Persepolis Summary

In the novel, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi, there are many different themes that you could look at and decide to analyze. I decided to look at four different themes that are brought up throughout the novel. In the novel there is a lot of talk about the contrasting regions of Iran and everywhere else in the world, politics and religion, and warfare.

Samuel P. Huntington once said, “In the emerging world of ethnic conflict and civilizational clash, Western belief in the universality of Western culture suffers three problems: it is false; it is immoral; and it is dangerous.” Two contrasting beliefs have a tendency to cause conflicts. When groups of people have opposing views, dangerous confrontations will occur to see which view is dominant. The Islamic Revolution was blood ridden, violent, and incessant; the conservative sect of the population, which viewed religion as the proper and only reasonable way for society to operate, and the more liberal side of the population, which had far more westernized views clashed with each other. In Marjane’s Strapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, the

In the novel Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Persepolis) by Marjane Satrapi, this work takes place in Iran during the Islamic revolution (from Marjane’s childhood to her early adult years). When reading Persepolis, the audience can make inferences on how different life is here compared to Iran during the war for example the clothing, schools, place of religion, career goals, and the way kids view their heroes. (Jaffe Culture). In the work Satrapi frequently adds in details in the beginning explaining the changes occurring once the Islamic revolution started and her thoughts on the changes for instance the veil. Satrapi mentions that she didn’t understand the reasoning for wearing the veil or why they had to wear it to school, she also mentions that many of her friends also disliked it (Persepolis P7). Another change that Satrapi addressed was when Bilingual schools had been shut down due to the belief that they were a Symbol of capitalism (Persepolis P8).

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi is a graphic novel that provides insight into a young girl living in Iran during the hardship of war. Persepolis takes place during the childhood of Marjane Satrapi. It gives a background of the Islamic Revolution and the war in Iran. Satrapi attempts to guide herself in a corrupted world filled with propaganda. She tries to develop her own morality concerning religion, politics, and humanity. Satrapi was blessed enough to have high class status and parents who had an open mindset about the world around them. Thanks to her slightly alternative lifestyle, she is able to reconstruct gender norms that society has set by depicting the different ways women resist them. “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others” by Lila Abu-Lughod is an essay detailing the misconceptions surrounding the veil. Through this essay we can see how colonial feminism, the form of feminism in which western women push for a western way of living on their third world counterparts, has shined a negative light on cultures all around the world - particularly Islamic women. The essay shows how women who don’t conform to American societal structures are labeled as women who urgently require saving. Through this essay one can develop a thorough understanding of the veil itself and the many representations it holds to different entities. Although in Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood Satrapi

Pesepolis is an autobiographical graphic novel depicting the life of Marjane Satrapi during the Iranian Revolution. In the early pages, Marjane illustrates that she saw herself as a prophet. She wanted to change the world, and with the help of God, she thought that she could.

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 Complete Persepolis paints a descriptive and complex picture of Iranian society and its transition from a progressive and Westernized state to a new fundamentalist regime following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The graphic novel cleverly uses a blend of images and text to tell her story from different perspectives throughout her life, exemplifying and questioning the ideologies accompanying the revolution. Specifically, Satrapi focuses on the role of the veil to challenge the new regime and its ideals of feminine oppression. Throughout the novel, Marjane Satrapi attempts to navigate through the abrupt shift of culture in her world, strategically utilizing different perspectives of the veil as both a young girl and an adult woman to do so. Readers follow Satrapi’s journey with her veil, from her initial conformation to her eventual rebellion and freedom.

The graphic novel Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, explores her childhood years in the middle of the Islamic Revolution. Situated in the commotion of the overthrowing of the Shah's regime, and the war with Iraq, the reader learns how secularists, nationalists and even Muslims marginalized, excluded and silenced the modernists in Iran during the Islamic

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.

“Iran was the epitome of evil” This was the world’s view of Iran during its revolution. Persepolis is the autobiography of Marjane Satrapi, and it is written from a child’s perspective. Telling Persepolis from a child’s perspective affects the empathy a reader would have for Marji because people often feel more sympathy for children than other adults. Children are often seen as innocent, impressionable, and kind. This places them in a separate category where they are often judged as innocent until proven guilty because they typically do not have the experience nor the will to lie, hurt, or deceive people. Adults, unlike children, can have all or some of the aforementioned characteristics that cause them to be judged as guilty until

French philosopher Jean Baudrillard spoke: “the world is not dialectical - it is sworn to extremes, not to equilibrium, sworn to radical antagonism, not to reconciliation or synthesis. This is also the principle of evil.” In Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, the events and effects of the Islamic Revolution are portrayed; what is most notable, however, are the steps taken to portray Satrapi’s personal position. In her graphic text, she illustrates her work with a sharp black and white contrast, utilized to portray a variety of themes. How can one’s perspective filter the way they view the world around them? That question is what Satrapi challenges with Persepolis, which distinguishes her work. Through the black and white scheme, Persepolis illustrates political and social extremism; a lack of gray area between opposing sides of political warfare, especially from a victim’s perspective. A child’s innocence is portrayed by the black and white scheme, as well as the book’s formatting, in an attempt to both politicize the surroundings of Satrapi and humanize her existence as a regular youth who conversely resulted in being victimized by war. Persepolis additionally has an aimed exclusion of color that directly refutes those who ostracize and discriminate against Iranian people.

Audrey Flack is an American artist from New York and is best known for her photorealist paintings and sculptures. Photorealism is defined as a movement that began in the ‘60’s that provided “photographic precision”. The piece of artwork I selected for my formal analysis is Flack’s “Marilyn” (Vanitas, 1977). “Marilyn” expresses photorealism and abstract expressionism. I chose this painting because my girlfriend is a huge fan of Marilyn Monroe.

In the graphic novel Persepolis, author Marjane Satrapi shares her first-hand account of the herself as a young girl growing up in a war zone. The Islamic Revolution molded Satrapi’s identity of how life should be--the righteous path of Islam. Children were taught the morals and ethics of society through adults who looked to guide them down a strict, religious path. Furthermore, the education system and government were against any form of self-expression in children, even if they didn’t know any better at such a young age. In the graphic novel Satrapi demonstrates the effects of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and how the implementations obstructed personal growth of identity in young children.

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 many, the Iranian revolution was a time of anguish and suffering caused by the maltreatment and adversity that surrounded their lives. Satrapi and Shamlu are not exempt from this as shown in their written works Persepolis and “In this Dead-End Road.” While Satrapi uses images rather than words to depict her childhood during the revolution and the times that followed, both works clearly vocalize similar tones. The overall feel to both pieces is oppression and the slow, though terrifying, taking away of people's rights. In their writing, Satrapi and Shamlu have many aspects that effectively connect the two, allowing a glimpse into the perceptions of Iranians during a strenuous time.