Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis is a graphic autobiographical novel written by Satrapi about her childhood in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.  Satrapi's simple but striking illustrations portray Islamic culture from a perspective that helps us to associate with it.  Marjane's parents are upper-class liberal Iranian citizens prior to the revolution, but find themselves having to hide their socio-political views when the spread of the Islamic regime begins to spread across Iran.  Marjane's childhood is dominated by one wish: to be the last prophetess of God; but the oppressive social climate in Iran makes her angry at God as she grows up.  The violent and suppressive history of the Islamic government in Iran is described in shocking detail, which is often gory and disturbing, but allows a realistic of life in Iran that most Westerners would otherwise overlook.  The heartbreaking conclusion to this novel leads into its sequel, Persepolis 2

Analysis-  Satrapi's simple but striking illustrations present a realistic recent history of Iran that could be invaluable to a history or World Lit class.  A realistic understanding of recent Islamic history has never been as important as it is right now, and Satrapi presents her story in a brave and honest way that is sure to engage high-school students.  There is also great value in this novel for its artistic elements.  Visual students who find it hard to relate to the written word may be drawn in by the starkly modern and evocative illustrations, and once drawn in may be more willing to further research the subject.  The value of the graphic novel for the visual reluctant reader is clear to me, and Persepolis provides a great model.  This book would be most appropriate for high-school students of all grades, but it might be better used at the 11th and 12th grade levels.

Class Ideas-  A study of Middle-Eastern history alongside this novel is almost a necessity.  It would be great to construct a Webquest which takes students to various journalistic sites that give more information on the events discussed in the novel.  You could also provide links to sites on punk music (an interest for the protagonist of Persepolis and high-school students all over the world), and even links to the websites of Islamic fundamentalist groups.  To appeal to the artistic side of this novel, you could also provide links to sites that provide information on various cartoonists and graphic novelists such as R. Crumb, Art Spiegelman, and Frank Miller.