Persepolis : Marjane Satrapi 's Persepolis

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.

Through Satrapi's graphic novel, she clarifies how during this time in the Islamic Revolution there were numerous social and emotional problems for families. Ladies had numerous confinements that disparaged them as residents. The leaders of Iran, and a large portion of the men believed that ladies were second to them and treated them poorly in various ways. The Tehran Militant Clergy, was to a great degree strict about ensuring natives were following the Islamic laws. The Islam religion powers ladies to wear veils, called a hijab, to cover their heads and parts of their faces and necks. There are many different reasons for why ladies in the Islam religion wear the hijab. A few Muslims trust that the hijab is worn in light of the fact that God expects ladies to cover their hair. In Persepolis, Satrapi demonstrates to us that most ladies didn't appreciate wearing the shroud and were not steady of the predominant demeanor of men. Right now there was likewise a convergence of Westernized culture that Satrapi herself appreciated, particularly

Even Alcohol, gallons of it” (Satrapi 106). Satrapi again shows the disregard her family held for the extremist laws; they held parties and drank alcohol, both illegal actions. Yet again in using her family as an example Satrapi aims to extend the dissent shown by her family to a larger populous, the majority of Iran. Many people would agree that the extension of a small sample size to a larger population is something done often in scientific experimentation and studies, and is therefore a relevant method of argument.

In Persepolis: the Story of a Childhood, the concept of contrasting regions is explored by Satrapi when she talks about what it’s like to grow up in Iran, and to be misunderstood no matter where you go simply because of where you came from. The country of Iran acts like it hates

Although Satrapi’s family was religious, like many Iranian families, they did not agree with the beliefs of the government. Satrapi says “I was born with Religion. At the age of six I was already sure I was the last Prophet.”, and she continued to tell everyone that at school that when she grew up she wanted to be a prophet (6). She wanted to be a prophet because even at such a young age she could look around her and see things that she did not like about the world. “I wanted to be a prophet because our maid did not eat with us. Because my father had a Cadillac. And, above all, because my grandmother’s knees always ached” (6). She wanted to be the last prophet because she wanted to see change in how people lived out their religion even though Islam had already had their last prophet. She hated that her maid did not get to eat with her and that her father drove a Cadillac when a lot of people did not have cars. She wanted to bring equality to all the different social classes as a six year old. This shows that when children grow up in a place where so much is happening around them, they are forced to grow up faster and have already formed their own opinions on social issues while children in other countries are just worried about things like learning how to ride a bike.

Ultimately, Satrapi’s images of the indistinguishable characters accentuate the perception of a western reader to see the Veil as quite oppressive. In America, young teenagers live in a society where clothing and hair is meant to define and express themselves. It is normal for a 17 year old girl to curl her hair and go on a date with her boyfriend. However, in Iran, this is not the case, and as evident in Persepolis, woman are restricted to show her hair or publically show affection to any man who is not her husband. This restriction is something that not many people, especially in predominantly Christian societies are accustomed to. On page 74, Taji, Marjane's mother warns her daughter by explaining one of her experiences, "They insulted me. They said that women like me should be pushed up against a wall and fucked. And then thrown in the garbage. ...And that if I didn't want that to happen, I should wear the veil...” Indeed, Marjane had always been deprived of her individuality, not only as a woman, but as a person. Being a woman in Iran meant Marjane was never able to fully express herself, not only by not

On pages 3 and 4, Marjane gives us the years for, when the revolution began, when children were required to wear a veil and her date of birth. The dates, enable the reader to get a sense the time period and the historical background of Iran. Timelines are imperative to understanding her life story. Next, Satrapi demonstrates pathos through illustrations and the speech bubbles. The emotions of the characters can be shown through their facial expressions and actions they take.

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.

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.

During Satrapi’s early childhood, the traditions and history of Iran had been going through drastic changes. The Iranian Revolution was when Iran’s monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown and replaced with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who led the revolution. ii

In other occasions, Satrapi uses several interactions between her family members to illustrate an environment similar ours. In a series of dialogues involving Marji’s uncle Anoosh, he tells her bedtime stories and speaks of his divorce. Bedtime story telling from my perception is more of a westernized cultural norm and so is divorce. Satrapi chooses these scenarios involving Anoosh to present a fitting glance at her family’s acceptance to western culture. Among her family, she creates an atmosphere in relation to any that can easily be found in our society today.

Satrapi’s determined intensions and passionate personality helped her survive during the years of revolution well and relatively safely. While in the story, her parents are both very political active people, which influence her in many ways. She is then becoming interest in justice and also build her to be the person that can well survive through the turmoil of Iran in the 1980s. Even in nowadays, some countries are also suffering through cruel warfare just like Iran, and some people are struggling about their life, and trying to find a way out. Having a determined goal and be passionate can help them away from the struggles to find a route leading to the future which could be nice and peaceful.

The Islamic Revolution’s impact on the identity of Iranian citizens, especially women, is an important part of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. Through the eyes of the main character, Marji, a young Iranian woman, Satrapi is able to explore the concept of identity through the use of religious, social, and political values present in Marji and in society. She portrays the struggle and fragility of achieving a true sense of self-identity during a time of struggle, or in the autobiography’s case: war. This essay will examine how Satrapi uses Marji to examine how religious, social, and political values affects one’s understanding of themselves and how identity can be established during a time crisis. Persepolis takes place during the late 1970s in

Her beliefs, or the perspective in which she held said beliefs, begin to shift as well due to the variety of information being fed to her. As a child, she absorbed such information, utilizing the newfound knowledge for the purpose of growth, mental growth, which in turn, expanded her realm of previously uncertain matters such as politics and religion. In terms of religion, Satrapi was shown expelling God from her life, which may be seen as another crucial step in her development. Due to the death of a family member, with causes relating back to politics, Satrapi, in a fit of rage/anguish, states “Shut up you! Get out of my life!!! I never want to see you again!” (70). This outburst stems from what she heard, which was that the Shah, name given to the leader of Iran-shares a similarity to a king/lord/emperor- was chosen by God, and thus her ejection from the life of a prophet was