Marjane Monologue

“But look MJ. It doesn’t stop there, it only gets deeper, son. The reason you never knew about your daughter and why Havannah never brought her to see you is because Papi told Havannah to lie to Marlorana, to tell her that her father was dead. I highly disagreed with that because even though you have a lot of time over your head, you still could've been a part of your daughter’s life. You know, with visitation and all. But Papi kept pushing the issue and eventually Havannah and I both gave in.

Marjane’s escape to Vienna is not an escape at all, as the pressure to conform follows her, only this time not involving the increasingly radical Islamic government. Upon meeting both her roommates and the group that she later calls her friends, there was an instant indication of a future struggle for Marji. With these two groups, not only was there a language barrier between them, but also stark cultural differences between the West and traditionalist Iran. Amid her struggle with the Western culture she says, “The harder I tried to assimilate, the more I had the feeling that I was distancing myself from my culture, betraying my parents and my origins, that I was playing a game by somebody else’s rules” (193). Marji began to develop a sense of identity before she left Tehran, becoming more politically active and holding opinions on current issues other than the ones her teachers and classmates have; however,

As a Brit-Cuban raised in the States, I get my fair share of gag birthday gifts. This year, a 16- ounce tub of Marmite landed in my kitchen. However, the joke ison my friends, since I plan on making several Marmite- inspired dishes and serving it back to them without their prior knowledge. Despite its unsavory reputation forbeing unpalatable, the impressively potent substance has legions of fans throughout the English-speaking world. Since 1902, generations of British families have willingly slathered this polarizing condiment on their toast.

Maxie came into our lives November 20th, 2013. My sister found her on the side of the road. My dad told us that we couldn’t keep her because we already had too many dogs. We put up signs and uploaded posts on facebook asking if she was anyone’s dog. No one claimed her and she began to grow on everyone. Before long, she was a part of our family. We all loved her and couldn’t imagine our household without her. She was this little blessing that found her way into our house and I will forever be thankful to whoever’s dog she was, for allowing us have two years of joy with her.

After the incident with Melba and the white man, I am more certain that integration is not going to happen too soon. I have to be influential and teach Melba the right thing, but I don’t know if I have much hope left in me. Without Marissa, Melba’s little soul would have been conjured by evil. Even though things are not looking up, I will keep praying; I know that God will answer my prayers.

Four years and three schools later, and I’m still standing. Thank You to my wonderful parents, for putting up with me. Honestly, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you. Ma, I know you’ve been to hell and back with me, but MAMA I FINALLY MADE IT! Thank You to my amazing sister, you’ve been my rock this whole time. I know I don’t tell you enough, but thank you so much. To my un-biological sister, Jamie, I love you more than you’ll ever know. Thank you for putting up with me for 12 years, I love you so much Jwoww. Shoutout to my Holy Cross sisters. You taught me to live every day with Courage, Compassion, and Scholarship. Long live Lide English 1, always remember Thea Kreis, and Ouellete Advisory

I perceive Marji similarly to how George views her. I feel like it wasn’t a good way to be during this time in Iran but I feel like people should always ask questions. Accepting or abiding by every rule without query is just no fun. Marji is very outspoken. Her behavior gets her in a lot of trouble and eventually expelled from school, but that doesn’t mean she was a bad person. I love her personality, how stubborn she could be, how real she is throughout the text. Undermining authority is not considered good behavior but she was just impulsive, and with reason. I feel like if it weren’t for the regime in Iran she would have been considered normal. She would still be spunky or feisty. With all the terrors she witnessed and being obligated to

Your name is Ethan Faber. You live in London, England with your wife Marcie. Marcie's career is being a nanny for a little girl named Eveline. Marcie told you Eveline is "unique and special" in her own ways. She is shy and has trouble making friends and she scares a lot of people. She talks to herself or what Eveline calls her only friend, and is portrayed as a creepy little girl to everyone. Marcie knew that she would be gone for months, so, every night, Marcie video calls you telling you how her day was and to tell you Goodnight. One night you went to video chat with your wife, but no answer. “Huh, that's odd, maybe she's just busy”. You call her again an hour or so later, no answer. You then decide to check your email to see if she messaged you. “New Message” read the inbox. It's from Marcie. The subject is “let's play a game”. You

The parental influence that surrounds Marjane throughout her life changes her view of her country, her people, and her world. The influence of her mother and father started with their rebellious nature that was illustrated in their repeated appearance at political action groups. The rules implanted by the government lowered the expression of individuality and the freedom to live life at one’s own choice. Many people, including Marjane’s parents, participated in demonstrations. “Everywhere in the streets there were demonstrations” (Satrapi 5). While her parents took part in demonstrations, Marjane developed her own rebellious behavior with the weapon of self-expression. It started with her idea of her future, Marjane decided she would become a prophet when she grew up, “I wanted to be justice, love, and the wrath of God all in one” (9). Marjane is encouraged to experience life

Besides how Anoosh’s death caused Marjane to mature at a young age, Marjane denounced her God and lost her faith after her uncle died. In the beginning of the novel, Marjane stated that she was both very religious and conforming to her family’s more progressive beliefs. However, she was deeply hurt by Anoosh’s death, and she felt betrayed because she perceived God to be her best friend. Yet, he failed her, and her role model and close relative was killed. A major theme of the protests throughout Persepolis was the lack of social inequality of in Iran. Marjane idolized her parents’ beliefs of communism and more social equality. However, this changed once she realized that her parents weren’t quite as progressive as she thought. Since her parents didn’t allow her to go to the protests with them, Marjane researched on her own reasons for the revolution in order to better understand what they were fighting for. However, once she came to the conclusion that it all came down to the different social strata, she began to question her parents. Though the Satrapi’s were avid protesters, they had a maid whom they treated differently. Mehri was quite close to the family, yet she ate dinner in a different room. Marjane became ashamed, and she learned that her parents weren’t as for equality as she once thought. In addition, she was upset and didn’t understand why her father had to explain

Marjane’s life eventually plummeted leading her to homelessness, bronchitis, and drug abuse (Hattenstone). Defeated, she escaped the havoc by returning home, ultimately surrendering herself to the lifestyle she once rejected (Hattenstone).

Unfortunately dear reader, this is not a story with a happy ending. It is instead a story is about all my fears coming to life. One day, things began to shift with this man. Matt began acting strange for a lack of better word around me. It started off small of course, him not asking me anymore how I was or what I was doing. Instead, he began demanding answers. He did not want to know where or what I was doing, he needed to know. If I would not answer fast enough he would end up calling me stating ludicrous assumptions about what I was actually doing. I, of course, ignored it, creating ridiculous excuses in my head the entire time. Oh, he is just scared of losing me. Or, Wow he cares a lot more than I originally thought. I even went as far as

From the beginning of her story, Marji is suspended in limbo between two clashing ideological worlds. She is educated in a highly fundamentalist school rooted in nationalism and respect. However, her family is characterized by a grey area between being devout Muslims and modern communists, following the Ayatollah Khomeini. Akin to many elementary aged children, she is highly impressionable by the people around her, “a child who repeats what she hears” (62). An inharmonious sphere of influence regarding death and war leaves her in a state of ideological confusion. Being a school age child in a government controlled school made her more susceptible to the pro-Reza Shah ideology. In her elementary years, she was taught to

presented as true. During Marjane’s childhood, people were forced to stay within their social classes, and those further towards the top of the social pyramid were typically viewed with a higher worth and, therefore, possessed more rights. But, Marjane did not have to suffer this injustice, as she was born into a financially stable family. Even with her family’s comfortable status, they demonstrated against the social classes. Her parents’ involvement in the revolution, however, was meaningless in the end, as their actions did not align with the causes they supported. Nonetheless, Marjane developed a close relationship with her housemaid that diverted her from reflecting her parents duplicitous ways. As a result, she was introduced to a new

It is through the interactions with these minor characters that the cultural clashes she experiences as well as the different, and often conflicting, influences on her views and values are highlighted. Through the course of her journey of self-discovery her ideas on sexuality and gender as well being an Iranian are developed and with each character she meets her growth can be seen. As is characteristic of coming-of-age stories, by the end Marjane has matured, having found her identity and decided upon her own beliefs and