Picture Writing

Content and Background Information

What is a Graphic Novel?

The term is not strictly defined. Most academic articles claim that graphic novels can be fiction or nonfiction. These books blend images and text in the form of comics and are written in chapter form. The images and words work together to convey the meaning of the story. A graphic novel is different from a comic book; however, there are similarities. If one does not know what a graphic novel is, it may be easy to confuse the term because the word graphic is often associated with violent or sexual content. Moreover, some educators consider graphic novels to be "easy books" or "not real literature." Many educators gravitate toward teaching these books because of their literary value and popularity amongst young adults. "Publisher's Weekly reported that sales of graphic novels in 2011 reached $340 million and included a rapidly growing market of graphic novels for children." ⁷ Those numbers continue to rise.

How did Graphic Novels Become Popular?

People have always been using pictures to tell stories; however, we could call Lynd Ward's Gods' Man one of the first American graphic novels. Published in 1929, Gods' Man is a novel about an artist who makes the deal with a figure of darkness and in return receives a magic paintbrush. The series of events that leads to the main character's demise is told in woodcut images, without any words. After the publication of Gods' Man, comic books like Superman and Batman became popular in the 1930s and 40s. Comic books/strips are closely related to graphic novels in that they combine images and words. The difference is that graphic novels are written in chapters and comics usually are not. Graphic novels also contain a beginning, middle, and an end to the story. Comic strips or books are often on going. The Sunday Comics, or the Funnies, have been staples in the American newspapers for decades. Popular comic strips such as Peanuts, The Far Side, Dick Tracy, Dilbert, and Zits have at one time graced the Funnies section of the newspaper. Some other graphic novels that have made their way into pop culture include, V for Vendetta by Allan Moore, Maus by Art Spiegelman, and the Walking Dead by Robert Kirkmand. These are graphic novels that students find engaging. I also hear from my students that "Manga" or Japanese comics are quite popular as well.

What is the Value in the Graphic Novel?

Essentially, graphic novels come from the roots of storytelling. But what is their educational value? And do they even have any? The answer is yes. The counterarguments from teachers range anywhere from "the students read these too quickly" or "the images take away from the literary value." Yet research shows that these types of books are quite beneficial to students. In his many studies concerning research on youth literacy, Stephen Krashen found that "comics and graphic novels offer 20% more rare vocabulary than traditional chapter books." He also discovered that graphic novels are helpful to the literary development of low-level reading students and English Language Learners and that "graphic novels help students develop a taste for reading and serve as a bridge to other types of literature." Moreover, studies have also proven that graphic novels increase the reading interests in students with disabilities. Furthermore, "researchers have demonstrated that graphic novels help make the curriculum more relevant for students by allowing them to connect with and explore popular culture." ⁸ In The Graphic Novel Classroom, Mareen Bakis claims that because students take less time to read graphic novels, they can easily reread them for deeper understanding. She also claims "students must exercise more skills not fewer when reading graphic novels." ⁹ In addition to reading words, the students must read pictures. Teaching a graphic novel therefore also opens up the discussion of visual literacy in the classroom.

Teaching Visual Literacy and Perception

We live in a visual world. As W.J.T. Mitchel suggests in his book Picture Theory, "What we need is a critique of visual culture that is alert to the power of images." ¹⁰ It is necessary for students to understand the images and messages that they are bombarded with by the media. Through its activities, this unit will heighten awareness of those messages. Students must learn to make meaning of images and communicate their messages. Students are constantly texting, looking up videos on their phones, and posting pictures on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. They are exercising the use of words and images to process information. Their eyes are like sponges. Billie Elliam makes a good point when she says, "in the Western world today, knowledge about representations is implicitly absorbed through individuals' rich visual experiences rather than being taught formally as recommended for the instruction of cognitive skills." I plan on using an explicit approach to teaching visual literacy. We will spend quite some time on the concept of Perception in my lessons. Students will examine their perceptions of images and then will learn that, as Elliam suggests, "the images we perceive through our senses are not necessarily identical to 'objective' reality." ¹¹ By reading Persepolis, the students will practice critical interpretation of images.

The Story of Persepolis

"Persepolis forces the Western reader to work hard to understand the complexities of contemporary Iranian political and social dynamics." ¹²

Persepolis: The Story of Childhood was first published in France in 2000, and it was later translated into English (and later many other different languages) in 2003. The word Persepolis refers to the ancient capital of the Persian Empire, which is now Iran. Since its publication, the book has gone on to sell millions of copies and was even made into a film. There is also a sequel to this text, called Persepolis 2. Both the books and the film have gone on to win awards. And both the books and the film have gone on to cause controversy. They were both banned in Iran. Persepolis was also taken out of some Chicago schools for a short period of time, and then later put back after the controversy went public. ¹³ This book causes problems in some schools because of its violent and graphic images.

Persepolis is a graphic-novel-memoir written through the lens of a young girl coming of age in Iran during the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War. It is Marjane Satrapi's story of her childhood. Her story is at times heart wrenching and dark and at other times quite funny. The story is written entirely in black-and-white comic strip images. The memoir covers her life from age six to fourteen; it is told through her perspective as a child. Before the story begins, there is a brief history of Iran and a political message from the author on why she wrote the book. She says that Iran is discussed mostly in relation to "fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism"; and she goes on to say, "this is far from the truth," and this concern is the reason for writing the story. She explains the revolution that took place in 1979, the Islamic Revolution. She also explains her life in the capital of Iran, Tehran. ¹⁴ The first chapter opens with the strong image of Marjane as a ten-year old, in 1980, wearing a veil at school with other young girls. Before the revolution, Marjane went to a progressive school with boys and girls. After the revolution, the school was shut down, and boys and girls no longer were allowed to go to the same school. The story begins by showing the veil as a symbol of Islamic fundamentalism and the non-veil as a sign of "freedom." ¹⁵ The first chapter sets the tone for the book and emphasizes the divides amongst the people. Some of the themes found in the book include coming of age, modernity vs. fundamentalism, the relationship between child and parent, contradictions between home life and public life, and the loss of faith.

Marjane's family witnesses the fall of the Shah, the rise of the Islamic Revolution, and the turmoil of the Iran-Iraq War. Marjane tells the reader how her family is affected by the Shah's reign. Marjane's grandmother lived with the family for a while, and we learn that Marjane's grandfather had been a prince and was named Prime Minister by the Shah. The story tells of her grandfather's communist beliefs, for which he was tortured. Furthermore, her uncle Annoosh is arrested by the people in the Islamic Regime and is later arrested again on the false accusation that he is a Russian spy. He is eventually killed. Satrapi also emphasizes the torture that other characters experience under the Shah's regime. This is done through bold, captivating images and words. Satrapi often contrasts terrible events with lighthearted images on the following page to show how Marjane is forced to constantly move forward with life after tragedy. Satrapi explains the devastation of the Iran-Iraq War and her family's personal loss from the war. All the while, the story is told through the eyes of a child, making it easy to understand yet still intelligent and emotional.

As I mentioned above, this story is a coming-of-age story. We see Marjane rebel against her parents and society, something that many American teenagers can relate to. At the same time, Marjane deals with some very heavy issues. She is growing up during a time of political and social upheaval. Her parents experienced the repressive rule of the Shah, the people overthrew him, and the Islamic Regime took power in a way that led into the Iran-Iraq War. Marjane describes the Islamic rule as even more repressive than that of the Shah. She and her family disagree with the fundamentalist views of the regime. There is a scene late in the memoir, at Marjane's school, when she stands up in class and speaks out against the government and then accuses her teacher of lying to the class. ¹⁶ The principal calls her parents, and Marjane is scolded. Her mother is particularly upset and warns Marjane that she could be arrested for such behavior. Her parents decide to send her to Vienna, Austria for boarding school. The story ends with an image in the airport as Marjane's father is holding his wife, who has presumably fainted. Her parents send her away because they fear that her bold ideas and outspoken nature might get her put in prison or killed.