Change in Marji: Persepolis

Throughout the graphic novel Persepolis, the author Marjane Satrapi makes the main character Marji a typical little girl. Marji and her family live in Iran, and they are figuring out how to live under the rules of the new Shah. At first, Marji is introduced as a girl who loves her live, and who loves her God. As the novel goes on, Marji changes a lot and starts figuring out who she can and cannot be.

Tinker v. Des Moines was a case arguing over whether the students were allowed to peacefully protest the Vietnam war in schools by wearing a black arm band with a peace sign on it. The Supreme court decided that they were allowed to peacefully protest because it didn't hinder the students for learning and it didn't lead to criminal activity. This case was one of the most important cases in US history because it was a stepping stone for students to express themselves freely in schools.

Throughout the Iranian Revolution, many events and changes took place that largely affected the views of Iranians by other nations. The graphic novel, The Complete Persepolis, written by Marjane Satrapi (Satrapi, 2003), conveys many of these events and changes through the eyes of a child growing up in the 1980s in Iran. Satrapi’s main purpose for this book is to describe how the Iranian government was corrupt, causing foreign nations to have a tainted view of all Iranian citizens. The Complete Persepolis does so by presenting major events and changes in a manner that is directed towards audiences that are willing to have an open mind about ethnicity and false stereotypes, and an audience that is young and can relate to the “coming of age” aspect of this novel. By exhibiting a credible first hand account of how Satrapi and many others were affected by the events that took place during the Iranian Revolution, The Complete Persepolis can effectively persuade a reader to eliminate the “Islamic extremist” stereotype that the corrupt Islamic Republic gave all Iranian citizens.

At least once in your life, you will encounter someone with a different opinion than you. You will hit a wall with ideas. Someone will voice their opinion against what you believe, and it will hurt. Everyone can remember an experience where they felt this, and everyone knows how it feels when your opinion is rejected.

Marjane Satrapi was a young independent girl, strongly reliant on her own decisions and logic. However, throughout the novel “Persepolis” she is greatly impacted by many different women in her life. These women helped her develop her character and built her to be stronger and wiser. Women such as her grandmother, the maid, her school teachers and her very compelling mother have helped her to evolve into an independent, ambitious and quite intelligent lady. Throughout this powerful novel displayed by comic strips, Marji never releases her roots and she stays true to herself. This is due to the influence these women had on her.

Throughout the book Persepolis Marjane has to deal with many hardships. She has to deal with her religion, the danger, nationalism, imperialism, and revolutions. This is all happening during a war between Iraq and

Amazing, intriguing, and unimaginable are just a few words to describe how I felt about Persepolis while I read this true life story of Marjane Satrapi. This book has helped me to see all the life struggles, good times, and adversities that Marji faced between the ages of nine to thirteen. The Islamic Revolution had such a daunting effect in the Middle East, especially in the county of Iran where Marji and her family resided.

In the novel Persepolis, their religion is their way of life. The revolution exerted power and influence over so many people and this included several educated/middle class people like Satrapi and her parents. The people of Iran were restricted and lived in fear to be free and express themselves. Many people left after the revolution because they couldn’t or didn’t want their kids to be conformed to what society wanted them to be. Religion in Persepolis defines each and every character in the novel, from the way they dress to the way they speak. These laws were based on religion during the revolution. Religion in the story defined Margi at one point and how she viewed god, what they were allowed to wear, and how religion impacted the society. Despite the oppressive regime, the people tried to make the best out of the situation they lived in.

Throughout Persepolis, Marji chooses to do many things that aren’t very logical, although in her own eyes, she thinks otherwise. This  reflects onto her personality, and shows how she has the tendency to rebel. From the beginning of the book to the very end, Marji has a very rebellious nature, and there are a variety of sources that she could’ve gotten this trait from.  Due to Marji’s rebellious nature, she makes a variety of illogical choices, involving religion, appearance, and her aptitude to always focus on herself.

Persepolis is a French/Iranian movie based on the author/director’s childhood during the Iranian Revolution during the late 1970s. The movie focused on Marjane Satrapi’s experience under the transition to Islamic rule in Iran, Iraq’ invasion of Iran, and living in Europe during her teenage years. Her upbringings were based from her family who some were part of the revolution to overthrow the Shah. Because of it, she grew fond at the idea of freedom and valuing a lot of Western culture even after Muslim fundamentalist took over. She also endured a lot of hardship in Iran and abroad due to political tension and judgement from the outside world.

In Persepolis 2, Marjane is set on a journey of self discovery while living away from her home in Iran to escape the war. She experiences many obstacles varying from finding her self identity heartbreak and isolation. All of these obstacles would eventually lead to a very confident Marjane. MArjane lives in Vienna for most of her adolescence and so it is at this time that she is truly on a journey of finding who she is as a person and developing herself. Upon living in Vienna, Marjane discovered that Vienna is very different from her home of Iran and because of this, she assimilated herself into this new society while distancing herself from her Iranian culture. In her final days of living in Vienna she becomes homeless and it wasn't until this moment that she is notified that she is welcome to come back home to Iran. When she returns home to Iran she discovers that not only has she herself changed, but also how much her home of Iran has changed as well. Modern Iran is similar to Marjane, regarding their similar journey of self discovery and the many challenges that they have both faced.

Persepolis is an autobiography by Marjane Satrapi that pushes the reader to visualize Marjane’s life from childhood to growing and becoming an adult. This story takes place in Iran and it’s during the Islamic Revolution. The name Persepolis itself comes from the capital of an ancient Persian empire. The most prominent motifs for this novel is smoking, and the major reason for it is repetition, Marji spontaneously changes her lifestyle, habits, and attitude after she begins smoking, and that holds hands with another major motif which is coming of age. This writing will prove to you how Marji’s start of smoking and coming of age will bring changes to her lifestyle, attitude, and habits.

How do you identify yourself? What do you use to really identity to others who you are? So people use terms like mother, father, friend or find it in religion or materlisitic things. In the witty and heartbreaking graphic autobiography, Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi uses a childlike tone to address an internal struggle within a mind in identity crisis. Marjane’s childlike point of view cannot comprehend God’s role in the domestic turmoil of her country. Marjane was “born with religion”(6) and treats her relationship with God as if it was a friendship. God comes to Marjane in times of solitude to discuss how she finds her identity in being the last prophet, the troubles within her family, and how she feels about her world as a child in the

Persepolis is a coming of age story for Marji living in the middle of the Iranian war and adapting to the changes to both her culture and her personal life. Inequality between genders is heavily discussed within the story, as well as the struggles between the fundamentalist ideas and customs compared to the less extreme morals of some families: it is shown through the simplistic, but effective images by Satrapi.

Persepolis was created by Marjane Satrapi to explain the details of her life. She had many events that occurred over time throughout the younger years of her life which she wrote in the form of a graphic novel. One of the most important things that took place in her life was her experience and how it helped her to grow faster mentally. Many events contributed to her mental growth as most of them she describes come from the war.Out of the many contributions one has a larger explanation. How does the symbolism in persepolis lead to Marjane Satrapi's coming of age.