Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis

In Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, Satrapi states that her goal in writing the book was to dispel many of the hasty generalizations made by the western world about Iran, a principal sentiment being that the country is little more than a nation founded by fundamentalists and home to terrorists and extremists. To combat the misconception, Satrapi enlists the assistance examples of barriers and dissent towards the new conservative regime in Iran from her adolescence. By employing events from her childhood in Iran Satrapi rattles the foundation of the myths and false beliefs assumed by the occident. Satrapi writes that the initial waves of conservative fundamentalism in Iran were met with unified national dissent. To support this

Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis recounts the conflicts and disillusionment as a result of living through the tyrannies of the Shah’s and the Islamic regimes. Her main motive was to keep alive the spirit of those Iranians who lost their lives in wars fought for freedom, suffered under repressive regimes or who were forced to leave their families. It highlights the daily conflict between tradition and modernity, West and East, dictatorship and individual freedom. Marjane has used several motifs, such as the veil, the mirror, background panels to emphasize on the situation in Iran and this essay focuses on how the veil becomes the dominant motif for portraying the suppression of individual freedom, knowledge

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.

Rebelling has been a part of many people’s lives whether people try to or not, but not acts of rebellion are the same. In Iran, the Iranian people rebel against the Ayatollah in many minor and subtle ways. These small acts of rebellion could result in imprisonment or even death. In Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, the people of Iran bravely protest against the Islamic government in many subtle ways which show their determination to risk everything and fight for not only what the believe in, but also their country.

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

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

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a graphic memoir that reveals the life of a woman growing up in pre and post Iran, as well as her experiences in Western countries. In this book, Marjane utilizes historical events that affect her life during her upbringing in Iran. These include the oppression of the Shah, as well as the rise and effects of the regime. These events’ integration into the story showcase how they affect Marjane and the other citizens of her country. Additionally, these events are important for the context and understanding that they grant readers unfamiliar with the text.

A revolution changes and influences the society. Despite the outcome being positive or negative, it should lead the people in a different direction. With Persepolis, Author Marjane Satrapi defines the Islamic revolution as transformative. Growing up in a developing country can cause your personal beliefs to shift and change in a short amount of time. Her difficulty to stand at one point when all opinions mattered can be seen throughout the book.

"Persepolis" involves a girl who is growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Marjane Satrapi which is the author and person of the book tells her life through her eyes. The book i'm reading "1984" Which Winston Smith is essentially growing in a suppress government. The two books that compare in which Persepolis is a graphical novel. The graphic novel is Marjane's life and her growing up in a debatable government. The book 1984 on the other hand goes in depth with the government and one man trying to escape it with a group of people who are against. This was relatable with Marjane's parents with the rebellion in Iran. They are the people who are against the government. The writing type style of "1984" shows great detail in it's context.

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.

In the graphic novel Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi. The main character Marji is growing up in Iran, where she is surrounded by war. She witnesses an unimaginable amount of horrid events. As she grows, she starts to “rebel” a as she tries to find herself. Eventually, her parents decide to send her to Vienna, Austria to get her away from the war. Marji isn’t happy about leaving but she goes anyway. She lives in Vienna for about 4 years and throughout those 4 years she is still trying to figure out who she is and goes through a series of ups and downs.

Throughout history, gender stereotypes have negatively impacted societies, as they prevent women from accomplishing their goals. Malala Yousafzai is an advocate for education and women’s rights after experiencing oppression from the Taliban. She won the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize to recognize her work towards assisting underprivileged countries, specifically in the Middle East, and she expressed her passion for humanitarian issues in her acceptance speech. Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis depicts daily life in 20th century Iran through a child’s eyes as she watches her parents overcome struggles during the Islamic Revolution. Malala Yousafzai and Taji Satrapi challenge existing discriminatory practices in oppressive societies by speaking against authority and participating in rebellious acts.

For WT1, I have created a series of news reports documenting the journey and education of Marjane Satrapi’s uncle Anoosh based on details provided by her graphic novel, Persepolis. These newspapers were all written by Soviet newspapers, which leads to heavy bias and focusing a lot on the University itself, as it is not plausible that a newspaper would spend their front page interviewing immigrants. This adds a flair of realism, especially coupled with the the adherence to the writing style of a newspaper article. This writing style includes using words the average person would understand, the answering of the 5 W’s in a basic sense in the first few lines, and the further elaboration of the story with many integrated quotes and short sentences.

The Complete Persepolis paints a descriptive and complex picture of Iranian society and its transition from a progressive and Westernized state to a new fundamentalist regime following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The graphic novel cleverly uses a blend of images and text to tell her story from different perspectives throughout her life, exemplifying and questioning the ideologies accompanying the revolution. Specifically, Satrapi focuses on the role of the veil to challenge the new regime and its ideals of feminine oppression. Throughout the novel, Marjane Satrapi attempts to navigate through the abrupt shift of culture in her world, strategically utilizing different perspectives of the veil as both a young girl and an adult woman to do so. Readers follow Satrapi’s journey with her veil, from her initial conformation to her eventual rebellion and freedom.

The graphic novel Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, explores her childhood years in the middle of the Islamic Revolution. Situated in the commotion of the overthrowing of the Shah's regime, and the war with Iraq, the reader learns how secularists, nationalists and even Muslims marginalized, excluded and silenced the modernists in Iran during the Islamic