Mrs. Johnsmeyer

Significant Passage

This passage shows several important points worthy of note.  One, the pictures are all black and white.  In my opinion, this is an effective way of telling the story.  Through the visuals and narrative, the reader views social conflict at its worst, where tyranny, cruelty, and violence becomes a common, everyday experience.  One cannot challenge the ideology of the day for fear of serious reprisal.  Under a tyrannical rule, there are no shades of gray, merely opposing forces that pit absolutes: good vs. evil.  The full impact of man’s inhumanity to man is not lost in a world of black and white, but rather reinforced as intolerable, its injustice unassailable.  Another interesting aspect of reading a novel in graphic form, is the symbolic representation of graphic pictures themselves.  For example, in the second frame we see a picture of Marjane’s family.  Although very much seen as a cohesive group who are supportive of one another, this picture depicts her mother and father opposing one another over the issue of allowing Marjane to join them in a demonstration about the mandatory wearing of the black veil.  This issue is presented not only as a violation of human rights but also as a feminist issue.  We see bearded men, obviously the religious zealots, beating on the demonstrators.  The last frame shows Marjane’s family fleeing, her father obviously supporting both Marjane and her mother, clearly indicating that not all men are  formidable oppressors of women.  The graphics express imagery, emotion and ideas.  It is particularly interesting to me that when I think about certain episodes in the book, I do not visualize them in black and white.  The emotions that the visual presentation of this story evoke transform into color within the interior of my mind.