The Shabbat: Why Marjane's Family Decided To Stay In Tehran

Marjane’s friendships are few and far between, after the wake of the revolution. In the beginning of the novel, Marjane’s best friend is God and how she mainly identifies herself. This is significant to understanding the depth of Marjane’s thoughts as a child. She is very different from the rest of the kids. This is evident when Marjane’s says when she wants to be a prophet and her classmates say they want to be doctors, or teachers. Growing up in Iran makes it hard for Marjane to express herself and really identify herself. This affects her friendships with children her age. Marjane is very sympathetic for a child her age, and she deeply understands what her country and family has been suffering through. She sat in a bathtub for hours trying to understand how her grandfather felt. Other children her age were not doing things like this. She often talks to God as mentioned before and this is when Marjane can express herself. She cannot do that with other children so she leans on God and identifies with him. As Marjane grows she meets her uncle who be¬comes the light of her life and her new best friend. He tells her stories about his struggles and Marjane begins to identify herself in his stories. In this quote her Marjane is talking to other children her age, she says “ There are lots of heroes in my family, my grandpa was in prison, my uncle Anoosh too: For nine

Marjane’s outspoken personality helps her and hurts her in various ways. Marjane is around her family most of the time, so that affects her and makes her think more about what’s happening around her. She was affected by how her parents treated the maid, so she wanted to revolt against “the difference in social classes”. She has shown that in page 38 when she decided to demonstrate; this shows how her outspoken personality helps her to help others in a good way. Her outspoken personality also hurts her because of how she misinterprets some situations. For example, Marjane and her friends attempt to imitate the people around them by applying the physical violence that the people

She was looking for freedom and liberties which were controlled in Iran. Vienna had all the freedom she needed, perhaps a little more than required. Her life in Vienna wasn’t easy; she faced a lot of problems. Marjane had lost her identity being a part of bad company. Marjane wanted to regain her lost dignity and respect.

Two major aspects are narrated from Marjane 's point of view in Persepolis. The overthrowing of Shah is the first phase and the second step consists of a radical Islamic establishment. It was evident from Marjane 's perspective that her family had two different reactions in regards to the two phases. Their response to the overthrowing of Shah was excitement and happiness. Marjane 's family was active in demonstrations and protests expressing their feelings towards the Shah. The day Shah left many were happy, and it even leads to one of the biggest celebrations of history. The Satrapi 's were overjoyed because the Shah made choices that personally affected their family. Marjane 's grandfather and uncle were both victims of the Shah 's wrath. Their reaction to the second phase of the revolution was rebellion. During this time of the revolution, many things the Satrapi 's enjoyed were prohibited. Even though things were banned, the Satrapi 's continued to do what they enjoyed even if it was against the rules. The second phase made Marjane 's parents realize that Iran no longer was the place for Marjane, so they arranged for her to finish school in Austria.

The historical background of Iran is the most important idea that influences Marjane 's novel. Mohammad Reza Shah was the leader of Iran from 1941 to 1979. During his reign, Iran was living a westernized life. He initiated a revolution called the White Revolution, which included permitting women to vote, the abolition of illiteracy, land rehabilitation and distribution of oil. Basically, everyone in Iran, including Marjane’s family, was living a westernized live during Shah’s regime. As Satrapi’s mentioned, she used to go to a non-religious French school, in which boys and girls were mixed. On the other side, there was a

One way the Iranian people rebelled against the Iran government was by allowing western influences into their lives or acting more modern than the traditional Islamic government. In the chapter Kim Wilde, she shows her love for music, specifically western music. This is meaningful because the government has outlawed most western or modern ideas or influences. Marjane’s love for western music has even nearly gotten her arrested by the guardians of the revolution when she was walking around town after getting a few tapes of music by western musicians. As she was walking home she was stopped and asked about her clothing and Michael Jackson pin, one of her favorite musicians. This leads to the next act of rebellion Marjane does, her clothes and shoes. During the same time when she was stopped by the Guardians of the Revolution, Marjane was asked about her shoes. Marjane claimed,”I wear these because I play basketball,” (Satrapi 134) but the Guardians refused to believe her and questioned everything she says. Marjane tries to make an excuse so she is not taken away by the Guardians of the revolution. This shows that even through a small act of rebellion such as wearing western clothing, you can be punished for it. This makes everything that does not conform with the government a massive problem. In a final attempt at getting home safely she says, “Ma’am, my mother’s dead. My stepmother is really cruel and if I don’t go home right away, she’ll kill me… she’ll burn me with the clothes iron! SHE’LL MAKE MY FATHER PUT ME IN AN ORPHANAGE” (Satrapi 134). She finally convinces the guardians to let her go and is able to get home safely.This shows the risks Marjane takes to rebel against the Iranian government and

Maryjane Motivation to leave Iran again started after her weeding with Raza, she becomes more adult and more outspoken person. I think her condition was worse when she got married because there is no love between her and Raza, they got married because they were accepted in the same college of Art school. She does not want any Iranian man to control her. Although when she returns to Iran, the issue of the wearing of the veil was reducing gradually, but the men were still controlled the woman. Maryjane was started to speak her mind in the school by condemning the Islamic regimes, about the women wearing of the veil. Maryjane was not punished by the Islamic convention instead they make her to design the model of the school uniform for a female

Marji's role in life changes drastically throughout the novel. In the beginning, as a young child, Marji believes that she is a prophet. As the story progresses and they the revolution continues, Marji begins to feel dismay towards the revolution and towards God. Later in the novel, Marji’s mother also feels sadness. Her former revolutionary spirit is gone and replaced with fear. When Marji’s principal calls the house to complain that Marji disrespected of the teachers, her mother in the past would have been proud, but this time around she fears for her daughter and goes on to explain the things that happen to girls in Iranian prison. Her mother had given up optimism and established that war

When she sends Marjane away from Iran, she assures her: “I know how I brought you up. Above all, I trust your education” (147). Marjane’s mother doesn’t want her daughter to live in such an oppressive time. When the veils become mandatory, Marjane’s mother wishes to take her to an opposition demonstration: “She should start learning to defend her rights as a woman right now!” (76) In growing up with such strong female role models, Marjane learns to express her opinion and always stand by her beliefs. They taught her to stand up for herself as a woman, and in doing so, introduced her to a feminist perspective on life.

Seen many times throughout the film, Marjane can't help acting immature even reckless. Marjane’s surroundings are consistently influencing her, but luckily she never seems to fully drop her personal beliefs. Marjane certainly has her flaws and her strong-will makes it difficult to adapt to the world that surrounds her. But throughout the film it is clear that her heart in Iran. Marjane eventually moves back to Iran after her life falls apart in Europe. She soon finds out that Iran’s conditions are still as brutal, if not more, has before she left. Marjane realizes that home isn't the safest place for her to be and she is better off flourishing in another place, patiently waiting for her home to become the paradise she has always felt it was.

Two major phases are narrated from Marjane’s point of view in Persepolis. The overthrowing of Shah is the first phase and the second phase consists of a radical Islamic regime. It was evident from Marjane’s perspective that her family had two different reactions in regards to the two phases. Their reaction to the overthrowing of Shah was excitement and happiness. Marjane’s family was active in demonstrations and protests expressing their feelings towards the Shah. The day Shah left many were happy and it even lead to one of the biggest celebrations of history. The Satrapi’s were overjoyed because the Shah made choices that personally affected their family. Marjane’s grandfather and uncle were both victims of the Shah’s wrath. Their reaction to the second phase of the revolution was rebellion. During this time of the revolution many things the Satrapi’s enjoyed were prohibited. Even though things were prohibited, the Satrapi’s continued to do what they enjoyed even if it was against the rules. The second phase made Marjane’s parents realize that Iran no longer was the place for Marjane, so they arranged for her to finish school in Austria.

The story of Marjane opens during a fundamental time period of Iranian history, a period that consisted of the Islamic Revolution. As stated earlier on in the novel, this revolution was the force that caused the Shah to flee from Iran in the year of 1979. Like many others in Iran during this time, Marjane and her family found no interest in the Shah. During his reign, the Shah showed signs of diluting Iran's value of a constitutional monarch, and instead moved the country towards an absolute monarchy. Additionally, with the U.S peddling the Iranian oil supply, many Iranians felt betrayed by the Shah, as he became a so-called puppet for the U.S. Because of this, his popularity slowly plummeted, and an uprise began within the country. This uprise, is then shown through Marjane's perspective. Therefore, through

War is inevitable in any society. There is always conflict no matter how small, no matter how big. The world itself, has been in a few wars. Wars shape a lot of people, from the soldiers who fight in it, to the civilians who live through it, they are all affected. Marjane Satrapi is one who is affected by the war. As a young girl she was protected from the mean, cruel world and she like many others was told the lies which were believed to be comforts. Many young children are told lies to comfort them. But as you grow up you are not as sheltered as you were in your childhood. As she grew up, her surroundings changed as the war continued she saw the riots, and the dying of people around her. Death shapes people. If she had not been exposed to this concept, she could’ve been drastically different. If she was to grow up in America, she would probably be a selfish, privileged girl who wasn’t grateful for anything she had. So the effects of the war did help to shape Marjane’s personality.

    As opinionated as Marjane Satrapi may seem, she tends to form her bias based on the other characters that she comes into contact with. Her mother and father’s efforts to educate her, the stories she hears from others, and the relationships she develops helps shapes who she becomes later on in life. Media is also a contributing factor to her means of formulating opinions. “Suddenly, I heard the Iranian National Anthem coming from the TV, our star-spangled banner. It had been forbidden and replaced by the new

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.