As with Maus, Persepolis underscores the importance of memory and storytelling, especially for those who are persecuted for their beliefs, political views, race, ethnicity, etc. As Marji’s uncle Anoosh says: “I tell you all this because it’s important that you know. Our family memory must not be lost. Even if it’s not easy for you, even if you don’t understand it all” (60). Why is it important that Marji tells this story? What do we learn from it? Consider what Marjane Satrapi says in the introduction: “Since then, this old and great civilization has been discussed mostly in connection with fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism. As an Iranian who has lived more than half of my life in Iran, I know that this image is far from the truth.” What is the “truth” or “true” image of Iran and its people that she conveys by telling this story? Structure refers to the form of the essay, which, in the broadest sense, includes an introduction where you state your thesis, a body where you develop your argument and main ideas, and a conclusion, where, ideally, you do more than simply summarize your argument. More specifically, a structurally sound essay is one in which your main points and ideas are logically presented and organized through effective paragraphing, and where paragraphs are effectively constructed (with transitions between them) through proper sentence structure, correct grammar, and punctuation. So please carefully proofread your graded draft, which means more than simply running a spell check. Avoid the five-paragraph essay structure. • Assume that your reader is familiar with the text but is not a part of our class, so don’t refer to the class. • Wherever possible, avoid using the pronouns “I,” “we,” and especially “you.” • Wherever possible write in the present tense when writing about literary works and film.• Underline or italicize the title of a full-length work, whether it’s a book, a journal, a newspaper, a CD, etc.; put the title of a shorter work that is part of a longer work in quotation marks, whether it is a story, a poem, an article, a song, etc. (e.g. Persepolis but “The Tale of the Hunchback”). But don’t underline or italicize the title of your own essay. • Quotations of longer than four lines should be blocked off from the rest of your text by single-spacing and indenting them. • Please reread the “Plagiarism” section on the syllabus.