B-WEIZ

Persepolis Prompt: Last Post!

Mon, 14 May 2012 19:49:01 -0400

Marjane Satrapi wrote the graphic novel “The Complete Persepolis” for many reasons; however the ultimate purpose of her story is to teach. Marjane Satrapi wanted to open up people’s eyes worldwide to Iranian culture in order to put to rest any incorrect misunderstandings about the Islamic faith. For instance, many westerners are incorrect in thinking that all Muslim’s agree with the actions taken by a small radical group that orchestrated the September 11^th attacks, which is simply incorrect. Instead Marjane Satrapi wanted to show the reader that Iranian culture has similar characteristics as Western culture. Marjane Satrapi also wanted to raise awareness on how hard it can be for a foreigner or a person of minority to assimilate into an unknown culture. Marjane Satrapi recalls her own struggles in an attempt to help others. By combining historical events from the Iranian Revolution and her own personal experiences, Marjane Satrapi was able to teach two teach the reader two valuable lessons.

Marjane Satrapi was given a very special opportunity when she was fourteen; she was sent to Austria to finish up her schooling while avoiding the Iran-Iraq conflict. With this opportunity Marjane Satrapi saw firsthand how people viewed her culture: strange. Throughout the graphic novel, Marjane Satrapi tries to educate the western reader that Iranian culture might seem different, yet it is quite similar. In the chapter “The Convocation”, Marjane Satrapi gives the reader an excellent example of how Iranian culture is not so different after all. On page 294, Marjane Satrapi uses an illustration to prove her point. The illustration portrays three women wearing a hooded head- scarf. Then next to each woman is what their hairstyle looks like under their hood-scarf, showing that all three women have different styles. The point of the illustration is to show that even though each woman looks the same from “outside” the Veil, they are actually quite different which is portrayed by their hairstyles. Marjane Satrapi was able to show the reader that just because you can’t visibly see any similarities, many still exist.

The same special opportunity that allowed Marjane Satrapi to view her culture from an outsiders view is the same opportunity that caused her pain and anger. Marjane Satrapi found it difficult to assimilate into Austrian culture and she uses her graphic novel to educate the world on the struggles she encountered. Marjane Satrapi found in particular interactions with males to be much different than she had been used to however is willing to change her beliefs in order to fit in with her peers. In the chapter “Hide and Seek”, Marjane Satrapi tries her best to lose her virginity in order to be more like her friends. Marjane Satrapi states, “I didn’t want to be a timid virgin any longer… Unfortunately, the next morning I was as much a virgin and as timid as the night before”. (pgs. 212-213) Islamic tradition calls for no pre-marital sex, however Marjane Satrapi was willing to go against her faith in order to assimilate into western culture. Marjane Satrapi is not telling the reader not to have sex, but rather do not change who you are just because people think you’re a different.

theworldsgame: bluesfan: 50 goals for Fulham. Congrats to...

Sun, 06 May 2012 17:59:35 -0400

theworldsgame:

bluesfan:

50 goals for Fulham. Congrats to Clint!

Best USMNT player (non goalkeeper division) ever?

Follow Your Dreams: Persepolis Blog #2

Fri, 04 May 2012 13:59:25 -0400

Follow Your Dreams: Persepolis Blog #2:

florida906:

In the book Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, she talks about what it is like to be an outsider. She is considered to be an outsider because she does not belong or fit in wherever she goes and always is trying to fit in or become friends with any group of people or classmates. In the beginning…

mlboffseason: Jered Weaver, welcome to the No-Hitter...

Thu, 03 May 2012 13:35:13 -0400

mlboffseason:

Jered Weaver, welcome to the No-Hitter Club.

(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

sportspage: Jered Weaver has no-hit the Twins.

Thu, 03 May 2012 01:41:42 -0400

sportspage:

Jered Weaver has no-hit the Twins.

Persepolis Prompt #2: Family Comes First

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:57:04 -0400

In the graphic novel “The Complete Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi, a very common theme is “family comes first” which is instilled upon the main character. Marjane grew up during the Iranian Revolution which was followed by a long war with its neighbor Iraq. Due to the state of upheaval in her country of Iran, Marjane and her family lived in constant fear. Marjane quickly learned the importance of family, even more importantly that family must come first in order to survive. Throughout the graphic novel Marjane encounters multiple experiences in which acquaintances of her and even she herself put their family’s well-being ahead of others.

In the chapter “The Passport”, Marjane’s family finds out first- hand the harsh reality of family comes first as it had a direct affect on them negatively. Marjane’s Uncle Teher suffered his third heart attack in July 1982, leaving him in critical condition. He was taken to the hospital in Tehran however they were not equipped to perform surgery in that hospital. The only option remaining for the family was to request a passport for Uncle Teher so that he could fly to England for surgery. Marjane’s father figured it would take too long to get the passport granted therefore approached his friend Khosro about making Uncle Teher a fake passport. Khosro agreed to help out Marjane’s family until a tragedy suddenly occurred. Khosro had been lodging a communist girl who was hiding for her life when she was suddenly spotted and executed by the Fundamentalist. The author states, “Khosro found his house ransacked…Fled across the mountains to Turkey…And sought Asylum with his brother in Sweden.”(pg.125) Khosro knew that he would surely be executed next for aiding the communist girl therefore he was left with no choice but to flee for his life. As a consequence, Uncle Teher died three weeks later, ironically the day his legal passport arrived. However at no point did Marjane or her family feel anger towards Khosro because they understood that family comes first and it was understandable that he fled the country to live with his brother. Marjane will later put her family first as she is scared that they were killed in a bombing.

In the chapter “The Shabbat”, Marjane was out shopping when she heard news that a missile exploded in her neighborhood. She immediately stopped what she was doing and rushed home to find a large crowd surrounding her street. Upon pushing herself through the large gathering of people, Marjane hears news that the missile exploded at the end of the street. Marjane states, “My building and the Baba-Levy’s were at the end of the street. Once chance in two that it was our building…Let them be alive. Let them be alive. Let them…”(pgs.139-140) Even though Marjane’s good friend Neda was her neighbor, she was hoping more worried about the well-being of her family more than her friend. Even though that is a normal reaction, it shows the importance of her family, especially during a time of great turmoil. The theme “family comes first” is very common in Persepolis because during the Iranian Revolution and the subsequent war with Iraq, people were just trying to survive and the best way to do so is with the people you trust the most, your family.

nfloffseason: thescore: R.I.P Junior Seau (1969 - 2012) At...

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:54:04 -0400

nfloffseason:

thescore:

R.I.P Junior Seau (1969 - 2012)

At first I was caught off guard by Seau’s suicide and then I was reminded by twitter about Seau’s “car accident” a while back:

@SI_LeeJenkins: Two years ago, Seau drove his car off a cliff in San Diego. Said he fell asleep, wasn’t trying to commit suicide

The thought that Seau might have been trying to end his life for nearly two years makes the situation that much worse. Makes you wonder how far back his pain goes and how much he struggled through all the years.

R.I.P.

@Suga_Shane

Untitled: Persepolis #1

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:02:33 -0400

Untitled: Persepolis #1:

vluporini:

Pg 51

Torture image

An image that stuck out to me the most was the image of the torturing on page 51. It showed a slight taste of what other prisoners go through outside of the United States. Even when incarcerated, prisoners in the United States still have some what of rights and are treated…

The Complete Persepolis: Prompt 1

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:02:01 -0400

In the graphic novel “The Complete Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi, the use of illustrations provides clarity that novels sometimes can’t. In the chapter “The Party”, there is an illustration of the Shah being forced out of power in Iran by its citizens with the caption “The people wanted only one thing: His depature! So finally…”. (pg.41) The picture depicts six of the Shah’s loyal followers showing extreme remorse as their leader is being exiled. The rest of the image consists of three Iranian citizens shouting “out!” as the Shah is saying goodbye to his six supporters. This illustration was effective because it shows the clear split in the country: the elite supported the Shah because they received great treatment while the majority of the country supported a new regime and wanted the Shah removed. The caption makes you believe that EVERYONE in Iran wanted the Shah removed, however this was not true. The illustration helps clarify the caption by showing the reader that the Shah did have a small amount of support, but it was only a small minority that consisted of the rich. This is very typical of any totalitarian regime in that only a small group of people are content while the rest of the country is suffering. This image stuck out to me because of its historical accuracy which in turn helped clarify the authors statement that everyone in Iran wanted the Shah removed.

jocelyn courtney: The Elephant Vanishes #3

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:15:20 -0400

jocelyn courtney: The Elephant Vanishes #3:

jocelyncourtney:

The majority of Haruki Murakami’s short stories are characterized by less-than-healthy relationships. Married couples are distant, a mother despises her young son, a brother and sister are almost too close, and young adults, lacking deep friendships, find themselves lonely. The most loving and…

Elephant Vanishes Prompt 3: The Silence

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:14:30 -0400

“The Silence” from The Elephant Vanishes is one of Haruki Murakami’s more realistic short stories. By using a serious and believable scenario, Murakami uses “The Silence” to warn of the dangers of people that are followers and refuse to think for themselves. The main character is a young man named Ozawa who is accused of bullying a classmate named Matsumoto to the point in which he killed himself. Ozawa struggles with the fact that he was not the cause of his classmate’s death yet the entire school believes he is responsible due to the fact he had hit another classmate named Aoki when they were much younger. By the end of the story, Ozawa no longer blames Aoki for spreading the rumor of him bullying Matsumoto but rather blames everyone for so easily believing the lie.

The story begins with Ozawa being asked by a co-worker whether or not he had ever “punched a guy out in an argument.” This leads to Ozawa telling his co-worker an elaborate story in which he defends the only time he had ever hit somebody. Ozawa said, “To be honest, I did hit someone. Once. I was in eighth grade…And the thing is, I didn’t even mean to throw a punch. I just got mad, and my hand flew out ahead of me. I couldn’t stop it.”(pgs. 293-294) Ozawa goes on to tell his co-worker that from then on he and Aoki never spoke a word to each other again, even though he never liked him to begin with. This scenario is very believable as young boys get in fights quite often. This is strange for Murakami’s work yet had he used a surreal scenario such as an elephant making factory, the story wouldn’t be as effective.

Ozawa’s story escalates when he enters his final year of senior high when Matsumoto killed himself. He left a letter behind saying nothing other than the he didn’t wanted to go to school anymore. Ozawa felt sorry for Matsumoto but didn’t think there would be any personal implications. However, he was totally wrong as he found that things were very different after returning from summer vacation. Ozawa said, “After summer vacation ended and school started up again, I noticed something strange in the air. My classmates seemed to be keeping their distance. I’d ask somebody about something and only get these cold, curt replies.”(pg300) Ozawa was confused because he had never been asked by any of his classmates if he had ever bullied Matsumoto, yet they were assuming he did. This was all the doing of Aoki as he was finally getting his revenge from their fight when they were in the eighth grade.

Ozawa escapes any legal ramifications and finishes his final year in silence. He was happy to achieve graduation however he was forever hurt by the actions of his classmates. Originally he was upset at Aoki for being petty enough to spread such a serious rumor. However, Ozawa comes to the realization that the real problem and the real “monster” are the people like his classmates that will believe anything they hear without thinking for themselves. Ozawa states, “No, what really scares me is how easily, how uncritically, people will believe crap that slime like Aoki deal out….They think nothing of hurting someone, senselessly, permanently. They don’t take any responsibility for their actions. Them They’re the real monsters. They’re the ones I have nightmares about.”(pg.306) One person can start a rumor, but it takes a group to spread it.

ccindecision: More here.

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:32:28 -0400

ccindecision:

More here.

hermitologist: So…I decided to go to church on Easter.

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 02:32:14 -0400

hermitologist:

So…I decided to go to church on Easter.

Madison Kuchta's Tumblr: Woman at Point Zero Prompt #2

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:11:04 -0400

Madison Kuchta's Tumblr: Woman at Point Zero Prompt #2:

english258:

In the novel Woman at Point Zero, by Nawal El Saadawi, Firdaus unveils the truths behind how Egyptian woman are treated by men. By telling her life story of living in Egypt, it becomes unbelievably obvious as to how locked up and caged the women are to the inferior males.

Firdaus lived with…

Woman at Point Zero Prompt 2

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:19:37 -0400

In the novel Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi, the character Firdaus goes through many personal “rebirths”, however it is not until she kills her pimp that she is finally reborn as a new person. Firdaus was only nineteen years old when she ran away from her uncle’s house to escape a pre-arranged marriage with Sheikh Mahmoud. This was the first time Firdaus had been alone in public with no particular destination or motive in mind. This was a major deal for Firdaus because she could now see a world that had never been visible to her before. Firdaus states, “A new world was opening up in front of my eyes, a world which for me had not existed before. Maybe it had always been there, always existed, but I had never seen it, never realized it had been there all the time.”(pg.42) Firdaus could have seized this opportunity to start a new life, but instead she got scared at nightfall and returned to her uncle’s house where she married Sheikh against her will.

After abandoning her marriage with Sheikh, Firdaus befriended a lady by the name of Sharifa Salah el Dine. Firdaus was immediately taken back by how freely Sharifa lived and instantly began admiring her. Sharifa recognized the hardships that faced her in a cruel world and was willing to fight back. Firdaus was impressed by the life she had created for herself because she lived on her own in a nice apartment and supported herself financially, not needing to rely on a man. Firdaus says, “Everything around me had this smooth, soft quality about it. I closed my eyes, and abandoned myself to the softness of things. I felt like my body was now like that of a new-born baby, soft and smooth like everything else in the flat.”(pgs. 56-57) This new free environment that Firdaus had been introduced to was making her realize that she could in fact be successful without the help of anyone else. However, what Firdaus failed to realize was that Sharifa was a prostitute and was not free after all. Firdaus quickly became a prostitute for Sharifa in which she was taken advantage of by the one person she truly admired. Firdaus thought she had been re-born into a new world when in fact she was just as oppressed as before.

Firdaus eventually becomes a successful prostitute in which she was able to support herself much like Sharifa. However, a pimp barges into her life and forces her to be his prostitute. Firdaus was now under the control of another man, but this would be the very last time. Firdaus eventually sticks up for herself and strikes her pimp in his face, whereupon her pimp reaches for his knife. Firdaus was able to grab the knife first and she stabbed him multiple times until he was dead. For the first time in her life Firdaus had overcome the oppression in life and gave herself freedom she had long desired for. Firdaus states, “I have triumphed over both life and death because I no longer desire to live, nor do I any longer fear to die. Therefore I am free.”(pg.110) It is ironic that the first time Firdaus feels free is when she commits a crime that will surely end any freedom she ever had, including the right to live. However for Firdaus, the fact she is going to die and enter a world no one on earth knows is freedom enough.

siphotos: This week is SI’s annual Baseball Preview Issue...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:35 -0400

siphotos:

This week is SI’s annual Baseball Preview Issue featuring Albert Pujols as he enters his first season with the Angels. (Robert Beck/SI)

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A COPY OF THIS WEEK’S COVER

ilovecharts: Lebron, Wade, Bosh as...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 23:59:00 -0400

ilovecharts:

Lebron, Wade, Bosh as Kids

Creature doppelganger day is in full swing now.

Photo

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 22:56:36 -0400

Woman at Point Zero Prompt 1

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:46:59 -0400

In Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi, male dominance and female oppression is a common theme. Firdaus lives in a patriarchal society in which she is constantly treated as a lesser individual because she is a female. Firdaus’ life was depicted at an early age by her father due to the lack of value her put on her life. Firdaus states, “When one of his [her father] female children died, my father would eat his supper, my mother would wash his legs, and then he would go to sleep, just as he did every night. When the child that died was a boy, he would beat my mother, then have his supper and lie down to sleep.” (pg.17)

This quote shows the way women are seen in Firdaus’ society. Her own father puts a higher value on his son’s lives than he does his daughters lives showing the lack of compassion Firdaus had been given her entire life. Her father sees his children as a commodity, not people he needs to care for. Firdaus’ brothers could provide labor to help their father whereas her sisters were seen as a hindrance because one day they would be married off to another family. I chose this quote because it reminds me of the character Nyasha from the novel Nervous Conditions. Firdaus and Nyasha are alike in that their families value them less than their brothers. At some point in their youth both characters question if an oppressed lifestyle is all they have to look forward to in life.

sportspage: Here’s another bracket tip. When in doubt, go...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:44:55 -0400

sportspage:

Here’s another bracket tip.

When in doubt, go Chalky.