Not Because of the Revolution

         Persepolis is one of the most unique books I have ever read. On one hand it is about the Iranian revolution of 1979 and the years following it. The effects it had on the Iranian population and philosophy. On the other hand it is about a girl named Marjane Satrapi and her coming of age. When you connect these two story lines it makes for an extremely interesting book containing both accurate and informative historical content, and smart, funny details about growing up as a teenage girl in pre and post-revolution Iran. However, it is often hard to differentiate between whether Marji's actions are caused by the hard times she is growing up in, or by her own person, independent of whatever outside events are occurring. One of the topics our book club focused on was how her personal philosophy and, therefore, actions were affected by her environment and whether they are therefore excusable. I think that Marji's actions are affected by her upbringing in the times of revolution rather than the effects of the revolution itself and therefore she is responsible for them.
        The revolution of Iran left many families without family members, killed in riots and tortured for being communist thinkers. It left many bereft of money or jobs after organizations were labeled bourgeois or "western." Many imprisoned young women were raped as it was against the law to kill a virgin. Compared to there occurrences, Marji's family was virtually untouched by both the Shah or the revolutionary regime. Her father kept his high level job and continued to make money to support the family while they hosted illegal parties. They were not effected by the government and flaunted their excess without regard to how it might effect their neighbors or any other non-related party. Following her self righteous parents, Marji was taught to express herself no matter the consequences and be independent of propaganda and authority while being fully immersed and enamored of revolutions of all kinds. This upbringing led Marji to get expelled from two schools and marry a man that she knew she did not truly love, all events that many shrugged off due to how she "suffered" under the revolution and regime but I believe are due to her upbringing.
         Marji was expelled from two schools due to her confrontational actions, actions that both adults in the story and my fellow book club dismissed as being ok because "she went through tough times." However, Marji's problems stemmed from trouble with accepting authority figures due to the fact that she turned everything into her own personal revolution. Marji's parents bought her many books on the topic to "educate her." She then became a revolutionary fanatic at the age of 8, dressing like Che Guevara and attempting to start a class revolution by helping her maid have a forbidden affair. These events, coupled with her parent's encouragement and avid revolutionary support, led Marji to believe that she should change everything she thought was wrong with no regard to authority: causing her to be expelled twice.
         One other questionable action that Marji committed that many excuse as brainwashing by the society she grew up was marrying a man that she did not love, and realized this on a subconscious level. While many dismiss this as an affect of the revolution and the pressure society put on her, I believe that it was another affect of her upbringing. Marji's marriage was more a rebellion against her past than a reflection of it. Marji had been raised and accustomed to despise marriage as it was stressed by the regime. By marrying Reza, she was going against what had led her almost to death, as a contradiction on herself.
           Persepolis exemplifies the difficulty in growing up in an ever changing world and how it effects impressionable young adults, but I believe that neither the regime or the revolution led Marjane to her bad decisions but her upbringing and attitude thereof.

Affirming Existence

                  The title alone was enough to draw me in. Not to mention the bright turquoise cover, gold embellishments, '80s writing and the drawing of a kick ass Indian girl on the front cover. But the title and sub-title really got me, because it spoke to a lot of stuff I'm thinking about. "Tina's Mouth, An Existential Comic Diary." Wow. To fully understand the title, I looked "existential" up online. It turns out that existential means "of, relating to, or affirming existence" (merriamwebster.com). Or, as a character in the book, Mr.Moosewood so aptly puts it, "find{ing} true and authentic meaning and purpose to your life."As I mentioned, I've been thinking about a lot of questions referring to the idea of existing.  For example, why am I here? What is my place in this world? How can I do something that makes my existence worthwhile? This book really helped me delve deeper into my questions. I'm not saying it answered them, it didn't. But it did help define my thoughts a little more, and introduced me to new ways at looking at the world through existentialist glasses (existentialist, a person who thinks about existential things). 

             Tina's Mouth takes place in sunny California. Tina is 15 and the youngest in a family of five very different people. Her parents were a product of an arranged marriage and she has a square older brother and an artsy hippie older sister. Tina has a best friend named Alex (she and Alex form the "clique of two" as Tina calls it) and a crush on a boy named Neil. However, Alex drops her for a "self-obsessed clotheshorse" named Claudia and a new boyfriend. After moping around for a while, Tina is inspired by her existentialism teacher Mr.Moosewood to get more involved. For a while, it works. Tina gets the lead in the school play- even though she has to get fake- raped by the disgusting Ted Fresh- and makes friends with Hollis McAdams, a popular alternative deep-thinker. Tina also gets to go on a date with Neil and they start semi-going out. However, Neil ends up hooking up with Hollis at a party and Tina is alone again. Prompting she and Alex make up. However nothing will ever be quite as it was again. Throughout the book, we see Tina's assorted family members and how she solves their weird problems, and them hers.

              As someone who has been thinking very existentially, I wonder what Tina got out of her experiences. The end of the book shows Tina in almost the same position as in the beginning of the book. The last words we read are, "this is only the beginning." So, has Tina gotten anything out of her existentialism class? I think that the author formatted the pages in the beginning and end of the book for a reason. It is so that we can see that Tina has come in a full circle. What I mean by a full circle is that she  started out happy, then went through a lot of complicated issues and events. Now Tina is back at the beginning, she has moved through all of her problems and is ready to keep going on with her life. But, the picture is not exactly the same, because that picture is not the last page. The very last page shows an envelope. Tina is mailing her diary to Mr. Moosewood. I think this symbolizes her closure, and how she does not need the diary any more to express herself, she can do it in her life. 

               This is one of the changes that Tina went through. At the beginning of the book, and through to the end, Tina writes down everything about her life and her thoughts about her life in her existential diary. She talks to the diary when she has no friends, or when she feels like she has nothing to do or participate in. I think that, by sending the diary off, Tina is realizing that she needs to go out in the world and be a participant. Tina has been writing all about her existential thoughts, but the truth is, how will you know the purpose to your life if you are not leading a full life? Although Tina does not know the purpose to her existence, she finds that she needs to be in the world if she is going to figure out anything at all. Mr.Moosewood says, "you have to figure out how to be." and how can you figure out how to be if you are not out there and being yourself?This is a really huge change in Tina, and I think it is better that she realizes this.