Page 1

Persepolis, lesson 9:

The ReturnL.O. Understanding

the influence of culture when you

come back to ‘your own’

Page 2

Starter:Satrapi once claimed:‘If people are given the chance to experience life in more than one country, they will hate a little less. It's not a miracle potion, but little by little you can solve problems in the basement of a country, not on the surface.’Do you feel this is true for Marjane when she returns to her country? Does she hate a little less?

Page 3

Arriving in Iran• How is repressiveness displayed in

this splash?

Page 4

Rewriting the chapter• Re-read the chapter ‘The Return’ and

choose one of the following ways to retell what is in the chapter:

A) A page for a history book on Iran.B) A letter from Marjane to Markus in

which she explains what has been happening & how life in Iran is since they broke up.

C) The diary entry Marjane might have written the night after listening to her father’s story.

Page 5

Discuss in groups:• How does Satrapi summarise

the history of Iran (of the years she left) in just a few panels? What tools does she use? Which panels / pages from book 1 can you compare this to?

Page 6

Plenary• Marjane’s decision

(after hearing the distressing report) has quite some impact on her life.

• Discuss the consequences of her decision & the message we could take from her words in this panel.