For next week, be sure to read the first part of Persepolis, which goes from the chapter called "The Veil" to the chapter called "The Dowry." After you read it, watch the video below and respond with a comment (and reading the book will be necessary when you see the question). Enjoy!
I didn't know that it wasn't obligatory for people in Iran to wear a veil until 1980. On pages three, four, and five, she explains what it was like during this time. In the pictures, the girls look so unhappy to be wearing the veils. They were ten years old and didn't understand why they had to wear them. She explained that everywhere in the streets there were demonstrations for and against the veil. When I think about Iran, I just automatically think the veil is a part of their culture, part of who they are, I would never think there would be demonstrations against wearing the veil.
ReplyDeleteRight, we assume that the people wanted this, and supported it, when the reality is that (according to her) most people opposed it, and even risked their lives to fight it. As a result, many died or were imprisoned and they regime came to power anyway. This book was an attempt to write that forgotten history before it became lost forever. That's the power of books--and why that regime wanted to censor them.
DeleteI'm not all that familiar with other countries, but I didn't know how strict they were on policies of what someone wears, especially women. The comic that stuck out most to me was when she was walking along the street and the guardian ladies stop her and tried to arrest her or take her because she was wearing a certain kind of shoe, pair of jeans, and jacket with a Michael Jackson button. I never would've imagined that up until that day and age women were still being forced to wear things and weren't allowed to wear whatever as they please. It was just shocking to see how different it is in Iran from the U.S. considering we have basically all the freedom to wear whatever we want.
ReplyDeleteYes, and this is true in the world today: many people's lives are totally controlled by the countries/governments they live in (North Korea is a great example of this--they can only wear certain clothes and get certain haircuts). Controlling clothing is a way to limit identity and expression, and to almost brainwash people into forgetting who they are. The same with music and books--if you limit new ideas, you can make your own seem like Truth with a capital T. They're trying to limit the conversation to a single voice, and Majri, who reads books and knows history, can see what a lie this is.
DeleteMy views are kinda similar to Bailee's, I'm not super familiar with other countries and their history as well, but what stuck out to me was the chapter "The Key." The Iranian soldiers gave young boys plastic "golden" keys and told them if they went to war and were lucky enough to die, the key would get them into heaven. The soldiers would build up heaven as a parradise with plenty of food, women, and houses made of gold and diamond. On page 101, a man named Shahab, who's a also an Iranian soldier, claims he sees buses full of children arriving to fight. He also says they come from poor areas, and they're promised a better life if they die. I didn't know that children were forced to fight.
ReplyDeleteYes, "The Key" is a horrible episode in their nation's history, but it shows how governments abuse their lower classes and take advantage of people without education. Notice that the more well-off kids were never given keys; this was just for the lower-class kids who would believe that their lives were worth giving up in an endless war. But even many of the people knew this was suicide, and that's why his mother comes to Marji's mother--she wants her son to realize the truth before it's too late.
DeleteI am not knowledgeable of other countries as I should be. I have always thought of Iran as an area with its own culture and religion that have been practiced since the very beginning. So, it was very eye opening to see that Iran has not always been a country that I have thought it to be. Starting with the first page all the way to page five, I see now that women wearing the veil and being fully covered was not always required. It is a very old country that I feel has very strict regulations and when the new leader came forth they changed the whole system to suit their ways.
ReplyDeleteGood point--our ignorance of countries like Iran leads to stereotypes and assumptions about them, which is one of the main reasons that she wrote this book. She wants us to see the 'real' Iran, or at least the one that we're not allowed to see by the government. We all too often mistake the government for the people, and that's rarely the case.
DeleteI honestly did not know a ton about Iran or the Muslim world prior to reading these books. One thing that challenged what I knew (which is found on page 35-37) was when Marji had to write letters for her maid, Meheri because she could not read or write. Marji said that most "peasants" did not know how to read or write. She used the comic to enlighten me of what I didn't really know about social class in Iran. This was sad to me because reading and writing is something that many of us take for granted here in the US.
ReplyDelete-Cheyenne Adair
Yes, this is fascinating for us, since even the poorest people in America are usually able to read and get some education, and are not limited from getting as much education as they want. In class-based societies, the poorer classes might get no education at all, and certainly cannot move up in society. It's shocking to see this, but even Marji's father took it for granted. This is why education is so important: it removes class barriers and attempts to give people are more equal playing field, even though some class barriers always remain--every in our country.
DeleteOne thing that surprised me in particular was the Guardians Of The Revolution on page 132-133. It shocks me that women would help to enforce a system which actively oppressed them. Even though it stripped them of many rights, they still actively wanted to enforce fundamentalist Islam upon everyone. I think that this is a testament to the depth of the religious beliefs of much of the population at that time.
ReplyDeleteGood point--it is shocking to see people so actively oppressing their own citizens, and yet, we've seen this in many different times and cultures. Many of them strongly believe that their way is the ONLY way, and by keeping people in line, the whole country will prosper. And probably others are just scared, hoping that by enforcing the other they'll be protected. But according to Satrapi, a lot of people didn't believe in the order, and secretly tried to oppose it, like her parents. It just shows that you can't judge a people by their government.
DeleteI will be the first to admit that I do not know hardly anything about Islamic culture. I have little knowledge other than what they are required to wear as well as the religion itself. In the very first page of the book we are told that there was a revolution that took place in 1979. This was called the Islamic revolution. I was unaware that there was a revolution that made a lot of changes as well as new rules. It is interesting to learn about how things became the way they are because until now I just thought that things were always that way. I am excited to read this book and learn more.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's fascinating to realize that many countries we see as fundamentalist and 'dangerous' like Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, etc., were very secular and open-minded for much of the 20th century. But the Islamic Revolution spread like wild fire, and it was a fundamentalist movement (extreme even for Islam); so it dictated every aspect of people's lives. And as you can see, Marji's family objected to this because it went against their beliefs as Iranians--they didn't think this is who Iranians were. It would be no different if our country was suddenly taken over by a fundamentalist Christian group that decided that most people weren't Christian enough, and had all women dress the same way and forbid them from going to school, etc. If it could happen there, it could happen anywhere!
DeleteThe restriction of cultural items and gatherings/parties was what surprised me the most. For example, this is seen on page 105 when Marji's mom is talking about someone they know having banned items like a deck of cards, vinyl records, and a chess set found by the "guardians of the revolution". Then she puts up black out curtains over the window to hide their own parties and card games from the prying eyes of the neighbors who would rat them out. I had no idea this was something that happened under the Islamic rule of Iran or any country in recent history, though it really reminds me of the bonfires of the vanities in Italy during the 1400's.
ReplyDeleteYes, we don't think about such simple things being banned, but in every totalitarian society, the arts are the most heavily censured. We see this too in Soviet Russia, where even owning anything Western could get you arrested and sent to the gulag. In the same way, in Iran at this time, owning Western music would question your religious values and thus make you an enemy of the state. Pretty chilling to think that simply the books you read, the shoes you wore, or the music you listened to could make you out as a 'criminal.'
DeleteOne thing that really stuck out to me on page twenty-one that I did not know, was that the British played a role in Reza taking over. This is interesting to me because Britain was a democratic country, trying to push for a revolution against a republic for a monarch. It is even quite concerning to see a free country such as Great Britain going against some of their own values just for oil. Not to mention, Britain had also recently fought against the monarchy of Germany in World War I.
ReplyDelete-Braden S.
Yes, this is a great point. Most of Africa and the Middle East was shaped by British, American, and European policies--few of these countries existed in their current state until European powers basically carved them up for oil and other interests. The history of Africa, in particular, is pretty jaw-dropping. Joseph Conrad wrote a famous book about it, "The Heart of Darkness" which depicts how the Belgians did terrible things in the Congo. This is stuff most American students never learn about.
Deleteokay so the passage I found didn't necessarily challenge what I knew about Iran or the Muslim culture however it did open my eyes to the similarities with other countries when we get mad and want change. On page 41 it is stated that "The more he tried democracy, the more his statues were torn down." Which you would think the people would be happy with this change. However he wasn't a good king for his people and even after trying to make change he caused a lot of hatred and hurt.
ReplyDeleteYes, and like many leaders who are forced to change, the "change" is half-hearted and rarely sincere. We saw this with Trump, when people demanded that he tone down his Twitter rants...he would do so for a few days, but it would always come back. He would respond to criticism in an 'official' way, but then quickly oppose his own response. It sounds like the shah did much the same thing.
DeleteThe passage that really changed what I know about Iran is when her Uncle had a heart attack on pages 120-123. Her uncle had a heart attack but because they would not be able to perform open heart surgery on him at the hospital, he would need to go to London. The hospital director had the ability to assign him a passport so he could go to London, but he just kept saying "if God wills it." Excuse me, but if you have the ability to help this man get the surgery he needs, then I think that it is God's will. It just does not make sense how they could care so little about their own people, when they are supposed to be at war for them, like if this isn't what you are fighting for then what is.
ReplyDeleteYes, and this is the scariest thing--that the society wasn't providing for its people, to the point that people had to die without access of basic services (whether medical, or even at times, food) because the government didn't see this as necessary. Sadly, it's a little like what happened in Texas recently...after the ice storm, many people had no access to power or water for weeks. And the government basically said "if it's God's will," your power will get restored; otherwise, go find water and power for your family. The people of Iran made great sacrifices for their country and followed all the rules, an then got nothing in return.
DeleteThe one thing that really stood out to me so far in this book had to their strict ways of staying in their social class. We see this on pages 35-37. We understand that her family took in this young girl at only the age of eight for a maid. She is from a very low class and her family agreed to take her in. We see that Mehri was like an older sister to Persepolis and has a close relationship. When she has a love interest in a neighbor she asked for Persepolis help because she can not read or write due to her class. When the young man was informed about her social ranging he was not interested and did not want anything to do with her. When Persepolis's father finds out that she was the only one writing the letters she was looked down upon. Her father quoted" You must understand that their love was impossible..... Because in this country you must stay within your own social class. This is very eye-opening that people believe in this way of thinking. That just because you are born into a family that you are automatically only allowed to do certain things. I put this into my own perspective and I am becoming more appreciative of how things are governed here. I couldn't imagine being told that I couldn't be something or someone just because of my parent's social status.
ReplyDeleteGreat response--that is a huge difference there, since class really did dictate who you were and who you would always be. The revolution changed that somewhat--one family's window washer became an important government official, for example. But Marji was still able to go to a good school and be protected from the worst of the war, while many poor kids were conscripted into the military and forced to wear the 'keys' and become human bomb-detonators. In our country, we have the ability to move out of our social class through education, though there are still ways that class can inhibit our education and our prosperity. It's just not as extreme as what we found in Iran during her childhood.
DeleteThis whole book as surprised me and made me realize my lack of knowledge on Iran and it's people I have always known that Iran Governments was strict and that many people around here have a lot of hate for these people, I of course knew that the citizens were not bad people but I did not realize just how bad the government was to there own people. The first thing that surprised me was only on page 1 I had no idea that the did not start forcing people to where the hair covers until 1980 I always assumed it was a forever thing. The next thing that gave me a real surprise was that I did not know there were so many citizens who were fighting against the king and the government on page 18 and many other times throughout the book it shows the people protesting and fighting back which is extremely dangerous I always assumed that of course there would be people who did not like the rule that most people just followed along with it, I was happy to the there are people there fighting for change.
ReplyDeleteYes, and this is a great point: that every country that has a dictatorship or a repressive regime has also had people who fought against them--often, the majority of the country. We often don't see these people, or learn their stories, but it's an important part of what Iran is. Indeed, only a decade or so ago, there were big demonstrations in Iran for the same reasons...and they were brutally repressed (though social media was able to cover it now). But the media typically only shows us the "evil" Iran, and not the "real" Iran. Both Humans and Persepolis try to correct this image.
DeleteWhat really stood out to me in this book was on page 13. The South Sudan Lady said "I've seen a lot of death." then right under it a boy in New York says "there's nothing hard about being four.". This page spoke out to me the most because us as humans may and will never go through what someone else is going through. And we could walk right passed someone not knowing that they could be bearing the most pain and vise versa. This book is really a guide to just how normal everyone is. We might not go through the same struggles. But we all struggle, laugh, cry, and hurt.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, you're responding to the wrong book--we're on Persepolis now, not Humans. You also didn't watch the video, so please watch the video first, then respond to the video.
DeleteThis book has brought lots to my attention. It has shown me how little I know about Iran and the middle east. Page 3, the first page of the story, surprised me with the fact that head coverings haven't been in place since the middle ages. This book has also enlightened me to the fact that the British assisted with coups in the middle east.
ReplyDelete