Authors: Utkarsha Singh
Abstract: Graphic novels are a powerful tool to narrate stories about history through the help of text and images. Graphic narratives highlight human memory, lived experience, and everyday reality, in contrast to traditional histography which often focuses on official events and institutional perspective. This paper examines Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, in which she illustrates her own childhood memories, and Delhi Calm by Vishwajyoti Ghosh as a graphic text that reinterprets history through personal and visual lens. Persepolis highlights the Iranian Revolution through autobiographical memory, emphasizing the emotional and psychological impact of political violence on everyday life. On the other hand, Delhi Calm employs satire, allegory, and visual metaphor to critique authoritarian control, censorship, and surveillance. Both texts contest prevailing historical narratives by highlighting marginalized voices and everyday experiences, converting intergenerational memory into visual representation. This study argues that graphic novels serve as alternative historical narratives that transform communal perception of memory, violence, and resistance within various cultural and political frameworks. Their nonlinear structure encourages readers to read and get involved and think critically about history.
