Geneva Week 4 Category 4: Snippets

Page 190-197 is an extended snippet regarding the symbolism of the scarf. The significance of the scarf represents the "softnened"(190) edge that she gave to her new look. The relationship between her and her friends is sort of deteriorating at that point. They are finally seeing her for her individuality and she is breaking out of her shell of shyness. So she breaks off on her own ideas, with the confidence that they will support her efforts ("earning of a little bit of spending money" [Satrapi, 190] by cutting hair). The pressure of keeping her friends evidently leads her to strain her relationship with her family, and break her promise to herself and her grandmother, but faking her true nature. For example, smoking joints and pretending to be high just to fit in.
This desprate need to fit in has led her to emptiness and inner conflict. The lack of feeling like she fits in has toughenedher and forced her to strain her relationship with her family and pride.
The scarf fits in as the softener or as a supporter. When she is wearing the scarf, she feels the most left out and insecure (it softened her), but without the scarf, she stands up for herself and remembers her home and true character.

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Geneva Week 4 Category 2: Feedback

While writing my Perspective paper, I needed a guide to continue on with my paper. An added factor was that I didnt know where to really start, so I began with the formula given to us on the back of our agendas.
This is the formula I followed and I think that I was able to really judge my own writing and give myself feedback. It sort of made you look at your own writing and step back and judge if it was the right style, grammar or vocabulary. Also it really kept me in line and made me wander off on a tangent less often.

Topic:
Humanism perspective of Persepolis
Research:

• Marjane discusses the limitations of her society and her inability to recieve a full educatgion in Tehran. >This represents humanism through the `world aspect` becaues even as a young child she doesnt follow tradition. Her love for world improvements and the beginning of her, rejecting her own religion `at the age that Marie Curie first went to France to study, I`ll probablly have ten children` (73)
• Describing the actions required for patriotism reflected resentment and ddislike. Clearly, she wanted to live free. > `Hitting yourself is one of the country`s rituals. During certain ceremonies, some people flagellated themselves brutally...me, I immediately staerted making fun of them.`(96-97)
• Growing up with a family that also reflects western culture and deflects Islamic tradition is a sequence of actions that slowly push Marjane into Humanistic lifelstyle and belief. >Road check guards trying to find infidelity in her father represent the family`s representation of their own culture. Example: Drinking and Partying "been drinking have we?! I can tell by your tie! Piece of westernized trash!"(108)>Page 109 and 110 images reflect her family`s casual grip on their religion. Breaking their own country`s laws to keep a piece of "western" culture that they`d grown accustom to .
• Marjane sees the war that she lived thruogh as way to deal with and relate to her own freedoms as a child. Clearly, not through a religious persepctive. Marjane looks deeper than religion on all aspects of this war. (Jumps straight to the purpose and remarks by the people >the regime for example)>"They evenutally admitted that the survival of teh regime depended on the war" (116)>"Those who were opposed to the regime were systematically arrested and executed together" (117)

Her grandmother also represented a guiding figure in Marjane`s life. Her remarks were always very non-religious and reflecte dthe "greater good philosophy" of Humanism.>"I don`t want to preach, but let me give you some advice that will always help you... In life you`ll meet a lot of jerks. If they hyurt you, tell yourself that it`s because they`re stupid. That will help keep you from reacting to their cruelty. Beacuse there is nothing worse than bitterness and vengeance.. Always keep your dignity and be true to yourself."(150)

Format:

Essay 700-1000 words

Purpose:
The focus of this essay is to persuade the audience that there is a connection between Persepolis and the remarks of a Humanist after reading this comic.
Audience:
Mr. McGuigan and the Grade 10 class

This is not really feeback from others, but it is sort of me giving feedback on myself and looking back at what exactly i needed to do. It definately helped to clarify the question and have a vague idea first, then look back at what I had for research and made it so that there is an evident connection between anything I wanted to metntion (so it didnt sound like i was going off topic).
I know that Mr.McGuigan always tells us this, but it was good to just re-clarify what I needed to do and having the process and the steps ready made my organization very simple to decipher. I knew where which information was and how i needed to turn that into an essay.

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Geneva Week 4 Category 1: Class Act

On April 2, 2009 the class participated in a grand speed-snippet session.
We focussed on the DP IOC rubric: 15mins of prep, 5-7mins of presentations, 2mins of feedback followed by a switch of partner presentors.
During this time, Mr.McGuigan was editing through our Jigsaw writing pieces or our critical perspective reports (700-1000 words).

My two partners were arpreet and smokey.
Arpreet:
(update of week 1 snippets) Page 10 Panel 5 is a Simile depicting a 2D version of the text of panel 4. the image of piles of people ontop of a fallen multiperson bike links to many wars, that deal with those exact situations. In the 1864 American Civil War based film Glory, after every battle, the soldiers were piled on top of wagons and trucks to be burried. The fact that the people are already dead and the fallen bike create a universal image of the ransacked revolution.
The lack of background makes the image very universal. The overall detail in the image creates a simplicity that reflects any bloody revolution. Any revolution functions like a machine and Satrapi uses a bicycle as an example mechanism of a revolution. The choice of a bike is certainly a child influenced machine, because the connection between the transportation is simple and practically their only legal option of getting around (other than walking). There is also a juxtaposition of the images in panels 3 and 4 in comparison with panel 5. The balance of the shading compares the heavy explanations and images. The simile is balanced by the yin yang-like balance of the image and the discussion of the characters.
Smokey:
Page 154 with no panel is an image of no images. Written with the purpose of universality, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi uses this page of blank space as a message and mind time-travelling gutter. This is a gutter of the novel and allows the readers to makethe connection from page 153 to 155. As a result of the large gap, the blank space is time for Marjane to extend her maturity and change moments. Page 155 is less than a few months later, however, because her family is in a completely different country from her, she is forced to `grow up`and provide for herself. The last word used on Page 153 is `go` and that explains and puts our minds on a plane using the blank space to Austria.
For the most part, the change in setting, from Iran to Austria, divides the comics in which they were originally sold and written in. She goes away to another country to get away from religion and war. Only to enter a new reltiong that she doesn`t necissarily believe in either, and fight a war against herself.
Combination of their feedback:

• Talk as if i were talking to a recorder
• Explain the images
• Introduce the author and the text
• Reflect on motifs and themes
• Reflect on perspective papers (if lacking iin material)
• Keep paragraphs circular (come back to the main idea)

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Geneva Week 3 Category 2: Feedback

In our class, before Spring Break, we were supposed to continue the wirtten portion of our Literary Jigsaw activity. The objective of this activity was to write an answer to one of the five questions assigned in the Literary Jigsaw. We had to be concious of specific criteria based on grammar and style improvements.
Criteria:

• Semi-colon
• Colon
• Comma-splice
• Topic Sentence
• Conclusion
• Vocabulary
• Literary Features
• Graphic Novel Features
• Contractions
• Concise Style
• Argumentative Style

Included in my answer entailed a lot of the feedback that concerned my regular writing style. These improvements included

• Use three word sentences
• One or two colons or semi-colons per paragraph
• Range in techniques
• Keep it simple
• Not as much vocabulary
• Concise

This breakdown really helped me determine my level and helped me see what I need to accomplish to improve in my writing. This feedback certainly applies to the rest of my written work and gives me an outline for what I need to achieve in future work.

More later...

Geneva

Geneva Week 3 Category 1: Class Act

This is a continuation of the Class Act in Week 2. Of course, this will discuss the in class conversation we had, discussing Snippets and the connection of Existentialism and Marjane Satrapi.


On page 71, the image is quiet and blank.The image of young Marjane floating in space reflects a connection to the text

Geneva Week 3 Category 4: Snippets

Throughout Persepolis religion has played a strong role in Tehran society as well as Vienna's society. The countries that she had been heavily immersed in were also countries heavily involved in religion. Clearly, her life is run by religious guidelines. Many of the countries she has lived in rely heavily on religion. She grows up and returns to Tehran, where religion (Shiite Islam) is one of the root problems and uncertainties during her childhood. When she moves to Vienna, her life turns upside down again, because she wants to fit in. But she finds it hard because of her surroundings. The way she was brought up clearly does not coincide with the values of the Austrian society (who are Catholic or a division of Christianity).

Geneva

Geneva Week 3 Category 3: Literary Feature Hunt

On Page 139-141, the first panel shows a lot of symbolism. Because there is an actual background and setting, the image sends amessage of despair in a specific area and that is used to decipher the setting from one location to the next. This page represents a lot of grahic novel literary features, such as:

• Negative space
• Closure
• Moment to Moment
• Action to Action

The usual lack of descriptive images and specific scenery throughout the novel is emphasized differently on these pages. Marjane Satrapi's emphasis on her surroundings makes the scene more suspenseful and creates a rising action from panel to panel. Because the backgrounds are so different, the images drawn make the situation narrow to her home specifically to her mother. Usually, Satrapi refrains from using specific scenery or imagery when drawing, but on these panels, there is a use of specific locations, this makes it easier for the readers to move from location to location in the same hurried and worried feeling as Marjane is (assumingly feeling in the scene).

The large amounts of negative space leaves room for interpretatoin. This includes, the text ("faster! please hurry... [Satrapi, 139]) and the images (worry bubbles fraying from her veil on page 139 panel 3).

More later

Geneva

The negative space