Persepolis: The Wine

The chapter opens up with the Satrapis hiding in their shelter during a bombing. By now, the new regime has made partying strictly forbidden. People had been punished severely for breaking these rules. However, partying was the only way for people to get any joy out of life under their conditions. The Satrapis hold a party once to celebrate the birth of Marjane's aunt's child. During this party, the power goes out and the sirens go off, causing Marjane's aunt to run away, giving the baby to Marjane. Marjane and her mother father and grandmother head for home, only to be stopped by a couple Guardians of the Revolution, who suspect Marjane's dad to have been drinking alcohol. They follow the family home, and Marjane's dad distracts the Guardians while Marjane and her Grandmother get rid of all the wine they have at home.

I thought this chapter was interesting because it showed how hard life was for people living in Iran at this time; people are not allowed to party, use alcohol, ect, but they do it in secret because without parties, life wouldn't be "psychologically bearable" for them. (Pg. 106).

Another thing I thought was good of Marjane to do was mention how once the bombings were over, people had relatives and friends to worry about, making sure that they were alright after the bombing. This is something that I never had really thought about until it was brought up in the chapter.

Barefoot Gen

Barefoot Gen is a Japanese manga about a family living in Japan during WWII. It shows us what life was like during the war, and we see the effect of the atom bomb when it was dropped on Hiroshima. This book is similar to Persepolis in how it shows the childhood of someone as they grow up during a war, and the effect that they have on said childhood. They also both deal with the governments and their decisions during these times of war.

Being a fan of anime and manga, I was able to really enjoy this novel for what it was. It was also interesting seeing a manga based on real life events, as that is something that one doesn't see often in anime or manga. This is something I really have to admire Barefoot Gen for doing, and for doing so in a realistic way.

The manga itself got really sad toward the end after the bomb is dropped, and Gen, being one of the survivors, finds his father and siblings trapped underneath the ruins of their house, and is unable to get them out before one of the fires reaches the house.

Overall, I found Barefoot Gen to be both very well done and very moving, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes war stories.

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