Narrative #1 Final

Narrative #1 Final

Iranian Hostage Crisis

The Iranian hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between the United States and Iran which started November 4th, 1979 and ended January 20th, 1981 in which fifty-two Americans were held hostage for four hundred and forty four days. This occurred when Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran. This situation occurred under President Carter (United States) and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (Iran). In the beginning of the hostage crisis the Iranian Government denied any sort of involvement in the whole thing, but its failure to take action against the hostage-takers belied their denial to the situation. In the middle of November in 1979 the Iranian hostage-takers released thirteen women and African Americans claiming they were sympathetic to the minorities. The hostages were initially held in one building until the rescue mission Operation Eagle Claw (which failed) then the hostages were scattered all over Iran to make any other sort of rescue mission impossible. President Jimmy Carter immediately imposed an economic sanction, first he cancelled oil imports from Iran, and then he deported a number of Iranians from the United States, that was followed by freezing about eight billion dollars of Iranian assets in the United States. During the hostage crisis the United States attempted a rescue mission called Operation Eagle Claw off the USS Nimitz and failed. That was where the only casualties in the whole Iranian Hostage Crisis occurred (eight American Service men, 2 American aircraft and an Iranian civilian). After Operation Eagle Claw had failed the Iranians mockingly paraded the wreckage on Worldwide Television. In February of 1980 the Iranians released a list of demands for the hostages release. The list of demands included the return of the Shah, an apology for the United States involvement in Iran (including the coup in 1953) and a promise for the United States to stay out of all of Iran's future affairs. Upon the death of the Shah in July of 1980 and the invasion by the Iraqis in September, Iran became more amenable for the negotiations of the hostages' release. In the final stages of the Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, given the new parameters, might have been able to bargain with the Iranians. The 11th hour heroics were officially dubbed an "October Surprise" by Ronald Reagan's campaign. Allegations surfaced that William Casey (director of the Reagan Campaign) and some CIA Operatives had secretly met with Iranian Officials in Europe to negotiate the release of the hostages. The American hostages were finally released into United States custody minutes after President Ronald Reagan was sworn into office. The Iranians came to an agreement with Deputy Secretary Warren Christopher. The whole Iranian Hostage Crisis was described as an entanglement of vengeance and mutual incomprehension. Even though the casualty rate was low; the two air-crafts, eight American Service men and Iranian civilian it was still a very tragic situation. In Iran the hostage taking was widely seen as a massive blow against the United States of America.

Works-Cited:

"A Short History of the Department of State: Iranian Hostage Crisis" No date of said publishing.

http://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/short-history/iraniancrises

"United States History: The Iranian Hostage Crisis" No date of said publishing.
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h2021.html

Persepolis Narrative and Reader Response

Persepolis Narrative:
In this Graphic Novel by Marjane Satrapi a young girl named Marji wants to be a Prophet but no one knows about it except for her grandmother. She wants to be love, justice, and the wrath of God all in one. Marji tells everyone that she wants to become a doctor when she grows up, but she truly wants to be a prophet. God would visit Marji and wrote a book about her becoming a prophet that her grandmother discovered. Marji's grandmother says that she will be her first disciple. When the revolution came to her country she decided to stop trying to become a prophet, at least until she became a little older. God would still visit Marji from time to time and see how she was doing. One night while God was visiting her she over heard her parents talking about the revolution and what had been happening and she had over heard her father saying that the local movie theater was burned down with people still inside. The cops wouldn't let people try and save anyone and just let them burn to death. The firefighters did not arrive until forty minutes later. The BBC had reported that over four hundred people had perished in the fire. Everyone from the city had believed that it was the Shah's doing and that he was the one who planned the fire to happen at the theater. Her father had talked about another demonstration happening the next day, Marji wanted to go but her parents would not let her go because at the demonstrations there were many shootings.

Persepolis Reader Response:
My reaction to this Graphic Novel so far is that it seems kind of depressing so far. Everything just kind of seems to be going wrong in the country and the fact that Marji is just in the middle of it and all she wants to do is help, and the fact she can't do it just seems really sad. Everyone just seems to go with the flow of the revolution. Most people seem to be angry, but a lot of people are just seeming to stay out of it. Marji's parents also seem like the kind of parents who will take care of her no matter what situation that they are in (at least so far, we have not gotten very far into this novel). I also really enjoy the fact that Marji talks to God, I feel like it shows that she can also seem to stay positive in any kind of situation, even when her country goes to Hell and there is a revolution happening. I also see that fact that she talks to God as a personal Solitude. I feel like she tries and keep herself out of most drama while still trying to help others. Also, the way Marji seems to act around most people makes me enjoy this Graphic Novel more because it shows that Marji still acts very childish and that is very enjoyable.