Authors creatively express their point of view through various genres so that diverse audiences can understand their histories.

• Factual Question: What is genre? What are different types of genres? What are characteristics of a memoir? What are characteristics of a graphic novel? 

• Conceptual Question: How does the way we express our stories affect how our audience percieves them? 

• Debatable Question: Does genre affect the story? 

• Discuss why and how the graphic novel form is being used to convey difficult subject matter.

• Analyze how the novel's images and text create a compelling narrative.

• Analyze how Marji's perspectives about religion and politics change over time.

• Trace the political and religious regimes that take hold of Iran, and explain how they influence Marji and her family.

• Determine how Marji's identity is shaped by her life experiences.

• Allusion

• Comic Strip Format

• Foreshadowing

• Flashback

• Imagery

• Symbolism

• Parent/Teen Relationships — Marji's relationship with her parents is essential to the formation of her identity as someone who is allowed to voice her opinions.

• Tradition vs. Modernity — The religious leaders of Iran favor Islamic tradition over Western influence and change.

• Bildungsroman — This novel depicts Marji's coming of age during a time of revolution and war.