Satrapi's Persepolis by Jesse Arthur

1) I would describe the illustrations in this novel as cartoony. The black and white frames do not have excessive detail, but the author provides enough detail for the reader to distinguish between characters in the story. I think is type of illustration is accurately suited for this story of a young girl growing up during the Iranian Revolution. In this novel I believe the words are often more important than the art and this style keeps the reader focused on the words.

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 2) This story was written as a graphic novel because it allows the author to tell her story from her point of view, while also incorporating other minor characters in a way that may be confusing if the story were told any other way. This novel has been made into an animated film, and this translation works well for this story. I do not think this story would work as a regular film.

3) This novel is narrated by the author from a first person point of view. It seems the author accomplishes this in two ways. Throughout the story there is narration that is in white boxes at the top and/or bottom of the frames. There is also what seems to be narration in speech bubbles spoken by the narrator. These narrations are often the author’s thoughts.

4) I find the frames on the top of page 75 to be significant to the story. These frames show the two types of people in Iran after the revolution. It shows the fundamentalist man and woman compared to the modern man and woman in Iran. These frames are important to show the reader that there is much division in the ideology of the people in Iran, and this division also involves a difference of appearance.