Marjane Satrapi's Perspective

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 began writing Persepolis at the age of 29 so that she would avoid conflicting emotions. Satrapi did not want to write until she had completely come to peace with what happened when she was young. Now, while graphic novels are not uncommon, they are not, typically, used to exhibit the events of a revolution. The brilliance behind Persepolis rests in the intentional use of simple diction and graphics as symbols of how the adolescent Marjane Satrapi viewed her world. Although the writer was sufficiently educated as an adult, her diction throughout Persepolis resembled that of a child’s. More so, the clash between black and white throughout the drawings help to remind the readers of the (inner) conflict the young Satrapi felt as

People grow up in different way, affected by many different things as they grow and mature, during the process people change perspectives and ideals. In the book "Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi, a middle eastern girl who is coming of age, finds that her environment changes her as the country that she is in goes through an unstable violent state. With the rise of multiple changes, Marji’s family must learn how to adjust to the changing times. While Marji becomes a bystander to the persecution, violence ,and revolution, the main theme of the book is stay true to one’s self and forming one’s true identity through their own will. Marjane Satrapi shows how the quirky, but simple and straightforward communist child in a changing world to a grown young adult who is confused about herself and the world around her.

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.

At the same time, Marjane feels tension between her parents' political actions. Their belief in equality for the working class

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.

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

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.

Amazing, intriguing, and unimaginable are just a few words to describe how I felt about Persepolis while I read this true life story of Marjane Satrapi. This book has helped me to see all the life struggles, good times, and adversities that Marji faced between the ages of nine to thirteen. The Islamic Revolution had such a daunting effect in the Middle East, especially in the county of Iran where Marji and her family resided.

Persepolis is an autobiography by Marjane Satrapi that pushes the reader to visualize Marjane’s life from childhood to growing and becoming an adult. This story takes place in Iran and it’s during the Islamic Revolution. The name Persepolis itself comes from the capital of an ancient Persian empire. The most prominent motifs for this novel is smoking, and the major reason for it is repetition, Marji spontaneously changes her lifestyle, habits, and attitude after she begins smoking, and that holds hands with another major motif which is coming of age. This writing will prove to you how Marji’s start of smoking and coming of age will bring changes to her lifestyle, attitude, and habits.

Satrapi’s graphic memoir, Persepolis focuses hugely on the loss of innocence of Marjane, which she illustrates by using several techniques such as the sizes of figures and the contrast of shades, as well as the of details, or lack thereof she includes in her drawings.

Marjane Satrapi shares her story from the age of 7 roughly up until 25. Growing up her life was anything but easy, from a young age she was forced to participate in activities disregarding her own beliefs. I believe she chose to write Persepolis to enlighten people about not only the horrors that she went through, but also give arise regarding the revolutions and social protests she encountered. For example, the cultural revolution resulted in the closing of all bilingual schools because they were considered to be signs of capitalism. “Things started to degenerate. The army shot at them. And they threw stones at the army.” (P.18) While most children Marjane’s age would be

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.

Throughout the entirety of the novel, Marjane Satrapi’s growth as a person seems to be a highlight that is almost as intriguing to track as the plot itself. Her loss of innocence and personal change can be linked to growing up within an environment of unrest and struggle. In regards to this idea, the character of Marjane Satrapi symbolizes a coming of age theme. Her relationships with surrounding characters, and experiences throughout her life heavily influence her perception and who she grows up to be.

As her fate “seals” itself, she matures from this child who has strong religious convictions, accepting all that she perceives as gospel, to a young adult, advocating for the her own freedom based on the experiences of herself and others. Due to her ever-increasing exposure to truth, Satrapi realizes the harsh reality that has been enforced upon her people, and decides to act upon those truths upholding a legacy of her own design. Her identity and self-worth are established throughout her years of education, encompassing her growth both morally and mentally as her experience molds the young woman she becomes at the novel’s conclusion. Persepolis serves the role of a Bildungsroman as Satrapi has shown a shift in perspective, along with the society she was living in at the time.