Trang Dinh
Professor Knapp
English 1B
21 October 2011
Rough Draft
The word “war or invasion” is perhaps very familiar to Marjane Satrapi as much as to myself. As her father once said to her, “2500 years of Tyranny and Submission” (11). Long before the cold war occurred in my country, the fall of South Vietnam in April 1975, Vietnam was first invaded by China for two thousand years. For centuries the Chinese and the Vietnamese fought over who would control the land. During the brief periods of freedom from the Chinese, the Vietnamese often fought among themselves to see who would rule that part of Indochina. When the Vietnamese were finally free of Chinese rule and had some peace among themselves, the French arrived to rule the nation as a colony for most of a century. During World War II, the Japanese took over from the French for four years. At France’s return at the end of the war, a part of the Vietnamese people renewed the struggle to free themselves from foreign rulers. The French-Vietnamese War ended in 1954 with a divided nation, North and South. Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, also the main character, contributed the chronicle of her childhood going through the period of war in her beloved homeland, Iran. She witnessed the chaotic events and the effects as the consequences of war. The existence of family close knit and supports motivated her to overcome cruelty and hardship during this period of time.
As Persepolis progressed, I realized that I had similar life events as the main character. Although, we may have similar life events, but she was more fortunate to have a special family bonding that I seemed to lack. Apparently, Satrapi was very fortunate to come from a close knit loving family. She had a knowledgeable and caring father, who would spend his time not only to play with her, but also to disentangle several of her curiosities (19, 25, 84). Also in accredit, Satrapi’s mother was a middle class, modernized woman, adored and supported her both physically and mentally (127, 138, 203). On the contrary, I was not as fortunate as Satrapi on this aspect. My mother was born to a poor family. She was the oldest of seven siblings. Her father passed away when she was only fifteen, so she had to take care of the younger brothers and sisters, while her mother was out, trying to make a living. Despite all the hard work, her mother-my grandmother-was barely able to make ends meet. For a long time, traditionally in my country, it was widely accepted that when a girl would get married, she would live with her husband’s family, taking care of them to fulfill the fiduciary duties on his behalf. A side benefit to this practice-not publicly acknowledged-is that a new daughter-in-law would invariably be providing free labor to her in-laws. In contrast, Satrapi’s family had a maid, Mehri, working for them, and cared for her when she was younger (34). In addition to her being fortunate for having a close knit loving family, Satrapi also had a grandma who cared and loved her dearly. For an example, prior to her departure to Austria, her grandma spent a night with her, and gave her advice on life (150). Satrapi’s grandma also gave her advice and cheered her up on another occasion when she had problems with her own relationship (333). Unlike the relationship that Satrapi had with her grandma, my grandma (my father’s mother), a very astute woman, was very distance to me. She was keenly aware of the situation that my mother’s family was in. So when my mother was old enough, my grandma summoned my other grandmother to her place, offering for her son to marry my mother, in exchange for a decent sum of money. Even though my grandmother sort of knew what the future might hold for her daughter, deep inside she also knew that she would have no choices but accepting the marriage proposal. She would have one less mouth to feed, and with the money received, she would be able to take care of the remaining children somewhat better.
“In spite of all the dangers, the parties went on” at Satrapi’s house (106). Satrapi and family were fortunate to have a blessing life that even during war, they were still able to party with friends. In addition, Satrapi’s parents often made traveling arrangements to keeping up with family close knit (126-127), whereas the second phase of my mother’s hardship life began. Not only did she have to fulfill her duties as a wife and daughter-in-law, she was also serving as a maid to my father’s family. On top of that, she had to help with the family’s business, working there until late every night. She was not allow to take time off for pleasure. This went on for years until my grandmother died. The family subsequently sold the business. When my father passed away not long after, the family also decided to estrange my mother together with her kids. As much as she was hurt, both physically and emotionally, my mother knew she had to stay strong to take care of herself and her young children.
As described in the chapter, “The Trip”, life was hard anywhere during the period of war in Satrapi’s homeland. Just as hard as life was anywhere in my country during this time period. We were living in a closed, oppressive society. There was no free enterprise, with everyone working for a meager wage, if they were lucky enough. As she battled from one day to the next to survive, my mother was also brave enough to think of ways to flee the country, seeking a better life for her kids. In the chapter, “The Dowry”, with love and much concern for Satrapi’s safety and better future, her parents also sent her away to Austria (147-148). As for my family, after multiple failed attempts, we managed to arrive in the United States, empty-handed and not even speaking a single word of English. My mother eventually found a day-time job and forced herself to learn ESL in the evening. She did not make much money, but she was just happy to know that her kids would have a better future. She lived a simple life, not getting anything much for herself. Instead, she spent whatever she could save on her children to give them a life that she never had. Similar as it was for Satrapi as described in “The Sheep” chapter, that she lost her beloved Uncle Anoosh, I also lost my mom. Just when my mother thought her life had turned around for the better, misfortune struck her again. She was diagnosed with liver cancer and kidney failure. Since her conditions were not detected early enough, her doctors gave a bleak prognosis of having less than one year to live. She never lasted that long, passing away just a few months afterwards.
Satrapi and I experienced similar chaotic moments and effects as result of war in our countries.
Satrapi was more fortunate that she had a close knit loving family. She and her loved ones had a special bonding relationship that they adored and supported each other especially during the unstable period of war. Dissimilar with the Satrapis, my family and I suffered the difficulties, striving to survive life during this period of time. Thus, having had good family bonding and supports always overcome any hardship regardless what the situation may bring.
