How Do Relationships Affect Marjane's Life

The historical background of Iran is the most important idea that influences Marjane 's novel. Mohammad Reza Shah was the leader of Iran from 1941 to 1979. During his reign, Iran was living a westernized life. He initiated a revolution called the White Revolution, which included permitting women to vote, the abolition of illiteracy, land rehabilitation and distribution of oil. Basically, everyone in Iran, including Marjane’s family, was living a westernized live during Shah’s regime. As Satrapi’s mentioned, she used to go to a non-religious French school, in which boys and girls were mixed. On the other side, there was a

For example on page 143 and 144, she starts to develop a rebellious personality after seeing the death of Neda Baba-Levy which made her not afraid of anything anymore. No matter how many times the principle yells at her, she still refuses to take the bracelet off and end up hitting the principal and getting expelled from the school. Then, even after her mom sent her to a new school, she still expose the truth out loud and disagrees with what the teacher is informing the students. These events shows how Marjane really became a rebel like she said and a bolder teenager who wants to have her own freedom. As the fourteen year-old Marjane slowly becoming a more serious rebel, Marjane’s parents made a few important decisions. First, they decided to tell Marjane about the other side of the society that she didn’t knew about. On pages 145-146, Marjane’s parents informed her about how the regimes treats the young girls that they arrest and prove to her that it was what happened to Niloufar. Although Marjane’s parents told her about the results that might occur if Marjane continues to act that way, her parents seems still doesn’t have the reassurance that they need. Therefore, they made another decision to send Marjane to Austria in order

Lastly, the movie omitted several characters from the novel, which some can be considered influential to Marjane's perception on the way she thinks life should be. The novel mentioned a maid name Mehri who was close to Marjane when she was younger. Mehri fell in love with a boy, but unfortunately couldn't marry him because her social status was lower than his. This enraged Marjane that social class can interfere with love and the movie didn't mention Mehri at all. Also there was a prisoner released with Siamak named Mohsen. Mohsen visited Marjane and her family when he was released form prison and he told them his stories about him being tortured. His stories made Marjane have a little fear, but inspired her to create a torture game from it. The movie mentioned Mohsen only when he died. Even though these minor characters didn't contribute a lot to the plot, in minor ways, they

These two statements are very important because they are the backbone of the whole book. These are the strongest parts that support the women she is. She is so hand in hand with God that she doesn’t even once criticize the reasons she’s in captive but as I have stated before, she blames herself for not praying enough. In the sixth remove she explains her circumstance, her being surrounded by her former enemies amidst no Christians at all but herself. She exclaims, “Oh the experience that I have had of the goodness of God, to me and mine!” Without any form of disbelief she praises the kindness of God. The beauty of her relationship with God is that she mentions no matter what kind of situation she is in whether it be near death or with luxuries. And she sees every good thing that happens to her as a sign of God. To sum it up, everything that has happened to her was pre-planned and the grace of God.

Marjane’s outspoken personality helps her and hurts her in various ways. Marjane is around her family most of the time, so that affects her and makes her think more about what’s happening around her. She was affected by how her parents treated the maid, so she wanted to revolt against “the difference in social classes”. She has shown that in page 38 when she decided to demonstrate; this shows how her outspoken personality helps her to help others in a good way. Her outspoken personality also hurts her because of how she misinterprets some situations. For example, Marjane and her friends attempt to imitate the people around them by applying the physical violence that the people

The Satrapi family were really good people who always did what they supposed to do if they knew that it was the right thing to do. They believed that you should have the liberty to make your own decisions, which is why Marjane was so independent, brave, rebellious, generous, understanding. Marjane believed that you should always do what is right because every one is considered equal. Well even though Marji was taught that by her parents she soon learned that not everyone is considered equal according to what socio-economic class that they were a part of. When Marjane's family maid fell in love with the teenage boy next door, she did not see anything wrong with them both wanting to be together and get married. It's only when Marjane's parents found out about the maid's relationship that it was soon ended because her father told the young man that she was their

Another historical event that we see is the rise and effects of the Islamic regime in Marjane’s life. This event is arguably the central issue that affects Marjane during her upbringing in Iran. Marjane shows how the regime begins to control schools, and how this affects her life by separating her from her friends (4, 3-4). We also see how the regime decides to close universities as they “educate future imperialists.” (73, 1-3) This demonstrates the negative effects that the regime has on society, as they prioritize Islamic values over education. The Islamic leaders portrayal shows them as upset and bored, and are given much different facial expressions than those that Marjane sees as intellectual (such as Uncle Anoosh (54/3) or Marjane’s grandfather (23/8)). This imagery communicates the backwards-thinking of these leaders, and as such, also effectively communicate Marjane’s opinion of the leaders without needing to discuss it with text. Additionally, we see both of Marjane’s views: Marjane not understanding the veiling and separation (3/5) as well as Marjane’s depression over the closing of the universities (73/7). The text here illustrates her opinions on the situations that she experiences, and the imagery allows us to see a visual representation of her basic thoughts and emotions, which are well communicated. A final example of the regime’s changes is the difference between the fundamentalist and modern women

Marjane’s drawings are more than mere illustrations; they are drawn the way they are for a reason. Figure sizes throughout the book vary to show the importance or maturity of the characters. In the beginning of the memoir, Marjane is depicted as a small girl, considerably smaller than her parents and all other grown-ups that surround her. Though Marjane is very aware of her situation, and a lot smarter or conscious than other children her age, she is still childish and

Marji's role in life changes drastically throughout the novel. In the beginning, as a young child, Marji believes that she is a prophet. As the story progresses and they the revolution continues, Marji begins to feel dismay towards the revolution and towards God. Later in the novel, Marji’s mother also feels sadness. Her former revolutionary spirit is gone and replaced with fear. When Marji’s principal calls the house to complain that Marji disrespected of the teachers, her mother in the past would have been proud, but this time around she fears for her daughter and goes on to explain the things that happen to girls in Iranian prison. Her mother had given up optimism and established that war

Throughout the entirety of the novel, Marjane Satrapi’s growth as a person seems to be a highlight that is almost as intriguing to track as the plot itself. Her loss of innocence and personal change can be linked to growing up within an environment of unrest and struggle. In regards to this idea, the character of Marjane Satrapi symbolizes a coming of age theme. Her relationships with surrounding characters, and experiences throughout her life heavily influence her perception and who she grows up to be.

Marjane’s friendships are few and far between, after the wake of the revolution. In the beginning of the novel, Marjane’s best friend is God and how she mainly identifies herself. This is significant to understanding the depth of Marjane’s thoughts as a child. She is very different from the rest of the kids. This is evident when Marjane’s says when she wants to be a prophet and her classmates say they want to be doctors, or teachers. Growing up in Iran makes it hard for Marjane to express herself and really identify herself. This affects her friendships with children her age. Marjane is very sympathetic for a child her age, and she deeply understands what her country and family has been suffering through. She sat in a bathtub for hours trying to understand how her grandfather felt. Other children her age were not doing things like this. She often talks to God as mentioned before and this is when Marjane can express herself. She cannot do that with other children so she leans on God and identifies with him. As Marjane grows she meets her uncle who be¬comes the light of her life and her new best friend. He tells her stories about his struggles and Marjane begins to identify herself in his stories. In this quote her Marjane is talking to other children her age, she says “ There are lots of heroes in my family, my grandpa was in prison, my uncle Anoosh too: For nine

This was not the ordinary child; this was the child who was convinced that she was the last prophet. I guess I should’ve explained this part first. When Marjane was six, she deeply believed that she was the last prophet. She was not only a prophet because God chose her, but because she desired it. She needed to be prophet because her father drove a Cadillac, her maid ate separately, and most importantly, the deep sensational pain that her grandmother felt in her knees. As you can imagine, her human compassion wasn’t the only reason that her grandmother’s pain was her top driving force. Marjane’s grandmother was her first and only disciple and the only one with the pleasure to see Marjane’s holy book. I presume it was her book that first drew my attention to her, it’s not everyday that you see a six-year old viciously writing a Holy book with Zarathustra’s rules to behave, speak, and act well as well in addition to her rules. These rules were not the expected rules of six-year old, it included rules such as everyone would own a Cadillac, maids would eat at the table, and old people would never suffer. Very much like a six-year old, the logic behind implementing them was that it would just be. If only life was that

When she sends Marjane away from Iran, she assures her: “I know how I brought you up. Above all, I trust your education” (147). Marjane’s mother doesn’t want her daughter to live in such an oppressive time. When the veils become mandatory, Marjane’s mother wishes to take her to an opposition demonstration: “She should start learning to defend her rights as a woman right now!” (76) In growing up with such strong female role models, Marjane learns to express her opinion and always stand by her beliefs. They taught her to stand up for herself as a woman, and in doing so, introduced her to a feminist perspective on life.

As Marji got older, it becomes more apparent that she was battling an inner conflict. When she spoke of her plans to her class of becoming a prophet, the children mocked her and the teacher called her parents in to say, “Your child is disturbed. She wants to become a prophet.” (8) Marji’s parents were a modern couple who fought against the new regime. Marji became conflicted when her parents asked her if she

The story of Marjane opens during a fundamental time period of Iranian history, a period that consisted of the Islamic Revolution. As stated earlier on in the novel, this revolution was the force that caused the Shah to flee from Iran in the year of 1979. Like many others in Iran during this time, Marjane and her family found no interest in the Shah. During his reign, the Shah showed signs of diluting Iran's value of a constitutional monarch, and instead moved the country towards an absolute monarchy. Additionally, with the U.S peddling the Iranian oil supply, many Iranians felt betrayed by the Shah, as he became a so-called puppet for the U.S. Because of this, his popularity slowly plummeted, and an uprise began within the country. This uprise, is then shown through Marjane's perspective. Therefore, through