The Cigarette Analysis Essay

In the chapter, “The Cigarette” Satrapi uses a brilliant job of conducting image analysis within the reader by using extensive use of scale. One of the main ideas of this chapter is to describe how disgusted Satrapi is with the decisions the government is making: “When I think we could have avoided it all… It just makes me sick. A million people would still be alive.” (Satrapi 116) On this full page spread, Satrapi demonstrates her use of scale in multiple ways. First, Satrapi depicts a large amount of troops in the panel to stress to the reader just how many people died. As Satrapi told us in the the speech bubble at the bottom of the panel, it makes her sick that one million people have to die. Satrapi has gotten her idea of this across by showing a large number of people fighting in the panel to draw sympathy from the reader. Secondly, Satrapi makes this such a large panel to stress the importance of this topic to the readers. One million people dead is a big deal. Imagine all of
After trying a cigarette for the first time, Marji found the taste very bitter however decided to try to push through the pain to prove her rebellious actions: “It was awful. But that was not the moment to give in.” (117) Had Marji given in, it would prove that she still is a child meaning she can be controlled by her parents. However, she fought through the pain and made it through her childhood and into adulthood, thus proving to herself and her parents, that she can not be controlled: “With the first cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye. Now I was a grown up.” (117)