Why Marjane Satrapi Graphic Form
Why Marjane Satrapi chose to tell her story Persepolis in the graphic form
The graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi was written in the graphic medium to appeal to a wider audience. Literary critic, Manuela Constantino, proposes that “the combination of a visual representation and a child’s point of view makes the story easily accessible and therefore attracts a wide range of readers.” (Constantino, 2008: 2) Another plausible reason for Satrapi's choice to do the novel in this medium is the apparent popularity graphic novels enjoyed at the point of the memoir’s publication. Writing the novel graphically, brings the Middle Eastern novel closer to its Western readers. As Constantino wrote; Satrapi emphasizes “the universal qualities of her child narrator and the details of her experiences that would be familiar to her Western readers.” (Constantino, 2008: 2) Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi in the graphic form deems effective because it is written in a form that is recognizable to her target readers, written in somewhat a ‘universal’ language.
Satrapi chose to tell her story in the graphic form to better connect with her readers. It is apparent that Satrapi’s targeted audience are mainly Western Christians. Over forty percent of the world’s population who practice a religion are Christians. The religious stature of the main characters made the novel accessible to its non Muslim readers. Being able to observe Christians in a predominantly Islamic country, opens a window to a life Satrapi's readers could only dare to imagine. A world where u are told what to believe and what to think. It is therefore logical to target the sensitive majority of the population to educate about the Iranian political struggle and to get her story across. The novel in itself is about driving away the West from the conservative Iranian nation. Driving away the things her targeted readers consider their norm. Westerners and others around the world try to “seek insight into a country and a
The graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi was written in the graphic medium to appeal to a wider audience. Literary critic, Manuela Constantino, proposes that “the combination of a visual representation and a child’s point of view makes the story easily accessible and therefore attracts a wide range of readers.” (Constantino, 2008: 2) Another plausible reason for Satrapi's choice to do the novel in this medium is the apparent popularity graphic novels enjoyed at the point of the memoir’s publication. Writing the novel graphically, brings the Middle Eastern novel closer to its Western readers. As Constantino wrote; Satrapi emphasizes “the universal qualities of her child narrator and the details of her experiences that would be familiar to her Western readers.” (Constantino, 2008: 2) Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi in the graphic form deems effective because it is written in a form that is recognizable to her target readers, written in somewhat a ‘universal’ language.
Satrapi chose to tell her story in the graphic form to better connect with her readers. It is apparent that Satrapi’s targeted audience are mainly Western Christians. Over forty percent of the world’s population who practice a religion are Christians. The religious stature of the main characters made the novel accessible to its non Muslim readers. Being able to observe Christians in a predominantly Islamic country, opens a window to a life Satrapi's readers could only dare to imagine. A world where u are told what to believe and what to think. It is therefore logical to target the sensitive majority of the population to educate about the Iranian political struggle and to get her story across. The novel in itself is about driving away the West from the conservative Iranian nation. Driving away the things her targeted readers consider their norm. Westerners and others around the world try to “seek insight into a country and a
Bibliography: EBSCO. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. Print. Manuela Costantino. "Marji: Popular Commix Heroine Breathing Life into the Writing of History." Canadian Review of American Studies 38.3 (2008): 429-447. Project MUSE. Cameron Library, Edmonton, AB. 17 Aug. 2010. Website. <http://muse.jhu.edu/> Nancy Miller, “But Enough About Me, What Do You Think of My Memoir?” Yale Journal of Criticism 13, no.2 (2000): 421. Print. Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. New York: Pantheon Books. 2003. Print "World Religions." The World Almanac and Book of Facts ©2010. 2010. Print.