Persepolis Research Paper

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.

Are you living the dream? From your perspective the life you are living may be average, but from the perspective of someone with less than you, you are living the dream. The perspective of Marjane alters her presentation of themes in Persepolis. Persepolis touches on many themes, but it focuses on the difference of social classes, imperialism and the role of religion. Marjane’s perspective of these themes is a very dynamic and an uncommon one. From the perspective of a wealthy Iranian girl, we will see how perspective alters the presentation of themes.

As American singer-song writer Duncan Sheik once said, “It’s inevitable your environment will influence what you do.” It is not a secret that the environment a person grows up in helps shape their views of the world and how he or she perceives different issues. The United State of America are known as the melting pot. We have many cultures and races all living within the same cities working together peacefully for the most part. To outsiders America is the place to come to achieve the “American Dream”, and it is the place where fresh starts, entrepreneurship, and individualism are highly encouraged. There are freedoms in American that many other people across the world are not as lucky to have.

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.

The book, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, was written by Marjane Satrapi; it is the story of her life in Iran from birth to fourteen years old. The perspective of Marjane, in her novel, affects the overall presentation of revolution, religion, and social classes. Consequently, with no background knowledge, we only have her perspective which affects our own opinion about the events of the book.

For example, Marji realizes how atrocious the Iranian government is. She reads up on the Revolution to understand more of it. Marji grasps how prevalent the revolution is when she figures out the differences between social classes affects her and her maid. She is mad at the fact her maid cannot have the same opportunities as her family because she was born in a different social class. Marjane expresses, “Is it her fault that she was born where she was born” (Satrapi 37). Social classes can divide communities. Traditional ideals forbid marriage between classes, so it is particularly difficult for anyone to advance to a different social class. When the lower class begins to make an attempt to climb the rigid social pyramid, conflicts begin. Western values are not as strict on social classes, movement is allowed and encouraged. Their principals make it easier for people to progress in class, lessening the divide in communities. The Islamic Revolution causes the differences in social classes to increase far beyond an acceptable amount. Marji was particularly close with her maid in the comfort and privacy of her

In The Complete Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, she provides a detailed account of what it was like to live amidst the Islamic revolution. She does so by depicting her life through a series of comic strips, which allows the reader to gain a better understanding of expressions and emotions of the characters throughout the story. In this unique coming of age story, Marji constantly struggles with the pressure to conform to cultural norms, most notably in the three different schools she attends: her elementary school in Tehran, her high school in Vienna, and at the university in Tehran.

The graphic novel Persepolis, written by Marjane Satrapi, explores the Islamic life and cultures during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. In this novel, Satrapi narrates her life as a young girl when this revolution took place. By narrating her life, Marjane Satrapi allows the reader to get an idea of what she went through. This story includes people fighting for freedom, for themselves individually and for their country. While some people do experience a small bit of freedom, there are people who do not have any freedom at all. This novel explores many forms of captivity and freedom that help enhance the theme and culture of the story.

Persepolis is a book about new experiences written using styles and pictures that most people are not accustomed to. I believe this book being structurally similar to a graphic novel helps convey the emotions that words cannot always express. The images from this book have been the most compelling part of the novel. The author, as we learned during the last couple of chapters in Persepolis 2, is an artist. Therefore, the pictures in the book are Marjane Satrapi’s best way of communication with the reader. The actual writing is exceptional, but most of the writing are quotes from people or the thoughts of Satrapi. It is reasonable to suggest that the words compliment the images and are not entirely necessary. Several frames in Persepolis 2

Acrisius, the King of Argos, was born a daughter named Danae. In the hopes of obtaining a boy, the king visited Apollo's Oracle in Delphi asking if he'd ever have one. The priestess said no, but warned Acrisius that his grandson, born by Danae, would spell his demise. Fearful of his death, Acrisius locked Danae in a bronze tower with naught among the walls, but a single window, in the hopes of keeping her from any interaction with men. Danae was depressed by captivity and would often pray to the Gods for release. Zeus, upon hearing her pleas, looked down from the heavens and fell in love with her breath- taking beauty. Infatuated, he visited her in the form of golden light flowing through the tiny window. Zeus offered to make Danae his wife

“Persepolis” is an autobiographical graphic novel written by Marjane Satrapi that shows her childhood in Iran during and after the Islamic revolution. (Wikipedia). The book was originally published in 2000, and translations later published in 2003, 2004, and 2005. (Wikipedia). The book was made into a film, co-directed by Marjane. She also directed three more movies after. (Garvin, Kerry). I chose this book because I wasn’t familiar with the topic and never heard stories about the Islamic revolution. I also thought it was really cool how it was made into a comic book and even a major motion picture. The topic was really intriguing because the topic was hardly talked about and the author personally experienced the whole thing and I got to see her point of view during it. The fact that the author was actively involved during the whole war and got to write it down and turn it into a comic book makes it more fun and exciting to read.

The Satrapi family were really good people who always did what they supposed to do if they knew that it was the right thing to do. They believed that you should have the liberty to make your own decisions, which is why Marjane was so independent, brave, rebellious, generous, understanding. Marjane believed that you should always do what is right because every one is considered equal. Well even though Marji was taught that by her parents she soon learned that not everyone is considered equal according to what socio-economic class that they were a part of. When Marjane's family maid fell in love with the teenage boy next door, she did not see anything wrong with them both wanting to be together and get married. It's only when Marjane's parents found out about the maid's relationship that it was soon ended because her father told the young man that she was their

Persepolis, the prime example for Persian power. A place with of might and tragedy. Ruled by only the king of kings and the seat of government of one of the most powerful empires in history. Persepolis is a land with an interesting history and a magnificent look back then and now. Persepolis is actually the Greek name for the city and it translates to Persian City. The name the Persians gave it was Parsa. Darius the Great changed the capital of the empire from Pasargadae to Persepolis. It was mainly used in spring and summer because it was impossible to get to it in the winter due to mud. Construction began under Darius the Great, but the main parts were built by Xerxes I and Artaxerxes III. It was made mostly with limestone. The southern

Persepolis is a coming of age story for Marji living in the middle of the Iranian war and adapting to the changes to both her culture and her personal life. Inequality between genders is heavily discussed within the story, as well as the struggles between the fundamentalist ideas and customs compared to the less extreme morals of some families: it is shown through the simplistic, but effective images by Satrapi.

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.