Persepolis Veil

Costume has been used in the documentary Painted Babies in order to position the viewer in regard to issues portrayed. Many of the girls are often seen in quite revealing, adult-like costumes, which reveals how these children have lost their childhood in their pursuit of winning. There are many examples of this throughout the documentary, wearing costumes that are obviously designed for adults, only shrunk down to meet a smaller size. The parents are also seen to be wearing such T-Shirts claiming that they were related to their daughters, further suggesting how they were living vicariously through their daughters, seeking the fame and attention that they were receiving. Therefore costume has been used toposition viewers in a certain way in regard to issues discussed.

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.

Though the veil forms an inconvenience in the lives of all Iranian women, it serves as a form of protection in their lives against the dangerous religious extremists fighting for the revolution. Marjane and her mother did not believe in the religious importance of wearing the veil but knew they had to wear them for their own protection against radical religious men that could try to take advantage of them. The president claimed that “women’s hair emanates rays that excite men” (74). Supported by this proposition, men could claim that a woman without a head scarf excited him and he would rape her because that is what she deserved for being a “little

In the exposition we meet our protagonist who is a young women of Islam who wears the traditional veil that muslim women are advised to wear under the law of the Quran were it says, “And tell the believing women to reduce some of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which necessarily

One of these incidents occurs when Marjane is in art school. When the students were told that they needed to wear longer headscarves, Satrapi immediately responded that “as a student of art…I need to move freely to be able to draw.” She further questions “why is it that I, as a woman, am expected to feel nothing when watching these men with their clothes sculpted on but they, as men, can get excited by two-inches less of my head scarf?” here Marjane questions the restrictiveness of the veil and comments on the injustice in Muslim society and the gender inequality. The veil represent the repressions and the gender injustices in Iran. By revolting against the veil Marjane is able to protest the repressions. On hearing Marjanes complaint, the school administrators asked Satrapi to design her own veil. Marjane accepts this offer while still in the confines of the veil. Marjane designs the veil to suit the needs of the students and

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.

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.

In the graphic memoir Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, the main character Marji and her family are living through the Iranian Revolution, as well as the War. The people of Iran are revolting against the Shah and fighting for what they believe in. During this time, acts of violence occurred and injured many people, their nation was divided. When in time of war or disagreements against certain beliefs, people may use acts of violence to show their frustrations, instead of solving the problem and uniting, Satrapi develops this theme through graphic weight, motif and chapter titles.

The Shah’s reign came to an end, but nevertheless, a young Satrapi found dispute in the world around her. The graphics exemplify the confusion Satrapi felt as a change in leadership suddenly changed what her peers and her parent’s peers chose to follow. Common belief spread that Shah’s overthrow was a victory to the people of Iran, but as expressed on page 43, strip 7, the young Satrapi could not yet practice her faith. Regardless of what many believed, she felt that the “devil” (Satrapi, page 43), had not left yet. At a young age, Satrapi learned of prisoners that were liberated a short while after the eradication of the Shah. Satrapi describes these prisoners as “heroes”; individuals who demonstrated their bravery by protesting in favor of their beliefs. The stories they shared drove Satrapi astray from her susceptible notion of morality. Now, unsure of how to arbitrate the difference between right and wrong, the young Satrapi appears increasingly adrift (I’m trying to say she appears lost, but I don’t like the word lost either). As emphasized by, “My father was not a hero, my mother wanted to kill people… So I went to play in the street” (Satrapi, page 52). This caption, along with images portrayed, represent the isolation the young Satrapi felt and further emphasizes her internal conflict. Satrapi continues on to write of the torture games she created after learning of what the “heroes” experienced in the prisons. Furthermore, Satrapi writes, “Back at home that evening, I had the diabolical feeling of power…But it didn’t last” (Satrapi, page 53). Here, Satrapi uses her creation of images to express such turmoil her adolescent-self sensed. The change of emotions, illustrated through the graphic images, acts as a symbol of Satrapi’s internal conflict to discover her true religion as opposed to that of

This picture represents an accurate demonstration of Iran’s revolution. In the photo you can see people rebelling by holding up signs and flags, which represents what they think is right. In the book Persepolis Marjane and Marjane’s maid went out, without permission to demonstrate (Satrapi 38). Throughout the whole book of Persepolis there is a Revolution going on that really affects Marjane and her family (Satrapi). People were fighting, danger was everywhere,

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.

of the veil is to conceal and hide women as well as to prevent women

The revolution and fall of the Shah is one of the first events we see in the story. Satrapi shows us the burning of the Rex Cinema, an example of the Shah’s

In The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, the genre choice of the graphic novel vividly portrays the life-experience that Satrapi herself gone through as a youth growing up in Iran back in the 1980s. Satrapi utilizes a unique drawing style to emphasize the influence that the Islamic Republic has brought to her. The recurring action of teachers implanting Islamic values in children throughout Marjane’s education in Iran is demonstrated through a set of related images, which implicitly reflect on the destruction of childhood that is caused by a totalitarian regime. For instance, the teachers force the girls to wear veils on page1 and tells the parents that “either [girls] obey the law, or [they are] expelled” (Satrapi, 98) later on. Also, the background of these images takes place where Iran is involved in both revolution and war; it contributes to children’ miserable situation even more.

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.