Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis Essay

“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.

Given that western clothes and icons were outlawed in conservative Iran, Marjane’s dressing up in jeans, denim jacket, and Nike shoes is an attempt to express her modern outlooks, Satrapi conveys the importance throughout the text reinforcing the conflict between Eastern values and Western values. In this scene, Satrapi embraces both cultures. She wears modern with a Michael Jackson button and Nike, and says ‘of course, my headscarf’. This displays Satrapi’s multiple personal identities: following middle eastern customs while sharing western values. A portrait image of Marjane is illustrated to show that she is proud of who she is and her posture and body language of her standing tall like she wants to show off her personality. But this doesn’t last long when she meets two guardians of the revolution that arrest women who are improperly arrested. When Marjane is caught, expressionism is used when Marjane is bawling her eyes out. The eyes look ghost-like representing the whole idea swapping personalities so that she could fit the government's likings. Marjane is not being able to fully express herself by wearing the clothes she wanted, doing her hair how she wanted, or listening to the music she wanted. From a young age is prevented Marjane from finding her identity and making her feel trapped. The revolution brought back Islamic ideals and customs, which were welcomed initially but soon became overbearing and restrictive and eventually totalitarian.

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.

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.

Throughout Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi displays the vital role that the women around her have in developing her character and becoming the woman she is today. Women such as her mother, her grandmother, her school teachers, the maid, the neighbors, and even the guardians of the revolution influenced Marjane and caused her to develop into an independent, educated, and ambitious woman. Throughout the novel, Marjane never completely conforms or lets go of her roots, this is primarily due to the women who have influenced her.

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 graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi was written in the graphic medium to appeal to a wider audience. Literary critic, Manuela Constantino, proposes that “the combination of a visual representation and a child’s point of view makes the story easily accessible and therefore attracts a wide range of readers.” (Constantino, 2008: 2) Another plausible reason for Satrapi's choice to do the novel in this medium is the apparent popularity graphic novels enjoyed at the point of the memoir’s publication. Writing the novel graphically, brings the Middle Eastern novel closer to its Western readers. As Constantino wrote; Satrapi emphasizes “the universal qualities of

Marjane Satrapi’s early experiences have helped to form a unique perspective acknowledged throughout Persepolis. Throughout the novel, Satrapi uses graphic images to allow her readers to visualize various dramatic events that she (once) witnessed. Informal diction and simple graphics force her audience to perceive Persepolis from the same child-like perspective the author (once) had. More so, special attention is drawn to contrasting colors as a symbol of (internal) conflict. The clash between black and white graphics represents a much deeper meaning regarding Satrapi’s faith and understanding. Such a symbol of conflict enables the readers to empathize

Not only does Satrapi create environments similar to that in which we might have found ourselves in, she aides us in visualizing these scenes through the imagery of the actual events. She uses this strategy to accurately project her desired viewpoint of the Iranian society to her audiences. Marji recounts, “Thousands of kids, promised a better life, exploded on the minefields with their keys around their necks” (102). In the picture that follows, a clear picture is painted into the reader’s mind of the scenario as the children can be seen with their keys still around their necks as they are killed. Many of our society’s youth today are being sent overseas to do battle in war fronts in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Similar to the keys handed to the Iranian youths, our young soldiers are

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.

Literature has come to symbolize more than just the written word. Writing outlives the shackles of time and builds understanding between people from all different countries and cultures. Whether it be a newspaper or a novel, literature has become a liberator, communicator, and mediator. But what happens when a book made to teach all of these righteous virtues is ripped away from adolescents without consideration for its educational value? When does parental control become censorship of important works? This happens all the time, but none is more unfair than the ban on Persepolis. Written by Marjane Satrapi, the autobiographical graphic novel bridges the gap of misunderstanding between Iranians and Europeans in an entertaining and thought provoking

A graphic novel consists of both a narrative and its accompanying illustrations, which are capable of providing insight through a collection of images. Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical novel, Persepolis (2003), is a collection of her comic-strip memoirs, written and illustrated by Satrapi herself. Persepolis tells the story of Marjane’s growing up and coming of age in Iran’s capital, Tehran, during the Islamic Revolution. It is a story filled with noticeable moments, all of which are supported by the artwork Satrapi has decided to include. Further analysis of Satrapi’s artistic decisions reveals her choice to include symbols that often represent Marjane’s emotions. Objects such as mirrors and the use of body language in certain characters,

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.

In her autobiographical comic Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi, within the first five pages of the book, tells the reader that she was born with religion. She immediately explains (in regards to the Islamic practice of veiling) that “I really didn’t know what to think about the veil. Deep down I was very religious but as a family we were very modern and avant-garde” (Persepolis, 2003, pg. 6). For western feminists, this ambivalence towards the veil has been a common topic of discourse. In secularized western countries, the veil is often viewed as a symbol of patriarchal oppression. In France (where Satrapi currently lives), for example, there have been numerous laws banning different forms of the veil (such as the burka and the niqab) with many critics, such as former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, arguing that they are “oppressive” and “not welcome” in France (“The Islamic veil across Europe,” 2014, pg. 1). This is the western view of the veil, but what do Muslim women think of the veil and the fundamentalist values that westerners often associate with it?