Autobiographical Graphic Novel

Persepolis is an autobiographical graphic novel. What is the significance of this? The book is more personal (obviously) also tells a true story based on the author's point of view. What is the significance of this? According to Hayden White all narratives are a sort of autobiography because we always reflect our own personal morals and values in whatever story we tell. In Persepolis the story is overtly autobiographical.

An overtly autobiographical novel is more personable and personal, as we see with the graphic novel Epileptic. In this graphic novel, the author David B. writes about his struggles with his brother's struggle with epilepsy. The book is very personal as well as personable. With the different artwork that David B. does in the book you can feel his own anger or depression on the page. If this book was not based on his own life then it would have not been as easy to detect all the different feelings.

In Persepolis, the girl in the story has feelings that could only be explained if the author actually lived during that time and felt those things. Luckily for us as the readers, she did. At certain points in the book, you get the author's opinion loud and clear. For instance, she talks about how people changed during the Islamic Revolution and that Islam is more or less against shaving. Little things like that would not be discussed in a non auto-biographical work.

White's central argument about narratives and stories is that it is not an objective process but rather relative to the story teller. Each story teller decides what he/she wants to put in each story. In both of the graphic novels Persepolis and Epileptic the author is essentially the only one who gets to decide what is included in the book. Thus making it a purer narrative.

One of my favorite bands is a band called Brand New. (Let the criticism of my music tastes commence.) Their first cd is called Your Favorite Weapon. In the cd there is a song called "Seventy Times Seven" which is basically about the song writer's best friend stealing his girlfriend. The reason I feel it is appropriate to include here is because the song is based on true events. The whole cd is really just an autobiographical story about the loss of his friend.
Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCrgIDXVL-w