For your essay on Persepolis, please choose from among the essay questions below, or come up with your own. Your essay should be between five to six pages and is due on
November 24th. I've also included some tips on constructing a thesis statement. We will discuss essay topics in class. Thanks and looking forward to reading your essays.
Possible Essay Questions for Persepolis
1. In an Associated Press interview, Satrapi said, “The only thing I hope is that people will read my book and see that this abstract thing, this Axis of Evil, is made up of individuals with lives and hopes.” And in her introduction to Persepolis, she explains that she wrote this book to show that Iran is not only a country of “fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism.” How does Satrapi go about challenging this myth? How does Persepolis dispel or confirm your views on Iran? In what ways does reading this book deepen your understanding and knowledge of Iran, and the current situation in Iraq?
2. “Every situation has an opportunity for laughs.” (p. 97) Give some examples of how the ordinary citizens of Iran enjoyed life despite the oppressive regime. What made you laugh? How does Satrapi add comic relief? How are these scenes relevant to the story as a whole?
3. What kinds of captivity and freedom does the author explore in Persepolis? What stifles or prevents people from being completely free? How do they circumvent and defy the rules imposed on them and attempt to live ordinary lives despite revolution and war? Give some examples of their small acts of rebellion.
4. What is the role of women in the story? Compare and contrast the various women: Marji, her mother, her grandmother, her school teachers, the maid, the neighbors, the guardians of the revolution.
5. In what ways is Persepolis both telling a story and commenting on the importance of stories in our lives? What does the book suggest about how stories shape and give meaning to our experience? Discuss some of the stories in Persepolis—Uncle Anoosh’s story, the stories propagated by the media – both interior and exterior to the Iranian government, and .
6. What is Satrapi suggesting about the relationship between past and present, and between national and personal history? What role does her family history, and the stories of her relatives, play in shaping Marji?
7. What does Satrapi say regarding disparity between the classes before and after the Iranian Revolution? Discuss some examples that Marji witnesses and contemplates.
8. Marji has a complicated, shifting relationship with her parents. What is important to Marji’s parents? What environment do they create for their daughter despite living under an oppressive regime and through a brutal, prolonged war? From where do they get their strength? What are their expectations for her and how - if at all - do these expectations shape her?
Thesis vs. Topic
As you begin to formulate a thesis for your essay, think about the following distinction between topic and thesis. A topic is a general area of inquiry; derived from the Greek topos (place), "topic" designates the general subject of your essay. For instance, Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis (2003) “shows how a totalitarian state oppresses women” would be a weak thesis but a very good a topic for an essay. From a topic, many specific theses can be extracted and developed. A thesis is more specific and delimited; it exists “within” your topic. In your essay, you need to use an argumentative thesis.
In argumentative writing, the writer takes a stance and offers reasons in support of it. Crucial to any piece of argumentative writing is its thesis. The thesis arises from the topic, or subject, on which the writing focuses, and may be defined as follows:
A thesis is an idea, stated as an assertion, which represents a reasoned response to a question at issue and which will serve as the central idea of a unified composition.
If we've selected as a topic the notion that Persepolis shows the power of unions we need to ask, "So what?" How does Persepolis depict oppression? How does the regime maintain its power over those it oppresses? In other words, does the graphic novel show the mechanisms by which totalitarianism gains control and, in so doing, show how it might be resisted? In sum, what does focusing on this theme tells about what the Persepolis might mean? One possible thesis is:
Although Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis (2003) depicts the growth of a totalitarian state through different subjective responses, including both Marjane the child and Marjane the adult, Persepolis confronts power head-on, challenging the "righteousness" of the regime through these subjective responses by dramatizing how it hurts the people who must live under it.
This thesis could, of course, be different. Indeed, one could construct a thesis that challenges the above thesis. And that's one of the reasons we know that the above thesis works: it's contestable!
When you compose a thesis statement, think about how it satisfies the following tests:
1. Is it an idea? Does it state, in a complete sentence, an assertion?
2. Does it make a claim that is truly contestable and therefore engaging?
(Yes, because one could also argue that in fact the force of both novels resides in how they dramatize the deleterious effects of a totalitarian regime.)
3. Are the terms you are using precise and clear?
(Key terms here seem to be: "totalitarian state," "resistance," "power," and "confronts head-on.")
4. Has the thesis developed out of a process of reasoning?
Once these questions have been satisfactorily answered, use the resulting thesis to organize your evidence and begin the actual writing. As you do so, bear in mind the following questions:
1. What is my purpose in writing? What do I want to prove?
(Notice the explicit purpose in the thesis statement: it does not merely point out that both books show the how totalitarian states oppress women. Instead, the thesis takes a position on this topic, and then answers the question "So what?")
2. What question(s) does my writing answer?
3. Why do I think this question is important? Will other people think it equally important?
4. What are my specific reasons, my pieces of evidence? Does each piece of evidence support the claim I make in my thesis?
5. Where does my reasoning weaken or even stop? Am I merely offering opinions without reasoned evidence?
6. How can I best persuade my reader?
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Reading Persepolis
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
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
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Revision in Syllabus
Week 1
Wednesday August 27 Introduction
Week 2
Monday September 1 No Class
Wednesday September 3 “Writing Matters”– pp. 3-25
Seeing and Writing
Week 3
Monday September 8 No Class due to emergency
Wednesday September 10 pp. 27-49
Seeing and Writing
Learning Across the Curriculum – Chapter 1 – A
Writer’s Resource
Blog
Week 4
Monday September 15 Annie Dillard’s “Seeing” – pp.108-117
Alfred Leslie’s “Television Moon” – pp. 90-92
Seeing and Writing
Blog
Wednesday September 17 No Class
Week 5
Monday September 22 “Challenging Images” – pp. 598-611
Isabel Allende’s “Omayra Sanchez” pp. 612-615
Seeing and Writing
Writing and Designing Papers – Chapter 2 – A Writer’s Resource
Blog
Wednesday September 24 “Chapter 2: Coming to Terms with Place” – pp. 139-149
Edward Hirsch’s – “Edward Hopper and the House by
The Railroad (1925)”
Seeing and Writing
Blog
Week 6
Monday September 29 No Class
Essay #1 – First Draft
Blog
Wednesday October 1 No Class
Week 7
Tuesday October 6 Peer Review
Wednesday October 8 No Class
Week 8
Tuesday October 14 Peer Review
Wednesday October 15 Eudora Welty’s “The Little Store” – pp. 154 – 160
E.B. White’s “Once More to the Lake” – pp. 162 -167
Peer Review
Blog
Week 9
Monday October 20 Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis” – Chapter 1, “The Veil” – pp. 3-9
Persepolis
Seeing and Writing – pp. 360-361
Blog
Wednesday October 22 Second Draft of Essay #1 Due
Persepolis – pp. 10-32
Blog
Week 10
Monday October 27 Persepolis –pp. 33-53
Blog
Wednesday October 29 Persepolis –pp. 54 - 79
Blog
Week 11
Monday November 3 Persepolis – pp. 80 - 110
Blog
Watch Film
Wednesday November 5 Persepolis –pp. 111-134
Blog
Watch Film
Week 12
Monday November 10 Persepolis – pp. 135 -153
Blog
Wednesday November 12 First Draft of Essay #2 Due
Peer Review
Week 13
Monday November 17 View “Baraka”
Wednesday November 19 “Visualizing Composition: Metaphor” p. 545
Exercise p. 545
Seeing and Writing
Stylistic Devices (handout)
Week 14
Monday November 24 Second Draft of Essay #3 Due
Richard Selzer’s “The Knife” (handout)
Blog
Wednesday November 26 Sylvia Plath’s “Ariel” (handout)
Robert Hass’ “Meditation at Lagunitas (handout)
Blog
Week 15
Monday December 1 Chapter 6 “Reading Icons – pp. 499-507
Guy Davenport’s “The Geography of the Imagination” pp. 508 -513
Seeing and Writing
Blog
Wednesday December 3 “She Can’t Smile Without You” pp. 516-531
Sally Stein’s “Passing Likeness” pp. 533-544
Seeing and Writing
Blog
Week 16
Monday December 8 Tom Perrotta’s “The Cosmic Significance of Britney
Spears” pp. 568- 574
Seeing and Writing
Wednesday December 10 Group Meetings
Week 17
Monday December 15 Final Group Presentations
Wednesday August 27 Introduction
Week 2
Monday September 1 No Class
Wednesday September 3 “Writing Matters”– pp. 3-25
Seeing and Writing
Week 3
Monday September 8 No Class due to emergency
Wednesday September 10 pp. 27-49
Seeing and Writing
Learning Across the Curriculum – Chapter 1 – A
Writer’s Resource
Blog
Week 4
Monday September 15 Annie Dillard’s “Seeing” – pp.108-117
Alfred Leslie’s “Television Moon” – pp. 90-92
Seeing and Writing
Blog
Wednesday September 17 No Class
Week 5
Monday September 22 “Challenging Images” – pp. 598-611
Isabel Allende’s “Omayra Sanchez” pp. 612-615
Seeing and Writing
Writing and Designing Papers – Chapter 2 – A Writer’s Resource
Blog
Wednesday September 24 “Chapter 2: Coming to Terms with Place” – pp. 139-149
Edward Hirsch’s – “Edward Hopper and the House by
The Railroad (1925)”
Seeing and Writing
Blog
Week 6
Monday September 29 No Class
Essay #1 – First Draft
Blog
Wednesday October 1 No Class
Week 7
Tuesday October 6 Peer Review
Wednesday October 8 No Class
Week 8
Tuesday October 14 Peer Review
Wednesday October 15 Eudora Welty’s “The Little Store” – pp. 154 – 160
E.B. White’s “Once More to the Lake” – pp. 162 -167
Peer Review
Blog
Week 9
Monday October 20 Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis” – Chapter 1, “The Veil” – pp. 3-9
Persepolis
Seeing and Writing – pp. 360-361
Blog
Wednesday October 22 Second Draft of Essay #1 Due
Persepolis – pp. 10-32
Blog
Week 10
Monday October 27 Persepolis –pp. 33-53
Blog
Wednesday October 29 Persepolis –pp. 54 - 79
Blog
Week 11
Monday November 3 Persepolis – pp. 80 - 110
Blog
Watch Film
Wednesday November 5 Persepolis –pp. 111-134
Blog
Watch Film
Week 12
Monday November 10 Persepolis – pp. 135 -153
Blog
Wednesday November 12 First Draft of Essay #2 Due
Peer Review
Week 13
Monday November 17 View “Baraka”
Wednesday November 19 “Visualizing Composition: Metaphor” p. 545
Exercise p. 545
Seeing and Writing
Stylistic Devices (handout)
Week 14
Monday November 24 Second Draft of Essay #3 Due
Richard Selzer’s “The Knife” (handout)
Blog
Wednesday November 26 Sylvia Plath’s “Ariel” (handout)
Robert Hass’ “Meditation at Lagunitas (handout)
Blog
Week 15
Monday December 1 Chapter 6 “Reading Icons – pp. 499-507
Guy Davenport’s “The Geography of the Imagination” pp. 508 -513
Seeing and Writing
Blog
Wednesday December 3 “She Can’t Smile Without You” pp. 516-531
Sally Stein’s “Passing Likeness” pp. 533-544
Seeing and Writing
Blog
Week 16
Monday December 8 Tom Perrotta’s “The Cosmic Significance of Britney
Spears” pp. 568- 574
Seeing and Writing
Wednesday December 10 Group Meetings
Week 17
Monday December 15 Final Group Presentations
Blog post delayed
Hello everyone,
I'm having trouble going online (using my phone at the moment) - soooo... I would like you to delay your blog posts until after we have discussed the essays for tomorrow. I will also post changes to the syllabus tomorrow when I have access at school. Sorry to keep you in suspense, but enjoy the reprieve. See you tomorrow lovely students.
Best,
Laura
I'm having trouble going online (using my phone at the moment) - soooo... I would like you to delay your blog posts until after we have discussed the essays for tomorrow. I will also post changes to the syllabus tomorrow when I have access at school. Sorry to keep you in suspense, but enjoy the reprieve. See you tomorrow lovely students.
Best,
Laura
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Peer Review!!!
Hello everyone,
Hope you are well. Sorry this wasn't posted earlier. But if you get this in time, we will be doing peer review tomorrow, and can you please bring five copies of your essay to class as well as a copy for me. Thank you and see you tomorrow bright and early!
Best,
Laura
Hope you are well. Sorry this wasn't posted earlier. But if you get this in time, we will be doing peer review tomorrow, and can you please bring five copies of your essay to class as well as a copy for me. Thank you and see you tomorrow bright and early!
Best,
Laura
Monday, September 22, 2008
New and Revised Syllabus (again)
Course Schedule
Week 1
Wednesday August 27 Introduction
Week 2
Monday September 1 No Class
Wednesday September 3 “Writing Matters”– pp. 3-25
Seeing and Writing
Week 3
Monday September 8 No Class due to emergency
Wednesday September 10 pp. 27-49
Seeing and Writing
Learning Across the Curriculum – Chapter 1 – A
Writer’s Resource
Blog
Week 4
Monday September 15 Annie Dillard’s “Seeing” – pp.108-117
Alfred Leslie’s “Television Moon” – pp. 90-92
Seeing and Writing
Blog
Wednesday September 17 No Class
Week 5
Monday September 22 “Challenging Images” – pp. 598-611
Isabel Allende’s “Omayra Sanchez” pp. 612-615
Seeing and Writing
Writing and Designing Papers – Chapter 2 – A Writer’s Resource
Essay #1 – First Draft
Peer Review
Blog
Wednesday September 24 “Chapter 2: Coming to Terms with Place” – pp. 139-149
Edward Hirsch’s – “Edward Hopper and the House by
The Railroad (1925)”
Seeing and Writing
Blog
Week 6
Monday September 29 No Class
Essay #1 – First Draft
Blog
Wednesday October 1 No Class
Week 7
Tuesday October 6 Second Draft of Essay #1 Due - Peer Review
Eudora Welty’s “The Little Store” – pp. 154 – 160
E.B. White’s “Once More to the Lake” – pp. 162 -167
Blog
Wednesday October 8 No Class
Second Draft of Essay #1 Due
Week 8
Tuesday October 14 First Draft of Essay #2 Due
Peer Review
Wednesday October 15 Peer Review
Blog
Week 9
Monday October 20 Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis” – Chapter 1, “The Veil” – pp. 3-9
Persepolis
Seeing and Writing – pp. 360-361
Blog
Wednesday October 22 Second Draft of Essay #2 Due
Persepolis – pp. 10-32
Blog
Week 10
Monday October 27 Persepolis –pp. 33-53
Blog
Wednesday October 29 Persepolis –pp. 54 - 79
Blog
Week 11
Monday November 3 Persepolis – pp. 80 - 110
Blog
Watch Film
Wednesday November 5 Persepolis –pp. 111-134
Blog
Watch Film
Week 12
Monday November 10 Persepolis – pp. 135 -153
Blog
Wednesday November 12 First Draft of Essay #3 Due
Peer Review
Week 13
Monday November 17 View “Baraka”
Wednesday November 19 “Visualizing Composition: Metaphor” p. 545
Exercise p. 545
Seeing and Writing
Stylistic Devices (handout)
Week 14
Monday November 24 Second Draft of Essay #3 Due
Richard Selzer’s “The Knife” (handout)
Blog
Wednesday November 26 Sylvia Plath’s “Ariel” (handout)
Robert Hass’ “Meditation at Lagunitas (handout)
Blog
Week 15
Monday December 1 Chapter 6 “Reading Icons – pp. 499-507
Guy Davenport’s “The Geography of the Imagination” pp. 508 -513
Seeing and Writing
Blog
Wednesday December 3 “She Can’t Smile Without You” pp. 516-531
Sally Stein’s “Passing Likeness” pp. 533-544
Seeing and Writing
Blog
Week 16
Monday December 8 Tom Perrotta’s “The Cosmic Significance of Britney
Spears” pp. 568- 574
Seeing and Writing
Wednesday December 10 Group Meetings
Week 17
Monday December 15 Final Group Presentations
Have lovely weekends!
Laura
Week 1
Wednesday August 27 Introduction
Week 2
Monday September 1 No Class
Wednesday September 3 “Writing Matters”– pp. 3-25
Seeing and Writing
Week 3
Monday September 8 No Class due to emergency
Wednesday September 10 pp. 27-49
Seeing and Writing
Learning Across the Curriculum – Chapter 1 – A
Writer’s Resource
Blog
Week 4
Monday September 15 Annie Dillard’s “Seeing” – pp.108-117
Alfred Leslie’s “Television Moon” – pp. 90-92
Seeing and Writing
Blog
Wednesday September 17 No Class
Week 5
Monday September 22 “Challenging Images” – pp. 598-611
Isabel Allende’s “Omayra Sanchez” pp. 612-615
Seeing and Writing
Writing and Designing Papers – Chapter 2 – A Writer’s Resource
Essay #1 – First Draft
Peer Review
Blog
Wednesday September 24 “Chapter 2: Coming to Terms with Place” – pp. 139-149
Edward Hirsch’s – “Edward Hopper and the House by
The Railroad (1925)”
Seeing and Writing
Blog
Week 6
Monday September 29 No Class
Essay #1 – First Draft
Blog
Wednesday October 1 No Class
Week 7
Tuesday October 6 Second Draft of Essay #1 Due - Peer Review
Eudora Welty’s “The Little Store” – pp. 154 – 160
E.B. White’s “Once More to the Lake” – pp. 162 -167
Blog
Wednesday October 8 No Class
Second Draft of Essay #1 Due
Week 8
Tuesday October 14 First Draft of Essay #2 Due
Peer Review
Wednesday October 15 Peer Review
Blog
Week 9
Monday October 20 Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis” – Chapter 1, “The Veil” – pp. 3-9
Persepolis
Seeing and Writing – pp. 360-361
Blog
Wednesday October 22 Second Draft of Essay #2 Due
Persepolis – pp. 10-32
Blog
Week 10
Monday October 27 Persepolis –pp. 33-53
Blog
Wednesday October 29 Persepolis –pp. 54 - 79
Blog
Week 11
Monday November 3 Persepolis – pp. 80 - 110
Blog
Watch Film
Wednesday November 5 Persepolis –pp. 111-134
Blog
Watch Film
Week 12
Monday November 10 Persepolis – pp. 135 -153
Blog
Wednesday November 12 First Draft of Essay #3 Due
Peer Review
Week 13
Monday November 17 View “Baraka”
Wednesday November 19 “Visualizing Composition: Metaphor” p. 545
Exercise p. 545
Seeing and Writing
Stylistic Devices (handout)
Week 14
Monday November 24 Second Draft of Essay #3 Due
Richard Selzer’s “The Knife” (handout)
Blog
Wednesday November 26 Sylvia Plath’s “Ariel” (handout)
Robert Hass’ “Meditation at Lagunitas (handout)
Blog
Week 15
Monday December 1 Chapter 6 “Reading Icons – pp. 499-507
Guy Davenport’s “The Geography of the Imagination” pp. 508 -513
Seeing and Writing
Blog
Wednesday December 3 “She Can’t Smile Without You” pp. 516-531
Sally Stein’s “Passing Likeness” pp. 533-544
Seeing and Writing
Blog
Week 16
Monday December 8 Tom Perrotta’s “The Cosmic Significance of Britney
Spears” pp. 568- 574
Seeing and Writing
Wednesday December 10 Group Meetings
Week 17
Monday December 15 Final Group Presentations
Have lovely weekends!
Laura
Essay Assignment #1 - "The Livingroom Candidate"
Hello all,
As promised, here is the first essay assignment as we discussed in class which will be due Monday the 29th. I would like you to look at the website: http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/
Please choose one or two political commercials and analyze the messages they convey and the means in which they do so. Are they successful? What do you see? How do the images tell a story? What do you know about the candidate from the commercial? What do you know about the candidate from your own research? Does the visual representation of the candidate coincide with what you learn through your research? How does the visual medium affect your feelings, perceptions, and reactions towards the candidate? Remember that this is just a first draft and we will discuss it together in class. Feel free to write your way into the essay, beginning with your initial impressions, and then linking them together to form a cohesive argument. I have also attached a close-reading checklist which I hope will help you to structure your essays. Please write me with any questions. This essay should be 3-4 pages long.
What are your reactions to the commercial? Would you vote for this candidate based solely on the commercial? How about when you take into consideration what you know about the candidate?
As promised, here is the first essay assignment as we discussed in class which will be due Monday the 29th. I would like you to look at the website: http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/
Please choose one or two political commercials and analyze the messages they convey and the means in which they do so. Are they successful? What do you see? How do the images tell a story? What do you know about the candidate from the commercial? What do you know about the candidate from your own research? Does the visual representation of the candidate coincide with what you learn through your research? How does the visual medium affect your feelings, perceptions, and reactions towards the candidate? Remember that this is just a first draft and we will discuss it together in class. Feel free to write your way into the essay, beginning with your initial impressions, and then linking them together to form a cohesive argument. I have also attached a close-reading checklist which I hope will help you to structure your essays. Please write me with any questions. This essay should be 3-4 pages long.
Close-Reading Annotated Checklist:
Commercial Chosen:
Candidate Depicted:
What issues are presented as important to this candidate?
What visual imagery is used? List details.
How does the visual imagery create a narrative?
What is the thesis?
List examples of supporting evidence which support the thesis which you see portrayed in the commercial.
What are your reactions to the commercial? Would you vote for this candidate based solely on the commercial? How about when you take into consideration what you know about the candidate?
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