Persepolis

Dear Ms. Satrapi,

I have just finished reading your book, Persepolis, in my English class at East Los Angeles College. One word I would use to describe the book would be, enjoyable. The illustrations in the book were outstanding! I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “pictures can say a thousand words”, so my class and I would study each illustration very closely. For example, in a panel on page 43, your dad states, “let’s talk about something else. Let’s enjoy our new freedom!” Your mom also agrees when she says “now that the devil has left!” In that panel, the devil is still there with his claw right next to your mother. With this illustration, my class and I were able to conclude that the evil had just begun. Some of the illustrations were just hilarious, especially the ones where you were at a young age. The illustrations were a huge help in making this book easier and more amusing to read.

After reading your book I’ve noticed that our lives are completely different. For one thing, the girls here in the United States don’t have to wear a veil. Just like you, I also preyed but I wouldn’t say I talked to God like the way you did. No offense, but I found you wanting to be the last prophet quite silly. You were also a rebel while when I was in school, I always did what I was told to do, even if I didn’t like it. Maybe I would have done the same thing as you if I were in your position. While you were in school I also noticed that you got into peer pressure when asked to ditch school. I’ve ditched class too but it was because I wanted to, not because someone forced me to do it or to make me look cool. I also found out you smoked a cigarette at a young age while I’m drug free. One major thing that makes us different is you were in a big hurry to grow up while I wasn’t. I tried to act as a kid a long as I could because I knew that the life of an adult would be much harder.

After reading the book Persepolis, I was left with a few questions, questions that I wish I could know the answers to. As a child you talked to God a lot, my first question is “did you really talk to God or was he an imaginary friend, if yes, did he ever try to talk to you again after you got mad at him?” My second question comes from the beginning of the chapter, the trip, on page 72, “why did you call the Americans dummies?” To me that sounded a bit egocentric. My third and final question comes from the chapter, the wine, on page 107, “what did you do with the new born baby after the mother ran away?” Did you try to look for the mother outside? These questions are the ones that I would like answered and could help me understand the book a bit more.

I had many laughs throughout your book, and to me, that’s rare. It’s hard for me to find a book that will make me laugh but Persepolis was not the case. Persepolis was a book that kept me wanting to read more and more each day. Before I knew it, I had finished reading the book and was left wanting to read more. I will definitely be reading Persepolis 2.
Sincerely,
Louie Rodriguez