Marjane Satrapi 's Persepolis Story

“People say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Truth is, you knew what you had, you just never thought you’d lose it – Anonymous” (Quotes). Marjane Satrapi was born to a wealthy family and had parents who adored her. She seemed to have everything, and even as the war raged on, her family still managed to have something more than the next family. In spite of their good fortune, the war was taking a toll on the family and it was decided that Marjane would be sent to Austria. Thus leaving everything Marjane loved behind, leaving her to fend in the darkness of the unknown. In Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, Marjane starts off as a rebel, though naïve at the same time, to an attentive but scared girl in order to show how the war has triggered Marjane's reality to crash down, clarifying the world around her.

Adolescence is an age where children began to find themselves or, in some cases, lose themselves, an idea clearly developed by Satrapi in her graphic novel “Persepolis”. Satrapi explores the challenges and difficulties experienced by a sheltered and naive girl during the tumultuous and uncertain years of the Iranian revolution and attempts to solve the oppression she witnesses by the Islamicist government. This is important to the whole text as it identifies the religious conservatism and Islamisation of the state causes distress and confusion in Marjane who consequently had to redefine herself, given that her freedom and personal liberties were denied them in schools, public places, and even her own home.

Persepolis focuses on major themes like Feminism, Freedom, Religion, War, and Culture. Although this book is about Marjane Satrapi a young girl who lived her childhood in Iran from the 1980’s which was during the Iran revolution, where at a young age she’s already opened up to a warfare environment. This book can be interpreted differently based on the reader’s location, history background with Iran, and the differences in government. In this essay we would be comparing the readers from Iran vs. America.

Marjane Satrapi’s memoir Persepolis is considered a “coming of age” story based on her experiences growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. This graphic novel explores the life she lead in Tehran which encompassed the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. Undergoing life with such a chaotic environment, it took Satrapi courage to act and live as her “authentic self” and explore what it meant to her to be authentic. Similar to Aristotle, May and Medinas Persepolis examines the concept of courage, through the view of innocence; through Satrapi’s childhood.

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.

The graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a political and personal account of a young girl’s growth to maturity. The novel serves as an autobiography of the author’s childhood in Tehren, Iran. It describes what it was like to grow up during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the end of the Shah’s regime, and the war with Iraq. One of the most prominent themes in the novel is the clash between modernity and fundamentalism. The reader can observe this conflict through Iran's internal oppositions, the Satrapi’s modernity, and Marji’s western soci-political beliefs. This aspect of the novel is important because it shows the ideological diversity within Iran and the consequences faced by those in the opposition.

In the graphic memoir Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, the main character Marji and her family are living through the Iranian Revolution, as well as the War. The people of Iran are revolting against the Shah and fighting for what they believe in. During this time, acts of violence occurred and injured many people, their nation was divided. When in time of war or disagreements against certain beliefs, people may use acts of violence to show their frustrations, instead of solving the problem and uniting, Satrapi develops this theme through graphic weight, motif and chapter titles.

There are many elements that contribute to the effectiveness of a piece of writing. One element in particular that adds to how effective a piece of writing can be is point of view, which can determine what the reader knows and understands, and how the information given is interpreted. As a result, point of view contributes to character development and the emotional impact of a piece of writing. Marjane Satrapi utilizes the impact that point of view has in her graphic novel Persepolis. The story, which is written as a memoir, includes Marjane herself in the images, which makes the text seem to be told from more of a limited third person point of view, while the narration of the story is told in the first person. By including herself in the

The novel “Persepolis” shows many life changes during the Islamic Revolution told through the eyes of a young girl. “Persepolis” was based on Satrapi’s childhood experience in Iran. Throughout the span of the 1970’s to the early 1980’s, Satrapi experiences many changes in her life, not only with the government, or her education, but also with herself. Although she witnessed many violent acts right in front of her eyes, these experiences helped Marji (Satrapi) grow as a young child.

Western culture has often misperceived the east and the way that their society functions. In Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, Satrapi uses graphic novels as a way to demonstrate to the western culture how the east has been misrepresented. The use of media helps to depict to the west how their views of the east may have been unfairly formed in the past. The media has only revealed limited knowledge that only shows partial perspectives because it is difficult to get perspectives of the minorities although they are the ones who hold the most truth. In other words the use of graphic novels and a child’s perspective give the west a new idea on how it is that society in the east functions. This style of writing brings the connection between the two

Marjane Satrapi, in the book Persepolis, writes “[I found myself with the newborn baby we had been celebrating in my arms. Her mother had already abandoned her. Since that day, I’ve had doubts about the so-called “Maternal Instinct,”(page 107). This incident represents Marjan’s maturation process, because she is handed responsibility before she is ready. Being a good person can be seen differently in many ways.

In The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, the genre choice of the graphic novel vividly portrays the life-experience that Satrapi herself gone through as a youth growing up in Iran back in the 1980s. Satrapi utilizes a unique drawing style to emphasize the influence that the Islamic Republic has brought to her. The recurring action of teachers implanting Islamic values in children throughout Marjane’s education in Iran is demonstrated through a set of related images, which implicitly reflect on the destruction of childhood that is caused by a totalitarian regime. For instance, the teachers force the girls to wear veils on page1 and tells the parents that “either [girls] obey the law, or [they are] expelled” (Satrapi, 98) later on. Also, the background of these images takes place where Iran is involved in both revolution and war; it contributes to children’ miserable situation even more.

Taking place in the late 1970’s, Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis” exemplifies a profound illustration of the county of Iran, including aspects of its people and political structure. Unlike a conventional composed novel, the story of Persepolis is expressed through both textual and visual representation; otherwise known as a graphic novel. Through the experiences of the ten-year old character Marjane, the reader is exposed to historical events, movements, crises, and motives that occurred within Iran. Furthermore, the novel has gained much praise in its portrayal of emotions that occurred through the people of Iran. Although there has been tremendous support of the account of Marjane, there have been a few critics of the novel, attacking its overall literary value. For instance, New York’s Ithaca College student paper called The Ithacan, slammed the role Persepolis had on the literary society. In fact, they went as far to say that the novel “...is worth broaching but its literary value, in terms of building vocabulary and furthering comprehension, falls short.” An absurd statement, to say the least. Not only is Persepolis of literary value, it is a glimpse into the past. It allows the reader to understand the various conflicts that the people of Iran were facing. Through the account of Marjane, the audience is exposed to elements of Iranian history, gender roles, religion, and political fluctuation.

The world stereotypes different types of culture, but real identity can be only defined by a person who has experienced the specific way of life. In Persepolis The Story of a Childhood, by Marjane Satrapi, the author creates a graphic memoir representing her childhood growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Satrapi evokes perfectly regarding her childhood, her reaction towards the Islamic Revolution. She is rebellious to the Islamic revolution’s new regulations and enforcement and decides to take a secular approach to defend her rights. In Persepolis, the narrator illustrates the opposition against the Islamic Revolution and Shah’s reign and as well as her pursuit in a secular culture. Her opposition and desire allow the readers to reconsider on past stereotypes about the Middle Eastern culture.

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