More than they bargained for

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

5 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

05/18/2009

Category :

Philosophy & literature

Sub category :

Literature

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Summary :

Introduction
The course of Persepolis
Loss of innocence
The contradiction in the story
The violence surrounding the revolution
The change in Satrapi's responses
Guevara's later experiences with the poor
Further connections made by Guevara with his knowledge
Conclusion
Bibliography

Abstract

The process of maturation from childhood to adulthood, or "coming-of-age," is a unique experience that often shapes the way that an adult will conduct his or her life in the future. In literature, a Bildungsroman outlines the transformational experiences of a young person as they transition into adulthood. Regardless of the circumstances, readers can often identify with the protagonist in such a story because the struggle between childlike innocence and adult understanding is a universal conflict. Marjane Satrapi's memoir, Persepolis, details her upbringing in Iran during politically tumultuous times. Through the protagonist's often conflicting and confusing experiences with the oppressive Iranian regime, the Iraq war and the dynamics within her own politically involved Marxist family, Satrapi relates her own "coming-of-age" story in an attempt to humanize the Iranian experience. Two shifts, including; her loss of innocence, prompted by the war's erosion of her sense of security and her increased awareness of social inequality; and, her gaining of mature insights through her family's political involvement and her own education and observations, led her to act in ways that were mature beyond her fourteen years. Ernesto "Che" Guevara told his own version of the "coming-of-age" story through the diary he kept while he travelled around South America during a break from medical school. Like Satrapi, he came from an upper-middle class family and, also like Satrapi (although to a greater extent), his recognition of social inequality shapes his maturation process. However, Guevara's actions at the end of the Diaries suggest that this portion of his story did not provide many of the major turning points in his life that led him to become the extreme political figure he was in adulthood. While the reader finds that Guevara's journey enables him to put a human face on the innumerable stories of suffering that he had only read about in books (a shift in view of the world), his actions towards certain minority groups suggest that he had not "dropped all preconceptions" about the then-current class struggle (handout). Additionally, he claims to denounce the class system he inhabits, but his actions and suggestions toward the end of the story (when compared with his actions in his later life) indicate that this journey did not directly transform him into a revolutionary.