosh) not be dead, and in the end he dies anyway. She felt let down by god. The feeling conveyed at the end of this chapter was that this is the last time we will see any contact between Marji and "god".
Stephanie Balroop
(sbalroop100@qc.cuny.edu)
In the F 14's, the key and the wine, we see the impact the war is having on society and Marji and her family. Religion is being forced on to them more and more and their liberty seems to be taken away from them. We see this when Marji and her family get stopped by a soldier who suspects that they have been drinking which is strictly forbidden. The soldier then follows them home to see if they have any alcohol in their home and is "paid off" by Marji's father. At this point we see that the government is influencing the people, making them believe that they are for the Islamic revolution when they really are not. All the soldiers who are out there enforcing the new rule that have come with the revolution are just doing what they are told, not what they believe. We see this when all it takes is a few bills to make the soldier look the other way when it comes to enforcing the rules.
In the next chapters Marjane is introduced to her uncle Anoosh who really connects with Satrapi, and Marjane is really touched by him. This gives the reader a sense of uneasiness because Satrapi as a young girl is shown as ashamed of her father because of his lack of heroic sense. She admires her uncles heroic details. Also Anoosh is the only adult who tells Marjane the truth about how people wont tell her things straight forward because she is so young, and she respects that.
Also Anoosh is later executed after being sent to prison, and Marjane tells g-d not to ever bother her again because she had prayed for Anoosh's life but g-d had let her down.
After reading pages 80-134, I learned how serious the war between Iran and Iraq was becoming. The bombing had begun and Paradisse's father who was a pilot released from prison had been killed during the intense bombings. This disappointed Paradisse, because she would rather have her father alive in prison, then dead a hero. As the war continues, shopping for food and gas is becoming very tough. There is not a surplus amount of supplies for the people. The bombing moved to places like Abadan. Mali and her family lived there, and ended up moving to Marji's house for about a week. At school Marji had to pray for the dead soldiers. The students also went through a time during the day, when they would hit themselves on the chest. Marji and her friends began to make a joke out of it and end up getting into trouble.
The maid in Marji's house was very upset, because her oldest son was going to fight for the country and was given a key that "would take him to heaven" if he died. It was a way of making the children fight without fear. They thought they would be in heaven, which was called paradise.
The houses were covered with duck tape and drapes, for privacy purposes. Ebi was stopped in the street and was abused for being westernized and under the influence of alcohol which was illegal. Ebi was spared, because his wife kept asking for forgiveness.
Marji began to hang out with older children in school and ended up cutting class to be with them. She got into trouble when she got home and then went to the basement and continues to think about the war. Then she begins to smoke a cigarette she had stolen from her uncle. This was her way of becoming an adult.
Her uncle Taher was introduced in "The Passport." He had had two heart attacks already. He missed his son who was sent abroad. Taher could not see him, because the borders were closed. This upset Taher a lot. Soon after he had his third heart attack, and not being able to get out of the country in time for medical procedures, he died. The person who was making a fake passport for Taher had to leave, after his house was raided.
Finally in the last chapter I read, "Kim Wilde" in which Marji's mom and dad decide to take a mini vacation after the borders were opened. They brought back modernized "hip" stuff for Marji. It was hard to bring the stuff across the customs, but they managed it. Later, Marji gets in trouble with the women's branch of the "Guardians of the Revolution." She had many excuses for the way she was dressed and was eventually released after making a dramatic scene.
Clint Ramnarine
"The Veil" to "The Party"
One of the most notable aspects of the first two chapters in my opinion is how Marji has her side conversations with God. During the first two chapters much is explained about the chaos leading to the Islamic revolution. Marji is very inquisitive at first. She is constantly trying to find answers and trying to develop an experience for what she is going through.
In Persepolis, Marji's interest takes a sudden transition in that she wants to find out information of her grandfather. Her grandmother is introduced and she tells Marji of her grandfather. In "The Letter", the main focus is that of social class. It tells about the maid of Marji's parents, Mehri. Mehri liked this guy net door to them but Marji's father mentioned to him that Mehri was a maid, therefore putting an end to any activity between them. What i found interesting was how Mehri and Marji got along and that Marji mentions that its not mehri's fault that she's in a low class.
"The Party" mainly talks about how the shah was no longer in power. Marji sees the son of the shah and wants to torture him because his father was a bad man. However Marji leanrs taht its not the son's fault that his father, the shah, was a horrible man which proves to be another lesson that Marji learns.
Clint Ramnarine
"The Heroes" to "The Trip"
In the chapter "The Heroes" two characters by the name of Mohsen and Siamak are introduced. Each explains how severely they were tortured.. Marji hears all of this which further spoils her innocence. She realizes that when someone says that a family member has gone on vacation that they are really dead. And so she tries to fit in her own understanding by telling Siamak's daughter, Laly, that her father is dead.
In "Moscow" we are introducedto Marji's uncle Anoosh. Anoosh goes on to tell Marji stories of Fereydoon and the Iranian Province. He tells her how Fereydoon had a son with his girlfriend before he was executed.
In "The Sheep" we find out a few things. First we find that a boy that Marji had developed a likeness for is leaving the country and she is depressed by it. Mohsen is executed and then so is Siamaks sister. After Marji finds out that her uncle Anoosh has been taken into custody. Marji really liked Anoosh and viewed him as a hero. Now that he is being taken away from her she is deeply torn and screams at God when he visits her. She screams at him because perhaps, she is mad that he didnt save Anoosh. What's intruiging to me is that i feel as if Marji will no longer have conversations with God, in fact I feel as though this is the last time we see him in Persepolis.
In "The Trip" Marji is portrayed as being a bit older. Also in this chapter it tells how the fundamentalists were different from normal civilians. The women have full covering from head to toe. The men had full grown beards. There is also more violence between the fundamentalists and the normal people. This chapter shows how severe things are becoming.
Clint Ramnarine
"The F-14's" to "The Wine"
In “The F-14’s” we find out that the Iraqi’s have bombed Tehran. Marji’s friend Pardisse was not in school because her father who was a pilot had passed away. Marji and her father are happy when they hear that Iranian bombers have attacked Baghdad. Marji tries to console Pardisse for her loss at the end of the chapter.
In the beginning of the next chapter “The Jewels” it shows how food was scarce and there wwere people bickering over products. Later on in the chapter, we find out that the border towns were being bombed and that peole had to flee. Mali and her husband went to Marji’s house because of the bombing. Pages 91-93 show how Marji’s family gets along with Mali’s. We see that Mali’s children are spoilt because they are so accustomed to getting everything they want. Mali mentions that it is disgraceful when your own kind spits on you.
One the first few pages of “The Key”, we see that Marji reads about the martyrs. Marji mentions that there are marches in school and that there were rituals that had to be performed. For example a ritual would be to beat your hand upon your breast over and over. During those religious ceremonies people would go to the extreme. They would beat themselves with chains and even cut their own head with a knife as depicted in the chapter. Marji shows her playful and foolish side when she begins to mock the torture sessions which would upset the teachers and cause them to issue suspension. The parents of the students retaliate by shouting remarks of how they feel towards the revolution to the teacher. What I startling was that they teachers gave the boys a golden painted key and said that if they were lucky to die in war, the key would grant them entry to heaven. The “Paradise” that was promised mostly motivated the young poor kids who die by being blown up on minefields. This shows how serious people’s beliefs are and how they greatly influence one’s life.
“The Wine” shows how Tehran was constantly on bomb alert. Everyone would go in the basement for shelter and reemerge once the chaos was over. It is mentioned that Tinoosh’s dad was caught partying and he was lashed 75 times. But even with everything going on they partying still continued. Everything that was forbidden was ignored by Marji’s family, one these especially being alcohol. Marji’s father tries to stall the police while Marji and her grandmother dump all the alcohol to avoid getting caught.
"Moscow" Marjane was upset at the fact that no one in her family was a hero while her friend's family were. Until she met her uncle Anoosh who told her stories about his hardships and what he had to go through. Marjane tries to understand what her uncle is trying to say to her but is overwhelmed by all the information. She tries to act like an adult but she still thinks like a child. Such as, when Anoosh told Marjane that he was in jail for nine years, she automatically thought it was better than Laly's father.
In "The sheep" everybody decides to leave and escape. However, Marjane parents thinks its better to stay. They are afraid to start from scratch and leave everything behind. Later, when marjane comes home, her parents tell her that Anoosh went away without saying goodbye. She knew better than that and knew that he was going away for good. Her parents keep trying to hide the truth away from her but she knows better than that. Her father finally told her he needed to talk to her and she already knew in her mind hoping Anoosh didn't die. But later, she finds out he has been killed and kicks out her own comfront (God).
"The trip" now time has past and everyone is a little bit older. Marjane seems to have forgotten her old dream to be a phrophet and now focusing on becoming more educated and discovering cures and such. And then everybody had to wear the veil to cover their skin, hair and everything and also with men. The government and the people who were against the policies also started changing as well.
"F-14's" The war has begun and bombing. Both the father and Marjane rush home to see if the mother is okay. You never know what will happen, so you should never take anything for granted. Marjane grows up a little more maturely when she was about to ask Pardisse about her father, she knew right away what happened. When Pardisse says that she wished her father was still alive and in jail rather than be a hero and dead is very interesting because in the past pages when marjane was young, she wanted to brag about her father being a hero. Here, theres a young girl who lost her father because he was a hero and rather have him still alive and be with her than being a hero for her country.
Panagiotis Serris
In the first chapter "The F-14s" it started off with Marji and her dad at work when they heard a loud boom and saw a Iraqi plane flying by. They were both worried and went home to make sure Marji's mom was okay. As they were going home Marji kept asking her dad if he was going to fight in he war and defend their country. The father believed he had no business doing that. In this chapter you can see that Marji's opinions easily change. In the beginning of the chapter Marji believed that her dad was no patriot but after the 140 Iranian bombers attacked Baghdad and her dad was happy about that she changed her mind. At the end of this chapter it is very sad how the girl named Pardisse loses her dad in the attack. Although all the people in Iran would consider her dad a hero, Pardisse would rather have her dad alive and in jail rather then a hero and in jail.
In the next chapter "The Jewels" it starts off with Marji's mom being a hypocrite. She first sees the ladies inside the supermarket fighting over an object and the mother tells them that if they only took what they needed there would be enough for everyone. Right after they get into the parking lot she thinks they should go to another store to get more rice just in case. This goes against what she just said. If they had enough they should have gone home not went to another store to get extra. When Mali's family comes to Marji's house because there house got destroyed, Mali's husband doesn't really think that they could have been killed but rather thinks about how his expensive house got destroyed. If I was in that position I would just be happy that my family is okay. The incident that happened in the supermarket made me think how inconsiderate people maybe. The refugees that had come to Tehran have probably lost everything that they ever had and you have these people talking about them making it seem like it was no big deal.
In the chapter "The Key" when they were making fun of the teacher it reminded me of when I used to go to Greek School. We used to annoy our teacher to the fullest. We drove her crazy and made her quit. We then had to other teachers who also left us. When the parents were called in to talk to the teacher I found the last frame very funny. When Marji's dad told the teacher to shave her mustache off. The rest of the chapter talked about how the boys were tricked into thinking that if they fought in the war they were going to be rewarded because they had the key to heaven. They made the boys believe that the afterlife was better then their life now.
In the last chapter we had to read was "The Wine" I felt that these people were being treated cruely because they were no longer allowed to do fun activities like have parties. At the very end of the chapter when Marji's grandmother told the man she had diabetes was very smart. She had fast response so that she wouldn't get in trouble. I felt sorry for Marji's father at the end because he was disappointed that they had flushed all the alcohol down the toilet. He wanted some.
“The Shabbat”- The terrible blooded shed war still existed and prevailed in Marjane’s country. But this time, the war was more serious than ever before. They knew they were destined to die sooner or later, because they had not proper or safe place to live or hide themselves from the forth coming enemies. Marjane was so anxious and worried abut her family and her friends, because she was afraid of being alone lost in an unselfish world of dieing and suffering. They very thought of being alone was a threat to her. She worried a great bit for her family and friends. To her the worst sickness and disease was being alone with no one to lend a helping hand, and not one to be a consolation to her in good times and in bad. Marjane’s friend named Neda who a has Jewish family in Iran. But she was dead in the war. Marjane still was a young girl. She didn’t believe people’s life can be taken by a war, include her best friends. However, she lived in dangerous place, because the war seemed to kill people every moment. She lived in at atmosphere with mixed feelings. The feelings that she was going to loose all her kith and kin. A feeling living alone in the country. A feeling of a destitute “The Dowry”- After her friend Neda was dead. Marjane’s characteristic became stubborn and temerity. She adopted an unfriendly attitude with her teacher. She made sure that she did not give the respect that ought to be given to a teacher. She felt shameful for this. There were times she even fought with her teacher and answered her teacher back rudely. Her parent tried to bring her to Austria. Because her mother was worried about her would kill by people. In this chapter, I learned one thing which I had never known before. Marjane’s tradition of death in young girl that was a girl would be killed by people if she was married to a man and done her sexual activity with her husband, every thing were based on a crime. Marjane was very sad because she would leave her family and her friend. She must live by herself in Austria with no old friend, no her family beside to her. Her grandfather remained her that she must keep her dignity and be true to herself. Marjane knew her parents and her grandmother would not come to see her after she left, although they still told Marjane that “We will come to see you!” It was a lie, and a sweet dream was impossible to make true. Marjane was left, without her parents and her friends, even she hoped herself can die in this moment. Because she didn’t want to leave her family.
Stephanie Balroop
(sbalroop100@qc.cuny.edu)
In the next few chapters of Persepolis we see Marjane really grow up. The war in Iran gets even worse and the neighborhood in which Marjane lives is bommed, so Marjane's parents decide to send her to Vienna alone. In Vienna Marjane is forced to grow up and she begins to develop the lifestyle which everyone there has. It is the same lifestyle which she was trying to secretly live in Tehran with her denim jacket and Nike sneakers. Marjane also seems to forget much about what is happening in her country, or she just doesn't think about it. It's odd because the first several chapters were about Marjane understanding the revolution and the war and taking part in it but now that shes not in Iran anymore it's almost as if she doesn't care whats happening there.
The war in Iran is still in session. People fear everyday that the end is near. Towns in Iran are being bombed and destroyed. One day Marji goes to buy jeans when another bomb is dropped, and this time on the street that she lives on. When she runs over to see if her parents are okay, she comes across a bracelet on the wrist of a girl that she was friends with, hanging out from the pile of debris. After the incident, Marji becomes even more of a rebel in school where it comes to the point that she is expelled and sent to a different school. Her parents feel she is following the footsteps of Nilofaur who was executed for being a communist. When her parents explain to her the danger she could be in if she continues to think the way she does, Marji is frightened. Lives are worth nothing and are taken away for any reason possible. In the end, her parents decide that it would be best if she goes to Austria to finish her education and escape from the environment she is in if she continues to grow up in Iran. Marji here realizes how fast she is growing up that her parents trust to send her to a different country at such a young age. She is afraid to leave not because she does not know how to be independent but because she might not see her parents again if they are living in the middle of a war. This is the point in the memoir where we will see Marji grow up quickly even if she doesn’t want to. Her mentality now will change and mature. She is no longer protected by her parents. She is on her own now.
In the chapter "The Shabbat," the war between Iran and Iraq continues. It is learned that Iraq has ballistic missiles. It was hard to believe for Marji's dad, but when the missiles hit places in Iran everyone believed it. Marji's family stayed throughout the missiles, because they didn't want Marji to lose her French education in Tehran.
Marji went shopping with her friend when she heard that her neighborhood had been hit. It turned out that her neighbors building was hit and they had died. Marji's friend Neda had died from the bomb. This upset Marji a lot and made her more of a rebel.
In the next chapter "The Dowry," Marji is expelled from her school for hitting her principal. She was becoming a fierce rebel in school. After being expelled, she finally got accepted by a school with the help of her aunt. Marji continued to get into trouble with her teacher. Her parents decided to send her to Vienna. They thought it would be safe for her to live there and she would continue to receive her French education. This made Marji sad, because she had to leave her family at the age of fourteen. She was worried that her family would not come live with her like they said they would in a few months. So she is sent off to Vienna.
In the chapter "The Soup," Marji has arrived in Austria. She lives with her mom's best friend Zozo and her family. She is not too comfortable living with them because they have lots of arguments and she doesn't like Shirin's way of thinking. One day she is told that she will be moved to a boarding house run by nuns. Marji is happy she will not be bothered by the Zozo family, but at the same time she doesn't like the sound of nuns.
After she moved out, she felt more independent and took some responsibility. Her roommate was a girl named Lucia, who she later becomes very close too. She goes to school and makes friends, because of her intelligence in mathematics and her history of life in Iran. The war she had been through was the main topic of interest, her friends had. She had four great friends, an eccentric, a punk, and two orphans.
When Christmas time came, all of her friends went on vacation. She was left alone with Lucia, who invited her to Tyrol to visit her family. This was when Marji began to think of Lucia as a sister. She felt the connection with her family and thought of Lucia's parents as her parents too.
Panagiotis Serris
In the chapter "The Shabbat" it talks about the bombings mainly. In the begginning they were argueing whether Iraq even had bombs but later on in the chapter they realize that Iraq does have. These missels seemed to have been very powerful because Marji's father tells her that it doesn't matter where they are in the house. If the bomb hits their house they're dead. As the chapter continues Marji ends up going to the store to buy a pair of jeans when suddenly they hear a missile crash down. Marji was listening to the radio inside the store to realize that the bomb had exploded in her neighborhood. When she got there she saw that the bomb had hit their next door neighbors house. Although Marji's mom who was the only one home was okay their Jewish neighbors had died because it was Saturday and they were home.
In the next chapter "The Dowry" it starts off with Marji at school in Iran. She had gotten expelled from her first school because she had punched the teacher. She punched her because the principal kept taking Marji's jewelery. She then goes to a new school where her teacher doesn't like the fact that Marji knows the truth and could make the other students realize the truth. Marji's parents then decide to send Marji to Austria. They told her that it was her chance to be safe and get an education. Although her parents couldn't come with her Marji only 14 years old left by herself. Her family gave her a few helpful tips about life so that she will always remember who she was and where she was from. The chapter ends with Marji's mom collapsing from the depression of her daughters departure.
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