Wait....isn't that a comic book?: Looking at the graphic novel in the classroom

I’ll admit that was ecstatic when I learned that we would be reading The Persepolis for my Adolescent literature class. I had read this graphic novel in the past and had found it to be a moving story. I have to say that the main reason why I was excited to be reading The Persepolis though was because it was a graphic novel. I think that one of the new frontiers for literature that can be used in an English class room is the graphic novel, which has grown and branched out to explore numerous topics since its inception. When we looked at whether to use a graphic novel in the classroom, we must examine it using slightly different guidelines. For The Persepolis, it is important to keep in mind that it is a memoir that takes place during the 1980s in Iran. For my purposes, I think it’s important that we examine whether it presents historical events accurately, if the format aids in understanding, and whether students can relate to this novel.
This novel does a wonderful job presenting historical events accurately. It’s very clear to the reader throughout the whole novel that Marjane’s family is honest and open with her about the events that are taking place. They even take the time to educate her about the history of her people and about the different philosophies that they believe in including communism. There is a slight bias in the novel against the religion regime but that would be expected when one looks at the damage that this regime has inflicted on people for years.
One of the great things about this book is its format. There are so many students who do not like to read and will refuse to read a “book,” but they have no problem reading a comic book or manga. Graphic novels allow teachers to reach students who don’t like to read. In the case of The Persepolis, this graphic novel is set in a time and place that students may not be familiar with at all. Having pictures of the setting and the different items that are talked about allow for students to have a deeper understanding of the story.
I think that one of the great things about this novel is that Satrapi shows oppression of women and how they react. I think that there are quite a few students who could relate to feel oppressed. It doesn’t necessarily have to be female students either. We live in a world where in a normal classroom we might have students who have recently immigrated to the United States from all over the world. There is a chance that the students we are teaching may have lived in a country that was extremely oppressive. We also might have minority students who have felt oppressed throughout their lives at different times. This novel presents us with a chance to talk about oppression and show kids that people all over the world experience things that they’ve felt.
Overall The Persepolis is a wonderful book to incorporate into a classroom. It allows for kids to learn about a time in history, the experiences of women under an oppressive regime, and about a different culture. This is also a wonderful format to use in a classroom because students will forget that it’s a book. For readers who are struggling this format allows them to have even more tools to examine things based on context to better their understanding. It’s important for teachers to remember that graphic novels are becoming very popular and can be used with in a classroom. There are numerous graphic novels touching many different serious subject and even a lot for fun.
Below is a link to an extremely interesting blog post I read on graphic novels being taught: http://koreanish.com/2010/10/14/on-teaching-the-graphic-novel/