In one series it describes "torture sessions"in which the citizens had to beat on their selves.
"Hitting yourself is one of the country's rituals. During certain religious ceremonies, some people flagellated themselves brutally"(Satrapi 96).
"After a little while , no one took the torture sessions seriously anymore. As for me, I immediately started making fun of them"(Satrapi 97).
I think this passage ,along with several others, shows how rebellious Marjane was. She was constantly causing mischief when she was told or forced to do things that she did not agree with. She had a very stubborn personality and although sometimes it got her in trouble I think it is one feature that make her so impressionable. By the illustration in this series you can tell the none of the kids looked forward to beating themselves on the chest. I like how the emotion on the faces of the people in the story are to the point. The word flagellated reminded me of the book "The Di Vinci Code" when the albino man has the spike belt around his leg to punish himself.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi, Sami. The connection to The Da Vinci Code is a good one. Inflicting pain on yourself is supposed to remind you of the suffering of martyrs who have died for the religion. I feel as if there is a selfish quality to that kind of suffering, as if the person is saying "I'm better than you" by hurting himself. Hardly ever does it seem to be connected to the humility it's supposed to inspire. I can't really imagine a reason for it as a measure of faith except to keep people scared and competing with one another, which keeps other people in power. Nancy
ReplyDelete