Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis

However, some may argue that the extent to which Satrapi can challenge conventional beliefs about Iran is limited by her perspective. Satrapi writes from the first-person point-of-view and a child’s nonetheless. Those same people might argue that when Satrapi is challenging generalizations by using personal examples she is manipulating fact, confusing them with opinion, and asserting her bias in a persuasive manner. Historically writing of this kind is often discarded for more specific and omniscient information. However, Satrapi never hides from her bias and desire to introduce the West to her version of Iran. In any persuasive writing a bias is implied and one might influence just as to which examples they choose include to support their argument, this essay for example. She may be employing a persuasive tone, but the extent to which she accomplishes her goal is not altered by such beliefs.

Nevertheless, she accepts her mistake and learns from her experience by acknowledging it, “I don’t know anything” (Kincaid 249). Ultimately, Satrapi conveys that there not only needs to be progress in her country, but in her thinking as well. This brings to light how the only way to diminish social issues, our opinions need to be altered.

Satrapi uses her own relationship with her parents as a metaphor for her relationship with the world. The conflict she experiences with her parents is a necessary part of her childhood. Her relationship with her parents is caring, yet full of tension. Her parents love her and seek to provide her with the best education and hope to provide her with a life full of privileges.

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.

Satrapi’s family background is very rich in history and in wealth. The ancestry that Satrapi knew and understood gave her a response of support for the 1979 Revolution. As time went on, however, her options began to change. Her heritage is told in little stories throughout the whole beginning half of the book. The first story Satrapi learns about that changes her option and viewpoint is the story about her great grandfather. This story is promoted with young Satrapi

Satrapi describes many other women throughout the novel who had an influence on her life and character as well. When she was young her maid, Mehri, fell in love with a neighbor but because she was not in his social class, the love was “impossible” as Marji’s father put it (37). This causes Marji to realize the despair social classes bring which leads Marji to her first demonstration and major act of rebellion (34-39). Marjane

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.

Satrapi was the only child in her middle class family. Her parents were extremely against the new Islamic Republic. Throughout the novel, she talks about how schools changed, the closing of universities and her feelings of the new government in general. In the very first scene of the book Satrapi talks about one of the first major changes that occurred in her school after the Revolution. The girls were required to wear veils.

By allowing the reader to form their own perspective it “makes the reader reconsider the assumptions…[of the] so-called other” by giving the reader the freedom to perceive the events of the revolution as they wish and not reconsider the way that they once understood the people of the east to be (Darda 34). Satrapi is using her experience and graphic novels to show what her experience as a child was, she does not claim at any point to be telling the entire story of the revolution she is merely introducing a new perspective which up until that point had not been seen in the western countries.

Knowing this, Satrapi knew how she wanted to live her life. She knew that things needed to change, in terms of the way she continued to live, simply because she thought everyone was evil. A coming of age experience has to involve open mindedness and in realizing that, one can significantly

Their actions in Persepolis reflect their desire to weave Western culture into their lives in Iran. Satrapi’s parents are avid protesters, persistent in attending demonstrations and expressing their political views. They also lead a different life within the privacy of their home, contrasting the life that the Islamic regime would have wanted them to live. Satrapi conveys this complexity in her graphic memoir by questioning what is most important to her: religion, which she claims to have a deep love for early in her childhood; or politics, something her parents pride, along with the more Westernized ways of living? Within her story, Satrapi displays her split life with a single, yet powerful image.

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.

For Satrapi, the Islamic faith was a source of comfort for her when she was a child. In fact, she was so enraptured by her faith that she told her school teacher she wanted to be a prophet when she grew up (Persepolis, 2003, pg. 8). However, this sentiment quickly changes when her uncle Anoosh is executed as a result of the Iranian revolution. She confronts God and shouts “Shut up you! Get out of my life! I never want to

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.