graphic ethics: theorizing the face in marjane satrapi's persepolis

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GRAPHIC ETHICS: THEORIZING THE FACE IN MARJANE SATRAPI’S PERSEPOLIS JOSEPH DARDA Complex personhood means that all people . . . remember and forget, are beset by contradictions, and recognize and misrecognize themselves and othĦ HUV &RPSOH[ SHUVRQKRRG PHDQV WKDW HYHQ WKRVH FDOOHG ´2WKHUµ DUH QHYHU never that. ĦĦ$YHU\ *RUGRQ ,Q D 1HZ <RUN 7LPHV FRPLFVĥHGLWRULDO ,UDQLDQĥ)UHQFK JUDSKLF PHPRLUĥ LVW 0DUMDQH 6DWUDSL GLVFXVVHV KHU ¿UVW WULS WR WKH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV LQ DQG KHU struggle to defend her birth nation of Iran during this trip. The editorial includes D WHOOLQJ FROODJH &RORUIXO ¿OP SRVWHUV ¿OO WKH WRS RI WKH SDQHO $PHULFDQ PHQ LQ DYLDWRU VXQJODVVHV DLP JXQV DQG D WLPLGĥORRNLQJ PRWKHU FUDGOHV KHU FKLOG $W the bottom of the panel, a throng of Iranians in FKDGRUV KXGGOHV WRJHWKHU MXVW WKH KLQW RI D VLQJOH IDFH ZLWK UHG OLSV LV GLVFHUQDEOH LQ WKH RWKHUZLVH DOOĥEODFN LOOXVWUDWLRQ ,Q WKLV 6DWUDSL VDWLUL]HV WKH :HVWHUQ UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ RI ,UDQLDQV DV fearful, helpless, and indistinct, a representation that facilitates American intruĥ sions in Western Asia. As she captions the collage, “I had . . . to try to explain to people what Iran was really like. That not every woman in Iran looked like a black bird. That the axis of evil also included people like myself. That it was a YHU\ EDG LGHD WR JLYH GHPRFUDF\ DV D SUHVHQW WR SHRSOH E\ ERPELQJ WKHP´ Īī 6DWUDSL¶V SURMHFW RI KLVWRULFDO UHFODPDWLRQ LQ WKH :HVW LV OLNHZLVH DSSDUHQW LQ KHU ¿UVW PDMRU ZRUN WKH pPLJUp graphic memoir Persepolis Ī Eī ,W LV RQH RI countless comics to engage serious political and autobiographical content in this RQFHĥPDUJLQDO IRUP VLQFH WKH JUHDW VXFFHVV RI $UW 6SLHJHOPDQ¶V Maus, which was COLLEGE LITERATURE: A JOURNAL OF CRITICAL LITERARY STUDIES 6SULQJ 3ULQW ,661 ĥ (ĥ,661 ĥ © West Chester University 2013

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Page 1: graphic ethics: theorizing the face in marjane satrapi's persepolis

GRAPHIC ETHICS: THEORIZING THE FACE IN MARJANE SATRAPI’S PERSEPOLIS

JOSEPH DARDA

Complex personhood means that all people . . . remember and forget, are beset by contradictions, and recognize and misrecognize themselves and othĦHUV��������&RPSOH[�SHUVRQKRRG�PHDQV�WKDW�HYHQ�WKRVH�FDOOHG�´2WKHUµ�DUH�QHYHU�never that.ĦĦ$YHU\�*RUGRQ

,Q� D� �����1HZ� <RUN� 7LPHV� FRPLFVĥHGLWRULDO�� ,UDQLDQĥ)UHQFK� JUDSKLF� PHPRLUĥLVW�0DUMDQH�6DWUDSL�GLVFXVVHV�KHU�¿UVW�WULS�WR�WKH�8QLWHG�6WDWHV�LQ������DQG�KHU�struggle to defend her birth nation of Iran during this trip. The editorial includes D�WHOOLQJ�FROODJH��&RORUIXO�¿OP�SRVWHUV�¿OO�WKH�WRS�RI�WKH�SDQHO��$PHULFDQ�PHQ�LQ�DYLDWRU�VXQJODVVHV�DLP�JXQV�DQG�D�WLPLGĥORRNLQJ�PRWKHU�FUDGOHV�KHU�FKLOG��$W�the bottom of the panel, a throng of Iranians in FKDGRUV�KXGGOHV�WRJHWKHU��MXVW�WKH�KLQW�RI�D� VLQJOH� IDFH�ZLWK� UHG� OLSV� LV�GLVFHUQDEOH� LQ� WKH�RWKHUZLVH�DOOĥEODFN�LOOXVWUDWLRQ��,Q�WKLV��6DWUDSL�VDWLUL]HV�WKH�:HVWHUQ�UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ�RI�,UDQLDQV�DV�fearful, helpless, and indistinct, a representation that facilitates American intruĥsions in Western Asia. As she captions the collage, “I had . . . to try to explain to people what Iran was really like. That not every woman in Iran looked like a black bird. That the axis of evil also included people like myself. That it was a YHU\�EDG�LGHD�WR�JLYH�GHPRFUDF\�DV�D�SUHVHQW�WR�SHRSOH�E\�ERPELQJ�WKHP´�Ī����ī��6DWUDSL¶V�SURMHFW�RI�KLVWRULFDO�UHFODPDWLRQ�LQ�WKH�:HVW�LV�OLNHZLVH�DSSDUHQW�LQ�KHU�¿UVW�PDMRU�ZRUN��WKH�pPLJUp graphic memoir Persepolis�Ī����������Eī��,W�LV�RQH�RI�countless comics to engage serious political and autobiographical content in this RQFHĥPDUJLQDO�IRUP�VLQFH�WKH�JUHDW�VXFFHVV�RI�$UW�6SLHJHOPDQ¶V�Maus, which was

COLLEGE LITERATURE: A JOURNAL OF CRITICAL LITERARY STUDIES �����6SULQJ�����3ULQW�,661�����ĥ�����(ĥ,661�����ĥ����© West Chester University 2013

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32 COLLEGE LITERATURE | �����6SULQJ�����

SXEOLVKHG�LQ�WZR�YROXPHV�LQ������DQG�������,Q�IDFW��VFKRODUV�SRLQW�WR�WKH�IRUP�DV�an ideal space for interrogating epistemological assumptions and placing extraĥtextual “demands” on the reader.1

Recent comics criticism, and in particular criticism of graphic memoirs, cenĥters on the instabilities inherent in the multimodal text. Michael Chaney, Hillĥary Chute, Rocío�'DYLV��-DPHV�+DW¿HOG��7KHUHVD�7HQVXDQ��DQG�*LOOLDQ�:KLWORFN�IRFXV�RQ�WKH�GLVMXQFWXUHV�EHWZHHQ�ZRUG�DQG�LPDJH��DFURVV�SDQHOV��DQG�LQ�WKH�SUHVĥent narration of a past self.2�$FFRUGLQJ�WR�WKLV�VFKRODUVKLS��LW�LV�IURP�WKH�PHGLXP¶V�tensions and instabilities that it gains its political force, undermining hegemonic social structures, representing the unrepresentable, and positioning the reader as an intimate participant in its construction. Characteristic of this work, Davis contends that graphic memoirists “revise established genres to destabilize ideology and conventional strategies of meaning in order to enact distinct sociocultural situations. Readers who encounter these revisionary texts are thus obliged to reexĥDPLQH�WKHLU�H[SHFWDWLRQV�DQG�FULWLFDO�SHUVSHFWLYHV´�Ī�����������HPSKDVHV�DGGHGī��<HW�'DYLV� GRHV�QRW� DUWLFXODWH�KRZ�H[DFWO\� WH[WXDO� GHVWDELOL]DWLRQ� OHDGV� WR� WKH�UHDGHU¶V�FULWLFDO�REOLJDWLRQ��+RZ�GRHV�WKH�WH[W��LQ�D�VWDWH�RI�WHQVLRQ��FRPSHO�WKH�UHDGHU�WR�DVVHVV�KHU�LGHRORJLFDO�RULHQWDWLRQ�WR�LWV�VXEMHFW�PDWWHU"�&ULWLFV�LQGLFDWH�that the graphic memoir is uniquely capable of making an ethical appeal to the reader. But it remains unclear what this mechanism is and how it functions in WKH�WH[W��,W�LV�FUXFLDO�WKDW�ZH�UHFRJQL]H�ZKDW�UHSUHVHQWDWLRQDO�SUDFWLFHV�GR�DQG�do not communicate what Avery Gordon calls “complex personhood.” “Complex personhood,” she notes, “means that all people . . . remember and forget, are beset E\�FRQWUDGLFWLRQV��DQG�UHFRJQL]H�DQG�PLVUHFRJQL]H�WKHPVHOYHV�DQG�RWKHUV´�Ī�������ī��7KH�JUDSKLF�PHPRLU��,�DLP�WR�PDNH�FOHDU��OHQGV�LWVHOI�WR�WKH�WUDQVPLVVLRQ�RI�WKLV�FRPSOH[LW\��,Q�FRQVLGHULQJ�WKH�HWKLFV�RI�WKH�JUDSKLF�PHPRLU��,�¿UVW�WUDFH�WKH�RULJLQ�RI�WKH�GHEDWH�ZLWKLQ�FRPLFV�FULWLFLVP��6HFRQG��FDOOLQJ�RQ�-XGLWK�%XWOHU¶V�WKHRUL]DWLRQ�RI�WKH�/HYLQDVLDQ�QRWLRQ�RI�³WKH�IDFH�´�,�HVWDEOLVK�DQ�HWKLFDO�IUDPHĥZRUN�WR�VXEVWDQWLDWH�WKH�WKXVĥIDUĥXQFOHDU�FODLPV�FRQQHFWLQJ�IRUPDO�GHVWDELOL]Dĥtion to reader obligation. Third, I demonstrate this ethical import as it operates ZLWKLQ�6DWUDSL¶V�Persepolis.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CLOSURE

Although comics remain a growing site of interest among scholars, criticism of the form is in fact decades old. In his pioneering historical account of the FRPLF�VWULS��'DYLG�.XQ]OH�FRQWHQGV�WKDW�FRPLFV�DUH�¿UVW�DQG�IRUHPRVW�D�SLFWRULDO�PHGLXP�Ī�������ī��7KH�WH[W�RI�D�SDQHO��KH�DUJXHV��LV�VXERUGLQDWH�WR�WKH�ZRUN�RI�WKH�LPDJH��ZKLFK�³FDUULHV�WKH�EXUGHQ´�RI�QDUUDWLRQ�Ī�ī��0RUH�WKDQ�D�GHFDGH�ODWHU��:LOO�(LVQHU� DWWULEXWHV� D� VLPLODU�SUHFHGHQFH� WR� WKH� LPDJH�3 In his foundational work Comics and Sequential Art�Ī����ī��(LVQHU�GLVWLQJXLVKHV�WKH�FRPLFV�DXWKRU�IURP�the traditional prose writer. Whereas a work of prose directs the imagination of WKH�UHDGHU��(LVQHU�DUJXHV��WKH�FRPLF�VWULS�GHWHUPLQHV�LW��³$Q�LPDJH�RQFH�GUDZQ�becomes a precise statement that brooks little or no further interpretation.

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Joseph Darda | ESSAYS 3 3

:KHQ�WKH�WZR�DUH�µPL[HG¶�WKH�ZRUGV�EHFRPH�ZHOGHG�WR�WKH�LPDJH�DQG�QR�ORQJHU�serve to describe but rather to provide sound, dialogue and connective passages” Ī���ī��$OWKRXJK�Comics and Sequential Art remains a foundational text, opening XS�WKH�VLQFH�EXUJHRQLQJ�¿HOG�RI�FRPLFV�FULWLFLVP��(LVQHU¶V�LGHDV�FRPH�LQ�DOPRVW�direct opposition to present scholarship. Comics, we now insist, do not require less interpretation than prose but more��7KH�ZRUGV�DUH�QRW�µZHOGHG¶�WR�WKH�LPDJH�but coexist in a precarious state of simultaneous alignment and discordance.

6FRWW�0F&ORXG��VRPH�ZRXOG�DUJXH�(LVQHU¶V�GLUHFW�VXFFHVVRU��EHJLQV�WR�IRUPXĥlate this response in Understanding Comics Ī����ī��+H�VHHV�FRPLFV�DV�D�PHGLXP�WKDW�is incomplete until it is read, until the reader sutures the numerous interruptions LQ�WKH�WH[W��0F&ORXG�SRSXODUL]HV�ZLWKLQ�FRPLFV�FULWLFLVP�WZR�HVVHQWLDO�FRQFHSWV��WKH�LFRQ�DQG�WKH�JXWWHU��7KH�LFRQ�LV�D�UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ�RI�DQ�REMHFW��DQG�LW�FDQ�EH�PRUH�RU�OHVV�LFRQLFħWKDW�LV��PRUH�DEVWUDFW�RU�PRUH�UHDOLVWLF��0F&ORXG�FRQWHQGV�WKDW�RXU�VHOIĥSHUFHSWLRQ�LV�DQ�LFRQLF�RQH�ĪH[FHSW�ZKHQ�LQ�IURQW�RI�D�PLUURUī��DQG�WKHUHIRUH�ZH�FDQ�UHODWH�WR�RU�HQWHU�FRPLFV�FKDUDFWHUV¶�SHUFHSWLRQV�ZLWK�JUHDWHU�HDVH�Ī��ī��7KH�JXWWHU�LV�WKH�OLPLQDO�VSDFH�EHWZHHQ�SDQHOV��D�JDS��0F&ORXG�DUJXHV��WKDW�WKH�UHDGHU�PXVW�FORVH�Ī��ī��³&RPLFV�SDQHOV�´�KH�LQGLFDWHV��³IUDFWXUH�ERWK�WLPH�DQG�VSDFH��RɱHULQJ�D�MDJJHG��VWDFFDWR�UK\WKP�RI�XQFRQQHFWHG�PRPHQWV��%XW�FORĥsure allows us to connect these moments and mentally construct a continuous, XQL¿HG�UHDOLW\´�Ī��ī��8QOLNH�D�¿OP�UHHO��LQ�ZKLFK�VHTXHQWLDO�LPDJHV�EOHQG�WRJHWKHU�WKURXJK� PHFKDQLFDO� SURFHVVHV�� FRPLFV� HPSKDVL]H� WKH� VSDFH� EHWZHHQ� LPDJHV�and leave the reader to bridge it. So with McCloud the reader is put front and center, instilling closure between panels, imbuing icons with meaning, and unitĥLQJ�ZRUG�DQG�LPDJH��:KHUHDV�(LVQHU�VXJJHVWV�WKDW�FRPLFV�GHPDQG�OLWWOH�LQWHUĥpretation, McCloud sees little but interpretation in the reading of comics. Still UHFHQW�VFKRODUVKLS�IRFXVHV�OHVV�RQ�FORVXUH�WKDQ�LW�GRHV�RQ�³GLVĥFORVXUH�´� Whereas 0F&ORXG�FKDUDFWHUL]HV�FORVXUH�DV�DOPRVW�LQHYLWDEOH��UHFHQW�FULWLFV�DUH�PRUH�FRQĥcerned with considering what happens when the gutter does not close, or when word and image do not come together, or when an iconic face does not welcome FRĥLGHQWL¿FDWLRQ�

Such questions are at the center of current scholarship on graphic memoirs, or what Gillian Whitlock calls “autographics,” a term she coins in order to emphaĥVL]H� WKH�FRQFXUUHQFH�RI�ZRUG�DQG� LPDJH� LQ� WKH�PHGLXP�DQG� WKH�SHFXOLDU� VXEĥMHFW�SRVLWLRQV�WKURXJK�ZKLFK�WKH�DXWRELRJUDSKHU�RɱHUV�KHU�DFFRXQW�Ī���������ī��&KDUOHV�+DW¿HOG�GHVFULEHV�WKHVH�PRPHQWV�RI�GLVĥFORVXUH�DV�³WHQVLRQV�´�HPSKDĥVL]LQJ�WKH�SRWHQWLDO�¿VVXUHV� LQ� LPDJH�WH[W� UHODWLRQV��EHWZHHQ�WKH�WLPHIUDPH�RI�WKH�SDQHO�DQG�WKDW�RI�WKH�SDJH��DQG�LQ�WKH�VHOIĥFRQVFLRXV�PDWHULDOLW\�RI�WKH�IRUP�Ī������ ��ī��:KHUHDV�0F&ORXG� VXJJHVWV� WKDW� WKH� FRPLFV� UHDGHU� FDQ� JHQHUDWH� D�³XQL¿HG�UHDOLW\´� WKURXJK�FORVXUH��+DW¿HOG�VXJJHVWV� WKDW� WKH�PDQLIROG�WHQVLRQV�RI�FRPLFV�FDQ�FRQÀLFW�ZLWK�RQH�DQRWKHU�WR�WKH�SRLQW�WKDW�FORVXUH�EHFRPHV�DOWRĥJHWKHU�XQPDQDJHDEOH�Ī��ī��+DW¿HOG¶V�QRWLRQ�RI�³WHQVLRQV´�DOLJQV�ZLWK�ZKDW�-XOLD�:DWVRQ� FDOOV� ³VSOLWV´� Ī������ ��ī��&KXWH� FDOOV� ³FURVVĥGLVFXUVLYLW\´� Ī������ �ī�� DQG�-DUHG�*DUGQHU�FDOOV�³GRXEOHĥYLVLRQ´�Ī���������ī��7KH�DXWRJUDSKLF�LV�IXOO�RI�KROHV�and interruptions, not all of which can be integrated through subconscious acts

Page 4: graphic ethics: theorizing the face in marjane satrapi's persepolis

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of closure. Sometimes comics refuse to cohere with familiar tropes and practices RI�VLJQL¿FDWLRQ�

<HW�WKLV�GHVWDELOL]DWLRQ�LV�ZKDW�PDNHV�WKH�IRUP�D�FUXFLDO�FRXQWHUEDODQFH�WR�RWKHU��PRUH�HQWUHQFKHG�PHGLD��,Q�LWV�IRUPDO�GLVĥFORVXUHV��WKH�DXWRJUDSKLF�SUHVVHV�the reader to reconsider the assumptions she brings to the text and the basic IUDPHZRUN�WKURXJK�ZKLFK�VKH�XQGHUVWDQGV�WKH�VRĥFDOOHG�RWKHU��&KXWH�FRQWHQGV�that the autographic represents a medium capable of rethinking the commonĥplaces of institutional histories and trauma studies. Rather than representing WKH�³XQVSHDNDELOLW\´�RI�WUDXPD��JUDSKLF�PHPRLUV�ZRUN�WR�PDWHULDOL]H�WKLV�SDVW�ZKLOH�VWLOO�IRUHJURXQGLQJ�WKH�GLɷFXOWLHV�RI�QDUUDWLQJ�WUDXPD�Ī����D�����ī��7KH�form does not construct a better or more accurate representation of trauma and otherness. Instead, it highlights the contructedness of representation in genĥeral, and thus facilitates understandings outside of our prescribed notions of GLɱHUHQFH��+HQFH��WKH�DXWRJUDSKLF�WURXEOHV�JHQUH�ERXQGDULHV�Ī'DYLV����������ī��WKH� LVRODWLRQ�RI� WKH�KLVWRULFDO�SDVW� IURP�WKH�SUHVHQW� Ī*DUGQHU����������ī�� WKH�WHDFKHUĥYLFWLP�UHODWLRQV�RI�³UHVFXH�SROLWLFV´�Ī6PLWK���������ī��DQG�WKH�QDWXUDOL]HG�VRFLDO�VFULSWV�RI�FODVV��JHQGHU��UDFH��DQG�QDWLRQ�Ī7HQVXDQ����������ĥ��ī��,Q�VXP��the autographic complicates epistemological certainties and thus makes possible a less abridged consideration of political and social issues. To paraphrase Gorĥdon, we cannot “imagine otherwise” until we understand the constraints of the SUHVHQW�RUGHU�Ī�������ī�

6R�LW�LV�IURP�WKH�IRUPDO�WHQVLRQV�ĪDQG�UHVXOWDQW�HSLVWHPRORJLFDO�XQFHUWDLQWLHVī�that the autographic gains its ethical import. Tensuan suggests that such tenĥsions force the reader to loiter in the autographic panels and, in doing so, shift KHU�SRVLWLRQ�DV�VSHFWDWRU�WR�WKDW�RI�WKH�LFRQLF�QDUUDWRU�Ī��������������ī��7KH�IRUP�of the autographic puts an unfamiliar demand on the reader to take part in the construction of the narrative and thus to comprehend it from the inside rather than as a detached outsider. Watson suggests that the “splits” that mark the form HQJDJH�WKH�UHDGHU�³DɱHFWLYHO\�DQG�HWKLFDOO\´�LQ�D�UHFRQVLGHUDWLRQ�RI�VRFLHWDO�QRUPV�Ī��������ī��/HLJK�*LOPRUH�DUJXHV�WKDW�WKH�DXWRJUDSKLF�UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ�RI�WUDXPD�“demands” that the author participate in the act of witnessing alongside the narĥUDWRU�Ī��������������ī��&KXWH�PHDQZKLOH�FRQWHQGV�WKDW�WKH�IRUP�DɱRUGV�D�³PDSĥSLQJ´�RI�WKH�DXWKRU¶V�SUHFHSWV�DQG�WKXV�RɱHUV�D�³VRSKLVWLFDWHG�UHSUHVHQWDWLRQDO�DHVWKHWLFV�DQG�HWKLFV´�Ī��������ī��,W�LV�QRW�DOWRJHWKHU�FOHDU�IURP�WKHVH�DFFRXQWV��however, what places this act of reading in the ethical realm. What compels the reader to meet the demands of the autographic? If the text encourages us to inhabit the precepts of the narrator, is this a site of ethics or one of egoism? Does the autographic accommodate the complex personhood of the one telling trauma RU�WKH�RQH�UHDGLQJ�LW"�$IWHU�DOO��WR�UHFRJQL]H�RQHVHOI�EHWWHU�LV�QRW�WR�EH�HWKLFDO�

I would like to suggest that the graphic memoir does in fact facilitate ethical reading, as Chute, Watson, and Gilmore suggest. But this is a claim that still QHHGV� FODUL¿FDWLRQ� DQG� WKHRUHWLFDO� VWUXFWXUH�� DQ� DFFRXQW� RI�ZKDW� ,� DP� FDOOLQJ�µJUDSKLF� HWKLFV�¶�7DNLQJ� D� VWHS� EDFN� IURP� WKH� MXGLFLRXV�ZRUN� RI�&KXWH��'DYLV��+DW¿HOG�� DQG� :KLWORFN�� ,� PHUJH� WKH� GLVFXVVLRQ� VXUURXQGLQJ� GLVĥFORVXUH� LQ�

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Joseph Darda | ESSAYS � �

DXWRJUDSKLFV�ZLWK�WKH�QRQYLROHQW�HWKLFV�RI�-XGLWK�%XWOHU¶V�LQWHUSUHWDWLRQ�RI�WKH�IDFH�DV�D�VLWH�RI�SHUSHWXDO�WHQVLRQ�WKDW�FDQ�DɷUP�WKH�KXPDQ�LQ�KHU�IXQGDPHQWDO�precariousness. I further contend that the timeframe of the autographic enacts what Diana Taylor calls “the scenario,” a repeatable, repeating, and changeable instance that situates us, as spectators, as part of the act, “implicating us in its HWKLFV�DQG�SROLWLFV´�Ī��������ī�

TOWARD A GRAPHIC ETHICS

Writing after the September 11 attacks and the ensuing processes of containment ĪLQYROYLQJ� WKH� 86$� 3$75,27� $FW� DQG� RWKHU� LPPLJUDWLRQ� DQG� LQWHOOLJHQFHĥ JDWKHULQJ� SROLFLHVī�� %XWOHU� FRQVLGHUV� WKH� QDWLRQDO� ³IUDPHV´� WKDW� LQÀHFW� DQG�OLPLW�RXU�DɱHFWLYH� UHVSRQVHV� WR� WUDQVQDWLRQDO�DFWV�RI�YLROHQFH�� ,Q�SDUWLFXODU��VKH�FULWLFL]HV�86�PHGLD�UHSUHVHQWDWLRQV�RI�:HVWHUQ�$VLDQ�VXEMHFWV�DIWHU�6HSWHPĥEHU����������DQG�GXULQJ�WKH�FRQÀLFWV�LQ�,UDT�DQG�$IJKDQLVWDQ��,Q�VHDUFKLQJ�IRU�an ethics that can counteract state violence, she distinguishes between two interĥsecting terms, what she calls “precariousness” and “precarity,” the former as the FRPPRQ�FRQGLWLRQ�RI�OLIHħXQJXDUDQWHHG�DQG�H[SRVHG�WR�LQMXU\�DQG�GHDWKħDQG�WKH�ODWWHU�DV�D�SROLWLFDO�FRQGLWLRQ�LQ�ZKLFK�D�SRSXODWLRQ�LV�³GLɱHUHQWLDOO\�H[SRVHG´�WR�OLIH¶V�LPSHUPDQHQFH�Ī��������ĥ��ī��5HFRJQL]LQJ�WKH�SUHFDULRXVQHVV�RU�SUHFDUĥLW\�RI�DQRWKHU�LV�WR�UHFRJQL]H�WKDW�KHU�OLIH�ZLOO�DW�VRPH�SRLQW�HQG��WR�EH�OLYLQJ�LV�WR�DFNQRZOHGJH�D�IXWXUH�GHDWK�Ī��ī��:KHQ�ZH�DFNQRZOHGJH�WKDW�D�SHUVRQ�ZLOO�GLH��ZH�PDNH�WKDW�OLIH��LQ�%XWOHU¶V�WHUPV��³JULHYDEOH´�Ī��ī��7KDW�LV��WR�VHH�DQRWKHU�SHUVRQ�DV�living is to acknowledge that that person is in danger of dying and will at some point die, and vice versa. We must see a life as precarious and grievable in order IRU�LW�WR�EH�D�OLIH�LQ�WKH�¿UVW�SODFH�

%XWOHU¶V�FRQWHQWLRQ��WKHQ��LV�WKDW�86�PHGLD�UHSUHVHQW�WKH�:HVWHUQ�$VLDQ�VXEĥMHFW�VR�DV�WR�PDNH�KHU�³XQJULHYDEOH´�DQG�WKXV�QRW�PXUGHUDEOH��NLOOLQJ�VRPHRQH�ZKR�cannot die and is therefore not alive is not killing to begin with. Butler asks, “If ZH�DFFHSW�WKDW�DɱHFW�LV�VWUXFWXUHG�E\�LQWHUSUHWDWLYH�VFKHPHV�WKDW�ZH�GR�QRW�IXOO\�understand, can this help us understand why it is we might feel horror in the face RI�FHUWDLQ�ORVVHV�EXW�LQGLɱHUHQFH�RU�HYHQ�ULJKWHRXVQHVV�LQ�OLJKW�RI�RWKHUV"´�Ī��������ĥ��ī��+HU�FDXWLRXV�VROXWLRQ��DQG�WKH�HWKLFDO�JURXQGLQJ�,�SURSRVH�WR�LQWURGXFH�to autographics, is the Levinasian notion of the face. In the face of the other, in its precariousness, one is met with two warring desires: the desire to kill and “the GLYLQH�SURKLELWLRQ�DJDLQVW�NLOOLQJ´�Ī-��%XWOHU����������ī��7KH�¿UVW�LV�DQ�LPSXOVH�RI�VHOIĥSUHVHUYDWLRQ�LQ�OLJKW�RI�RQH¶V�RZQ�SUHFDULRXVQHVV��DQG�WKH�VHFRQG�LV�DQ�HWKLFDO�LPSXOVH��D�IHDU�RI�FRPPLWWLQJ�DQ�DFW�RI�YLROHQFH�LQ�WKH�UHFRJQLWLRQ�RI�WKH�RWKHU¶V�SUHFDULW\��,Q�WKLV��%XWOHU�ĪWKURXJK�/HYLQDVī�RɱHUV�DQ�HWKLFV�RI�QRQYLROHQFH�WKDW�LV�QRW�D�PDWWHU�RI�SHDFH�EXW�RI�FRQÀLFWĥLQĥVXVSHQVLRQ��2QH�GRHV�QRW�NLOO�EHFDXVH�WKH�HWKLFDO�SURKLELWLRQ�WKDW�³WKRX�VKDOW�QRW�NLOO´�QHJDWHV�WKH�RSSRVLQJ�LPSXOVH�Ī���ī�

The face belongs to the realm of ethics in part because it is incomprehensible. 7R�XVH�*RUGRQ¶V�WHUP��WKH�IDFH�VLJQDOV�WKH�FRPSOH[�SHUVRQKRRG�RI�WKH�RWKHU��VKH�FDQQRW�DQG�PXVW�QRW�EH�DOWRJHWKHU�GLVFHUQDEOH��:H�PXVW�XQGHUVWDQG�GLɱHUHQFH��

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/HYLQDV�VXJJHVWV��QRW�DV�D�SURMHFW�RI�DVVLPLODWLRQ�RU�FDWHJRULFDO�RWKHULQJ�EXW�LQ�terms of what he calls proximity: “Proximity as the impossible assumption of GLɱHUHQFH��LPSRVVLEOH�GH¿QLWLRQ��LPSRVVLEOH�LQWHJUDWLRQ��3UR[LPLW\�DV�LPSRVVLEOH�DSSHDUDQFH´�Ī���������ī��5DWKHU�WKDQ�GHPDQGLQJ�WKDW�WKH�RWKHU�EH�PRUH�OLNH�RQHĥVHOI�RU�DWWHPSWLQJ�WR�XQGHUVWDQG�RWKHUQHVV�WKURXJK�DUWL¿FLDO�DQG�VWDWLF�FDWHJRULHV�RI�GLɱHUHQFHħWKH�³HWKQRĥUDFLDO�EORFNV´�RI�86�PXOWLFXOWXUDOLVP�FRPH�WR�PLQGħthe face communicates the proximity of the other as irreducible to “a ‘kind of this RU� WKDW�¶´� QHLWKHU� ³XQLW\´�QRU� ³XOWLPDWH�GLɱHUHQFH´� Ī���ĥ��ī��7KH� IDFH�SRVLWLRQV�the other not as alien but as a neighbor incomprehensible in her complexity. The IDFH��DV�/HYLQDV�SXWV�LW��FDQQRW�³EHFRPH�D�FRQWHQW��������LW�LV�XQFRQWDLQDEOH´�Ī��������ī��7KH�HWKLFDO� WHQVLRQ�RI� WKH� IDFH� WKXV�HQJHQGHUV�DQ� ³excess of sociality” that WUDQVFHQGV�WKH�IUDPHZRUN�RI�VHOI�DQG�RWKHU�LWVHOI�Ī���������ī��(WKLFV�LV�QRW�D�PDWWHU�RI�ODFNħDQ�DEVHQFH�RI�FRQÀLFWħEXW�RI�VXUSOXV��DQ�LUUHGXFLEOH�FRPSOH[LW\�WKDW�arises from contradiction. The face tempts us with murder at the same time that LW�SURKLELWV�XV�IURP�FRPPLWWLQJ�LW��7KH�IDFH�LV�QHLWKHU�WKH�VDPH�QRU�GLɱHUHQW�

This ethical tension, though, is not a certainty. Western media, according to %XWOHU��DEROLVK�WKLV�HWKLFDO�WHQVLRQ�LQ�WZR�GLɱHUHQW�PDQQHUV��FDSWXUH�DQG�HUDVXUH�Ī���������ī��7KH�IRUPHU�PDNHV�WKH�IDFH�FRPPHQVXUDEOH��DOORZV�LW�WR�meanħWKH�IDFH�RI�2VDPD�ELQ�/DGHQ�DV�DQ�HPERGLPHQW�RI�HYLOħZKHUHDV� WKH� ODWWHU�RɱHUV�no face at all.� The result is, in one case, a representation of the inhuman and, in WKH�RWKHU��WKH�WRWDO�HUDGLFDWLRQ�RI�KXPDQ�SUHVHQFH��)RU�DQ�HWKLFDO�DQG�QRQYLROHQW�response, then, the face must aspire to represent the human but fail and show its IDLOXUH�WR�UHSUHVHQW�RU�³FDSWXUH´�WKH�KXPDQ�LQ�WRWDO�Ī���ī��,W�LV�LQ�WKLV�XQUHSUHĥVHQWDEOH�IDFH��,�DUJXH��WKDW�WKH�DXWRJUDSKLF�¿QGV�LWV�HWKLFDO�LPSRUW��$V�DQ�LFRQ��the face of the other of the graphic memoir comes through in its attempt but IDLOXUH�WR�UHSUHVHQW�WKH�KXPDQ��WKH�PHPRLULVW¶V�SDVW�VHOI�

7KH�HWKLFV�RI� WKH� IDFH�RI� WKH�DXWRJUDSKLF�¿QGV�UHLQIRUFHPHQW� LQ�WKH�PHGLĥXP¶V�HQDFWPHQW�RI�WKH�VFHQDULR��7D\ORU�distinguishes between what she calls the “archive” and the “repertoire,” the former as documentation that is somewhat stable and chosen for preservation and the latter as enacting embodied memory WKDW�LV�OLYH�DQG�WKXV�H[FHHGV�DUFKLYDO�SUHVHUYDWLRQ�Ī��������ī��However, she trouĥEOHV�WKLV�ELQDU\�ZLWK�KHU�QRWLRQ�RI�WKH�³VFHQDULR�´�ZKLFK�VKH�FKDUDFWHUL]HV�DV�D�VLWĥXDWLRQ�WKDW�³EHDUV�WKH�ZHLJKW�RI�DFFXPXODWLYH�UHSHDWV´�Ī��ī��7KH�VFHQDULR�VDPSOHV�from both the realm of the archive, in its “reactivation” of the past, and the realm of the repertoire, in its potential for change, for the revising of that same past. Although not performance or repertoire proper, the scenario does implicate us in LWV�GLVFRXUVH��$V�7D\ORU�SXWV�LW��³:H�QHHG�WR�µEH�WKHUH�¶�SDUW�RI�WKH�DFW�RI�WUDQVIHU´�Ī��ī��6R��LQ�%XWOHU¶V�WHUPV��WKH�VFHQDULR�SUHFOXGHV�WUHDWLQJ�WKH�LFRQLF�IDFH�RI�WKH�other as either inhuman or absent. The autographic thus demands an ethical HQJDJHPHQW�IURP�WKH�UHDGHU�DV�D�VHTXHQFH�RI�LQĥWHQVLRQ�VFHQDULRV�UHSUHVHQWLQJ�WKH�LQFRPPHQVXUDEOH�IDFH�RI�WKH�RWKHU��6DWUDSL¶V�Persepolis embodies this graphic HWKLFV��HPSKDVL]LQJ�WKH�FRPSOH[�SHUVRQKRRG�RI�WKRVH�FDVW�DV�RWKHU�

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Joseph Darda | ESSAYS 3 7

OBLIGATING THE READER IN PERSEPOLIS

2QH�RI�WKH�IDVWHVW�JURZLQJ�VXEVHWV�RI�DXWRJUDSKLFV�LV�WKH�,UDQLDQ�pPLJUp�JUDSKLF�PHPRLU��QRZ� LQFOXGLQJ�3DUVXD�%DVKL¶V�Nylon Road: A Graphic Memoir of Coming of Age in Iran� Ī����ī��5R\D�+DNDNLDQ¶V�Journey from the Land of No: A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran�Ī����ī��$IVFKLQHK�/DWL¿¶V�Even After All this Time: A Story of Love, Revolution, and Leaving Iran�Ī����ī��DQG�$]DGHK�0RDYHQL¶V�/LSVWLFN�Jihad�Ī����ī��0RVW�SURPLQHQW�DPRQJ�WKLV�VHW�RI�WH[WV��DOO�GHDOLQJ�ZLWK�WKH�,VODPLF�5HYROXWLRQ�DQG�LWV� LPSDFW�RQ�,UDQLDQ�ZRPHQ�� LV�0DUMDQH�6DWUDSL¶V�WZRĥYROXPH�Persepolis. In Persepolis, Satrapi tells of her childhood and adolescence in and RXWVLGH�RI�,UDQ�GXULQJ� WKH�,VODPLF�5HYROXWLRQ�DQG�WKH�HQVXLQJ�,UDQĥ,UDT�:DU��7KH�FKLOG�RI�UDGLFDO�OHIWLVW�SDUHQWV��6DWUDSL�¿UVW�UHSUHVHQWV�KHU�UHDOL]DWLRQ�RI�WKH�political, social, and religious realities of Iran in Persepolis and, in Persepolis 2, her VWUXJJOH� WR� UHFRQFLOH�KHU� LGHQWL¿FDWLRQ�ZLWK� WKH�QDWLRQ�� VHHLQJ� LW� DV�KRPH�EXW�expressing frustration toward its politics and social structure. In the introducĥtion to the 2003 US edition, Satrapi makes it clear that Persepolis�LV�D�SURMHFW�RI�KLVWRULFDO�UHFODPDWLRQ��6LQFH�WKH������,VODPLF�5HYROXWLRQ��VKH�QRWHV��³Ĭ,UDQĭ�KDV�been discussed mostly in connection with fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terĥrorism. As an Iranian who has lived more than half of my life in Iran, I know this LPDJH�LV�IDU�IURP�WKH�WUXWK´�Ī������LLī��+HU�DXWRJUDSKLF�SURFHHGV�WR�WURXEOH�WKH�PDLQVWUHDP�:HVWHUQ�XQGHUVWDQGLQJ�RI�,UDQ�LQ�RɱHULQJ�DQ�DOWHUQDWH�DQG�SHUVRQDO�historical account.

In assessing Persepolis��LW�LV�LPSRUWDQW�WR�FRQVLGHU�WKH�WH[W¶V�LQWHQGHG�DXGLHQFH��DV�6DWUDSL�LV�FDQGLG�DERXW�KHU�WDUJHW�UHDGHUVKLS��:LWK�D�¿UVW�SULQWLQJ�LQ�)UDQFH�IURP������WR������ĪDQG�LQ�WKH�8QLWHG�6WDWHV�LQ������DQG�����ī��WKH�PHPRLU�LV�meant for a Western audience.��$V�\HW��WKHUH�LV�VWLOO�QR�RɷFLDO�)DUVL�WUDQVODWLRQ�LQ�SULQW��,Q�D������GLVFXVVLRQ�RI�KHU�ZRUN��6DWUDSL�FODUL¿HV��³,�ZURWH�ĬPersepolisĭ�IRU�WKH�RWKHU�RQHV��QRW�IRU�,UDQLDQV��)RU�,UDQLDQV�,�ZRXOGQ¶W�JLYH�VR�PXFK�H[SODQDĥWLRQ´�Ī����Dī��,I�KHU�DXWRJUDSKLF�LV�D�ZRUN�RI�KLVWRULFDO�UHFODPDWLRQ��WKHQ�LW�LV�RQH�that takes place in the historical imagination of the West. Just like Butler, SatraĥSL¶V� FKLHI�FRQFHUQ� LV� WKH�SHUFHSWLRQ�RI� ,UDQLDQV�DQG�:HVWHUQ�$VLDQV� LQ�)UDQFH�and the United States as either inhuman or missing, as either global terrorists or historical absences. Her autographic presents a past self that is at center frame, ULJKW�LQ�WKH�UHDGHU¶V� OLQH�RI�VLJKW��EXW�WKDW�KHU�GUDZLQJV�GR�QRW�FDSWXUH��6KH�LV�WKHUH�EXW�DV�D�KXPDQ��QRW�D�¿JXUDWLRQ�

7DNLQJ�DFFRXQW�RI�LWV�WDUJHW�DXGLHQFHħ)UHQFK�DQG�86�FLWL]HQV�OLNHO\�OHVV�WKDQ�IDPLOLDU�ZLWK�,UDQLDQ�KLVWRU\ħPersepolis�LV�RIWHQ�FKDUDFWHUL]HG�DV�D�ZRUN�RI�GLGDFĥWLFLVP��'DYLV�IRU�RQH�GHVFULEHV�6DWUDSL¶V�DXWRJUDSKLF�DV�D�³GLGDFWLF�SURMHFW´�FDSDEOH�RI�SUHVHQWLQJ�DQ�³LQVLGHU�SHUVSHFWLYH´�RQ�,UDQ� Ī���������ī��7KH�Bildungsroman is DIWHU�DOO�D�IRUP�WKDW�WHQGV�WR�HGXFDWH�DQG�PRUDOL]H��<HW�6DWUDSL¶V�DXWRJUDSKLF�LV��DV�her remarks in the introduction make clear, less about educating Western readers RQ�,UDQLDQ�KLVWRU\�WKDQ�LW�LV�DERXW�GHQDWXUDOL]LQJ�WKHLU�SUHVFULEHG�XQGHUVWDQGLQJV�of Western Asia. McCloud suggests that the comics icon, in its abstraction, funcĥWLRQV�DV�³D�YDFXXP�LQWR�ZKLFK�RXU�LGHQWLW\�DQG�DZDUHQHVV�DUH�SXOOHG´�Ī��������ī��2U��DV�'DYLV�SXWV�LW��FRPLFV�RɱHU�DQ�³LQVLGHU�SHUVSHFWLYH´�RQ�WKHLU�VXEMHFW�PDWWHU�

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DQG�WKXV�D�GLGDFWLF�RQH�Ī���ī��,Q�FRQWUDVW��,�DP�DUJXLQJ�WKDW�WKH�LFRQ�RI�6DWUDSL¶V�DXWRJUDSKLF�LV�QRW�DERXW�WKH�UHDGHU�VHHLQJ�KHUVHOI�DV�WKH�SURWDJRQLVWħDQG�WKXV��LQ�HɱHFW��HPSDWKL]LQJ�ZLWK�KHUVHOIħEXW�DERXW�VHHLQJ�WKH�SURWDJRQLVW�DV�FRPSOH[��neither the same as herself nor LUUHGXFLEOH�WR�³D� µNLQG�RI�WKLV�RU�WKDW¶´� Ī/HYLQDV����������ī��+HQFH�� LQWHUURJDWLQJ�WKH�SXEOLFDWLRQ�DQG�UHFHSWLRQ�RI�6DWUDSL¶V�DXWRĥgraphic foregrounds the transnationalism of her account, one that falls outside US frames of understanding and thus works to unsettle them.

2Q� WKH� ¿UVW� SDJH� RI� Persepolis�� 6DWUDSL� PDNHV� WKLV� DLP� FOHDU�� ,Q� WKH� ¿UVW�SDQHO��VKH� LQWURGXFHV�XV�WR�0DUML��KHU�FKLOGKRRG�VHOI� ĪVHH�¿J���ī��6KH�SUHVHQWV�0DUML� VLWWLQJ�DW�D� WDEOH�DQG�ZHDULQJ�D�KHDGVFDUI��$ERYH� LW�� WKH�FDSWLRQ�UHDGV��³7KLV� LV�PH�ZKHQ� ,�ZDV� ��� \HDUV�ROG��7KLV�ZDV� LQ� ����´� Ī������ �ī��$ORQJVLGH�it, the second panel depicts four girls sitting in the same position next to one another and wearing the same hood and headscarf. Its caption reads, “And this LV�D�FODVV�SKRWR��,¶P�VLWWLQJ�RQ�WKH�IDU�OHIW�VR�\RX�GRQ¶W�VHH�PH��)URP�OHIW�WR�ULJKW��*ROQD]��0DKVKLG��1DULQH��0LQQD´�Ī�ī��,Q�WKLV�VHW�RI�SDQHOV��6DWUDSL�LQWURGXFHV�WKH�UHDGHU�WR�D�IDPLOLDU�LPDJH��DQ�,UDQLDQ�ZRPDQ�LQ�KLMDE��%XW�VKH�FRPSOLFDWHV�WKH�PRUH�FRPPRQ�SUHVHQWDWLRQ�RI�:HVWHUQ�$VLDQ�ZRPHQ� MXVW�DV� VKH�RɱHUV�D�familiar point of reference for the US reader. In separating herself from her classmates but at the same time pointing to her peripheral presence beside them, Satrapi is able to indicate at once the presence and potential absence of 0DUML��6KH�VLQJOHV�KHU�RXW�LQ�WKH�¿UVW�SDQHO��SRLQWLQJ�WR�WKH�SHUVRQDO�VKDSH�RI�the text at hand. But the second panel gestures to a possible erasure: she is lost in the throng of Iranian schoolgirls and does not appear in the frame at all. In the second panel, the text gestures to the historical practice of erasure against ZKLFK�LW�LV�ZRUNLQJ��$V�LQ�WKH�LPDJLQDWLRQ�RI�WKH�:HVWHUQ�DXGLHQFH��0DUML�LV�QRW�³JULHYDEOH´�EHFDXVH�VKH�LV�QRW�WKHUH�LQ�WKH�¿UVW�SODFH��7KH�WH[W�WKXV�DQQRXQFHV�its intention to correct for this Western neglect at the same time that it points RXW�WKH�IRUFHV�WKDW�QHFHVVLWDWH�WKLV�SURMHFW�

$V�D�UHSHDWLQJ�DQG�DOWHULQJ�DFW��WKH�¿UVW�SDQHOV�RI�Persepolis�VLJQDO�WKH�³RQFHĥagainness” of the scenario. In articulating the scenario as a balance of setup and action, of formula and transformation, Taylor contends, “The frame is basically ¿[HG�DQG��DV�VXFK��UHSHDWDEOH�DQG�WUDQVIHUDEOH��6FHQDULRV�PD\�FRQVFLRXVO\�UHIHUĥence each other by the way they frame the situation and quote words and gesĥWXUHV��7KH\�PD\�RIWHQ�DSSHDU�VWHUHRW\SLFDO��ZLWK�VLWXDWLRQV�DQG�FKDUDFWHUV�IUR]HQ�LQ�WLPH´�Ī��������ī��7KH�VFHQDULR�LV�PXFK�OLNH�WKH�DUFKLYH��LW�UHSHDWV�DQG�FDQ�WUDQVĥfer cultural imaginings as a result. Nonetheless, although the scenario is often ³VWHUHRW\SLFDO�´�LW�FDQ�EH�UHFDVW�DQG�JDLQ�GLɱHUHQW�DQG�RSSRVLWLRQDO�PHDQLQJ�DV�LW�EXLOGV�Rɱ�SUHFHGLQJ�HQDFWPHQWV�

,Q�WKH�¿UVW�WZR�SDQHOV�RI�Persepolis��6DWUDSL�VNHWFKHV�MXVW�RQH�VFHQDULR��D�VFHĥQDULR�WKDW�UHSHDWV�DQG�DOWHUV�LWVHOI�IURP�¿UVW�SDQHO�WR�VHFRQG��,Q�WKH�¿UVW�SDQHO��0DUML�LV�DORQH��6KH�LV�WHQ��DQG�LW�LV�������,Q�WKH�VHFRQG��6DWUDSL�SUHVHQWV�WKH�VDPH�VFHQDULR�DJDLQ�EXW�ZLWK�D�GLɱHUHQW�IUDPH�DQG�DGGLWLRQDO�LQIRUPDWLRQ��7KLV�DGGLĥWLRQDO� LQIRUPDWLRQħLW� LV� D� FODVV� SLFWXUH�� DQG�0DUML� LV� VLWWLQJ� EHVLGH� KHU� FODVVĥPDWHV�*ROQD]��0DKVKLG��1DULQH��DQG�0LQQDħSXVKHV�WKH�UHDGHU�EDFN�LQWR�WKH�

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Joseph Darda | ESSAYS 3 9

¿UVW�IUDPH�WR�UHFRQWH[WXDOL]H�LW�LQ�OLJKW�RI�WKH�VHFRQG��7KH�VFHQDULR�UHPDLQV�WKH�same but, in the mind of the reader, there is an alteration. This speaks to Thierry *URHQVWHHQ¶V�QRWLRQ�RI�³LFRQLF�VROLGDULW\�´�+H�FRQWHQGV�WKDW�WKH�FRPLFV�IRUP�LV�³RYHUĥGHWHUPLQHG´�LQ�WKDW�LWV�LPDJHV�DUH�VHSDUDWHG�EXW�QRQHWKHOHVV�LQWHUGHSHQĥGHQW�Ī��������ī��The reader focuses on a particular panel at the same time that VKH� UHPDLQV�FRJQL]DQW�RI� WKH�SHULSKHUDO�FRQWHQW��D� UHDOL]DWLRQ�RI� WKH�SDQHOĥLQĥVHTXHQFH�Ī��ī��+HQFH��DOWKRXJK�,�UHDG�WKH�SDQHOV�IURP�OHIW�WR�ULJKW�LQ�WKH�SUHVHQW�DUWLFOH��WKH�SDQHOĥVFHQDULRV�FDQ�EH�UHDG�³RXW�RI�RUGHU�´�7KH�SRLQW�LV�WKDW�6DWUDSL�enacts and reenacts the same scenario again and again, creating not a linear patĥWHUQ�EXW�D�FLUFOLQJ�DQG�VHOIĥDPHQGLQJ�RQH��7KH�DXWRJUDSKLF�SDQHO�WKXV�KROGV�WKH�UHDGHU¶V�DWWHQWLRQ�DV�LW�ORRSV�DQG�VKLIWV�LQ�PHDQLQJ�DQG�UHIHUHQFH�

$OWKRXJK� WKH� µRQFHĥDJDLQQHVV¶� RI� WKH� SDQHOĥVFHQDULR� FDQ� LQFLWH� WKH� UHDGHU�to attend to the unstable nature of historical and textual representation, it DOVR� HPSKDVL]HV� DQG� WKHQ� UHHPSKDVL]HV� WKH� IDFH� RI� WKH� RWKHU�� 6FRWW�0F&ORXG�PDLQWDLQV�WKDW�WKHUH�LV�D�GLɱHUHQFH�EHWZHHQ�KRZ�RQH�VHHV�DQRWKHU�DQG�KRZ�RQH�imagines oneself: “When two people interact, they usually look directly at one DQRWKHU��VHHLQJ�WKHLU�SDUWQHU¶V�IHDWXUHV�LQ�YLYLG�GHWDLO��(DFK�RQH�DOVR�VXVWDLQV�D�FRQVWDQW�DZDUHQHVV�RI�KLV�RU�KHU�RZQ�IDFH��EXW�WKLV�PLQGĥSLFWXUH�LV�QRW�QHDUO\�VR�YLYLG´�Ī��������ĥ��ī��7KLV�OHVV�GLVWLQFW�LPDJH�RI�RQHVHOI�LV��IRU�0F&ORXG��DNLQ�WR�WKH�LFRQ�RI�FRPLFV��6R��LI�WKH�³PLQGĥSLFWXUH´�RI�RQH¶V�RZQ�IDFH�LV�LFRQLF��WKHQ�WKH�LFRQLF�UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ�RI�D�FKDUDFWHU�PDNHV�WKDW�FKDUDFWHU�PRUH�UHODWDEOH��WKH�UHDGHU�FRPHV�WR�VHH�KHUVHOI�LQ�WKH�IDFH�RI�WKH�LFRQLF�RWKHU��0F&ORXG¶V�FRQWHQĥWLRQ��DOWKRXJK�VRPHZKDW�SRSĥVFLHQWL¿F�LQ�LWV�HDVH�DQG�DVVXPSWLRQV��UHÀHFWV�WKH�sentiment of much of the later scholarship, approaching but not articulating the QHEXORXV�HWKLFDO� UHVSRQVLELOLWLHV�RI� WKH�DXWRJUDSKLF� IRUP� ĪVHH�&KXWH������� ����*LOPRUH�����������������:DWVRQ���������ī��:KDW�LV�PLVVLQJ�LQ�0F&ORXG¶V�SURSRVLĥtion, though, is an obligation to the other rather than to oneself. If in the face RI�WKH�RWKHU�ĪLQ�WKLV�FDVH��0DUML�DQG�KHU�FODVVPDWHVī�RQH�VHHV�QRW�WKH�SUHFDULW\�RI�

)LJXUH����)URP�Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood E\�0DUMDQH�6DWUDSL��WUDQVODWHG�E\�0DWWLDV�5LSD�DQG�%ODNH�)HUULV��7UDQVODWLRQ�FRS\ULJKW�©������E\�/¶$VVRFLDWLRQ��3DULV��)UDQFH��8VHG�E\�SHUPLVVLRQ�RI�Pantheon Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

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WKH�RWKHU�EXW�RQH¶V�RZQ�SUHFDULRXVQHVV��DV�0F&ORXG�VXJJHVWV��WKHQ�WKH�REOLJDĥWLRQ�LV�QR�ORQJHU�DQ�HWKLFDO�RQH��7KH�UHDGHU¶V�HPSDWKHWLF�UHDFWLRQ�LV�QRW�WR�WKH�RWKHU�� UDWKHU�� VKH� LV� LQ� IDFW�HPSDWKL]LQJ�ZLWK�KHUVHOI��ZLWK�WKH�JOLPSVH�RI�KHU�own plight that she sees in the face of the other. What McCloud articulates is less an ethics of comics than a narcissism, in which the reader attends to the text EHFDXVH�RI�D�IDVFLQDWLRQ�ZLWK�KHUVHOIħD�IDVFLQDWLRQ�ZLWK�KHU�RZQ��UDWKHU�WKDQ�DQRWKHU¶V��FRPSOH[LW\�

Instead, in order to recommend an ethics of the autographic, there must be an LPSXOVH�RI�ERWK�VHO¿VKQHVV�DQG�VHOÀHVVQHVV��$FFRUGLQJ�WR�%XWOHU��LQ�ORRNLQJ�LQWR�WKH�IDFH�RI�WKH�RWKHU��³WKHUH�LV�IHDU�IRU�RQH¶V�RZQ�VXUYLYDO��DQG�WKHUH�LV�DQ[LHW\�about hurting the Other, and these two impulses are at war with each other, like VLEOLQJV�¿JKWLQJ´�Ī���������ī��,Q�VHHLQJ�0DUML¶V�IDFH�LQ�WKH�¿UVW�SDQHOV��ZLWK�WKH�knowledge that this is an Iranian girl living in the wake of the Islamic Revolution DQG�GXULQJ�WKH�,UDQĥ,UDT�:DU��%XWOHU¶V�HWKLFDO�VXEMHFW�PXVW�¿UVW�FRSH�ZLWK�WKH�LPSXOVH�WR�SHUSHWXDWH�YLROHQFH�XQGHU�WKH�LQÀXHQFH�RI�IHDU�IRU�KHU�RZQ�OLIH��6KH�VHHV�� LQ�0DUML¶V�SUHFDULW\��KHU�RZQ�SUHFDULRXVQHVVħWKH�IDFW�WKDW� OLIH�� LQFOXGLQJ�hers, must end. In order to eliminate the appearance of her precariousness and the potential danger of the unfamiliar other, one desires to kill, to eliminate this UHDOLW\��%XW�LQ�0DUML¶V�IDFH�WKHUH�DULVHV�D�VHFRQG�LPSXOVH��WKH�HWKLFDO�LPSXOVH�WKDW�RQH�FDQQRW�NLOO��7KH�VHFRQG��QRQYLROHQW�LPSXOVH�LQKLELWV�WKH�¿UVW��YLROHQW�RQH��,W�is the second alone that instills an element of ethics in the autographic form, an obligation to another rather than to oneself.

In this regard, it is crucial to consider that it is the nonviolent, ethical impulse that arrives second. If there is no encouragement to loiter in the panel, to return to it and reenact it, then no ethical obligation can declare itself. The other is made inhuman through a process of capturing, or absent through a process of disremembering, and becomes a target for unrepentant acts of violence. In order to be an ethical form that destabilizes acts of historicism and obligates the reader to attend to the other, the autographic must arrive as a series of scenarios that DFW�DQG�UHHQDFW�DUFKLYDO�VWUXFWXUHV�RI�XQGHUVWDQGLQJ��PDLQWDLQLQJ�WKH�UHDGHU¶V�attention on and in tension with the face of the other. The autographic relates WKH� SUR[LPLW\� RI� WKH� RWKHU�� ³DV� WKH� LPSRVVLEOH� DVVXPSWLRQ� RI� GLɱHUHQFH´� DQG�³LPSRVVLEOH� DSSHDUDQFH´� Ī/HYLQDV� ������ ���ī�� WKXV� JHQHUDWLQJ� DQ� µH[FHVV¶� WKDW�VXUSDVVHV�WKH�GLVFRXUVH�RI�VHOI�DQG�RWKHU��6R�ZKDW�LV�FUXFLDO�DERXW�6DWUDSL¶V�VHOIĥUHSUHVHQWDWLRQV� LV�� DV�0F&ORXG�ZRXOG� FRQWHQG�� WKHLU� LFRQLF�� WZRĥGLPHQVLRQDO�form. In working toward a nonviolent ethics of the graphic memoir, it is imporĥtant that the face is in a perpetual state of failing to represent the human and PDNLQJ� WKLV� IDLOXUH� DSSDUHQW� Ī%XWOHU� ������ ���ī�� ,Q�RUGHU� WR�GHPRQVWUDWH� WKH�GHKXPDQL]LQJ�SURFHVV�RI�UHSUHVHQWDWLRQDO�FDSWXUH��LQ�MX[WDSRVLWLRQ�WR�6DWUDSL¶V�LFRQLF�VHOIĥSRUWUDLWV��LW�LV�ZRUWK�¿UVW�GHPRQVWUDWLQJ�KRZ�DQ�LPDJH�FDQ�FDSWXUH�DQG�WKXV�GHKXPDQL]H�LWV�VXEMHFW�

�)ROORZLQJ�WKH�0D\����������DVVDVVLQDWLRQ�RI�2VDPD�ELQ�/DGHQ�LQ�3DNLVWDQ��TIME�SXEOLVKHG�D�VSHFLDO�LVVXH�IHDWXULQJ�D�7LP�2¶%ULHQ�SKRWRJUDSKLF�LOOXVWUDĥWLRQ�RI�ELQ�/DGHQ¶V�IDFH�ZLWK�D�ODUJH�UHG�³;´�WKURXJK�LW��,Q�LW��ELQ�/DGHQ�LV�IDFLQJ�

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Joseph Darda | ESSAYS � �

straight ahead and wearing a white headdress. The image represents his head alone, against a white background, and his face is without expression. This is the IRXUWK�³;´�LPDJH�TIME has run on its cover, the previous images being similar UHSUHVHQWDWLRQV� RI�$GROI�+LWOHU� RQ�0D\� ��� ������ 6DGGDP�+XVVHLQ� RQ�$SULO� ����������DQG�$EX�0XVDE�DOĥ=DUTDZL�RQ�-XQH����������Ī*XVWLQL�����ī��,W�LV�DQ�LPDJH�WKDW�FDSWXUHV�WKH�KXPDQ��DQG�LQ�WKLV�FDSWXULQJ�PDNHV�KLP�LQKXPDQ��,Q�2¶%ULHQ¶V�illustration, bin Laden comes to stand for and be commensurable with both ZLFNHGQHVV�DQG�86�WULXPSKDOLVP��,Q�KLV�EODQN�FRXQWHQDQFH��2¶%ULHQ¶V�ELQ�/DGHQ�FRPPXQLFDWHV�QR�KXPDQ�IHHOLQJ��QR�SUHFDULRXVQHVV��$V�D�KHDG�ÀRDWLQJ�DJDLQVW�a white background, he seems to be at once more than human and less than KXPDQ��D�¿JXUDWLRQ�RI�VRPH�LGHDO��³:H�SHUVRQLI\�WKH�HYLO�RU�PLOLWDU\�WULXPSK�´�Butler contends, “through a face that is supposed to be, to capture, to contain the YHU\�LGHD�IRU�ZKLFK�LW�VWDQGV´�Ī���������ī��2¶%ULHQ¶V�ELQ�/DGHQ��LQ�FDSWXULQJ�LWV�KXPDQ�VXEMHFW��ZRUNV�WR�SRVLWLRQ�WKH�:HVWHUQ�UHDGHU�DV�UHPRWH�IURP�WKH�HYLO�IRU�ZKLFK�KH�VWDQGV��WR�FRPSDUWPHQWDOL]H�LW��DQG�WR�WKXV�UDWLRQDOL]H�DFWV�RI�YLROHQFH�against the other as acts of patriotism and of national triumph. It is not surprising that the feature article includes a collection of photographs of people unfurling $PHULFDQ�ÀDJV�DQG�SXPSLQJ�WKHLU�¿VWV�LQ�FHOHEUDWLRQ��8QOLNH�WKH�IDFH�RI�%XWOHU¶V�HWKLFV� DQG� WKH� VFHQDULR�RI�7D\ORU¶V�KLVWRULFLVP��TIME’S bin Laden illustration GRHV�QRW�LQVWLOO�WHQVLRQ��WKH�UHDGHU�FDQ�VHH�LW��XQGHUVWDQG�ZKDW�LW�VLJQL¿HV��DQG�turn the page without a second thought or glance. So, in considering the ethics of the autographic, it is crucial to attend to what the text does not capture of the VXEMHFW�DQG�ZKHUH�LW�VKRZV�WKH�OLPLWDWLRQV�DQG�IDLOXUHV�RI�UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ��FRPĥPXQLFDWLQJ�SUR[LPLW\�UDWKHU�WKDQ�VDPHQHVV�RU�FDWHJRULFDO�GLɱHUHQFH�

,Q� D� VFHQH� HPSKDVL]LQJ� WKH� IDLOXUHV� RI� UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ�� 6DWUDSL� MX[WDSRVHV� D�SDLU� RI� FRQÀLFWLQJ� LPDJHV� WKDW� KLJKOLJKW� WKH� VWUDQJH� UHDOLW\� RI� ZDUWLPH� ,UDQ��'XULQJ� WKH�,UDQĥ,UDT�:DU�� WKH�,UDQLDQ�,VODPLF� UHSXEOLF�XQGHU�5XKROODK�.KRĥmeini distributed keys to teenage boys meant to represent their “key to heaven” LQ�H[FKDQJH�IRU�MRLQLQJ�WKH�,UDQLDQ�IRUFHV��,Q�D�WZRĥSDQHO�SDJH��6DWUDSL�GHSLFWV�IDFHOHVV�ERGLHV�ÀXQJ�LQWR�WKH�DLU�LQ�D�PLQH¿HOG�ERPELQJ�ĪVHH�¿J���ī��.H\V�KDQJ�from their necks, and the caption reads, “The key to paradise was for poor people. 7KRXVDQGV�RI�\RXQJ�NLGV��SURPLVHG�D�EHWWHU�OLIH��H[SORGHG�RQ�WKH�PLQH¿HOGV�ZLWK�WKHLU�NH\V�DURXQG�WKHLU�QHFNV´�Ī���������ī��%HORZ�LW��LQ�D�SDQHO�DSSUR[LPDWHO\�KDOI�LWV�VL]H��0DUML�LV�LQ�WKH�IRUHJURXQG�LQ�D�VFHQH�GHSLFWLQJ�KHU�DQG�KHU�IULHQGV�MXPSĥLQJ�DURXQG�RQ�WKH�GDQFH�ÀRRU��+HU�KDLU�LV�XS�LQ�WKH�DLU��DQG�KHU�PRXWK�LV�RSHQ��7KH�SUHVHQW�VHOI�RI�WKH�FDSWLRQ�QDUUDWHV��³0HDQZKLOH��,�JRW�WR�JR�WR�P\�¿UVW�SDUW\��Not only did my mom let me go, she also knitted me a sweater full of holes and made me a necklace with chains and nails. Punk rock was in. I was looking sharp” Ī���������ī��:KDW�LV�PRVW�VKRFNLQJ�DERXW�WKLV�SDJH��DV�&KXWH�SRLQWV�RXW��LV�WKH�VLPXOWDQHRXV�WUHDWPHQW�RI�VZHHSLQJ�DFWV�RI�YLROHQFH�DQG�WKH�RUGLQDU\�JRLQJVĥRQ�RI�WHHQDJH�OLIH�Ī����E�����ī��6WLOO��OLNH�WKH�RSHQLQJ�SDQHOV�RI�Persepolis, this is also D�UHÀHFWLRQ�RQ�WKH�SURFHVV�RI�UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ�LWVHOI��LW�PLPHV�WKH�KLVWRULFDO�QHJOHFW�RI�WKH�:HVWHUQ�PHGLD�LQ�WKH�¿UVW�SDQHO�DW�WKH�VDPH�WLPH�WKDW�LW�FRUUHFWV�IRU�LW�LQ�the second. In depicting the Iranian soldiers as faceless and with the false

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)LJXUH����)URP�Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood�E\�0DUMDQH�6DWUDSL��WUDQVODWHG�E\�0DWWLDV�5LSD�DQG�%ODNH�)HUULV��7UDQVODWLRQ�FRS\ULJKW��������E\�/¶$VVRFLDWLRQ��3DULV��)UDQFH��8VHG�E\�SHUPLVĥsion of Pantheon Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

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Joseph Darda | ESSAYS ��

RɱHULQJ�RI�WKH�NH\V�DURXQG�WKHLU�QHFNV��6DWUDSL�LV�DEOH�WR�ULGLFXOH�WKH�KLVWRULFDO�record that forgets or makes absent the deaths of Western Asian soldiersħwho IRXJKW�LQ�D�ZDU�WKDW�WKH�8QLWHG�6WDWHV�KHOSHG�WR�EDQNUROO�Ī.KDOLGL����������ĥ��īħbut then counter it with the face of an Iranian, her past self, experiencing the normal growing pains of adolescence amid the atrocities of war.

7KLV�MDUULQJ�JXWWHU�SRLQWV�WR�WKH�LPSRVVLELOLW\�RI�WKH�IDFH�WR�UHSUHVHQW�RU�FDSĥWXUH�0DUML��DQ�LPSRVVLELOLW\�WKDW��%XWOHU�VXJJHVWV��LQGLUHFWO\�DɷUPV�WKH�KXPDQ�Ī���������ī��7KHUH�LV��RI�FRXUVH��D�GHJUHH�RI�DPELJXRXVQHVV�WR�0DUML�LQ�WKH�VLPSOH�EODFNĥDQGĥZKLWH�GHSLFWLRQ�RI�KHU�LQ�Persepolis and in her changing appearance and QXPHURXV�� FRQÀLFWLQJ� LGHQWLWLHV��%XW� WKH� UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ�RI�0DUML¶V� IDFH� LQ� WKLV�panel also points to its failure to represent in relation to the neighboring panel. 7KH�VNHWFK�RI�0DUML�DQG�KHU�IULHQGV�LQ�PLGDLU�RQ�WKH�GDQFH�ÀRRU�WDNHV�RQ�DGGLĥtional meaning alongside the mirror image of other Iranian teenagers in midair RQ�WKH�EDWWOH¿HOG��6DWUDSL¶V�GUDZLQJ�RI�0DUML�VHHNV�WR�UHSUHVHQW�KHU�SDVW�VHOI�EXW�fails, and points to this failure in highlighting the national backdrop to what, at ¿UVW�JODQFH��DSSHDUV�WR�EH�D�VLPSOH�PRPHQW�RI�FDUHIUHH�WHHQDJH�IXQ��7KH�WHQVLRQ�DFURVV�SDQHOV�FKDUDFWHUL]HV�ZKDW�+DW¿HOG�FDOOV� WKH�³GLɱHUHQW�RUGHU�RI� OLWHUDF\´�FRPLFV�GHPDQG��³WKHUH�LV�DOZD\V�DQ�XQGHUO\LQJ�WHQVLRQ�EHWZHHQ�GLɱHUHQW�SRVVLEOH�ZD\V�RI� UHDGLQJ�� EHWZHHQ� VHULDO� DQG� V\QFKURQLVWLF� WLPLQJ´� Ī������ ��ī�� 6DWUDSL¶V�FRQÀLFWLQJ�LPDJHV�UHIXWH�WKH�LGHD�RI�D�VLQJXODU��FRUUHFW�UHDGLQJ��3ODFLQJ�WKH�WZR�panels alongside one another reminds the reader of the social and political realiĥWLHV�RI�0DUML¶V�DGROHVFHQFH��WKH�,UDQĥ,UDT�:DU��WKH�IDOORXW�RI�WKH�,VODPLF�5HYROXĥWLRQ��WKH�:HVW¶V�PLVUHPHPEHULQJ�RI�:HVWHUQ�$VLDQ�FDVXDOWLHV��DQG�LWV�¿QDQFLDO�OHJDFLHV�LQ�WKLV�FRQÀLFW��6R��XQOLNH�WKH�,UDQLDQ�VROGLHUV��0DUML�LV�QRW�PDGH�DEVHQW��QRU�LV�VKH�FDSWXUHG�RU�UHGXFHG�WR�D�¿JXUH�RI�H[WUHPLVP�RU�ZLFNHGQHVV��,QVWHDG��she comes to stand for the impossibility of representation, a failure of representaĥWLRQ�WKDW�FRQ¿UPV�WKH�KXPDQ�LQ�KHU�SUHFDULW\�DQG�FRPSOH[LW\�

:KDW�DOVR�FRPHV� WKURXJK� LQ� WKLV� VFHQH��ZKLFK�7HQVXDQ�HPSKDVL]HV� LQ�KHU�UHDGLQJ�RI�6DWUDSL¶V�PHPRLU�Ī���������ī��LV�DQ�DPDOJDP�RI�(XURSHDQ�DQG�86�LQÀXĥence. Throughout Persepolis 1 and 2��:HVWHUQ�FXOWXUDO�LFRQV�DSSHDU�DQG��IRU�0DUML��RɱHU�D�IRUP�RI�UHEHOOLRQ��+HU�SDUHQWV�VPXJJOH�LQ�,URQ�0DLGHQ�DQG�.LP�:LOGH�posters for her from Turkey. She purchases cassette tapes of Western artists on WKH�LOOHJDO�PDUNHW��$QG�VKH�DGRSWV�WKH�GUHVV�RI�:HVWHUQHUV��LJQRULQJ�KLMDE�SROLĥFLHV��VKH�ZHDUV�GHQLP�MDFNHWV��1LNH�VQHDNHUV��DQG�VOLPĥ¿WWLQJ�MHDQV��,Q�WKH�SDUW\�LOOXVWUDWLRQ�� VKH� LV�ZHDULQJ� D� FKDLQĥDQGĥQDLO� QHFNODFH� DQG� WRUQ� FORWKLQJ� LQ� WKH�IDVKLRQ�RI�WKH� ODWHĥ����V�SXQN�VFHQHV� LQ�1HZ�<RUN�&LW\�DQG�/RQGRQ��%XW�WKLV�act of teenage rebellion is less straightforward when set alongside an image of D�PLQH¿HOG�ERPELQJ�WKDW�LPSOLFDWHV�WKH�86�DQG�%ULWDLQ��$W�WKH�VDPH�WLPH�WKDW�Satrapi condemns the censoring of Western culture in Iran under Khomeini, there are undertones of cultural imperialism in her representation of the War DQG�LQ�0DUML¶V�GHIHUHQFH�WR�:HVWHUQ�SRS�FXOWXUH��,Q�WKLV�OLJKW��WKH�SDQHOV�RI�WKH�PLQH¿HOG�DQG�WKH�WHHQDJH�SDUW\�EHJLQ�WR�UHÀHFW�RQH�DQRWKHU¶V�FULWLFDO�SURMHFWV��one pointing to political coercion and one to cultural consent.

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<HW��RXWVLGH�RI�WKH�FORWKLQJ�DQG�PXVLF�WKDW�VKH�FROOHFWV�DQG�DGPLUHV��WKH�0DUML�RI������LV�QRW�DZDUH�RI�WKH�:HVW¶V�UROH�LQ�,UDQ��7KHUH�LV�D�VKDUS�FRQWUDVW�EHWZHHQ�the past self of the images and the present self of the captions and design of PerseĦpolis��ZKDW�6LONH�+RUVWNRWWH�DQG�1DQF\�3HGUL�UHIHU�WR�DV�WKH�³H[SHULHQFLQJĥ,´�DQG�WKH�³QDUUDWLQJĥ,´�RI�WKH�DXWRJUDSKLF�Ī���������ĥ��ī��$V�VXFK��WKH�QDUUDWLQJĥ,�FRPHV�WR�UHHQDFW�DQG�DGMXVW�IRU�WKH�VFHQDULR�RI�WKH�H[SHULHQFLQJĥ,��:KHUHDV�WKH�LPDJHV�RI� GLVWDQW� PLQH¿HOG� NLOOLQJV� DQG� RI� WHHQDJHUV� GDQFLQJ� GR� QRW� DORQH� UHSUHVHQW�something unusual or unfamiliar, the images together and the captions connectĥing them alter and change both scenarios, necessitating further consideration.

-XVW� SULRU� WR� WKH�PLQH¿HOG� LPDJH��0DUML� OHDUQV� WKDW� WKH� ,UDQLDQ� IRUFHV� DUH�UHFUXLWLQJ�KHU� IDPLO\¶V�PDLG¶V� VRQ�ZLWK� WKH�SURPLVH�RI�SDUDGLVH��2Q� WKH�RWKHU�hand, she learns that her wealthier friends, with whom she is dancing, are not WDUJHWV�IRU�UHFUXLWHUV��:LWK�WKLV�LQ�PLQG��WKH�LPDJHV�RI�WKH�PLQH¿HOG�H[SORVLRQ�DQG� WKH�GDQFLQJ�FRPH� WR�HPSKDVL]H�DQ� LPEDODQFH� LQ� WKH�,UDQLDQ� VRFLDO� VWUXFĥWXUH��6RPH�VDFUL¿FH�DQG�RWKHUV�EHQH¿W�IURP�WKLV�VDPH�VDFUL¿FH��6RPH�¿JKW�LQ�D�war against troops with Western funding and others take pleasure in Western cultural icons. Satrapi recruits the tensions of the form and the “suspension of MXGJPHQW�������WKH\�GHPDQG�IURP�UHDGHUV´�Ī+DW¿HOG���������ī�WR�XQGHUVFRUH�WKH�FRPSOH[LW\�RI�0DUML¶V�VLWXDWLRQ�DV�LW�LQWHUVHFWV�ZLWK�WKDW�RI�,UDQ��6R�ZKDW�DW�¿UVW�appears to be a pair of disparate images comes to implicate the Western reader RQ�PRUH� WKDQ�D� VLQJOH�SODQH��7KH�QDUUDWLQJĥ,� UHHQDFWV� WKLV�KLVWRULFDO� VFHQDULR��GHVWDELOL]HV�LWV�WHOOLQJ��DQG�WKXV�REOLJDWHV�WKH�UHDGHU�WR�UHDVVHVV�KHU�SRVLWLRQ�LQ�UHODWLRQ�WR�0DUML¶V�DQG�,UDQ¶V�KLVWRULHV�

Yet the reenactment of a historical scenario does not end, and Satrapi herĥself continues to rework and amend the scenarios of her personal and national histories throughout Persepolis��:KHUHDV�WKH�PLQH¿HOG�LPDJH�LQ�Persepolis mimes WKH�:HVWHUQ�PHGLD�UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ�ĪRU�ODFN�WKHUHRIī�RI�:HVWHUQ�$VLDQ�FDVXDOWLHV��Persepolis 2 returns to this scenario, introducing a face, in her childhood friend .LD��DQG�KHU� IDWKHU¶V�RSSRVLWLRQDO�DFFRXQW�RI� WKH�,UDQĥ,UDT�:DU��$IWHU�DWWHQGĥLQJ�KLJK�VFKRRO�LQ�9LHQQD�IURP������WR�������0DUML�UHWXUQV�WR�,UDQ�WR�¿QG�KHU�birthplace in shambles. Buildings are bombed out. All of the streets are renamed after dead soldiers or “martyrs,” as the state calls them. Slogans of the Islamic Republic litter billboards and the walls of buildings. And her parents, idealists prior to the war, are disillusioned about the state of Iran.

,Q�9LHQQD��0DUML�LJQRUHG�WKH�WXUPRLO�EDFN�KRPH��7KH�$XVWULDQ�SUHVV�GLG�QRW�UHSRUW�RQ�LW��DQG�VKH�ZDV�PRUH�IRFXVHG�RQ�GDWLQJ�DQG�VRFLDOL]LQJ��,Q�WKLV��0DUML�UHSUHVHQWV� WKH�:HVW¶V� GLVUHJDUG� IRU�:HVWHUQ�$VLD��+HU�:HVWHUQ� IULHQGV� NQRZ�little about Iran or the region, other than their general opinion of it as, according WR�0DUML��³WKH�HSLWRPH�RI�HYLO´�Ī����E����ī��%XW�KHU�IDWKHU�DQG�.LD��D�VROGLHU�LQ�WKH�Iranian forces, correct for this distance upon her return. Her father relates his XQGHUVWDQGLQJ�DV�D�ZLWQHVV�RI�WKH�FRQÀLFW��WHOOLQJ�0DUML��³7KLV�HQWLUH�ZDU�ZDV�MXVW�a big setup to destroy both the Iranian and the Iraqi armies. . . . The west sold weapons to both camps and we, we were stupid enough to enter into this cynical JDPH�� �� �� ��6R�QRZ�WKH�VWDWH�QDPHV�VWUHHWV�DIWHU�PDUW\UV� WR�ÀDWWHU� WKH� IDPLOLHV�

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Joseph Darda | ESSAYS ��

RI�WKH�YLFWLPV´�Ī��ī��$OWKRXJK�KHU�IDWKHU�LV�VKRFNHG�WR�OHDUQ�WKDW�0DUML�KDG�QRW�KHDUG�RI�WKLV��RU�WKH������ERPELQJV�RI�7HKUDQ��RU�WKH�5HSXEOLF¶V�H[HFXWLRQ�RI�WHQV�of thousands of political prisoners, it is apparent to a Western audience that there is nothing unusual about it. Neither the Islamic Republic nor the United States wants this account in print, and there are abundant media and personal distracĥWLRQV��DV�0DUML¶V�WLPH�LQ�(XURSH�GHPRQVWUDWHV�

:KDW�0DUML¶V�IDWKHU¶V�DFFRXQW�ĪDQG��LQ�UHFRUGLQJ�LW��Persepolisī�RɱHUV�LV�D�KLVĥWRULFDO� UHHQDFWPHQW� RI� D� IDPLOLDU� VFHQDULR�� +LV� FRXQWHUĥKLVWRULFDO� DFFRXQW� RI�WKH�,UDQĥ,UDT�:DU�FRPSHOV�WKH�UHDGHU�WR�UHFRQVLGHU�WKH�HDUOLHU�SDQHO�RI�IDFHOHVV�,UDQLDQ�WHHQDJHUV�FDXJKW� LQ�WKH�EODVW�RI�D� ODQGPLQH��0DUML¶V� LQDWWHQWLRQ�WR�WKH�turmoil in her home nation in the preceding chapters, and the media representaĥWLRQV�RI�:HVWHUQ�$VLD�RQH�GRHV�ĪRU�GRHV�QRWī�HQFRXQWHU�LQ�WKH�:HVW��$V�6DWUDSL�LQVLVWV�LQ�KHU�LQWURGXFWLRQ��³2QH�FDQ�IRUJLYH�EXW�RQH�VKRXOG�QHYHU�IRUJHW´�Ī������LLī��,W�LV�WKLV�PHPRU\ĥZRUN�WKDW�KHU�DXWRJUDSKLF�FDUULHV�RXW��D�SHUSHWXDO�SURFHVV�of remembrance in which historical scenarios are and must be sites of endless reenactments and debate, what Chute calls the “productive recursivity” of comĥLFV�Ī�������ī��$JDLQ��DOWKRXJK�Persepolis appears linear in arrangement, in part due WR�LWV�LQLWLDO�VHULDOL]DWLRQ��LWV�WHOOLQJ�LV�LQ�IDFW�RQH�RI�UHLWHUDWLRQ��HQFRXUDJLQJ�WKH�reader to return to preceding and succeeding panels.

6DWUDSL� HQDFWV� WKH� VFHQDULR� RI� WKH� ,UDQĥ,UDT�:DU�RQFH�PRUH� LQ�Persepolis 2, instilling an ethical appeal in its telling through the introduction of Kia. Upon UHWXUQLQJ�WR�,UDQ�LQ�������0DUML�OHDUQV�WKDW�KHU�FKLOGKRRG�IULHQG�.LD�LV��DFFRUGĥLQJ�WR�KHU�JUDQGPRWKHU��³DOPRVW�GHDG´�Ī����E�����ī��.LD�KDG�DWWHPSWHG�WR�ÀHH�Iran at the outset of the war in order to escape conscription, but he was arrested and sent to the frontline. It becomes apparent, then, that Kia was among the IDFHOHVV�,UDQLDQV�FDXJKW�LQ�WKH�HDUOLHU�LPDJH�RI�D�PLQH¿HOG�GHWRQDWLRQ��RU�RQH�RI�WKRXVDQGV�MXVW�OLNH�LW�

:KHQ�0DUML�YLVLWV�.LD��VKH�¿QGV�WKDW�KH�KDV�ORVW�DQ�DUP�DQG�D�OHJ��$W�¿UVW�VKH�LV�KRUUL¿HG�DQG�XQDEOH�WR�JHW�FRPIRUWDEOH�DURXQG�KLP��$V�VKH�WDNHV�DFFRXQW�RI�KLV�LQMXULHV��WKH�SDQHOV�MXPS�LQ�IRFXV�IURP�KLV�DUP�WR�KLV�ZKHHOFKDLU�WR�KLV�IDFH��UHSUHVHQWLQJ�0DUML¶V�LQLWLDO�GLVFRPIRUW�DQG�VWUXJJOH�WR�UHFRQFLOH�.LD¶V�GLVDELOLWLHV�ĪWKH�UHVXOW�RI�D�ZDU�KHU�IDWKHU�FDOOV�D�³ELJ�VHWXS´ī��,W�LV�D�PRPHQW�RI�VHOIĥUHÀHFWLRQ��6DWUDSL�UHSUHVHQWV�KHU�SDVW�VHOI¶V�QHJOHFW�RI�WKH�SROLWLFDO�UHDOLWLHV�RI�,UDQ�DQG�DW�WKH�VDPH�WLPH�SRLQWV�WR�WKH�SURFHVV�WKURXJK�ZKLFK�0DUML�FRPHV�WR�WHUPV�ZLWK�this neglect. As the panels leap from detail to detail before centering on Kia in IXOO��WKH�IRUPDO�VWUXFWXUH�HQDFWV�0DUML¶V�SLHFLQJ�WRJHWKHU�RI�WKH�LQWHUVHFWLQJ�SDVWV�of her nation and her friend, a merging of the historical and the personal. In the :HVWHUQ�PHGLD��DV�LQ�6DWUDSL¶V�DSLQJ�PLQH¿HOG�LPDJH��.LD�ZRXOG�DSSHDU�RQO\�LQ�WKH� HXSKHPLVPV� RI� WKH� QDWLRQDO� SUHVV�� DV� µFROODWHUDO� GDPDJH�¶� %XW� LQ�Persepolis, 6DWUDSL� HPSKDVL]HV�.LD¶V� OLIH� DV� HOXGLQJ�FDSWXUH�RU� VXPPDWLRQ�DQG�� OLNH� ,UDQ¶V�past, incommensurable but still there��,Q�.LD��6DWUDSL�RɱHUV�D�¿QDO��SHUVRQDO�UHHQĥDFWPHQW�RI�WKH�LQLWLDO��EDQDO�PLQH¿HOG�VFHQDULR��IXUWKHU�GHVWDELOL]LQJ�0DUML¶V�ĪDQG�WKH�UHDGHU¶Vī�XQGHUVWDQGLQJ�RI�,UDQ¶V�SDVW�DQG�FRPSHOOLQJ�KHU�WR�UHDVVHVV�KHU�UHODĥtionship to this Western discourse of capture and erasure.

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So Persepolis does more than supplant Western representations of Iranians ZLWK�PRUH�KXPDQL]LQJ�RQHV��6SHFL¿FDOO\��WKH�DXWRJUDSKLF�PDUNV�WKH�OLPLWV�RI�UHSĥUHVHQWDWLRQ�DQG�GHQDWXUDOL]HV�WKH�IUDPHV�WKURXJK�ZKLFK�WKH�UHDGHU�XQGHUVWDQGV�WKH�VXEMHFW�DW�KDQG��1RW�ORQJ�DIWHU�UHWXUQLQJ�WR�,UDQ��0DUML�WDNHV�WKH�QDWLRQDO�exam in order to enter college. The exam for the college of art includes a drawing FRPSRQHQW��$QWLFLSDWLQJ�WKH�VXEMHFW�DV�³WKH�PDUW\UV�´�0DUML�SUHSDUHV�D�VNHWFK�EHIRUHKDQG��³,�SUDFWLFHG�E\�FRS\LQJ�D�SKRWR�RI�0LFKHODQJHOR¶V� µ/D�3LHWj¶�DERXW�WZHQW\ĥ¿YH�WLPHV�´�VKH�UHFDOOV��³2Q�WKDW�GD\�,�UHSURGXFHG�LW�E\�SXWWLQJ�D�EODFN�FKDGRU�RQ�0DU\¶V�KHDG��DQ�DUP\�XQLIRUP�RQ�-HVXV��DQG�WKHQ�,�DGGHG�WZR�WXOLSV��V\PEROV�RI�WKH�PDUW\UV��RQ�HLWKHU�VLGH�VR�WKHUH�ZRXOG�EH�QR�FRQIXVLRQ´�Ī����E�����ī��,Q�WKH�FRUQHU�RI�D�SDQHO�LQ�ZKLFK�WKH�GUDZLQJ�LV�UHSURGXFHG��0DUML¶V�KDQG�DSSHDUV��VKDGLQJ�LQ�WKH�ERWWRP�RI�0DU\¶V�FKDGRU�ĪVHH�¿J���ī��7KH�SDQHO�VSHDNV�to the coercion of cultural producers in Iran at the same time that it corrects IRU�KRPRJHQL]LQJ�:HVWHUQ�DVVXPSWLRQV�DERXW�,UDQLDQV��(PEHGGHG�LQ�WKH�ODUJHU�

)LJXUH����)URP�Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return�E\�0DUMDQH�6DWUDSL��WUDQVODWHG�E\�$QMDOL�6LQJK��7UDQVODWLRQ�FRS\ULJKW��������E\�/¶$VVRFLDWLRQ��3DULV��)UDQFH��8VHG�E\�SHUPLVVLRQ�RI�3DQWKHRQ�Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

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Joseph Darda | ESSAYS ��

SURMHFW�RI�6DWUDSL¶V�pPLJUp graphic memoir, the panel underscores the limitations RI�ZKDW�0DUML�LV�DEOH�WR�UHSUHVHQW��:KHUHDV�6DWUDSL��WKH�QDUUDWLQJĥ,��RɱHUV�D�FDQĥGLG� DQG�FULWLFDO� DFFRXQW�RI� ,UDQ� DQG�0DUML¶V� FKLOGKRRG� LQ�Persepolis��0DUML�� WKH�H[SHULHQFLQJĥ,��PXVW�ZRUN�ZLWK�D�IDU�PRUH�UHVWULFWHG�VHW�RI�LFRQV�DQG�WKHPHV�RQ�WKH�QDWLRQDO�H[DP��7KH�FDSWXUH�RI�WKH�VNHWFKħWKH�FOHDU�DQG�LGHRORJLFDO�PHDQĥLQJ�RI�LWħFRPHV�LQ�VWDUN�FRQWUDVW�WR�WKH�SUHFDULW\�RI�0DUML¶V�FKLOGKRRG��<HW�WKH�FRHUFLRQ�RI�WKH�,UDQLDQ�,VODPLF�5HSXEOLF�DOVR�PRGL¿HV�WKH�86�PHGLD¶V�FRPSUHĥKHQVLRQ�RI�,UDQ�WKURXJK�LWV�FXOWXUDO�SURGXFWV��'HQDWXUDOL]LQJ�WKH�SURGXFWLRQ�RI�D�UHOLJLRXV�LFRQ�DV�FRHUFHG�UHMHFWV�DVVXPSWLRQV�RI�D�KRPRJHQRXV�,UDQLDQ�VXEMHFWĥKRRG�DQG�WKXV�JHVWXUHV�WR�WKH�FRPSOH[�SHUVRQKRRG�RI�WKH�VRĥFDOOHG�RWKHU��7KH�LFRQLF�VROLGDULW\�RI�WKH�LPDJH��³RYHUĥGHWHUPLQHG�E\�WKH�IDFW�RI�ĬLWVĭ�FRH[LVWHQFH�in praesentia´�ZLWK�WKH�UHVW�RI�WKH�DXWRJUDSKLF�Ī*URHQVWHHQ���������ī��HPSKDVL]HV�WKH�SRWHQWLDO�IRU�PRUH�WKDQ�D�VLQJOH�UHDGLQJ��7KH�IRUP�WKXV�GHVWDELOL]HV�SUDFWLFHV�RI�VLJQL¿FDWLRQ�DQG�UHIXVHV�UHSUHVHQWDWLRQDO�FDSWXUH�

:KHUHDV� WKH� FOLFKpG� UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ� RI� D� GHDG� ,UDQLDQ� VROGLHU�� DV� D� UHOLJLRĥQDWLRQDO�VDFUL¿FH�IRU�WKH�JRRG�RI�,UDQ��FRPPXQLFDWHV�HUDVXUHĥWKURXJKĥFDSWXUH��WKH�PDWHULDOL]DWLRQ� RI�0DUML¶V� KDQG� VLJQDOV� KHU� SUHFDULRXVQHVV� DQG� RSHQV� XS� D�space of ethical engagement. Watson notes that the positioning of the reader as WKH�H[SHULHQFLQJĥ,�RI�WKH�DXWRJUDSKLF�FDQ�³LQGXFH�UHDGHUV�WR�HQJDJH�ZLWK�µRWKHUĥLQJ¶�SUDFWLFHV´�Ī��������ī��7KH�SDQHO�GRHV�QRW�DOWRJHWKHU�DEVRUE�WKH�UHDGHU�LQWR�the mind of the narrator, as McCloud suggests Ī��������ī��%XW�LW�GRHV�XUJH�WKH�UHDGHU�WR�FRQVLGHU�WKH�FRQVWUXFWLRQ�RI�VHOIĥRWKHU�UHODWLRQV�IURP�D�GLɱHUHQW�DQJOH��With the hand emerging from the margin, the panel communicates the proxĥimity, though not identicalness, of the other. The relation between reader and H[SHULHQFLQJĥ,�LV��WKHQ��RQH�RI�WHQVLRQħD�WHQVLRQ�EHWZHHQ�VDPHQHVV�DQG�UDGLFDO�GLɱHUHQFH��EHWZHHQ�D�GHVLUH�WR�NLOO�DQG�D�SURKLELWLRQ�DJDLQVW�NLOOLQJ��)URP�WKLV�is produced an excess of sociality, and it is this excess that is the realm of the ethical. Hence, what Chute calls the “excess of representation” of the autographic Ī�������ī�LV�H[DFWO\�WKDW�ZKLFK�JHQHUDWHV�LWV�HWKLFDO�DSSHDO��LWV�JUDSKLF�HWKLFV��7KH�other is present, is there, but is not altogether comprehensible. She possesses a complexity that escapes representation.

0DUML¶V� GUDZLQJ� SUHVHQWV� VWLOO� DQRWKHU� PRPHQW� RI� RQFHĥDJDLQQHVV�� (DUOLHU��XSRQ�UHWXUQLQJ�IURP�9LHQQD��0DUML�¿QGV�7HKUDQ�SODVWHUHG�ZLWK�SXEOLF�PHPRULĥals honoring dead soldiers. Walking the streets, she sees one mural of a dead VROGLHU�LQ�WKH�ODS�RI�D�ZRPDQ�LQ�D�FKDGRU�Ī����E����ī��7XOLSV�¿OO�WKH�EODQN�VSDFHV�around them. Her national exam drawing thus reactivates and revises this earlier PRPHQW��0DUML�ĪDQG�WKH�UHDGHUī�OHDUQ�MXVW�KRZ�VXFK�PXUDOV�FRPH�WR�EH��WKURXJK�the restrictions of the state that determine representational bounds. So Satrapi rearticulates this image through its reenactment as a scenario in which “viewĥHUV� QHHG� WR�GHDO�ZLWK� WKH� HPERGLPHQW�RI� WKH� VRFLDO� DFWRUV´� Ī7D\ORU� ������ ��ī��7KURXJK�0DUML¶V�DFFRXQW��KHU�HPERGLPHQW�DV�WKH�H[SHULHQFLQJĥ,��WKH�UHDGHU�FDQĥQRW� LJQRUH�� DV�7D\ORU�SXWV� LW�� ³WKH� VRFLDO� FRQVWUXFWLRQ�RI�ERGLHV´� Ī��ī�� -XVW� OLNH�WKH�ERGLHV�RI� WKH�GHDG� VROGLHUV��0DUML� LV�PDGH� WR�PHDQ� VRPHWKLQJ� VSHFL¿F�� WR�EH� FRPSUHKHQVLEOH�� LQ� WKH� LPDJLQDWLRQV�RI�(XURSH� DQG� WKH�8QLWHG�6WDWHV��%XW�

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in returning again and again to the site of construction itself, Satrapi is able to GHQDWXUDOL]H�WKH�SURFHVV�E\�ZKLFK�,UDQLDQV�DUH�HɱDFHG�WKURXJK�SUDFWLFHV�RI�FDSĥture and erasure. In particular, she reminds us that as an Iranian woman she is QRW�D�IHDUIXO��KHOSOHVV�³EODFN�ELUG�´�6KH�UHPLQGV�XV�³WKDW�HYHQ�WKRVH�FDOOHG�µ2WKHU¶�DUH�QHYHU�QHYHU�WKDW´�Ī*RUGRQ��������ī�

CONCLUSION: NATIONAL FRAMES AND THE ETHICS OF REPRESENTATION

On the afternoon of January 11, 2012, in northern Tehran, a man on a motorĥELNH�¿[HG�D�ERPE� WR� WKH�FDU�RI� ,UDQLDQ� VFLHQWLVW�0RVWDID�$KPDGL�5RVKDQ�� ,W�detonated moments later, killing Roshan, demolishing his car, and causing chaos DPLG� 7HKUDQ¶V� UXVKĥKRXU� WUDɷF�� 5RVKDQ� ZDV� D� GHSDUWPHQW� VXSHUYLVRU� DW� WKH�1DWDQ]�1XFOHDU�)DFLOLW\��D�VLWH�WKH�81�VXVSHFWV�RI�EHLQJ�D�FHQWHU�IRU�WKH�SURGXFĥWLRQ�RI�QXFOHDU�ZHDSRQV�Ī&RZHOO��*ODGVWRQH�����ī��+RXUV�DIWHU�5RVKDQ¶V�GHDWK��,UDQLDQ�RɷFLDOV�DFFXVHG�WKH�8QLWHG�6WDWHV�DQG�,VUDHO�RI�RUJDQL]LQJ�WKH�DVVDVVLQDĥWLRQ��DQ�DFFXVDWLRQ�ERWK�QDWLRQV�UHIXWHG��6WLOO��UHJDUGOHVV�RI�WKH�DVVDVVLQ¶V�SXUSRVH�DQG�DɷOLDWLRQ��WKH�DWWDFN�DGGHG�WR�RQJRLQJ�WHQVLRQV�VXUURXQGLQJ�,UDQ¶V�QXFOHDU�SURJUDP�DQG� IXUWKHU�SURPRWHG�DQWLĥ86�VHQWLPHQW� LQ�7HKUDQ� Ī*ODGVWRQH�����ī��Although the Obama administration condemned the killing, a number of US SXEOLF�¿JXUHV�DQG�SXEOLFDWLRQV�GLG�OLWWOH�WR�VXSSUHVV�WKHLU�JOHH��7KHQĥSUHVLGHQWLDO�FDQGLGDWH�5LFN�6DQWRUXP��IRU�RQH��UHIHUUHG�WR�5RVKDQ¶V�DVVDVVLQDWLRQ�DV�D�³ZRQĥGHUIXO� WKLQJ´� Ī³5LFN�6DQWRUXP��86�:URQJ�WR�&RQGHPQ´�����ī��7KH�1HZ�<RUN�Post�SURFODLPHG��³ZKRHYHU¶V�EHKLQG�LW��ZH�FHUWDLQO\�KRSH�WKH\�NHHS�LW�XS´�Ī³%RPE��%RPE�,UDQ´�����ī��:KDW�LV�DW�LVVXH��WKHQ��LV�QRW�MXVW�5RVKDQ¶V�DVVDVVLQDWLRQ�EXW�also the political positioning of his assassination as a righteous act, as a means of UDWLRQDOL]LQJ�IXWXUH�LPSHULDOLVW�DFWV�RI�DJJUHVVLRQ�LQ�:HVWHUQ�$VLD��$OWKRXJK�LW�LV�not apparent in most Western media representations of the region, in the end, it LV�,UDQLDQV�OLNH�.LD�DQG�0DUML�ZKR�DUH�ORVW�LQ�WKH�DIWHUPDWK�RI�WKLV�ULJKWHRXVQHVV�DV�WKH�µFROODWHUDO�GDPDJH�¶

7KXV��DV�WKH�86¶V�UHODWLRQVKLSV�LQ�7HKUDQ�GHWHULRUDWH�DQG�DV�86$�3$75,27�$FW�SROLFLHV�FRQWLQXH�WR�FRQVWUXFW�DQG�UHLQIRUFH�VHOIĥRWKHU�ERXQGDULHV��LW�LV�FUXĥFLDO�WKDW�ZH�DWWHQG�WR�ZKDW�PHGLD�HQDEOH�ĪRU�IDLO�WR�HQDEOHī�DQ�HWKLFDO�UHVSRQVH�to those cast as other in the present national discourse. When is representation FRPPHQVXUDEOH� DQG� FRPSOHWH�� VLWXDWLQJ� WKH� RWKHU� DV� QR�PRUH� WKDQ� D� VWDQGĥLQ�IRU�DEVWUDFW�FRQFHSWV�ĪLQ�6DWUDSL¶V�ZRUGV��³IXQGDPHQWDOLVP��IDQDWLFLVP��DQG�WHUURULVP´ī"�:KHQ�LV�LW�DEVHQW"�:KR�LV�IRUJRWWHQ�DQG�WR�ZKDW�HQGV"�7KH�DXWRĥgraphic, I have argued, facilitates an ethical response because it encourages WKLV� TXHVWLRQLQJ�� LW� FKDOOHQJHV� RXU� DVVXPSWLRQV� DERXW� RWKHUQHVV� DQG� DERXW�representational practices in general. When Satrapi reminds us that “the axis of evil also included people like myself´� Ī����ī�� VKH� DOOXGHV� WR� WKH�GDQJHU�RI�PDNLQJ�VRPHRQH�FRPSUHKHQVLEOH��:KHQ�RQH�LV�FDVW�DV�D�µFRQWHQW�¶�DV�FRQWDLQĥable according to this or that schema, complexity is obscured and the potential IRU�DQ�HWKLFDO�HQFRXQWHU�LV� LQKLELWHG��6R�WKH�DXWRJUDSKLF�GRHV�QRW�MXVW�RɱHU�D�more accurate historical account. Instead, it interrogates the limits of what can

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Joseph Darda | ESSAYS ��

DQG�VKRXOG�EH�XQGHUVWRRGħDQG�WKH�SHUQLFLRXV�HɱHFWV�RI�DQ�XQEHQGLQJ�GHVLUH�IRU�comprehension. The human, Butler suggests, is neither represented nor unrepĥresentable: “it is, rather, that which limits the success of any representational SUDFWLFH´�Ī���������ī��(WKLFDO�UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ�PXVW�VHHN�EXW�IDLO�WR�UHSUHVHQW�WKH�human, and it must show this failure. The autographic form lends itself to this ethical work. It communicates through what Levinas calls the face of the other, encircling but not capturing the human. Whereas national frames often restrict HWKLFDO�UHODWLRQV��GLɱHUHQWLDWLQJ�WKH�KXPDQ�QDWLRQDO�IURP�WKH�LQKXPDQ�RU�DEVHQW�QRQĥQDWLRQDO��DXWRJUDSKLFV�GHQDWXUDOL]H�WKLV�UHSUHVHQWDWLRQDO�SUDFWLFH�DQG�SUHVV�XV�WR�UHFRJQL]H�WKH�SUHFDULRXVQHVV�DQG�FRPSOH[�SHUVRQKRRG�RI�VRPHRQH�PDGH�unfamiliar. Graphic ethics urge the reader to do more than see herself in or as WKH�RWKHU��7R�DFW�HWKLFDOO\�LV�WR�¿UVW�UHFRJQL]H�WKDW�WKH�RWKHU�LV�QHLWKHU�RQHVHOI�QRU�D�¿JXUDWLRQ�EXW�DQ�LQFRPSUHKHQVLEOH�DQG�SUHFDULRXV�OLIH��LW�LV�WR�UHFRJQL]H�WKH�RWKHU�³DV�OLYLQJ��H[SRVHG�WR�QRQĥOLIH�IURP�WKH�VWDUW´�Ī%XWOHU���������ī�

NOTES1�&KDUOHV�+DW¿HOG�LQGLFDWHV�WKDW�WKH�³WHQVLRQV´�RI�FRPLFV�GHPDQG�WKDW�WKH�UHDGHU�UHLPDJĥLQH�KHUVHOIħDQG��LQ�WKLV��ZKDW�LW�PHDQV�WR�EH�D�UHDGHUħDV�D�FULWLFDO�VWDUWLQJ�SRLQW�IRU�IXUWKHU�³VRFLRORJLFDO�DQG�LGHRORJLFDO�DQDO\VHV´�Ī��������ī�

2 In particular, Chute notes that comics recruit more than a single code “in their strucĥWXUDO�K\EULGLW\��WKHLU�GRXEOH�ĪEXW�QRQV\QWKHVL]HGī�QDUUDWLYHV�RI�ZRUGV�DQG�LPDJHV��,Q�RQH�IUDPH�RI�FRPLFV��WKH�LPDJHV�DQG�WKH�ZRUGV�PD\�PHDQ�GLɱHUHQWO\��DQG�WKXV�WKH�ZRUN�VHQGV�RXW�GRXEOHĥFRGHG�QDUUDWLYHV�RU�VHPDQWLFV´� Ī����D�����ī��6HH�DOVR�&KDQH\�Ī��������ī��'DYLV�Ī���������ĥ��ī��+DW¿HOG�Ī��������ī��7HQVXDQ�Ī���������ī��DQG�:KLWORFN�Ī���������ĥ��ī�

3 Thierry Groensteen also sees the image as the dominant code of comics. “Its predomiĥnance within the system,” he argues, “attaches to what is essential to the production of PHDQLQJ�WKDW�LV�PDGH�WKURXJK�LW´�Ī�������ī�

�� -XOLD�:DWVRQ�QRWHV� WKDW� WKH�PXOWLSOH� ³VSOLWV´� LQ� WKH� IRUPħEHWZHHQ�ZRUG�DQG� LPDJH��WKH�VHOI�DQG�WKH�VRFLDO�UHDOP��WKH�UHDGHU�DQG�WKH�DXWRELRJUDSKLFDO�DYDWDU��DQG�WKH�WZRĥGLPHQVLRQDO�SDJH� DQG� WKUHHĥGLPHQVLRQDO� HɱHFWVħFRPSOLFDWH� DQG�GLVSHO�� UDWKHU� WKDQ�FORVH��ELQDULHV�Ī��������ī��&KDUOHV�+DW¿HOG�SRLQWV�RXW�WKDW�WKH�QXPHURXV�WHQVLRQVħWKH�VLWHV� RI� GLVVRQDQFH� WKDW� GHPDQG� FORVXUHħUXQ� XS� DJDLQVW� RQH� DQRWKHU�� FRPSOLFDWLQJ�0F&ORXG¶V�³SULVWLQH�FDWHJRULHV´�Ī��������ī��0LFKDHO�&KDQH\�PHDQZKLOH�VXJJHVWV�WKDW�0F&ORXG¶V� DVVHUWLRQ� WKDW� FORVXUH� JHQHUDWHV� D� ³WUDQVKLVWRULFDO� µZKROH¶´� UHSUHVHQWV� DQ�LPSUHFLVH�XQLYHUVDOLVP�Ī��������ī�

�� %XWOHU¶V� HPSKDVLV� RQ� UHSUHVHQWDWLRQDO� ³FDSWXUH´� VKRXOG� EH� XQGHUVFRUHG�� DV� LW� RɱHUV� D�FRXQWHUDUJXPHQW� WR�6ODYRM�ĘLɮHN¶V dispute with Levinasian ethics. ĘLɮHN argues that /HYLQDV¶V�QRWLRQ�RI�WKH�IDFH�VLJQDOV�D�³JHQWUL¿HG´�RWKHUQHVV�WKDW�PDVNV�ZKDW�KH�FDOOV�WKH�³PRQVWURXV´�RWKHU��WKH�³DEVROXWH�RWKHU�RI�WKH�5HDO�7KLQJ´�Ī���������ĥ��ī��+H�VXJJHVWV�WKDW�WKH�IDFH��UDWKHU�WKDQ�FRPPXQLFDWLQJ�WKH�SUR[LPLW\�RI�WKH�RWKHU��JHQWUL¿HV�DQG�GLVĥWDQFHV�RQH�IURP�WKH�³PRQVWURVLW\´�RI�WKH�DEVROXWH�RWKHU�Ī���ĥ��ī��%XWOHU¶V�³WZR�GLVWLQFW�IRUPV�RI�QRUPDWLYH�SRZHU�´�FDSWXUH�DQG�HUDVXUH��VSHDN�WR�DQG�DGGUHVV�WKLV�JHQWUL¿FDĥtion of otherness.

��7KH�)UHQFK�SXEOLVKHU�/¶$VVRFLDWLRQ�UHOHDVHG�Persepolis in four separate volumes between �����DQG�������,Q�WKH�86��3DQWKHRQ�SXEOLVKHG�WKH�¿UVW�DQG�VHFRQG�YROXPHV�LQ������DV�

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������COLLEGE LITERATURE | �����6SULQJ�����

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood�DQG�WKH�WKLUG�DQG�IRXUWK�YROXPHV�LQ������DV�Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return.

WORKS CITED

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%XWOHU��-XGLWK��������Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence. London: Verso.ħħħ��������Frames of War: When Is Life Grievable? London: Verso.Chaney, Michael A. 2011. “Terrors of the Mirrors and the Mise en Abyme of Graphic Novel

Autobiography.” College Literature���������ĥ���&KXWH��+LOODU\������D��³&RPLFV�DV�/LWHUDWXUH"�5HDGLQJ�*UDSKLF�1DUUDWLYH�´�PMLA 123.2:

���ĥ���ħħħ������E��³7KH�7H[WXUH�RI�5HWUDFLQJ�LQ�0DUMDQH�6DWUDSL¶V�Persepolis.” Women’s Studies

Quarterly�����������ĥ����ħħħ��������Graphic Women: Life Narrative and Contemporary Comics. New York: Columĥ

bia University Press.Cowell, Alan, and Rick Gladstone. 2012. “Iran Reports Killing of Nuclear Scientist in

µ7HUURULVW¶� %ODVW�´�1HZ�<RUN� 7LPHV, January 11. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/ZRUOG�PLGGOHHDVW�LUDQĥUHSRUWVĥNLOOLQJĥRIĥQXFOHDUĥVFLHQWLVW�KWPO"SDJHZDQWHG DOO�

Davis, Rocío�*�������� ³$�*UDSKLF�6HOI��&RPLFV�DV�$XWRELRJUDSK\� LQ�0DUMDQH�6DWUDSL¶V�Persepolis.” Prose Studies: History, Theory, Criticism����������ĥ���

(LVQHU��:LOO��������Comics and Sequential Art. Tamarac: Poorhouse Press.*DUGQHU�� -DUHG�� ������ ³$UFKLYHV��&ROOHFWRUV�� DQG� WKH�1HZ�0HGLD�:RUN� RI�&RPLFV�´�

Modern Fiction Studies����������ĥ����Gilmore, Leigh. 2011. “Witnessing Persepolis: Comics, Trauma, and Childhood Testiĥ

mony.” In Graphic Subjects: Critical Essays on Autobiography and Graphic Novels, edited by 0LFKDHO�$��&KDQH\�����ĥ����0DGLVRQ��8QLYHUVLW\�3UHVV�RI�:LVFRQVLQ�

Gladstone, Rick. 2012. “Iran Signals Revenge Over Killing of Scientist.” 1HZ�<RUN�7LPHV, -DQXDU\� ���� KWWS���ZZZ�Q\WLPHV�FRP������������ZRUOG�PLGGOHHDVW�LUDQĥRXWUDJHĥRYHUĥVFLHQWLVWĥNLOOLQJĥGHHSHQVĥDVĥLWĥVLJQDOVĥUHYHQJH�KWPO�

*RUGRQ��$YHU\�)��������Ghostly Matters: Haunting and the Sociological Imagination. Minneĥapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Groensteen, Thierry. 2007. The System of Comics. Translated by Bart Beaty and Nick Nguyen. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.

Gustini, Ray. 2011. “A Brief History of TIME� 0DJD]LQH¶V� µ;¶� &RYHUV�´� The AtlanĦtic Wire�� 0D\� ��� KWWS���ZZZ�WKHDWODQWLFZLUH�FRP�HQWHUWDLQPHQW���������EULHIĥKLVWRU\ĥWLPHĥPDJD]LQHĥUHGĥ[ĥFRYHUV��������

+DW¿HOG��&KDUOHV�� ������Alternative Comics: An Emerging Literature. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.

+RUVWNRWWH��6LONH��DQG�1DQF\�3HGUL��������³)RFDOL]DWLRQ�LQ�*UDSKLF�1DUUDWLYH�´�Narrative ���������ĥ���

Khalidi, Rashid. 2009. Sowing Crisis: The Cold War and American Dominance in the Middle East. Boston: Beacon Press.

.XQ]OH��'DYLG��������The Early Comic Strip: Narrative Strips and Picture Stories in the EuroĦpean Broadsheet from c. 1450 to 1825. Berkeley: University of California Press.

/HYLQDV��(PPDQXHO��������(WKLFV�DQG�,QÀQLW\. Translated by Richard A. Cohen. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press.

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ħħħ�� ������ Alterity and Transcendence. Translated by Michael B. Smith. New York: Columbia University Press.

0F&ORXG��6FRWW��������Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: HarperPerennial.“Rick Santorum: US Wrong to Condemn Iran Scientist Death.” 2012. Boston Herald,

-DQXDU\� ���� KWWS���ERVWRQKHUDOG�FRP�QHZV�XVBSROLWLFV�YLHZ���������ULFNBVDQWRĥrum_us_wrong_to _condemn_iran_scientist_death.

6DWUDSL��0DUMDQH��������Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. New York: Pantheon.ħħħ������D��³$Q�,QWHUYLHZ�ZLWK�0DUMDQH�6DWUDSL�´�%\�$QQLH�7XOO\���%RRNVOXW, October.

KWWS���ZZZ�ERRNVOXW�FRP�IHDWXUHV�����B��B�������SKS�ħħħ������E��Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return. New York: Pantheon.ħħħ�� ������ ³'HIHQGLQJ�0\�&RXQWU\�´�1HZ�<RUN�7LPHV��1RYHPEHU� ����http://satrapi.

EORJV�Q\WLPHV�FRP������������GHIHQGLQJĥP\ĥFRXQWU\��Smith, Sidonie. 2011. “Human Rights and Comics: Autobiographical Avatars, Crisis

Witnessing, and Transnational Rescue Networks.” In Graphic Subjects: Critical Essays on Autobiography and Graphic Novels��HGLWHG�E\�0LFKDHO�$��&KDQH\����ĥ����0DGLVRQ��University Press of Wisconsin.

Taylor, Diana. 2003. The Archive and the Repertoire: Performing Cultural Memory in the AmerĦicas. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

7HQVXDQ��7KHUHVD�0��������³&RPLF�9LVLRQV�DQG�5HYLVLRQV�LQ�WKH�:RUN�RI�/\QGD�%DUU\�DQG�0DUMDQH�6DWUDSL�´�Modern Fiction Studies����������ĥ���

:DWVRQ�� -XOLD�� ������ ³$XWRJUDSKLF� 'LVFORVXUHV� DQG� *HQHDORJLHV� RI� 'HVLUH� LQ� $OLVRQ�%HFKGHO¶V�Fun Home.” Biography���������ĥ���

:KLWORFN��*LOOLDQ�������� ³$XWRJUDSKLFV��7KH�6HHLQJ� µ,¶�RI� WKH�&RPLFV�´�Modern Fiction Studies����������ĥ���

ĘLɮHN��6ODYRM��������³1HLJKERUV�DQG�2WKHU�0RQVWHUV��$�3OHD�IRU�(WKLFDO�9LROHQFH�´�,Q�The Neighbor: Three Inquiries in Political Theology��E\�6ODYRM�ĘLɮHN��(ULF�6DQWHU��DQG�.HQQHWK�5HLQKDUG�����ĥ����&KLFDJR��8QLYHUVLW\�RI�&KLFDJR�3UHVV�

JOSEPH DARDA�LV�D�GRFWRUDO�FDQGLGDWH�LQ�(QJOLVK�DW�WKH�8QLYHUVLW\�RI�&RQQHFWLĥFXW��+H�LV�WKH�0DQDJLQJ�(GLWRU�RI�LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory.