When I heard that we were going to read Persepolis in class, I wasn't too excited. I don't know why, but I have never thought of graphic novels as being books. I'm a pretty traditional reader, so I never thought that a classic book could be one made up of words and pictures. I guess I've always figured that a book is meant for you to be able to picture and create a world in your imagination, not draw the pictures out for you! Plus, with all of the pictures, doesn't it waste more paper?As I got my book and started flipping through the pages, I was thinking, "God, we've read some good books this quarter, why does Mr. Kunkle have to go and ruin it with this one?" In short, I was a pretty negative-nelly about the whole situation, and I was really reluctant to open my book the first night. I was surprised though when I actually got the courage to read the first page; it was kind of interesting!
I can proudly say that I no longer hate graphic novels; they're actually kind of fun to read! The pictures are really entertaining and the books read fast. Plus, with all of the pictures, it helps keep my focus more. I'm glad that Mr. Kunkle made us read a graphic novel because it makes people who are more "narrow-minded", like me in this case, to read something out of their "comfort zone". (I was at loss for some better words there).
To be honest, I really like the story of Persepolis, it's really interesting! I love how this is pretty much an autobiography of the author's childhood. It was such a creative idea to make it a graphic novel! I like this book so much, that I'm not sure I want it to end. Great choice Mr. Kunkle!
I 100% agree with you Halle, I also thought I was going to hate Persepolis. I enjoy the History of Iran and seeing it through a child's eyes is really interesting. Great post, by the way.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of people look at graphic novels in the exact same way you did at first. But many graphic novels have merit as literature as well as as a work of art. It takes a little getting used to but pictures really are worth a thousand words and if you put them together correctly you end up with quite the story, with or without traditional words.
ReplyDeleteEven though I collect comic books I can honestly say I wasn't too thrilled when Mr.Kunkel said we were going to read a graphic novel either. When I get a comic book it never leaves it's plastic wrapping, I don't open it up and read it. I used to, but now all that really excites me is adding a new comic to my collection, not actually reading it. Percepolis ended up being a really good book though, and I think the graphics really added a lot to it!I liked this post a lot, really nice Halle!
ReplyDeleteEveryone's blogs on Persepolis say that they were not looking forward to it. Everyone thought they were going to hate it. I was actually excited. I get bored with all the words sometimes, so it was fun to look at pictures. It did end up being a great book, and it taught a beautiful lesson. Be true to yourself. This book taught me something, and that's the beauty of literature.
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