What Freedom Means In 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.

In Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, Satrapi states that her goal in writing the book was to dispel many of the hasty generalizations made by the western world about Iran, a principal sentiment being that the country is little more than a nation founded by fundamentalists and home to terrorists and extremists. To combat the misconception, Satrapi enlists the assistance examples of barriers and dissent towards the new conservative regime in Iran from her adolescence. By employing events from her childhood in Iran Satrapi rattles the foundation of the myths and false beliefs assumed by the occident. Satrapi writes that the initial waves of conservative fundamentalism in Iran were met with unified national dissent. To support this

Persepolis focuses on major themes like Feminism, Freedom, Religion, War, and Culture. Although this book is about Marjane Satrapi a young girl who lived her childhood in Iran from the 1980’s which was during the Iran revolution, where at a young age she’s already opened up to a warfare environment. This book can be interpreted differently based on the reader’s location, history background with Iran, and the differences in government. In this essay we would be comparing the readers from Iran vs. America.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when the word “rebellion” is presented? Some would

Marjane Satrapi’s memoir Persepolis is considered a “coming of age” story based on her experiences growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. This graphic novel explores the life she lead in Tehran which encompassed the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. Undergoing life with such a chaotic environment, it took Satrapi courage to act and live as her “authentic self” and explore what it meant to her to be authentic. Similar to Aristotle, May and Medinas Persepolis examines the concept of courage, through the view of innocence; through Satrapi’s childhood.

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.

Can you think of a time in your life when you were treated unfairly but there was nothing you could do about it? What if one day your life changed forever and you were denied every right you ever thought you had. The violation of Human Rights is emphasized throughout Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis by giving detailed descriptions of how people were treated during the Iranian Revolution.

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 graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a political and personal account of a young girl’s growth to maturity. The novel serves as an autobiography of the author’s childhood in Tehren, Iran. It describes what it was like to grow up during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the end of the Shah’s regime, and the war with Iraq. One of the most prominent themes in the novel is the clash between modernity and fundamentalism. The reader can observe this conflict through Iran's internal oppositions, the Satrapi’s modernity, and Marji’s western soci-political beliefs. This aspect of the novel is important because it shows the ideological diversity within Iran and the consequences faced by those in the opposition.

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

In the year of 1979 all that Marjane knew what it was like to not have to be forced into wearing a veil. Before the Islamic Revolution she was able to attend a a French Non-Religious school where girls and boys were allowed to study and play together. Unfortunately her world of carefree ness ended

Before 1979, Marjane had attended a French non-religious school where boys and girls had studied together. In 1979, the revolutionaries call for a “Cultural Revolution” in which bilingual schools should be closed because “They are symbols of capitalism.” The people are depicted as agreeing

Rebellion: an act of armed resistance to an established government or ruler (“Rebellion”). The book, Persepolis, follows the main character, Marji, as she grows up during the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq war. She and her family participate in rebelling against the monarchy and religious leaders for a democratic republic, whether in the street or in their home. In Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, the author explores Marji’s evolution from being a confused girl who listens to what she is told to a confident young woman who stands away from social norms, in order to illustrate society’s participation in rebellion against religious leaders who want to create an oppressed society.

Another historical event that we see is the rise and effects of the Islamic regime in Marjane’s life. This event is arguably the central issue that affects Marjane during her upbringing in Iran. Marjane shows how the regime begins to control schools, and how this affects her life by separating her from her friends (4, 3-4). We also see how the regime decides to close universities as they “educate future imperialists.” (73, 1-3) This demonstrates the negative effects that the regime has on society, as they prioritize Islamic values over education. The Islamic leaders portrayal shows them as upset and bored, and are given much different facial expressions than those that Marjane sees as intellectual (such as Uncle Anoosh (54/3) or Marjane’s grandfather (23/8)). This imagery communicates the backwards-thinking of these leaders, and as such, also effectively communicate Marjane’s opinion of the leaders without needing to discuss it with text. Additionally, we see both of Marjane’s views: Marjane not understanding the veiling and separation (3/5) as well as Marjane’s depression over the closing of the universities (73/7). The text here illustrates her opinions on the situations that she experiences, and the imagery allows us to see a visual representation of her basic thoughts and emotions, which are well communicated. A final example of the regime’s changes is the difference between the fundamentalist and modern women

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.