#1. THE VEIL All the girls had to wear a veil even if they did not like to wear it. Why does this girls had to wear a veil? In1980 it became obligatory to wear the veil at school because they were in a French non-religious school. Why bilingual school are symbols of capitalism? Why did her mother was scared when her photo was in a magazine? #2. THE BICYCLE Why does it said that the revolution has finally awakened the people? The people had lived in a world of tyranny for many years. Why Satrapi started to forget about her wishes of becoming a prophet? Did she realize that there were more things to learn about? Why did the people said that the massacre was the shah's fault? Did the shah really wanted to kill those people? Why did Satrapi said that "for a revolution to succeed the entire population must support it"? Did the people was against the revolution? #3. THE WATER CELL The people did not want the king. There was a fight between the army and the people. What is the difference between a president and an emperor? Who has more power? The king was not chosen by the God like some people thought. Why did school books had written that the king was chosen by the God if it was not true? Does it have something to do with religion? #4. PERSEPOLIS Many people became poor because all the country's money went into ridiculous celebrations. Why the people were so ashamed of being poor? Do they care more about social classes? Why Satrapi's father was arrested once for taking photos of the demonstration? Did the king doesn't want the people to know what was really going on? The people realized that the king was a killer and they started demonstrating it. #5. THE LETTER Many children worked at the age of ten or younger. The difference between social classes is one of the reasons why people felt ashamed. Marjane didn't know the difference between social classes and that is why she supported her maid when she felt in love with someone of a higher level. Why people must stay within your own social class? Why they cannot marry someone that they love from a different class level? I think it is unfair that different social classes cannot mix because everyone should be treated as equal. How people can support themselves during the demonstrations if they are separated. #6. THE PARTY Many people were killed because there was one massacre after another. Why did the Shah decided to march towards democracy after all that he has done? Although after the Shah tried democracy the people kept wanting his departure. After the Shah left the country had a big celebration. Why Marjane father said that as long as there is oil in the Middle East they will never have peace? Why they cannot share the oil and make money together? Is the people really going to start a new life without fights and demonstrations or there will come the same thing again? #7. THE HEROES I think the families felt really happy when the political prisoners were liberated because they haven't see the prisoners for a long time. It must be hard for a family to live without knowing anything of them. It must be harder for all the children to keep growing up with out their father or without knowing where their father is. In my opinion all the prisoners were heroes because they had to suffer many kinds of tortures and after all that they never gave up because they wanted to see their families again. #8. MOSCOW The stories of Marjane's uncle could help her understand what was going on during that time or what was going to happen. In one of his stories Anoosh told Marjane that an unmarried mother can be shunned. Why does a single mother will suffer? As Marjane's uncle said I think Marjane should know everything even though if it is not easy for her to understand it all. #9. THE SHEEP Why didn't the people realized that the elections were faked? Did they fake the elections to keep going with the same thing again? I think Marjene's friend did the right thing by leaving a country that is not secure for themselves. If people can leave the country, why do they have to stay in a place where they will not be treated as they want to? After all Marjane's uncle was arrested again. It was sad when her uncle decided to see Marjane just to see her for the last time and to tell her in some way how much he loves her because he knew that he was going to be executed. #10. THE TRIP They closed the embassy. Why did they do that? Do they want all the people to stay in the country and why? The ministery of education declared that universities will be closed. In this situation I think that it must be frustrating for all the families and for the children that really wanted to study and become someone important in their future. Why do women have to wear the veil again? Is it because they really think all men are perverts? For a family it must be hard to do things that they are forced to and at the same time they cannot do anything about it. #11. THE F_14s It must be hard for marjane's family to live in a country where they do not have peace but they stayed strong because they really love their country. In the case of Paradise I think it is so hard for many children to realize that their father was killed and that they will not see them never again. As well as it will be difficult to accept that someone of your family will be gone. #12. THE JEWELS The war caused a lot of scarcity of food and gas. Why did the people started to fight for food? Is it that they wanted to have enough for their family? It is so frightening to live in a country where there is war because you never know where they are going to bomb. Also because of the bombs many people loosed their homes and they had to find out where they will live or with who are they going to live. I think it is frustrating to lose all that you have built during your lifetime and to start again a new life where they have to improve their lives. #13. THE KEY I really like this chapter because it shows us that even during a war we have to keep going on with our lives. I admire the fact that the children kept going to school even though they were treated badly in there and they had to follow strict rules. It was an unfair thing to persuade all the boys to go to war by giving them a key and telling them that if they go to war the key will get them into heaven. For a mother or father it is so hard to accept that their child is going to go to war and may be will never come back with them. Why did they only give the key to kids from the poor areas? #14. THE WINE It is terrible how the war has turned the lives of everyone into boring lives because they are not able to have fun or do the things that they really love to do because it is not permitted to have parties, drink wine, play games or even listen to music. Why do people get arrested and punished by doing something that does not hurt anybody? I understand why the people didn't follow that rules and kept having parties because without them the people will feel like if they have no life. #15. THE CUGARETTE Why Marjane and her friends could not go to every single place in the city? Why would they get arrested from being in a place that they are not allowed to go? It is understable why Marjane started to get use to the war after two years of it because after all the things that she has seen nothing can surprise her anymore. Why do they arrested and executed those who opposed the regime? #16. THE PASSPORT For my personal opinion I think the story of Marjane's uncle is really sad and I think everyone may think the same thing because it must be hard to live far away from your child. Also it must be hard to live without knowing about your child. For Marjane's uncle it is harder to not be allowed to travel because he has his child living in the other side of the border. It is also a sad story because he died without seeing his son again which it was one of his last wishes. #17. KIM WILDE I liked this chapter because Marjane and her parents finally got their passport and that gives them the opportunity to travel anywhere. When they traveled to Istabul Marjane bought two posters and it was really funny how she hided them in his father's coat. Why do the people cannot have posters of their favorite singers? Why did those ladies stopped Marjane and started to get mad at her when she was wearing her Nike shoes and a good jacket? Why didn't the ladies gave some advices to her instead of being yelling at her and being mean with her? I think those ladies must support all the children and give them some good advices instead of being mean with them. #18. THE SHABBAT For a family it will be awful to be thinking about their lives all the time, to be thinking whether or not they are going to be alive the next five minutes. The experience that Marjane had to suffer was really terrible. If I put myself into her shoes I will fell so bad just by thinking that my mother can be dead. I won't have known what to do at that moment. It was like a nightmare how Marjane discover that her neighbors were dead. #19. THE DOWRY What is a dowry? It is awful for parents to send their child away from them. I felt really connected with this part of the chapter where Marjane had to leave her parents because I know it is hard to say goodbye to your parents because when I was 9 years old I had to leave them and I felt terrible that I only was able to hear them and not see them like I would love to. We always have to keep in mind that our parents just want the best for us and that they will not do something that will hurt you. Our parents also suffer when they take strong decisions like as it happened with Marjane's parents when they had to decide to send her child away from them although they did it for her best. #20 THE SOUP In this chapter I think It was excited for Marjane to go to a new place where it is totally different of what she has left. It must be exciting to meet new people from which you can learn new things. Although to be in a place where you cannot speak the language and cannot communicate with everybody could be a little bit difficult. #21 TYROL I think it must be hard for Marjane to live in a place where she does not have a lot of friends. Also it is sad for her to see how other people celebrated Christmas time with their families and she had to stay by herself while her friends were celebrating with their families. Marjane's friend was really nice to her by inviting her to Tyrol and not leaving her alone. I think it is great to have good friends around you that always support you when you feel alone or have problems around you. #22 PASTA Why did the nuns get so mad at Marjane, when they saw her eating in a pot? It was so mean how the nun asked Marjane that If It was true that all Iranians have no education. I think the nuns were so unrespectful by comparing the Iranians like if they were all the same. How could the nuns tell Marjane to be ashamed of herself when they also did an unacceptable thing? Marjane got spelled but luckily she had a friend that let her stay in her house. #23 THE PILL I think Marjane felt more comfortable in her new home because in there no one bothered her and she had good communication with her friend's mother. Marjane might feel strange in a home where her friend is totally different from her although she is learning a lot of modern things from her friend. Also it must be strange for Marjane to see how her friend lives her life, the way her friend has sex so frequently with different man and to see how different she celebrated the parties than from her traditional country. #24 THE VEGETABLE I think this chapter really connects with what is going on right now with teenagers because as they grow up and their body changes they also have a mental transformation. I think it was normal that Marjane wanted to change the way she looked and pretend to do the things that her friends do, just to feel into the group. Although I think she wasn't doing right be trying to deny her culture and origins because even if we leave in another country, we should always keep in mind where we came from. It should be terrible for Marjane to hear someone else criticizing herself for denying her own country. #25 THE HORSE Marjane had to go live in a communal apartment. While I was reading this chapter I felt Marjane totally different when her mother visited her, she was happy of having her mother with her and having the chance to talk to someone that will not ask her anything about war made her happy. Why did Marjene's mother got so disappointed when Marjane told her that her housemates were homosexuals? It must be a great thing to see someone of your family that you haven't seen for a long time and how their appearance have changed during the time. I think having someone from your own country makes you remember your culture and where you come from. I also think it was hard for Marjane to see her mother leave after having her for a while. #26 HIDE AND SEEK It must be terrible to find out that your boyfriend has discovered that he is gay. I think it is sad to leave alone and feel the necessity of having someone who loves you. What happened to Marjane in this chapter really connects with the lives of some young girls in this country because sometimes they feel so alone and get so bored at their homes that the only thing they can think about is having someone who gives love to them and change their lives in a positive way. It must be hard to see how other people judge you just for being from another culture or country. It is sad how Marjane felt into the drugs and became an official dealer as it is happening right now with many teenagers. #27 THE CROISSANT What does croissant mean? Fortunately Marjane was lucky to not drift too far. It was good that she decided to make an effort to study and pass her classes. Also it was great that she decided to work and get some money by her own although it wasn't easy to deal with the costumers like it has happened with many people. It is so sad how Marjane did not have the support of her boyfriend but the worst thing is how she found him in a bed with another girl the day of her birthday. It is disgusting how one person can change your life so badly and makes you regret your life like Marjane's boyfriend did. #28 THE VEIL It must be awful to live alone and see that you don't have any emotional support of anyone around you either your friends or family. It is interesting how badly your life can change from one day to another like it happened to Marjane because she lived in a good place where she had almost everything but the next day she was sleeping in the streets, looking for food in trash cans and even smoking butts. Living in such bad conditions can make you feel sick and even end up in a hospital. I think Marjane did good by leaving Vienna and decide to visit her parents because at this time of her life where she feel so depressed and alone, she needs to be with the people that she loves and who will support her without asking her any question. #29 THE RETURN After living four years in Vienna, Marjane came back to Tehran where she immediately felt the repressive air of her country. It was sad how Marjane's father did not recognize her but it was great how happy she felt when she was hugging her father after not seeing him for years. I think it is common to feel strange in your country after living away from it for many years because a country can change so much in just one year and even the people that live there. As Marjane's mother said, it must be hard to live in a country that has been in war for eight years and where many children have died. It should be hard to see how your family had lived in a country where you thought it will become better but actually it became worse while you were having peace in another country. #30 THE JOKEAfter been in Tehran for ten days, the entire family of Marjane went to see her. She felt scared that they would be disappointed if they knew about her European failure. She received more apprehensions from her family that from her friends. Marjane felt terribly alone when she realized that her friends had changed a lot and that they were only criticizing herself. I think Marjane felt strange when she saw her friend without a leg and an arm because of the war. Although it was good to see how her friend was happy and joking after all that had happened to him. Marjane learned something essential from her friend, that we can only feel sorry for ourselves when our misfortunes are still supportable. #31 SKIING In this chapter many people started to give good advices to Marjane. A lot of people think that after coming back to your own country, everything is going to be fine but as it happened to Marjane, her past caught up her, her secrets weighed her down and because of that she became depressed. Her friends wanted to help her get out of her depression so they took her skiing even though she did not want to go. Although after she went skiing with her friends, they started to criticize her and tell her that she was a whore because she had a few experiences with men. It must be so depressed to see that your friends do not support you just because they are so traditionalists that they cannot understand the way you live your life. Marjane was so depressed at that moment that she decided to kill herself by cutting her wrist and by swallowing all the anti-depressants that the psychotherapist recommended her. I think she did badly by trying to kill herself but it made her realize that it wasn’t her time to die and because of that she decided to make herself prettier. #32 THE EXAM It was great how the success on the exam made Reza and Marjane more calm about their future. Why the guardians could take Marjane away if they see her with lipstick? Marjane decided to distract the guardians so they would not notice her makeup. The sad thing is how she picked an innocent guy and accused him of telling her indecent things so she was able to distract the guardians. It is awful how the people could not go out with a partner if they were nor married. I think it might be terrible to live in a country where you have no freedom and where you cannot even walk or spend a great time with a friend of the opposite sex. Marjane’s grandma gave her a good lesson by not laughing of what she did to the poor man that the guardians arrested. Her grandma felt so disappointed to Marjane that for the first time she yelled at her. #34 THE CONVOCATION During this chapter Marjane was finally a student of an university where boys and girls could not mix because it was under the law. It was nice how Marjane's grandma finally forgave her and gave her a gift and Marjane also forgot her extreme intransigence. Why did the university kept boys and girls separated. Is it a religious thing? I is so dissapointed how they criticize and make rules for the girls but they did not say anithing of the way the boys wear their clothes. I think Marjane is very courageous by always telling what she thinks even though it can cause her a lot of problems. #35 THE SOCKS It is so disappointing how the guardians can arrest a girl just because she is running. They said that a girl could not run because they boys can look at her behind when it is moving. It is sad how the people cannot go out without feeling the fear of been arrested by the guardians. Why did the people could not have freedom of thought and speech? Marjane and her friends were arrested because they were having a party and they were not wearing the veil. I think it is awful how they want to make the people unhappy by not letting them live their lives the way they really want to. #36 THE WEDDING In this chapter Margane was living a great moment where she loved her boyfriend and she was surrounded by friends. Reza decided to ask Marjane to marry him, after two years of having a relationship with her. Marjane was not too sure to marry him but she decided to marry him because she wanted to have more freedom with him and to get out with him without having to explain anything to anyone. Although her father knew that she would get divorced after a while. Her mother was so disappointed with her decision because she thought she was too young to get marry. Just after she got marry, she started to feel sorry of what she just has committed. The relationship between them did not went as Marjane wanted to because after one month of been together, they started to fight and sleep in separate bedrooms. #37 THE SATELLITE It was funny for Marjane and her family to see how the Europeans were scared of the war even though it was happening many miles away. For Marjane it was great how they would finally be able to sleep peacefully and without fear of missiles because the war was far away from them. I think it was great how Marjane's life started to change when the war went away. Now they were able to have a satellite antenna where they could finally experience a different view from the one dictated by their government. Marjane started to change their friends, she contacted people older than her but it was good because she was educating herself. #38 THE END It was great that Marjane finally graduated but the sad thing was when she had an appointment with the mayor's deputy to show him a ford afraid in a chador and he told her that the government couldn't care less about mythology and even though her project was interesting, it was unachievable. After her failure with the major, Marjane decided to get divorced which I think it was a great decision because she no longer loved him and they weren't made to be together. Marjane got a good job where she experienced a lot of things and where she felt that she did not have freedom of expression. I think Marjane was so overwhelmed of how all the men in Iranian have more power than the girls that she decided to leave the country. Marjane now is a mature girl and she finally decided to divorce Reza and go live to France. In this chapter I really liked how everything ended up because finally Marjane was doing was she loved and her family were happy because there was not a war anymore. |
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