The Trip by Ashby Bonds

--My chapter's title was The Trip. After the Fundamentalists had taken over the U.S. Embassy and the Iranian schools were closed, Marji's parents realized they might not get to have another vacation for years, so they decided to visit Italy and Spain for three weeks. The trip let them escape for a while, while the war at home was just beginning.

--In the beginning of my chapter, the Iranian schools were shut-down and the U.S. Embassy was taken over by Fundamentalists; Marji was extreamly upset because she realized her dreams of becoming a well-educated, successful, Iranian woman were probably not going to happen if the universities stayed closed. One night, while in the car with her father, Marji's mom came running toward them crying hysterically. She told them how two Fundamentalist men insulted and threatened her because she was not wearing her veil and was not a Fundamentalist. Even after being threatened, Marji's parent continued to go to demonstrations; one time they even took Marji. When Marji was there things got violent. One woman was stabbed, and Marji and her parents fled the scene; rest assured, that was the family's last demonstration. Marji's parents later decided to take a relaxing trip to Italy and Spain, but when they got back, the war had just begun.

--Here are some new terms/people that were in my chapter:

1) Marie Curie: a famous, female physicist and chemist, born in 1867 and died in 1934

2) Fundamentalist men and women: the woman wore a veil that covered their whole body, the men had a beard and wore there shirts sticking out, they did not believe in the revolution

3) Modern/Progressive woman and men: modern woman let a few strands of hair show under their veils and would not wear the long dresses that covered their body, progressive men shaved and tucked in their shirts, they both believed in the revolution.

4) Saddam: enemy leader who kept attacking Iran at the time.

(Wikipedia.com)

--My chapter has a few funny moments! When Marji is in her room after she found out the universities were going to be closed, she says, "And so another dream went up in smoke. Misery! At the age Marie Curie first went to France to study, I'll probably have ten children..." (Satrapi 73) The moment was serious, but you can find some humor in the fact that Marji is so melodramatic! Also, when Marji's mom tells her to lie about how many times a day she prays, Marji is puzzled at first, but soon learns to lie. One of her friends remarked, "I pray five times a day." Marji responded by saying, "Me? Ten or eleven times...sometimes twelve." (Satrapi 75) When you think about how many times Marji really prays a day, you know it is no where near twelve, and that's if she prays at all!!

-- The picture I chose was of Marji and her parents on their vacation. (On page 77) They were riding a "magic carpet" through Italy and Spain. I chose the picture because it showed a truly, happy moment in my chapter. It reminded me, even though the war may have started they can still have a happy life and be a family.