Persepolis Literary Analysis

Adolescence is an age where children began to find themselves or, in some cases, lose themselves, an idea clearly developed by Satrapi in her graphic novel “Persepolis”. Satrapi explores the challenges and difficulties experienced by a sheltered and naive girl during the tumultuous and uncertain years of the Iranian revolution and attempts to solve the oppression she witnesses by the Islamicist government. This is important to the whole text as it identifies the religious conservatism and Islamisation of the state causes distress and confusion in Marjane who consequently had to redefine herself, given that her freedom and personal liberties were denied them in schools, public places, and even her own home.

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.

Marji loses her innocence through a number of events in this graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis. Once the new regime gains power, many stricter laws are imposed, greatly affecting Marji’s life. Through the events she witnesses, Marji becomes more mature and gains a better understanding of herself, as well as the world around her. Conversely, the violent events she is surrounded by causes Marji’s innocence to be lost. These experiences lead her to become more mature while gaining a better understanding of both herself and the world around her.

The reader is exposed to these differences frequently, like when the destitute boys of Iran are persuaded by the regime to join the war while the upper class children who are the same age get to attend parties and not have to worry about such matters (Satrapi 99-102). Even at a young age, Marjane realizes that she belongs to a class that is much better off than those who surround her. She even feels guilty about basic things around her, like the fact that “our maid did not eat with us” and “my father had a Cadillac” (6).

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.

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.

“Persepolis: The Iranian Revolution’s Effects” According to RFE/RL, Inc., women could receive up to 74 lashes for not respecting the Islamic public dress code. This public dress code requiring women to wear veils that cover their hair/body was put into effect after the Iranian Revolution. However, this is just one result of the revolution. Many changes occurred that affected all of the people in Iran, not just women.

Freedom and Repression in Persepolis During and after the Iranian Revolution freedoms were taken away from all citizens in the country. Marji experiences this through many events in her childhood in Iran before she went to boarding school in Austria. Human nature is to defy the commands of a higher power that many disagree with. This recklessness is displayed in Persepolis by Marji Satrapi once rules become stricter in Iran once the Fundamentalist’s rule begins.

Marjane Satrapi uses different techniques to effect the reality of occurring events and culture in the graphic novel, Persepolis. The author uses social class, gender, and racial differences within the graphic novel to effect the reality of occurring events such as the Iranian revolution during 1979. Social class differences are effective in the graphic novel Persepolis because the way Marjane presents the information shows how everyone is treated differently depending on their social class. There are many events that occur during the graphic novel that give example of the difference in treatment of social classes. Even during the 20th century, men and women were not seen equally.

The main character and also narrator of Persepolis was raised in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, the second Iran war as well as the Iraq war. The Islamic Revolution had a strong impact in regards to women’s rights, specifically the legislation which was meant to improve conditions for women, but unfortunately resulted in a setback. Marjane Satrapi chose to illustrate her story and enlightening experiences in a way I’ve never encountered before. Satrapi’s comic book style approach about this intense time period within history displayed a bit of foreshadowing. Throughout this essay, I will discuss how her unique style enhances the readers understanding as well as provide examples regarding the feminist approach within anthropology.

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.

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

In Persepolis 2, Marjane is set on a journey of self discovery while living away from her home in Iran to escape the war. She experiences many obstacles varying from finding her self identity heartbreak and isolation. All of these obstacles would eventually lead to a very confident Marjane. MArjane lives in Vienna for most of her adolescence and so it is at this time that she is truly on a journey of finding who she is as a person and developing herself. Upon living in Vienna, Marjane discovered that Vienna is very different from her home of Iran and because of this, she assimilated herself into this new society while distancing herself from her Iranian culture. In her final days of living in Vienna she becomes homeless and it wasn't until this moment that she is notified that she is welcome to come back home to Iran. When she returns home to Iran she discovers that not only has she herself changed, but also how much her home of Iran has changed as well. Modern Iran is similar to Marjane, regarding their similar journey of self discovery and the many challenges that they have both faced.

In the graphic novel Persepolis, written by Marjane Satrapi, the author tells her personal life story of growing up in Iran during the breakout of the Iraq and Iran War. Her use of black and white comic strips makes her story come to life in an entertaining and attention-grabbing way. Marjane growing up can be examined by using Erik Erikson’s theory of the eight stages of life. Persepolis shows how a young girl can overcome and turn into a woman that has self-love and finds who she is meant to be in life.