Persepolis

Chapter 10: “The Trip”

Directions: Your goal for this assignment is to compare some of the main issues in Chapter 10
with similar experiences elsewhere in the world (hence, global issues). To do so, please watch
the following videos and address the questions below in thoughtful, well-developed responses.

As a refresher from English 2 Honors, please watch the following videos about Malala
Yousafzai’s experiences in Pakistan: The Story of Malala Yousafzai & Malala’s Fight for
Education

1. Why did the Taliban target Malala Yousafzai? What message were they trying to silence?
They targeted Malala because she had been advocating for the education of women and girls.
They wanted to stop her from spreading her ideas and her message that all people deserve an
education.This was threatening to the Taliban because they used fear to instill their beliefs in
others and education would disrupt that.

2. Describe two parallel experiences that you see between Malala Yousafzai and what Satrapi
describes happening in “The Trip.”
In both experiences there is a restriction on education with Satrapi showing the closure of
universities and Malaladisplayed the lack of opportunities for young girls in school. This
limitation also seemed to be used as a way to keep corrupt people in power by not allowing the
people to learn and educate themselves on issues. Another comparison is the violence against
women by radical men who feel capable of controlling others. For Malala the Taliban shot her in
the face and in Satrapi’s novel Marji’s mother gets attacked on the street by a group of men.

3. In Persepolis, why do the Islamic Fundamentalists close down the universities? What’s their
reasoning?
The Fundamentalists decide to close down their schools because they think the educational
system goes against their new beliefs and government. They believe it will lead the children
away from Islam so they decide they need to change all their books and studies to make sure all
students are religious.

4. How does Marji feel she will be personally impacted by the closure of universities?
She feels like the closure of the universities is a way of her society regressing back into old
traditions so that she won’t be able to have an education and will be left to be a wife and mother.
By not having an education it makes it seem like she will now be expected to fill out the
traditional roles of a woman in Iran.
5. Why might access to an education be targeted by fundamentalist and extremist regimes? What
threat does an education pose? How might a regime benefit from an uneducated populace?
People that are educated are more knowledgeable about the world and especially about politics.
If people are more educated they are less likely to blindly follow along to a regime which is what
these radical organizations would prefer. Being able to critically think about situations would
make it easier to question authority, making those in power more vulnerable to uprisings by the
people.

6. How might this connect to other IB works we have previously studied?

This can connect to A Dolls House since it discusses the effects of the suppression of women and
how they aren’t allowed to work or earn a living for themselves. It also explores gender roles and
how the expectation of women to serve as wives and mothers can be highly damaging to society.
This novel compares to Satrapi’s through the traditional ideals that are being forced onto women
through religion and society.

7. Is inequality in accessing a quality education a problem in the United States? Please explain:
Yes people of a lower class and financial status are much less likely to get a quality education.
This problem not only permeates through social class but also by race. Minorities are more likely
to live in poorer areas and public schools are most often funded by property taxes which makes
the quality of education disproportionate to different locations. Women are also more likely to be
in poverty making single mother households susceptible to a lack of education by not being able
to go to college or a good school.