Elements of Fiction ---> Prisoner on the Hell Planet ---> The Veil

          David Foster Wallace stated "We all suffer alone in the real world; true empathy's impossible. But if a piece of fiction can allow us imaginatively to identify with a characters pain, we might then also more easily conceive of others identifying with our own. This is nourishing, redemptive; we become less alone inside" (1082). 

         This quote by David Foster Wallace aligns very well with Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis:The Veil and Art Spiegelman's "Prisoner on the Hell Planet: A Case History." In each graphic novel the author tells the audience about an event in their life. Both authors do this in the hope that the readers can understand the pain or struggles that have had to deal with. Each piece is considered a memoir  but is also fiction because the way the authors portray their stories. Wallace also states in the interview that "true empathy's impossible." I believe this to be very true in many ways. In Spiegelman's story his mother commits suicide and many could show sympathy towards that event but no one will ever be able to show complete empathy. For example my father committed suicide but that is not the same as a mother nor is my father the same as a mother who was a Holocaust victim. 

        Each piece is a great example of how the authors want the audience to understand their life problems. Wallace's quote shows how the author wants their characters to be identifiable to the readers.