Persepolis Book Reflection

Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel, Persepolis, is a spellbinding read. From start to finish, the story grips the reader with its thought provoking content and touching storyline. The author’s depiction of war torn Iran provides its audience with a better understanding of a people that many Western communities deem as ungodly and dangerous. By reading Satrapi’s work, it becomes clear that the Iranian people are much less one-dimensional than most automatically assume. From a Christian perspective, this is particularly important because it reminds us of God’s call to love and care for all people, regardless of their beliefs. The book helps Christian readers to open their eyes and see the needs of a hurting people who see religion as a government mandated obligation rather than a life giving gift. Throughout the graphic novel, Persepolis, religion becomes less and less of a priority due to the increasing basic needs of the Iranian people; however, despite the rather depressing content, Persepolis is beneficial for Christian readers because they can use the information presented in the book to better serve hurting communities.

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.

Everyone has their own opinions and ideas of right and wrong. This can and, most often, will cause conflict as people from opposing sides disagree. Persepolis, a graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, tells of her troubling tween years, where she lived through the Iranian Revolution. During this time, fun was banned, boys were constantly being sent to their deaths, and danger of being caught was always afoot. This leads to Marji’s parents sending her away to live with a friend in Austria.

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.

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.

The first book of Maniane Satrapi’s “Persepolis” makes numerous connections to the hereditary nature of revolutions. Satrapi’s story (told from the perspective of a child) demonstrates how the interactions between children mirrored those of their parents during the revolution, and how the actions of revolutionaries were reflected in the actions of the younger members of society during this time. Satrapi’s writings on her peer interactions – particularly in the schoolyard or in class – demonstrate how the roles of parents were often reflected in the beliefs of their children and the opinions that their peers had of them. Both the boy with the counter-revolutionary father and the girl with the fighter pilot as a father provide insight into how parental roles were typically mirrored in their children; the boy was teased and hunted down by children who had revolutionaries as parents, and the girl was revered as a hero. Satrapi’s writings and recollections also demonstrate how growing up in such a war-filled environment normalized conflict for children, numbing them to it later in life. In this essay, I argue that Satrapi’s book provides evidence that the Iranian revolution, and continued change and conflict within the Middle East, is largely inherited from generation to generation. This is the result of children and youth learning to find a place within the conflict due to parents pushing revolutionary or counter-revolutionary roles onto them. Even if intentional pushing and teaching of roles does not occur, these children learn the same roles due to their constant immersion in a revolutionary environment. In addition to the hereditary nature of conflict in the Middle East, I argue further that continued changes and struggles within the region are fueled by the relatively easy access to interpersonal relationships with revolutionaries or soldiers – either within generations or between them.

The title of the graphic novel I choose to read during the summer is called Persepolis. Persepolis follows the life of Marjane Satrapi as she lives in revolutionary Iran. The plot of the story is Marjane’s growth and development as a free minded woman in a close minded country that is trying to restrict her freedom to be proud as a woman. Marjane’s life is best portrayed through the use of splash panels and pages, captions, and open panels.

In the beginning of the book Persepolis it depicts and retells the story of the author's loss of innocence and faith. As a child growing up, Marjane constantly claims god called her to be a prophet. She had an imaginary friend known as god and would talk to him and god would speak to her. “Yes, you are, celestial light, you are my choice, my last and my best choice.” (Satrapi, 8) Throughout her childhood, God encourages Marjane to become a predictor of the future. The readers begin to see her detach from her faith little by little as Marjane begins

In America, the Islamic Revolution means absolutely nothing to a ten year old child, but in Iran it’s like a plague that’s draped across their entire world as they know it. Most Iranian children are unlike the children of the United States, which have no restrictions on dress or schools, even freedom. Iranian children live in a country controlled by their government that prohibits simple pleasures and freedoms because this government forbids Iranian families the ability to control their own lives. Iranian’s live in a country that demands they have obedience to their religious culture at all times or pay the consequences.

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

Persepolis is a French/Iranian movie based on the author/director’s childhood during the Iranian Revolution during the late 1970s. The movie focused on Marjane Satrapi’s experience under the transition to Islamic rule in Iran, Iraq’ invasion of Iran, and living in Europe during her teenage years. Her upbringings were based from her family who some were part of the revolution to overthrow the Shah. Because of it, she grew fond at the idea of freedom and valuing a lot of Western culture even after Muslim fundamentalist took over. She also endured a lot of hardship in Iran and abroad due to political tension and judgement from the outside world.

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

Persepolis tells the story of a young girl named Marjane who grew up in Iran in the 1970’s. Iran at the time was a dictatorship that experienced a period with a new leader as well as a war with Iraq. Throughout Part One of Persepolis women and young girls are marginalized, excluded, and silenced in order show the oppressive dictatorship of their religious society. Some examples of this are how they are forced to dress, the jobs they are allowed to have, the way they must act, as well as what happens to them when they are arrested. These are just some of the many examples of how women in Persepolis are marginalized, excluded, and silenced particularly by a religious dictatorship.

“Until you realize how easy it is for your mind to be manipulated, you remain the puppet of someone else's game” (Evita Ochel) The graphic novel Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood is about the author/main character Marji Satrapi, a young girl who was living through the Iranian revolution. Throughout the story, we see many of the characters being manipulated by the Iranian government during that time and how many people suffered from their lies or how the government twisted the truth. Satrapi, uses the character Anoosh and the TV symbol to develop the theme that the government manipulates the information that people consume.

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.