First Readers

After finishing Persepolis,  I’m still trying to figure out what were the main points that I should take away from it. Of course yes, it’s a wonderful autobiography but I believe there are other themes that we should take from it. One thing I’d like to focus upon is the art. The first thing you notice is that it’s in black and white, and that the animation isn’t the best. I think the black and white nature of the comics could draw a direct relation to how there are two sides to the conflict between Iraq and Iran. In the comic there is no gray area between this war, you are either for one side or another. I felt quite strangely about the animation. When she was a kid, I felt the animation suited it very well. It was a war, a revolution, and the experience of death through a kids world. When she was older I felt that the animation didn’t fit in with the adult world. There is a scene in the second part of the book that I’d like to refer to how the kiddy animation style played out but I’ll save it for another time. My opinion of the book isn’t solely about just the imagery. I feel one of the things that I enjoyed in the book that played out consistently well was her narration, and dialogue. Her writing style worked well when she was a child, a teenager, and even surprisingly when she was a more mature adult. This was a fun book, and I’m actually excited to report on this in a few weeks.