• What does a hero look like / do in your view?

• Draw / find a picture of ‘a hero’ according to you.

• Be prepared to explain your choice!

Starter:

Persepolis, lesson 2:

Heroes

L.O. enhancing understanding of history & politics & graphic novel language

Marji as a child

• Quite often Marji comes across as rather mature for her age. In the situation with Laly’s father (pp 48-49), however, she is clearly still a child. Explain.

• What do you make of her response to all the stories she hears (pp 52-53)?

• Should she even have heard all this?

• Look at the different emotions displayed by the characters in the chapter ‘Heroes’: what do they seem to be going through & how can we tell they are each experience things differently?

Displaying emotions:

Political prisoners before 1979

SAVAK (Persian: ساواک, short for و اطالعات سازمانکشور Sāzemān-e Ettelā'āt va Amniyat-e امنیت

Keshvar, Organization of Intelligence and National Security) was the secret police, domestic security and intelligence service established by Iran's Mohammad Reza Shah with the help of the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (the CIA) and Israel. SAVAK operated from 1957 to 1979, when the prime minister Shapour Bakhtiar ordered its dissolution during the outbreak of the Islamic Revolution. SAVAK has been described as Iran's "most hated and feared institution" prior to the revolution of 1979 because of its practice of torturing and executing opponents of the Pahlavi regime. In Persepolis (part 1) we witness the release of these prisoners, but are also confronted with what followed.

• SAVAK was closed down shortly before the overthrow of the monarchy and the coming to power of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in the February 1979 Islamic Revolution. Following the departure of the Shah in January 1979, SAVAK's 3,000+ central staff and its agents were targeted for reprisals; almost all of them that were in Iran at the time of the Iranian Revolution were hunted down and executed, only a few, those who were outside of Iran are believed to have survived.

• SAVAK was replaced by the "much larger" SAVAMA, Sazman-e Ettela'at va Amniat-e Melli-e Iran, also known as the Ministry of Intelligence and National Security of Iran.

In Persepolis (p.144) Marjane states that Iran went from 3000 political prisoners under the Shah’s regime to 300,000 under the new Islamic regime.

Political prisoners after 1979

Marjane’s hero: Uncle Anoosh

• After the first heroes return Marji is, initially sad – why?

• Marji wanting ‘her own hero’ is another sign she is not as mature as she seems at times. Why does she ‘need’ a hero in her life?

• Find out what attracts Uncle Anoosh and Marji to each other.

Using the page displayed here (p. 70), explain what happens to Marji’s relationship with God as a result of Anoosh’s execution.

Marji & God

Turning points• The execution of her hero is

followed by another major event: the start of the Iran-Iraq war.

• How does Satrapi show us the impact of all this & the fact that we are looking at a turning point in her life?

• Use p71 – 72 in your answer

• How would you describe Marjane’s early childhood now? Is it still the same as you saw it when we did the task at the start of the lesson?

• How do you think Marjane would describe a hero now (after losing her uncle)? How would you?

Plenary