Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Satrapi goes about challenging the myth that Iran is a country made up of "fundamentalism, fanaticism and terrorism," by showing a rather modern open minded family of which she grows up in. There are many examples in the story of characters who disagree with the government, and are politically active in the oppositions towards it. The book shows a more oppressive minority, who uses fear to manipulate the conscious of the Iranian people.
Persepolis confirmed my beliefs that religious radicalism is very dangerous for any society. Any group of people that speaks of hate, oppression and try to limit freedom and speech should be viewed as threat to everyones freedom. Iran just simply had the misfortune of having a political climate that allowed these radical religious factions to rise to power, slowing Iran's progress to towards the modern age.
The book helped me understand pre-revolution climate of Iran. 

Questions About Persepolis

Why were Marjane parents so liberal, compared to other Iranian families?

Why was the novel drawn in very simple black and white?

Why didn't her family not come to Vienna with her, and instead stay behind?

Monday, February 2, 2009

Identity

The dictionary definition of identity is the sense of being oneself. To determine identity, you simply have distinguish characteristics that make you, YOU. Depending on the person it could be a verity things form the obvious, culture, religion, or region of birth; to the not so obvious dress, music, sports. Identity can be formed from tangible things like a snow board, as in a snowboarder identify himself with the live style of snowboarders, this could be a huge part of how he identifies himself, or it could be a relatively small part. Experience can also make up identity, for example if someone travels the world, what they experience could effect how they view themselves as a person. Even negative experience can affects one’s identity; they could become a stronger individual, or revaluate themselves as person and carry it for the rest of their lives. Identity is the characteristic/experiences that one uses to define oneself.  I see myself as smart but lazy. Identify with a particular style of music and the fashion that goes with it. Politics is a big part of my life, so it would seem that I see myself as a politically active liberal. I ride horses so I see myself as part of the horse community. I think I’m funny. I’m pretty shy when people first meet me, but once you get to know me, I can be pretty loud. Other people/my friend Brian who is sitting here answering the question, see me as, sassy, intelligent (but horrible speller). He sees me as a person who likes to be updated on current events in the world and my local community, who has opinion on most things and logical reasons to back my opinions up. He sees me as witty, music lover, rule breaker and mean.