Final Paper Idea

        So, I've been thinking "hmm...what would make a good final statement on this semesters english class" and I believe I have just the thing.  For the final paper, I wish to explore one of these two criticisms for the novel  "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time": either the "Madwoman in the Attic" by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar and how the roles of Angels and Demons have switched within the novel for each character, or "The One Vs. the Many" by Woloch and how the surrounding characters change the perspective of Christopher for the reader.  The reason I am so interested in writing about this book is because we as the reader have to change our perspective on what we think of someone who has some form of autism.  Society wishes to pin them as people who, for lack of a better word, are less.  But in this book, the roles are that society has given are switched, and it is us, the reader, who are lesser then the main character.  By flipping these roles, the reader is forced to acknowledge the superiority of Christopher compared to the other characters.
          This also creates an "Angel, Demon" comparison, where Christopher becomes angelic, while the other characters become demonic because each person is a suspect in Christopher's case.  Also, the fact that each male character has become "Demonic" in a way astounds me.  In Pride and Prejudice, the Angels were all women and the Demons were men.  In this book, some of those roles have switched as well.  Christopher is more Angelic than any of the characters in the book, but he is a male.  What does this do to the book as a whole?  These are the idea's I wish to explore further in my upcoming paper.

Two Tales, One Agenda

'This is me when I was 10 years old. This was in 1980....Then came 1980: the year it became obligatory to wear the veil at school. We didn't really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn't understand why we had to' (3, Satrapi)

'My name is Christopher John Francis Boone.  I know all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,057' (3, Haddon)

Even though these stories are similar in the fact that it tells a persons story from their point of view, but how does the delivery differ and what does that delivery do to each story as a whole?


When first reading Satrapi's The Complete Persepolis, I had a sense of awe as I realized that I felt more emotion due to the drawings in each panel.  This gave me more of a connection to the main character even though I have not experienced many, if any, of the events she has.  This connection is what continued to drive me to continue reading the novel.  But in "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time", even though the story is still about a person and what happens to them, the tact for this novel is different.  This novel dives into the mind of a teen with Aspergers that has such a disconnect with its readers, that it has actually become just as interesting as the previous novel.  This disconnect perfectly reflects the real life social condition.  Because of this, the novel becomes more believable, therefore more interesting.  Pictures further accentuate the idea of someone who can not express themselevs only through words. The same can be said for the previous novel, only the pictures give more emotion.  Both novels give amazing insight to the minds of two different people by using two different ways of delivery.

Culture Gaps Bridged

"Sarrapi's text is framed dietetically, and externally in her introduction, by injections to 'never forget': it is the defining project of the text.  Arguably the most moving narrative thread in the book is Marji's relationship with her charismatic uncle Anoosh... Anoosh tells her: 'Our family memory must not be lost.  Even if it's not easy for you, even if you don't understand it all.' Marji replies, 'Don't worry, I'll never forget'"(9)

"'In life you'll meet a lot of jerks.  If they hurt you, tell yourself that it's because they're stupid.  That will help keep you from reacting to their cruelty.  Because there is nothing worse than bitterness and vengeance... always keep your dignity and be true to yourself.....don't even forget what I told you'" (150-151)

How does this text breach the racial and cultural gap in order to connect to readers across the world?


       I believe the reason I love this novel so much is because I can connect to it even though it has nothing to do with my culture or background.  I have not gone through having my house being bombed or my friends (not in the war) die just right next door.  But the messages within this text connect perfectly, I just never really tried to explore why it works.  I figured that it must be the comic book style that helped me connect, which is part of the reason, but the message of "never forget" also hits hard throughout.  Every time I go through anything hard or I fail in some sort of aspect, I remind myself "don't forget where you came from, your stronger than this".  This exactly how I relate to Satrapi's story.  This is a message anyone can related to, no matter what culture or background, which is astounding.  The funny thing is, my grandma told me a version of the quote above years ago, "love is deaf, blind, dumb, and stupid.  Don't get caught in that ok?"  It's something that has stuck to me for all my life, and will continue to do so. Satrapi is able to make me realize that cultures are more similar through this message of "never forget".
      Satrapi also uses the theme of "growing up" in order to help breach the culture gap.  This message is something every person goes through during their teen years, no matter what culture during what time.  Satrapi went through different experiences, worse then I've ever been through, but its the fact that we've all been through something, and that event is what makes us come into ourselves as adults, helps us discover ourselves.  Because Marji goes through horrible events and makes mistakes makes her more human then ever, which helps us connect with her as a character.  The graphic novel aspect of Persepolis does indeed help the barrier across cultures, but the messages inside of the novel create more of a bond between reader and author, one that keeps the reader engaged until the very end.

Graphic Novel in the Class Room? Say What?!

"Each cognitive mode has advantages and limitations.  Deep attention is superb for solving complex problems represented in a single medium, but it comes at the price of environmental alertness and flexibility of response.  Hyper attention excels at negotiating rapidly changing environments in which multiple foci compete for attention; its disadvantage is impatience with focusing for long periods on a non-interactive object such as a Victorian novel or complicated math problem" (188)

"When we walked past the Baba-Levv's house, which was completely destroyed, I could feel that she was discreetly pulling me away.  Something told me that the Baba-Levv's had been at home.  Something caught my attention.  I saw a turquoise bracelet.  It was Neda's.  Her aunt had given it to her for her fourteenth birthday.  The bracelet was still attached to... I don't know what... No scream in the world could have relieved my suffering and my anger" (142)

What affect does the idea of "the graphic novel" have on such a serious but comedic book such as "The Complete Persepolis"?

  The first time I opened this book, I was completely taken aback, our teacher has us reading a graphic novel...awesome.  But what I didn't realize was the complete and utter seriousness of this novel.  When one thinks about a comic book, its exactly as what Hayles describes as Hyper attention, something that catches your attention but allows you to notice the world around you at the same time.  But with this graphic novel, the first time I opened the book, I refused to put it down until I was half way done and I realized I really needed to go to bed.  This book took deep attention, something you wouldn't think a graphic novel would be able to achieve.  But how does this novel accomplish that?  I noticed several times throughout the novel that I found myself smiling, and even laughing, at many of the things that transpired.  But I also found that on a few occasions I was ready to cry or be angry at some of the events that transpired.  I believe it is the complete ability to switch between comedy and tragedy that caught my attention and made me want to continue reading.
    Another idea that I noticed within the novel was the complete and utter disconnect between events.  Numerous times throughout the novel, there would be an ending to a chapter that would be upsetting and you would think the author would continue on commenting on that event.  Instead, the next chapter is named, and usually starts out with some form of a joke or the start of an entirely new event.  This disconnect is what takes this graphic novel from "Hyper Attention" to "Deep Attention".  The fact that this is a diary of a young girl going through war is enough to catch attention, yet the fact that you can feel the disconnect of feeling of each chapter is really what takes it to another level.  Think for a second, a person who wants to make a novel about a young girl suffering in war would do just that, tell about her suffering.  But this author took the life of a person was able to convey the idea of her experiences and what she needs to do to move on, part of which is disconnecting from those horrible experiences.  Many would have me believe that because this is a graphic novel, it is not worthy of being within a class room, but the idea's within this book, to me, are just as important then the novels we are required to read today.