The Complete Persepolis #3

In amidst of the strict rules, war, and the bombing of their street in Iran, Marjane’s parents decide what they feel is best for their daughter, is to send her to Austria where she can continue her education in safety. Although Iran and Austria are not very far away, the differences between the two countries are very drastic. A prime example of a major difference between the two countries is shown when Marjane goes to the super market for the first time by herself. In this super market, she is overwhelmed. She writes, “It had been four years since I’d seen such a well-stocked store”. (page 160) She spends a great amount of time smelling the laundry detergent because in Iran they were not allowed. This simple trip to the grocery store shows how drastic her move was from Iran to Austria, it also displays how strict the laws back home were, where scented detergent wasn’t even allowed. Another huge difference was of course, the language barrier. We notice this right away when Marjane meets her new roommate, Lucia, on page 161. They say hello to one another but it is only until Marjane learns German that they can finally have a full conversation, and later, become friends. As Marjane grows up in Austria she goes through a lot of physical changes from ages fourteen to nineteen. She now had a “punk” aesthetic, which she really admired when she lived back in Iran. With this new look it gives her the freedom to dress and style herself however she pleases, while before, she was chastised for even wearing basketball shoes out in public. The freedom Marjane now has is very obvious. 

The Complete Persepolis #2

A recurring theme I see in this section of “The Complete Persepolis” is change. Starting with the ending of the Shah’s reign. With the ending of his power, came celebration from the people, but also, the schools closed during this period, and when Marjane returned to her studies, the attitude of the teachers changed as well. When before the school books and teachers praised the Shah, telling Marjane and other students he was “chosen by God” now, they display disapproval of him, saying, “Children, tear our all the photos of the Shah from your books.” (Page 44) This is a drastic change from what was taught before. Another example of change in Marjane’s life, is when her uncle Anoosh is released from prison and lives with Marjane and her family. While Marjane lives with her uncle Anoosh, she asks him many questions about his life, and the many battles he had faced not only in life, but also in prison. When Anoosh has to go back to Moscow, Marjane is obviously very upset, because over the short time he lived with her, they formed a bond. After visiting him, Marjane doesn’t realize at the time, but it is her final goodbye. This brings us to the next major change in Marjane’s life. The death of Anoosh. With his death, her faith in God is weakened. Another major change not only in Marjane’s life, but in her country, is now the violence (bombing) and strict rules citizens have to follow. Now, women must cover their heads with veils because “Women’s hair emanates rays that excite men.” (Page 74) In one instance, Marjane’s mother is threatened because she is not wearing the veil. With these strict rules in Marjane’s country, they are also at war, which calls for major changes in everyone’s lives.

The complete Persepolis #1

The theme of religion is evident in "The Complete Persepolis" more specifically, Marjane's idea of God. One instance of this is when Marjane wishes to spend more time with her mother and father, but because they are so tired from the demonstrations, they are not willing to play monopoly with her. Marjane, when denied her request of playing monopoly, replied to her father by saying "As for me, I love the king, he was chosen by God." (page 19) Marjane didn't understand why her parents went to these demonstrations against the king, because she was taught in school that the king was chosen for a reason by an all mighty being, someone that Marjane really values. When her father sits her down and explains to her that God had no say in who the ruler was, (despite what her school book tells her) she still believes that, “Maybe God helped them nevertheless.” This shows how Marjane is faithful to her religion, but she believes her father when he tells her the story of how the king came to be in power, even mentioning her grandfather was a prince. Soon after, one evening when Marjane’s father came home from a demonstration, he told her about the people he met there. Marjane began to really question the people in power of her country. She says on page 32, “Something escaped me. Cadaver, cancer, death, murderer, laughter? I realized then that I didn’t understand anything. I read all the books I could.” From then on, she read more than she ever had in her life all about her country. From this we can tell Marjane has a thirst for knowledge and that she is interested in politics, doing what is right, and that maybe God really didn’t have a choice in who would lead her people.

The Book Thief #3

Compare a situation in the book to something in real life.

In “The Book Thief” Liesel is a young child who was adopted, she now lives with her adopted parents in Germany. Liesel begins to improve her writing at school, specifically writing letters. She decides when she gets home that night from school, to write a letter to her mother. Her adoptive parents were hesitant at first, but ultimately let her send a letter. Like Liesel, my mother was also adopted. She never knew her birth family, until she was in her 30’s and decided to search for them. She made a great effort in finding her family, and eventually found her mother, father, and many sisters and brothers. Their reaction was quite surprised when they all found out who my mother was and who I and my sister are.

Symbols

I feel if Liesel had to be a symbol she would be a book. One of the only thing that comforts Liesel is her books, they are the only two things she receives for Christmas, and she has reread each book over 8 times. She has also gotten into the habit of stealing books.

If “Papa” was a symbol I feel he would a paint brush and paint. To help Liesel better her reading and writing skills, papa lets her write on the basement walls over and over again. Once the wall is all filled up of the words she has written, he paints over them so she has a brand new canvas to continue learning.

If Rudy was a symbol I feel he would be a soccer ball. Playing soccer is how he and Liesel meet and become friends and I think in her life, he represents a true friend, and the act of playing. Now that Liesel is new to this town, school and neighborhood, Rudy represents someone who is always there, not because he has to be, but because he wants to.

If “Mama” was a symbol she would be a sack of laundry. To make some extra money, Mama and Liesel travel around the town and collect peoples’ laundry to wash and dry. Once the recession hits in Germany during Hitler’s rein, many people cannot continue to pay for Mama and Liesel to do their laundry. Because of this, Mama sends out Liesel to do all of the work because she feels most people cannot say no to a child, especially since mama told her to say her mother was sick and they need extra money.

What would you say to convince the librarian to put this book in the library?

I would tell the librarian that this book can be beneficial to students because of the historical aspect of it. The story takes place during Hitler’s ruling in world war two and I think if students were learning about this time period they can read about it from the perspective of someone actually living at the time, instead of just history books. This can provide the reader with the emotions of those living at this time period and a different view point and how the actions taken by those in power trickle down to the citizens living there. 

The Book Thief #2

What is something you do or feel that is like the main character in the story?

In "The Book Thief" Liesel is trying to learn to read and write on the same level as her peers. Because she only had the knowledge of a child when it came to school work, she was very behind in school. She was in the fourth grade, but had the comprehension level of a student in first grade. She stayed up late with her Papa every night reading her favorite book she kept from home called, "The Grave Digger's Handbook". Every night they would read a passage from the book and then circle every word or phrase she didn’t understand and then she would go over it with him the next day, little by little, day by day, getting better at reading and writing and understanding. This really shows how determined she is to become a better writer, reader, and overall a better student. This reminded me of myself because like Liesel, when I don’t understand something I’m interested in, I will spend a great amount of time trying to figure it out and push myself to become better. Liesel’s determination is shown especially the night she and Papa finish “Grave Digger’s Handbook”. “They read through the early hours of morning, circling and writing the words she did not comprehend and turning the pages toward daylight. A few times, Papa nearly slept, succumbing to the itchy fatigue in his eyes and the wilting of his head. Liesel caught him out on each occasion, but she had neither the selflessness to allow him to sleep nor the hide to be offended. She was a girl with a mountain to climb.” This shows how passionate she is about learning, that she is willing to stay up until the early morning working on reading and writing. I also identified with Liesel when she read to her class. That day in class all of the other students had to do a reading assessment, where they read to the entire class, a passage from their books. When it was Liesel’s turn to read, she was skipped by the nun because she felt she wasn’t adequate enough to read the passage. When Liesel’s best friend Rudy questioned the nun as to why Liesel wasn’t going to read, she replied, “No. I’m afraid Liesel cannot do it Rudy.” So instead of sitting down, Liesel stood up on her desk and started to resite a passage she had memorized from the “Grave Digger’s Handbook” in front of the entire class. I could tell by this moment in the book that Liesel was someone who stood up for herself and what she believed in. I too like to think I am like that as well. She knew what she was capable and thought she at least deserved a chance to prove herself. And with that, she recited each word perfectly.

Write a poem about the main characters or an event that happened in the story:

Reading and writing
Early into the morning
I can and I will 

The Book Thief (post #1)

In what genre does your book belong? Give reasons and examples.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is about a young girl named Liesel Meminger who is living during world war two in Nazi invaded Germany. She has suffered the death of her brother, the loss of her mother, and is adopted by a couple who reside in a small town. Here, Liesel has to adjust to her new life, friends, and family. This novel is historical fiction. You can clearly notice the historical evidence throughout the novel. The first example of this, is when Liesel dreams about Führer giving a speech before she wakes up on the train before her brother dies. It is also evident once she attends her new school. Because she is ten years old, she is considered a part of the “Hitler Youth” which requires her to wear a small brown uniform, and to enroll in the Bund Deutscher Mädel, which is the league of German girls. In this time period in Germany, children in school were forced to salute to Adolf Hitler, and become a part of the Hitler Youth where they were taught to obey Hitler’s rules and motives. In the book, Liesel describes the teachings as being “taught to march straight, roll bandages, and sew up clothes.” The effect of Hitler’s rule is also evident when Liesel and her best friend Rudy later visit a corner shop on the end of their street, called, Frau Diller’s. Rudy tells Liesel, that if you walked into her shop and didn’t say “Heil Hitler,” you wouldn’t be served. Rudy also mentions, “She was known to sell certain hard-to-get items under the counter to donate money to the Nazi Party.” From this, the reader can easily determine the effect Hitler and the Nazi party had on the people of Germany at the time, he was so powerful that if you were to not respect him, you would be declined services and goods. When walking in the town later that day, Liesel and Rudy discover “the road of yellow stars”. It was described as “A place nobody wanted to stay and look at, but almost everyone did. Shaped like a long, broken arm, the road contained several houses with lacerated windows and bruised walls. The star of David was painted on their doors. Those houses were almost like lepers. At the very least, they were infected sores on the injured German terrain.” These were the homes and shops of the Jewish living in Germany at the time. In this time period Jewish people had to make it known that they were Jewish under the rule of Adolf Hitler. The horrible treatment they were under was made known on their homes, clothes, and shops. If you were Jewish at this time, that is all you were seen as. When Liesel describes the road of yellow stars as “infected sores on the injured German terrain.” She means that the conditions of living were so poor for these people, that out of all of Germany, it was like an ache or injury. It was unsightly and sad, but because of the dictatorship of Hitler, is was something that was unavoidable.