Emotional Reaction

A section in the memoir that really intrigued me and caught my attention was when Marjane Satrapi and her family started to find out about Iranian men being tortured. In the text it states, “They burned him with an iron. I never imagined that you could use that appliance for torture. In the end he was cut to pieces(51-52)”. This part of the book frightened me to know that innocent people were treated like beasts for no reason. It shocked me that at such a young age Marjane knew what was going on in her society. Her parents informed her of all these horrible events and actions that were going on around her. The context of this story is very unique and rare because it constantly shows gruesome events but the author always uses humor to lighten the text, making her readers not feel so hostile and fearful of what is going on. The events of the Islamic revolution really come as a surprise to me because I have never heard of it before. Persepolis gives a lot insight into the Islamic Revolution especially explaining how bad it got with people being tortured and the constant bombings that went on.

This part of the book that I chose shows how serious Marjane's life was. Her friend's conversations were not about barbies or school. Marjane's life was all about the revolution. The text says, “It's a good thing they didn't kill your father in prison(52)”. In this quote the author and her friend discuss her father not getting killed in prison. In my life I have never had to discuss any of these topic when I was ten years old. This book has showed me that there are many different ways of living. Marjane's childhood was completely different from mine causing me to see the purity and significance of the memoir, Persepolis.