Moscow- Alex Mahoney

Moscow
· The title of the chapter I chose, Moscow, was significant in that chapter because Marji’s uncle, Anoosh who is her new hero came to visit after being in Moscow and prison for many years. In the beginning of the chapter Marji is defeated because she keeps hearing about her friends’ parents who are heroes in the war, and she doesn't think that there is anyone related to her who is a hero. Then her father tells her about her uncle, Anoosh, from Moscow just got out of jail and had decided to come stay with her family. He was her new hero, and all she wanted to do was to listen to his stories.

· There is a lot that happens in this chapter, but in the beginning Marji is defeated because neither her father or mother are heroes in the war, neither died for their country, were pilots for fighter planes, neither had been persecuted or in prison. This made her sad because she kept hearing on the radio and from their friends about people who risked their lives for their country and she wanted her parents to be like that. Then, she hears from her father about her uncle who she had never met before because he had been prison for so long. And, he had just gotten out of prison and his mother had finally been reunited with his family. When she met him she immediately loved him and wanted him to live with her family. Although he said he couldn’t do that, he did say that he could sleep over that night and tell her stories about the war. That night he told her about when he was 18 and how he had heard about his uncle and his friends who had proclaimed the independence of the Iranian province of Azerbaijan. His uncle, Fereydoon, became the self appointed leader of the new republic. Once he had heard about his uncle and what was going on, he decided that his uncle’s point of view was like his own. When his father found this out, he became very upset. His father threw him out of the house so he went and became Fereydoon’s secretary. One morning he realized that Fereydoon had been arrested and taken to prison. He became very worried and decided to escape, so he walked for days until he got to his parents house. He knew that the Shah’s police would come find him at his parents’ house, so he swam across the river into Russia. He went on to tell Marji that while in Russia he became a student, and learned about communism. He also told her that he married and had two children. Later he divorced his wife, and decided to come home. On his way home, even though he was in a disguise he was caught and taken to prison. That is where he stayed for 30 years, and he had just been released. Marji thanks her uncle for telling such great stories to her, and he gives her a little swan made out of bread that he made in prison. In the end of the chapter you see Marji telling her friends all about her uncle and what a hero he is, and they just question what she is talking about.

· There is one main new character that is introduced in this chapter. That character is Anoosh, Marji’s hero uncle. He is the main character of this chapter, and in some of the following chapters. He is very involved in teaching Marji what really goes on during the war, and he gives her something to be really happy about, that she has a hero in the family! A subject that is alluded to in this chapter is Marxism-Leninism. Anoosh says that while he was in Russia he became a student, and he studied Marxism-Leninism. And, Marxism-Leninism is expanded version of Marxism about communism and the teachings behind it.

· There are many humorous parts of this chapter, because Marji is a young girl and she is curious about the war, and the different parts of the revolution. Since she is young she doesn’t get all the parts of the war and the things that her parents talk about but she tries to act like she does. Another funny part about this chapter is that Marji is so disappointed that she doesn’t have a “hero” in her family. She wants to have one so desperately, and when she hears about her uncle Anoosh, she is ecstatic. She becomes obsessed with him, and all she wants to do is to listen to stories about his time in prison, and during the war, and she wants him to stay with her forever. This is so funny, because Marji probably would not have ever shown nearly as much interest in her uncle had he not been a hero from the war!

· The picture that I think ties the whole chapter together is the one on the first page of the chapter in the middle row where the six brothers and their mother are all together. This picture is important because it tells many different things, one being that family is important to him. It also ties together the beginning, middle and end of the chapter. In the beginning of the chapter Marji’s father tells her about her uncle who is just out of prison, and before that had been in Russia. The reason he left Russia and ultimately was sent to prison was because he had missed his family and decided to come out of hiding. But, on his way back from Russia he was caught by the police and sent to prison. In the middle of the chapter when he tells his father of his beliefs where he agrees with his uncle his father sends him away. This makes him terribly sad because he loved his father. Then when the police caught Fereydoon, his uncle who he had been working for, and he was going to get caught, he went back to his family to try and escape. He had to leave them though because he knew that they would come looking for him at his mother and father’s house. In the end, he had been in prison for 30 years, and right when he was let out he went straight to his family to reunite with his mother, father, and brothers.

"The Key"

What is the significance of the title of your chapter?

During the Islamic Revolution, male students were taught how to think during a war, that dying in battle was lucky and heroic, and heaven was opened by a key that was then given to each of the boys. It was a cheap key, gold-painted plastic, and the children had come to believe “that if they went to war and were lucky enough to die, this key would get them into heaven.” (Satrapi 99) The teachers painted a picture of paradise into the students’ heads until their own morals and beliefs were washed away. The title “The Key” shows how children believed that war and death made them heroes who were rewarded with heaven, and as they are dying on the battlefield, dreaming of the paradise that is just moments away, they leave their bodies and their keys behind.

Summarize the chapter.

At Marjane’s school they must observe the ritual to torture or beat yourself to mourn the dead. She and her friends began to make fun of the sessions and other war-related activities. Their parents were called in and were all furious at the teacher for expecting the children to be mournful robots. Mrs. Nasrine’s son had been given a plastic key that was to get him into a paradise, all he had to do was trade his life for it. Her son never ended up dying in battle, but many others, young boys especially, were loaded into buses to take them to fight, so convinced of the afterlife that they could have.

Explain any terms (words, historical references, etc), names that are unfamiliar (new characters, people alluded to).

New Characters: Mrs. Nasrine-the Satrapi’s maid, Mrs. Nasrine’s son, Peyman-Marji’s cousin, Shahab-Marji’s other cousin
Martyr: One who dies rather than give up their cause

Point out humorous parts of your chapter and explain why they are funny.

Marjane’s parents were called in to speak with the teacher after the students were not following every rule, and were told that if Marjane did not behave, she would be expelled. After the argument ends with ordering their veils to be worn properly, Marjane’s dad adds, “If hair is as stimulating as you say then you need to shave your mustache.” (Satrapi 98) This is a comical moment because the teacher who is trying to restore order and behavior is being told in an insulting way that she is not following the rules she is trying to enforce because she supposedly has a mustache.

Choose one picture in your chapter that you think is significant. Explain the picture showing why it is significant and why you chose it.

“The key to paradise was for poor people. Thousands of young kids, promised a better life, exploded on the minefields with their keys around their necks.” (Satrapi 102) In this picture, young men are shown flying through the air each enduring their own suffering. The pain is so unbearable that only death can save them. They must surrender their lives to escape even a moment more of the unexplainable pain. The significance of this picture is how it shows the children’s fate, and I realized that those were children my age whose lifeless bodies covered the minefield. It shows that the key took them to heaven by going through hell.

This picture is found on page 102 of Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.

The Wine

“The wine”

The chapter title “The Wine” signifies how during this time alcohol and other things such as cassettes, cards, chess, and parties were banned. Marji and her family and friends did not give these things up as was required, but chose to keep what they were doing a secret.

Summary-- In this chapter it shows Marji’s mother covering their windows so as to be secretive about what they were doing. They would get punished if they had gone on and participated and hosted events such as parties or done things like drink alcohol or play cards, however they do anyway with the hope of not getting caught. While at a party they hear the sirens wail and the party disbands. On the way home Marji’s father gets pulled over, and accused of drinking. Marji’s father tells her and her grandmother to go upstairs and flush all the alcohol down the toilet, and they get away from the officer by saying that she has diabetes and he is willing to let them go. While Marji and her grandmother are upstairs, her father pays off the officer and he leaves happy to get his money without caring about the real problem. After all of this Marji’s father and her family are out of alcohol, but also out of trouble.

Unfamiliar terms-- In this chapter Marji’s father uses an instrument called a Zarb which is also like a drum. At the end of the chapter Marji’s father uses the term “ideology” this term means “the body of a doctrine or belief that guides an individual or a group” (dictionary.com)

Humorous parts-- On page 106 is shows an image of the cleaning lady crushing grapes in the bathtub with her feet saying “God, forgive me, God, forgive me!” I thought that this was humorous because she is clearly against doing something as insignificant as crushing grapes with her feet in a bathtub, but she is doing it anyway and asking for forgiveness from God.

Significant picture-- At the end of the Chapter there is a picture of Marji and her grandmother and then her father walking in and yelling, “Where indeed! Their faith has nothing to do with ideology! A few bills were all he needed to forget the whole thing!!” in response to the question, “where’s the guy?” asked by Marji’s grandmother. What Marji’s father was saying was he really didn’t care whether or not he was breaking the rules, only that he was making money. I chose this picture because this was a very common occurrence at the time; people were forced into positions and thus were only interested in the money not if the job was done right.

-In the chapter the F-14's it talks about the war between Iran and Baghdad. It starts off by the Iraqis attacking Iran and Marjane and her father experiencing it. Somehow you can see and feel that Marjanes mother and father have lost hope in the war. However Marjane herself has not given up, in fact she believes in hope so strongly that she was encouraging her father to fight in the war, although he knows that that was something he would not do. Marjane was defeated by the fact of her father not being Patriotic that she got so upset until she hears Iran's national anthem, suddenly you see that the family feels a sense of hope as they stand there with one hand on their heart. Marjane and her father look as though the war might be over with tears streaming down both of their cheeks, however the mom with no tears looks as though it's too good to be true it seems like she trying to take it all in at once. After the emotional anthem they also find out that Iran has bombed Baghdad and once again Marjane and her father begin to rejoice. The reason for the Anthem being played was that the Iranians made a deal that they would attack, if the president allowed the anthem to be played. However Marjane was given some bad news that one of her friends Paradisse's father had past away fighting for Iran during the bombing. I think that this chapter had allot to offer symbolically because it had a few hidden messages such as the moms lack of emotion.

- One of the pictures from the chapter really stood out to me which was the picture of the Satrapi Family standing while listening to the national anthem, i thought it was very clever how she showed the emotions on each of her families faces. but it also was interesting because it was very realistic and emotional for a little girl to endure.

- New characters introduced were Paradisse an girl that goes to Marjanes school also a girl whose father died while fighting for Iran


-Some things that i found very funny was when Marjane figured out that the Iraqis bombed Iran and she shouted Something i don't know if i can repeat.However i found it funny because she was so young and she knew exactly what was going on and she was very angry. She acted like an adult would react to that situation.

Persepolis

The chapter, Persepolis, shares the name of the book. Persepolis was the capitol of Persia in ancient times. The site of this ancient city is in Southern Iran. I think that this chapter is entitled this because it gives some background information or history about her family and the rulers of Iran just like Persepolis gives background information about their country.
In this chapter, Marji's grandmother comes for a visit. She explains the hardships she encountered when her husband was arrested while the Shah's were in control. Her family was forced into poverty. She had to make clothes from scrap and hide the fact that they had only bread to eat. They wait for the arrival of Marji's father with much anxiety. He is a photographer and taking pictures which was not allowed in the country. He could have been arrested.
Finally he arrives home with a story to tell. He had been at a hospital that day and people were cheering for martyrs which is a person who dies for their religion or cause. He noticed the widow of one the men was crying. She ordered them to stop and told them that her husband was not a martyr and that he had passed because of cancer. The group insisted that he was still a hero so the widow joins the demonstrators. All the adults laughed. This is humorous because the widow is only demonstrating because she believes her husband is a hero, she doesn't know the real cause for the demonstration. Marji doesn't understand the humor but she laughs anyways like many children do when they don't understand a joke.
the most significant picture is the last one of the chapter. Marji does not understand a joke so she seeks out more information. The is significant because it shows how Marji, even as a young girl strives to better herself and attain knowledge. I chose this because it show the type of person Marji is.

Savannah Reynolds

"The Bicycle"

1. The title of my chapter is "Kim Wilde", this name is significant because it gives you a sneak peak at what new characters and things are going to be introduced in this chapter.2. For my chapter, I chose the chapter "Kim Wilde" the significance of the title of this chapter is:In this chapter of the book, Marjis' parents go on a trip to Turkey, and Marji requested some gifts that are not availible (or allowed) in the country. Any sort of popculture is looked down upon by all who are sticklers for the rules, like a jean jacket, nike shoes, a button with your favorite musical artist, and posters (all of which she had gotten as presents from her parents). When they come back Marji wears her new jacket, button, and nike sneakers around town and people would give her strange looks. She met with a man who sold her two tapes, one which is the title of the chapter, Kim Wilde, and as she continues on her way home she is stopped The Womans Branch (women who arrest others incorrectly wearing the veil) and tell her that she is being taking to the Guardians of Revolution where she will be arrested. She told a lie that luckily got her out of it. Her parents had no clue of this quarrel but she learned her leason that she needed to be much more careful in public, and how the rules in her country were unfair yet, strickly followed.3. In this chapter several new things and people are introuduced, Kim Wilde (famous singer), Iron Maiden (heavy metal band), Guardians of Revolution The Womans' Branch (Women who arrest other woman for improperly wearing the veil), Committe (HQ of the Gurdians of the Revolution), mainly all the terms were people or bands. 4. In this chapter Marji's parents go on Vacation to Turkey, there they buy gifts for Marji that are illegal in their country, i.e. posters, or anything fun, they go into a punk store and a wild dressed man looks at them funny due to the fact they are older and look like they have no clue what they are doing. I found this funny because an older couple walking into a young punk store is way out there, also they had to sew the posters into the dads' jacket and he looked very odd. 5. Finally, one picture I found was on top of page 134, the very first picture, was when Marji was about to be taken down to the Committe and she realises how dangerous it is to rebel by dressing improperly. She realises she could be whipped, held for hours or days, or even worse things. I find this significant becuase Marji thought that wearing the veil correctly was no big deal, but now she realises how important it is to wear, so she can simply not get into trouble.
By:
Savannah E.