Persepolis Argument Essay

Summer Boone                                                                                              12/17/14

Argument Essay

            A controversial argument when discussing the book Persepolis is if the main character was desensitized by the war, in some cases the answer would be yes, if the psychology was not so flawed. The war taught Marjane many things about herself and other and she appreciated what it took for her to realize that. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a memoir about when Marjane was a young girl in the Iranian Revolution. The book deals predominantly with the issue of war. Marjane describes in epic detail her experiences going through war and how she saw the revolution in her eyes. This text should not be removed from middle school libraries because it teaches students about countries and culture along with the topic of war, and allow students with unique experiences to connect to the book.

People, middle school children included, need to learn about the countries, cultures and what these countries are like, war being a part of that. Middle and high school students should not be naïve to that. Children in middle school are being taught basic knowledge of war, what it is and what causes it, but there are limited primary sources. This book, a primary sources can help children understand not only what happens throughout war, but also how people of all ages are immediately affected. Just because the Iranian Revolution is not typically taught in middle school does not mean that it will not help the kids gain perspective on wars that they learn in their textbooks. In the book, it states how textbooks changed after the revolution. Marjane Satrapi suggests that the textbooks only reveal certain parts of the Iranian Revolution, which may leave kids clueless on some parts of it. Marjane Satrapi does not hold back when writing about her experiences in Persia as a child. A particularly compelling example of this is on page 102. The book illustrates scenes from Satrapi’s minds eye of how children were being forced to essentially kill themselves for their country. Suicide bombing most likely will not be in the textbooks because it is a poor depiction on the country. Without knowledge of the past or present, middle students will be too naïve.

            Censoring nonfiction and fiction texts with ‘questionable’ content do not allow readers with unique experiences to connect to anything.  Jake Rich, the author of, “Can Book Censorship Save Our Children and Their Innocence?” suggests that most books about middle and high school student completely realistic. Specifically, a line in the article demonstrates how realistic a fiction book called The Fault in Our Stars is. In fact, Rich states that the book, “inevitably focuses on the pair’s (Hazel and Augustus, the main characters) sexual awakening, as well as showing the human side of high school students: less than perfect and unafraid of crude language.” What this makes clear is how students, both middle school and high school are not sugar-coated in any way in books like The Fault in Our Stars.  They realistically depict the actions and feelings of the average student. In addition, Jake Rich also indicates in his articles that as children get older, they start to think about things that had never occurred to them when they were younger. Growing student seek guidance not only from adults but also from their peers, going through the same things. Students find it reassuring that they are not alone in situations, which they will most likely not happen if books like The Fault in Our Stars is taken away from them.

            Persepolis contains many graphically violent scenes in the book. Marjane Satrapi did not desist from accounting even detail of her knowledge of the revolution, violence being a monumental part of her book. An example of this is on page 76, when Marjane depicted her first sighting of real violence, leaving out no detail. Satrapi delineates a girl around 13-15 years of age, being stabbed in the leg, calling out for her father. Although some argue that this is too violent and graphic for middle school students, Marjane experienced this before she was of age to enter middle school. This moment empowered her to fight for what she thought was right. The violence had a liberating effect on her and she encouraged those around her to fight for what they believe in also. On page 89, Marjane presents an illustration of fires burning cars down to represent her country being bombed on a regular basis. Most parents would say that they don’t want their children to know about the bombings and missiles, but often forget that it is another child’s life. Persepolis is not spurious. It is a true account of what Marjane Satrapi went through. Her book is not fiction made to mess with a student mid, but to tell her story. She lived through it and handled it very well. If Marjane Satrapi lived through it, middle school student can read about it.

            The book Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi should not be removed from middle school libraries because of the benefits that it brings to middle school students. The book allows students to learn about countries and cultures, and allow students with unique experiences to connect to the book. Banning books is an peremptory way to eliminate things that other people have a problem with. If books are being banned now, no one knows what the limit will be for banning anything. For instance, eating certain animals like cows, pigs or goats can be banned because certain religions worship them. Words could be punishable by law because certain people find then offensive. Banning books could be the start of something that could essentially end freedom of expression.

Work Cited

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. New York, NY: Pantheon, 2003. Print.

Rich, Jake. "Can Book Censorship save Our Children and Their Innocence?" Highlander RSS. 7 Oct. 2014. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://www.highlandernews.org/14413/can-book-censorship-save-our-children-and-their-innocence/>.