What Is Marjane Satrapi's Influence On Persepolis

Marji’s mother is oppressed in the sense that she is a woman living in an unstable Iran and not being accepted into society because of it. Marji’s mother experiences various acts of sexism, and radicalism throughout the story, such as being forced to cover her hair by wearing a veil. The author shows us that Marji’s mother is very proud to be a woman, and because of this is often laughed at or viewed as inferior. One of the ways Marji’s mother learns to free herself from this oppression is by defying the rule of the government privately in her home. “Across the street, they’re totally devoted to the new regime.

A understanding of Marjane Satrapi came from the influence of pop culture in her everyday life. In Vienna she found a group that had the satisfaction of rock music as herself. The friends in Vienna introduced her to other things like drugs and sex. Drugs influenced her adult identity because she still uses cigarettes today. Iran’s belief on sex was that your suppose to wait till your married, but in western society it's not as strictly enforced. Satrapi adapted to it and got numerous of lovers. The western society changed the way she views things, she was abandoning her Iranian society. She dressed differently for western society compared to her homeland, once she got back home and had to start wearing the veil again she was more against it then before. She even tried to incorporate both societies together by wearing the veil and a punk is not ded jacket. Also relationships helped Satrapi to realized that she doesn't need a man to feel love. She went against Iranian culture and got a divorce, which made her stronger than ever.

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.

During her childhood, Marjane was influenced by many different sources telling her many different things, including how she should act, how she should dress, and what was right and wrong. Her Uncle Anoosh, for one, was a hero in Ms. Satrapi’s eyes and she listened to the stories of his past with great interest. While Marjane greatly admired her Uncle Anoosh, her mother held a more important role in Marjane’s life, the role of parent and teacher. Marjane’s mother was an icon of independence and idealistic freedom for her daughter, as well as a voice of forgiveness towards the ignorant. This was important for Marjane while she was growing up because she was being heavily influenced by the world around her to believe things that were not true and to give up freedoms that most people today take for granted. While Mrs. Satrapi was very protective of her daughter, as seen on page 145 of Persepolis, she also allowed her daughter to venture out on her own at a rather young age, as seen on page 131. Marjane’s parents raised her to formulate her own ideas and to be obedient to her elders. This became an issue when the government of Iran changed to a fundamentalist government and strict religious ideals were imposed. When this happened, Marjane’s mother told her to wear the veil and to

While Marji is struggling to find her sense of belonging, now that she is in Vienna she is constantly searching for a replacement family. From all the lessons that her family has taught her she realizes that her grandmother provides insight to never forget who she truly is. Marji, however, does not seem to grasp this teaching easily because she is trying to please others and adapt a sense of belonging. Her grandmother tells her before she leaves “There is nothing worse than bitterness … always keep your dignity and be true to yourself” (150). Marji tries her best to start with her family as identifying as Iranian, however, she finds this challenging because she is having a hard time fitting in. In search of a replacement family, she constantly tries out new things just to fit in and not to be seen as a typical violent Iranian by her peers.

Soon after the revolution, Iran became one bundle of chaos as the country began experiencing internal difficulties with the new republic. Then with the war between Iran and Iraq, violence became Marji’s daily lifestyle. The Iranians were left to themselves to protect their friends and family from the bombings and other types of violence happening in plain sight. Many unfortunate individuals lost their belongings as well as close friends and family. For example, a close friend of Marji’s mother, Mali and her family, lost her and her family’s belongings in a bombing. The family found refuge in Marji’s home until they left Iran for good. They were one of the few families who understood the severity of the violence overwhelming Iran.

From the beginning of her story, Marji is suspended in limbo between two clashing ideological worlds. Akin to many elementary aged children, she is highly impressionable by the people around her, “a child who repeats what she hears” (62). Inharmonious spheres of influence regarding death and war leave her in a state of ideological confusion. She is educated in a government-controlled school rooted in nationalism and respect. Being a school age child in a government controlled school made her more susceptible to the pro-Reza Shah ideology. In her elementary years, she was taught to believe through textbook and tradition that the king was “chosen by God” and that “God himself” told her that he was the rightful ruler of Iran (19). The school system capitalized on the

The first thing that helped to aid Marjane’s change, was the death of her favorite uncle Anoosh. He was an avid student of Marxism-Leninism which made him a wanted man in Iran. Anoosh was later located and sent to jail. When he was released he went to visit Marjane’s parents. Marjane instantly loved him due to the fact that he went to prison and was what she called a “hero.” Soon after the release of political prisoners, like Anoosh, one by one they

As Marji learns about the truth about reality, so do we. As she continues to grow up, her family taught her about their own idealist. Marji was influence by her families’ ideologies and beliefs.             In Persepolis, women are restricted from wearing

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.

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

Over the following four years, Marji learned of how her grandparents were left poor because of the Shah, the leader of the Iranian government. Shah was well known for robing men and women of everything they had worked for and leaving them with nothing. Nevertheless, Marji was schooled on the different levels of society in Iran, which left her to consider her family as rich because her Dad drove a Cadillac. Despite being a child, Marji accused her dad of being anti-social towards a class that could not read and write. To clarify Marji helped out a friend with the writing of some love letters. Mehi was the family maid that could not read or write. Mehi fell in love with the boy

After the revolution that was sparked by a group of islamic fundamentalists, the people’s support for western ways of life had to be abandoned. That made Iran a more islamic country with a government that reinforces the word and doctrine of Allah. This affected Marjane because she is a westernized woman and grew up in a westernized environment. The context proves that Marjane felt alienated from her culture and society because it’s not where she belongs. This is proven in the chapter ‘’The Socks’’, where Marjane organizes private parties in which she has fun with other women without respecting the society and its restrictions. It also shows a juxtaposition between her behaviour in public and and her behaviour in private. This shows that even if the society obligates her to act less westernized, she continues to do whatever she likes but privately. This proves again the theme of rebellion, she is a rebellious person since her

Marji’s hatred towards the new Islamic government due to the oppression her loved ones have had to endure, causes her to act out and rebel against the law. There are many instances of Marji’s defiance against the government and religion. One example of her rebellious nature is exemplified when she and her maid, Mehri, decide that “tomorrow [they] are going to demonstrate” (Satrapi, 38). She makes this decision after discovering the truth on social hierarchy and the government in Iran. She wants to support the Iranian citizens in fighting against the rules and religion to make Iran a free country again. Another example