Ishmael Beah Relationship

Ishmael expresses the fact that the war took away people's enjoyment to meet other people in chapter 6. He says “Some people tried hurt us to protect themselves, their families and communities…... This was the consequences of the civil war. People stopped trusting each other, and stranger became an enemy. Even people who knew you became extremely careful about how they related or spoke to you.”

In the book A Long Way Gone written by Ishmael Beah, an experienced soldier was writing about his memories of the war. Ishmael was born in Sierra Leone with his family, but one day it all changed. At the age of 12, Beah was taken by the Rebels to kill. His whole mindset changed during the war. However, when the war ended child soldiers were taken to a rehabilitation group, and it did help Ishmael go back the way he used to be before the war.

In A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah, a former boy soldier with the Sierra Leone army during its civil war(1991- 2002) with the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), provides an extraordinary and heartbreaking account of the war, his experience as a child soldier and his days at a rehabilitation center. At the age of twelve, when the RUF rebels attack his village named Mogbwemo in Sierro Leone, while he is away with his brother and some friends, his life takes a major twist. While seeking news of his family, Beah and his friends find themselves constantly running and hiding as they desperately strive to survive in a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. During this time, he loses his dear ones and left alone in the

Two major aspects are narrated from Marjane 's point of view in Persepolis. The overthrowing of Shah is the first phase and the second step consists of a radical Islamic establishment. It was evident from Marjane 's perspective that her family had two different reactions in regards to the two phases. Their response to the overthrowing of Shah was excitement and happiness. Marjane 's family was active in demonstrations and protests expressing their feelings towards the Shah. The day Shah left many were happy, and it even leads to one of the biggest celebrations of history. The Satrapi 's were overjoyed because the Shah made choices that personally affected their family. Marjane 's grandfather and uncle were both victims of the Shah 's wrath. Their reaction to the second phase of the revolution was rebellion. During this time of the revolution, many things the Satrapi 's enjoyed were prohibited. Even though things were banned, the Satrapi 's continued to do what they enjoyed even if it was against the rules. The second phase made Marjane 's parents realize that Iran no longer was the place for Marjane, so they arranged for her to finish school in Austria.

A war can have a ton of effects on a person, some of them are worse than others. Ishmael Beah is the author of “ A Long Way Gone”. Ishmael was forced into a war that he did not want to get involved in. As a child Ishmael was not violent he was not someone who wanted to kill people for revenge. Soon after his village is attacked, he has to run and keep safety, but soon after he is dragged into the war as a child soldier. Ishmael had no choice but to fight and kill people, it was the only way he would survive. Ishmael is both a victim and a victimizer, he has been hurt ,but he has also killed other making them victims.

The Hardship of a Child Soldier Bang! Bang! “At that instant several gunshots, which sounded like thunder striking the tin-roofed houses, took over town. The sound of guns was so terrifying it confused everyone” (Beah 23).

In the book, “The Complete Persepolis” written by Marjane Satrapi every woman had a prescribed role. The role of Marji’s maid was to show that social class differences do exist and to show what happens within these social class differences. Marji’s mother’s role was to support Marji and make sure that she was well off, while her grandmother’s role was also to support her and give her words of wisdom. Her school teachers’ role was to make sure that the female children, attending the school, wore their veils, while the guardians of the revolution’s role were to arrest females that were improperly veiled. The younger Marji’s role was to show us how the Iranian Revolution/ the mandatory wearing of the veil affected

Unlike Udayan, Marjane holds her belief in her western idea. She does not conform to Islamic Revolutionists’ ideal and then escapes from her country. Udayan dies following his goal, but Marjane lives even though she holds the western ideals to be free. She is a citizen of Iran who supports Iran government before the Islamic revolution. She also enjoys the freedom that Iran had after the tyrannical king was overthrown. She embraces freedom for the short time and continues to practice during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Readers can analyze her rebellious nature. She practices her western ideas while the Islamic revolutionists banned all western practices. For example, she listens to western-cultured music. Also, she asks her parents to buy western music posters which were illegal. Her family promoted Marjane’s freedom by celebrating in parties. They

Another historical event that we see is the rise and effects of the Islamic regime in Marjane’s life. This event is arguably the central issue that affects Marjane during her upbringing in Iran. Marjane shows how the regime begins to control schools, and how this affects her life by separating her from her friends (4, 3-4). We also see how the regime decides to close universities as they “educate future imperialists.” (73, 1-3) This demonstrates the negative effects that the regime has on society, as they prioritize Islamic values over education. The Islamic leaders portrayal shows them as upset and bored, and are given much different facial expressions than those that Marjane sees as intellectual (such as Uncle Anoosh (54/3) or Marjane’s grandfather (23/8)). This imagery communicates the backwards-thinking of these leaders, and as such, also effectively communicate Marjane’s opinion of the leaders without needing to discuss it with text. Additionally, we see both of Marjane’s views: Marjane not understanding the veiling and separation (3/5) as well as Marjane’s depression over the closing of the universities (73/7). The text here illustrates her opinions on the situations that she experiences, and the imagery allows us to see a visual representation of her basic thoughts and emotions, which are well communicated. A final example of the regime’s changes is the difference between the fundamentalist and modern women

Ultimately, Satrapi’s images of the indistinguishable characters accentuate the perception of a western reader to see the Veil as quite oppressive. In America, young teenagers live in a society where clothing and hair is meant to define and express themselves. It is normal for a 17 year old girl to curl her hair and go on a date with her boyfriend. However, in Iran, this is not the case, and as evident in Persepolis, woman are restricted to show her hair or publically show affection to any man who is not her husband. This restriction is something that not many people, especially in predominantly Christian societies are accustomed to. On page 74, Taji, Marjane's mother warns her daughter by explaining one of her experiences, "They insulted me. They said that women like me should be pushed up against a wall and fucked. And then thrown in the garbage. ...And that if I didn't want that to happen, I should wear the veil...” Indeed, Marjane had always been deprived of her individuality, not only as a woman, but as a person. Being a woman in Iran meant Marjane was never able to fully express herself, not only by not

In Persepolis, Marjane’s parents were very permissive of her, they supported and encouraged any interests she had, even going as far as to smuggle rock posters from Istanbul back into Iran for Marjane, despite the fact that getting caught with the posters would have gotten them imprisoned or worse. Most of Marjane’s actions and lifestyle choices were shunned upon in her culture. In chapter ‘Kim Wilde’, her personal interests and the conservative nature of her religion collide. Problems are first faced when women from the so called “The Guardians of the Revolution, The Women’s Branch”, who had the job of arresting women that were improperly veiled or dressed, called out Marjane for wearing “punk” shoes, wearing a Michael Jackson badge and denim

Following the revolution, Iran experiences drastic changes in all areas of society. Women were greatly affected during Khomeini’s rule, having their rights taken away. A new Islamic dress code was imposed on all women in Iran, this change influenced Betty, Marji’s mother and Marji herself. As stated in the Quran, women should wear the hijab in public covering themselves to gain more self-confidence and self-respect knowing who they are in the society. In saying this, during Khomeini’s rule ushered in oppressive laws against women that restricted a woman’s right to express her individuality as a woman, with a dress code being one of the most important impacts seen in both autobiographies. In the very beginning of the book, Marjane stated, “We didn’t really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had to’’ Marjane found the veil especially difficult to accept as seen throughout the book because they were of a westernized mentality and did not approve of the restrictions placed on women’s rights even though [she] was very religious. Marji her family ‘’were very modern and avant-garde’’ and saw the veil as having their basic freedoms taken away. The hijab had turned woman against each other and ‘’there were demonstrations for and against the veil’’ which

“The Veil” and “The Bicycle” chapters of Persepolis serve as ‘signifiers’ of the young Marjane’s growing awareness of the realities of life in 80s Iran. To begin with, there is a harsh political reality that is beyond young Marjane’s grasp. The veil signifies this outer reality as it is becomes obligatory to wear under the new religious regime. She explains these sudden and confusing events: “We didn’t really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had to” (Persepolis 3). Due to her young age, she is unable to comprehend the reality of a new political power guided by religion and the possible benefits and disadvantages of having a non-secular government.

When she sends Marjane away from Iran, she assures her: “I know how I brought you up. Above all, I trust your education” (147). Marjane’s mother doesn’t want her daughter to live in such an oppressive time. When the veils become mandatory, Marjane’s mother wishes to take her to an opposition demonstration: “She should start learning to defend her rights as a woman right now!” (76) In growing up with such strong female role models, Marjane learns to express her opinion and always stand by her beliefs. They taught her to stand up for herself as a woman, and in doing so, introduced her to a feminist perspective on life.

The story of Marjane opens during a fundamental time period of Iranian history, a period that consisted of the Islamic Revolution. As stated earlier on in the novel, this revolution was the force that caused the Shah to flee from Iran in the year of 1979. Like many others in Iran during this time, Marjane and her family found no interest in the Shah. During his reign, the Shah showed signs of diluting Iran's value of a constitutional monarch, and instead moved the country towards an absolute monarchy. Additionally, with the U.S peddling the Iranian oil supply, many Iranians felt betrayed by the Shah, as he became a so-called puppet for the U.S. Because of this, his popularity slowly plummeted, and an uprise began within the country. This uprise, is then shown through Marjane's perspective. Therefore, through