The "What if " Questions

Andrew had many great questions which all contained a “what if.” These questions are very frustrating because there is no right or wrong answer. In my opinion I think that even if Reza Shah accepted the requests of the Allied Powers and joined their side, than there still would have been a revolution because he would still try to modernize the country, but who knows? Maybe the people would not rebel, and Iran would be completely modernized making it one of the most powerful countries in the world. I mean what if the Reza Shah was assassinated a month into his reign? There are countless possibilities to what could have happened, maybe a new ruler would come to power and changed their type of government. These questions are very intriguing, but since there is not a correct answer, it makes answering them very difficult.

Priorities

At Chelly,
I completely agree with you and your father and you guy’s strong belief in relationships and not in material items. Marji deep down inside was a strong believer in not becoming attached to material items. Her father on the other hand is very attached to his possessions and this is what causes him to stay in Iran and not leave and go to the United States where he would be safe. He responds to his wife asking her if she wanted to be a maid. Marji’s father clearly exemplifies with this statement that he is too focused on material items when he should be focused on saving the lives of his family. I think Marji recognizes this and tries to become a polar opposite and not base her life around possessions but base it off of experiences and relationships. Memories are made up of situations and experiences and not of possessions therefore, possessions shouldn’t be a huge part of any human’s life. Possessions only makes the craving worse for more and more until you cant even enjoy life. In the end, people everywhere need to stop thinking about items and just enjoy life by having good experiences to remember.

Bryan Tonti is Wrong

Contradiction on Bryan Tonti's comment on his answer to Andrew's question, "What if Reza Shah accepted the requests of the Allied Powers and joined their side, would Iran have had more opportunities and more freedom?"

Of course there is no right or wrong answers on "What if" questions, but I disagree with Bryan's answer. He says,"I believe the only effect the decision [of Reza Shah on which side to ally with] would have on history would be the revolution starting a little sooner."

I believe that there would not only be one effect, but many. First of all, since the revolution would start sooner as Bryan said, the war against Iraq would have started sooner too. Saddam was waiting for Iran to become weak in order to attack and conquer it. A earlier revolution means a earlier weakening of Iran, and a earlier weakening means Saddam attacking Iran earlier. Also, Iran and the Allied Powers would have created a war alliance. With the war alliance, the Allied Powers would be forced to help Iran fight against Iraq.

Spoiled Rotten?

Response to Bryan's "What qualities and styles stood out to you and why?" Satrapi used the contrast of light/dark to illustrate emotions and what is shunned or praised. When the characters are feeling sad, anger, loneliness or shame, they were often depicted in shadows to show their internal emotions. Marji's uncle, Anoosh is depicted with the sun's rays of light in the background giving off an atmosphere of importance and heroism, which Marji did hold him as one.

I have always been told to appreciate all the things I am able to have in life: family, friends, education, a home, peace and even vegetables... XP My dad always stresses the importance of keeping materials (money, electronics, huge empty mansions etc.) away from the mind as much as possible because in the end all they do not matter or have no true value. "Having the biggest mansion or the smallest apartment does not matter if flames can easily take it away. Why should the poor man complain about empty pockets and the rich man brag and hunger for more wealth if it can all be easily taken away. The rich man is left with empty pockets and the poor man is left where he was to begin with. No point in complaining or overfeeding one's materialistic desires if what you overflow in material is never lasting", my dad states this many times that I can recite it from memory with no hesitation. But as much as I get bored of hearing this sermon, I can't deny the truth it holds. After reading Marjane Satrapi's memoir of her childhood during the revolution and war in Iran, my dad's words came back to me. I was reminded how lucky I am to be growing up away from the violence, destruction and fear of war. One's experiences in life shapes the person whom we grow up to become. What experience do you think has made you the person you are today? Has this memoir made you realize or remind you about appreciation in any way?

Growing up in America v. Iran

Growing up in America I never had to deal with what was going on in the government. I spent my days only worrying about what doll I wanted next. For Marji it was much worse. Marji grew up with a constantly changing and confusing government. Her school was telling her to believe one thing while her parents are telling her to believe the opposite. Marji feels as if she is being pulled in different directions all because of the government's actions. I could never imagine having to fear that you might not see your family again because of an ongoing war that might kill anyone close to you. The only disturbance that I ever experienced that even closely relates to Marji's is 9/11, and even this I did not fully fear. All i can remember of that September 11th in 2001 is seeing it on the news. Because it did not effect me, I did not seem to care. I heard on the news many times about all the lives lost, and suffering and yet it never seemed to upset me because I personally was not effected. In this way I can see that Marji is definitely a more mature person than me because she did experience such terrible things that forced her to grow up and have her own opinions. I know that when I was growing up I did not have my own opinion, my opinion was my parents opinion and what they thought, I thought to. Thinking back I can remember when my mom took me with her so she could vote for the new president in the year 2000. When we got there we saw that they had a kids booth so minors could vote as well even though it did not count. Going into the booth with my sheet of paper, I realized I recognized none of the names on the sheet besides George Bush, and that was only because my parents had talked about him before. I ended up just checking off random names, including George Bush because I knew my parents were voting for him. This just shows that unlike Marji, government really was not important to me growing up, and I rarely thought anything of it. Marji and I may have both grown up with a love for dolls and cute clothes, but I definitely did not grow up having to deal with the struggles Marji went through.

Styles of the Panels

Andrew asks many interesting questions, but the one that stood out to me was "What if Reza Shah accepted the requests of the Allied Powers and joined their side, would Iran have had more opportunities and more freedom?" It’s true that this question fits the "What if" question category along with the other questions Andrew asked. I believe that Iran would have had a revolution regardless of what the Reza Shah had decided. If he had agreed to form an allegiance with the allies, the allies would have asked for oil then or later on. I believe the only effect the decision would have on history would be the revolution starting a little sooner. Even if the Reza Shah had agreed to form the allegiance with the Allied Powers, Iran could have been invaded by Germany causing the same outcome as the first decision.

Marjane Satrapi conveys her strong messages by her different styles of drawing. Almost every panel has a unique quality such as detail of emotion, size of the panel, the ratio of one character to another character, lighting, and other qualities that help express her ideas. What qualities or styles stood out to you the most and why? Is their a specific page or panel that stood out to you the most? Explain. I think Satrapi’s torture panels are vulgar, violent, and disheartening, but successfully portray how horrible it was to be tortured during the revolution.

"What If"

For decades, countries have tried to modernize and "westernize" their people and land. Western influence has changed many countries such as Japan and India. What if Reza Shah accepted the requests of the Allied Powers and joined their side, would Iran have had more opportunities and more freedom? And what if the Shah completely modernized Iran, and westernized all the people, would Iran be considered a world power today? It is hard to tell what the outcomes would have been if the past turned out differently. We always ask ourselves the "what if" question, and try to understand what could have happened differently if something completely new occurred. What if the Shah succeeded and fulfilled his goals, how would Iran be different today? Would there have ever been a revolution is this country with so much history?