Persepolis the book about a child named Marjane Satrapi and how she grows up in the 1980’s environment of Iran. At this time Iran was not in it’s best situation as there were demonstrations going on and a colossal dispute between the shah and his people were happening, this Atmosphere was set by the fact that there was demonstrations going on and the fact women had to wear veil . The protagonist has been represented as a Dynamic Character since at first she wanted to be a prophet but in the future she takes a huge shift in her dreams. The environment that Marjane lives in affects her immensely as she starts to build new habits such as lying, betraying her parents, etc. Marjane starts to develop the habit of lying …show more content…
Personally I believe that lying is a bad habit because one day your lies keep on adding up and then slam you down. Also another factor that affect Marjane was her parents, since they were the one’s who implanted a dream of rebelling against the shah and going to demonstration (This is a bit of a Cliché, since parents were the ones to inspire in a good way ). In page 17, Marjane’s father stated, “you can participate later on”, this then caused high hopes for Marjane as she thought she would be like Che Guevara. One day she decides to betray her parents by going to a demonstration with her maid, “There is the demonstration” stated by Marjane in page 38, in my opinion this was all fine because there parents were the ones who first implanted this dream, but it was also wrong because what if someone harmed Marjane so therefore I would have told my parents before I went since I need someone to watch me over. As time goes by, Marjane listens to stories of punishment from laly’s father since he was in jail. Marjane starts to use these stories as games (eating trash, Some Farce involved in this part) since she wants someone that has been to jail and was a hero
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
The conflict in Persepolis is shown through the changes that are caused between families, women and children when fundamentalist Islamic state takes over Iran. The story progresses though the main character, Marjane’s point of view and experience.
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
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi is a graphic novel that provides insight into a young girl living in Iran during the hardship of war. Persepolis takes place during the childhood of Marjane Satrapi. It gives a background of the Islamic Revolution and the war in Iran. Satrapi attempts to guide herself in a corrupted world filled with propaganda. She tries to develop her own morality concerning religion, politics, and humanity. Satrapi was blessed enough to have high class status and parents who had an open mindset about the world around them. Thanks to her slightly alternative lifestyle, she is able to reconstruct gender norms that society has set by depicting the different ways women resist them. “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others” by Lila Abu-Lughod is an essay detailing the misconceptions surrounding the veil. Through this essay we can see how colonial feminism, the form of feminism in which western women push for a western way of living on their third world counterparts, has shined a negative light on cultures all around the world - particularly Islamic women. The essay shows how women who don’t conform to American societal structures are labeled as women who urgently require saving. Through this essay one can develop a thorough understanding of the veil itself and the many representations it holds to different entities. Although in Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood Satrapi
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.
Marjane Satrapi wrote the book Persepolis on real events that happened in her life. Satrapi grew up in Iran, during the Islamic Revolution and the Iraqi war. Marji tried to live a normal life like any ordinary child would, yet inevitable conflicts encountered. Religion was the primary focus throughout the book. First of all, Marjane comes from a non-religious family who encourages Marjane to become
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
However, to get out of trouble, she says innocently, “ My mother’s dead, and my stepmother is very cruel.... She’ll kill me... She’ll burn me with the clothes iron...”(134) Marji also starts crying when she is telling these lies. This causes her to be pitied as she just looks like an innocent child that didn’t do anything wrong.
As opinionated as Marjane Satrapi may seem, she tends to form her bias based on the other characters that she comes into contact with. Her mother and father’s efforts to educate her, the stories she hears from others, and the relationships she develops helps shapes who she becomes later on in life. Media is also a contributing factor to her means of formulating opinions. “Suddenly, I heard the Iranian National Anthem coming from the TV, our star-spangled banner. It had been forbidden and replaced by the new
Persepolis was written by Marjane Satrapi and was published in 2004. Marjane wrote this book to tell the life that she was living and the difficulties she faced. Persepolis takes place at the same time as the Islamic Revolution. The Islamic Revolution is seen to be one of the most important events to take place in Iranian history. This is significant to know while reading the book because it shows how the revolution affected the people of Iran. The girls were forced to wear veils to school; boys and girls were separated from their schools, which caused the people of Iran to begin protesting against the Shah. They wanted a democracy and to overthrow the king. The protest became more dangerous everyday; people were being killed for standing up for what they believed in. One day while Marjane’s mother was protesting, her picture was taken and published in the newspaper. She was terrified, so she dyed her hair and wore dark sunglasses. She felt as if someone recognized her then they would try to kill her for being a demonstrator. The story is told from the eyes of a young, determined Satrapi. At first she believed that the Shah was a great leader because her teacher told her that he was chosen by God. However, her father informs her that he wasn’t chosen by God. She also learns that her grandfather was a prince and a prime minister who was imprisoned for behaving as a communist. At
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
Seen many times throughout the film, Marjane can't help acting immature even reckless. Marjane’s surroundings are consistently influencing her, but luckily she never seems to fully drop her personal beliefs. Marjane certainly has her flaws and her strong-will makes it difficult to adapt to the world that surrounds her. But throughout the film it is clear that her heart in Iran. Marjane eventually moves back to Iran after her life falls apart in Europe. She soon finds out that Iran’s conditions are still as brutal, if not more, has before she left. Marjane realizes that home isn't the safest place for her to be and she is better off flourishing in another place, patiently waiting for her home to become the paradise she has always felt it was.
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.
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