TOLERANCE
Rachel

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space.” –Albert Einstein. We are part of everything. It’s sort of like cause and effect. We choose to do something whether it is good or bad for us or others and it sets off a chain reaction to all these other things. Everyone has a limited time on this earth to find out what they’re meant to do; to find their true purpose. In the graphic novel Persepolis, Marjane-the main character- finds herself in a country she doesn’t know. She is very young and becomes interested in some bad habits. She gets to “experience herself, her thoughts and feelings”, without anyone really telling her that she can’t do this or that. I know that it’s good to have some kind of direction in your life, but it doesn’t always come from the ones that should give it to you.

“This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.” I flash back to all of the goals I’ve wished to accomplish in life, all the people I’ve loved and all the people I thought loved me. It’s hard to be hurt so many times and still have that thought in your mind that there’s still another boy out there. It’s hard to give someone your heart and trust them not to break it, and then after they do, try again. It’s hard to fail time after time and keep pushing on to achieve what you want. If some of us weren’t stuck in this “delusion” as Einstein puts it, think how much better our lives would be! Marjane is sent away from her family to keep her safe from war, she is in and out of homes of people she’s never even met! I think of myself and all the other children I know in Foster Care and how much it hurts to be taken from the ones you love. Even if it ends up that you being taken were truly the best thing for you it doesn’t take away that pain and the longing you have to actually belong somewhere, to someone.

“Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” From the beginning of this book I’ve thought about how strong she must be to live on her own at 17 on the streets. She is forced to become independent until she can return home. I believe that she did free herself from the prison of delusion and she saw the people of our world for who they really are. She started developing feelings for her boyfriend Markus and she thought she loved him. They broke up after a devastating scene Marji walked into. But she got out of the prison. She expanded her compassion for others and found her husband. That relationship didn’t work out either, but it definitely proves the point I think. We can all do as she did, and become tolerant of the world we live in.