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.