Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis

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

Throughout the graphic novel Persepolis, the author Marjane Satrapi makes the main character Marji a typical little girl. Marji and her family live in Iran, and they are figuring out how to live under the rules of the new Shah. At first, Marji is introduced as a girl who loves her live, and who loves her God. As the novel goes on, Marji changes a lot and starts figuring out who she can and cannot be.

As Marji got older, it becomes more apparent that she was battling an inner conflict. When she spoke of her plans to her class of becoming a prophet, the children mocked her and the teacher called her parents in to say, “Your child is disturbed. She wants to become a prophet.” (8) Marji’s parents were a modern couple who fought against the new regime. Marji became conflicted when her parents asked her if she

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.

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.

Dean Acheson once gave the timeless advice of “always remember that the future comes one day at a time”. This quote highlights how truly important each and every day is and the significance of the time you use or waste. The way that you choose to use that time, the decisions you make, and the things that surround you change who you are and greatly affect your future. These are all aspects that were clearly shown throughout the graphic novel Persepolis. It is because of these aspects of life that Marji developed the characteristics that she did. As an Iranian citizen Marji was consumed by war for a long time. This is what

The novel “Persepolis” shows many life changes during the Islamic Revolution told through the eyes of a young girl. “Persepolis” was based on Satrapi’s childhood experience in Iran. Throughout the span of the 1970’s to the early 1980’s, Satrapi experiences many changes in her life, not only with the government, or her education, but also with herself. Although she witnessed many violent acts right in front of her eyes, these experiences helped Marji (Satrapi) grow as a young child.

In Persepolis, we, as readers, live with the changes that were occurring in Iran by viewing it from a child’s viewpoint. The third panel in the fifth frame of “The Trip” expresses a powerful message as Marji’s mother supports her daughter and encourages her to go and protest in the midst of a dangerous revolution. Including only Marji’s mother, the message is reached to the reader with its full explanation. Her facial expressions portray the anger in her blood. Her face is displayed with two different colors which speak for themselves.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a graphic memoir that reveals the life of a woman growing up in pre and post Iran, as well as her experiences in Western countries. In this book, Marjane utilizes historical events that affect her life during her upbringing in Iran. These include the oppression of the Shah, as well as the rise and effects of the regime. These events’ integration into the story showcase how they affect Marjane and the other citizens of her country. Additionally, these events are important for the context and understanding that they grant readers unfamiliar with the text.

In the graphic novel, Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi describes her experience growing up in Iran following the Islamic revolution. The attached scrap, titled “the veil,” illustrates Satrapi, age 10, in the year 1980, when the veil became mandatory. Satrapi illustrates that the Islamic Revolution forced certain beliefs, including the veil, onto children (and, contextually, on the rest of Iran) that they did not necessarily understand. In his essay, On Liberty, John Stuart Mill addresses the idea of freedom and the role of government in protecting that freedom. Furthermore, he expresses the importance of doubting and questioning social norms.

There are women who respect the veil and the changes because it is what “god” wants them to do but she believes that she is a prophet here to make a change. Marjane at a young age knows that she is strong willed and her dad says that she is just like her uncle on page 145. They allow Marjane to be educated on what’s going on in the world when the education system is trying to hide the truth behind the war. On page 144 Marjane corrects her teacher with the information that her parents have given her that the school has not.

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

During the course of the novel Persepolis, the main character Marji and her family experiences many hardship and challenges during their time in Iran. Despite harsh treatment by the regime, Marji found ways to enjoy her life and to look at the positive things in her life. Even when Marji leaves Iran and travel to Europe, she still find ways to look at the good in even worse situation she faces in europe. With these funny moments Marjane Satrapi helps to offset the sense of oppression the character go through in the book, she also uses these funny scenes to help the main character attack the religious regime and escape from the harsh reality of war and violence they are currently living in. Also Marjane uses funny moments to contribute to the theme that to escape the unbearable things in life you must laugh at it.

Persepolis is a coming of age story for Marji living in the middle of the Iranian war and adapting to the changes to both her culture and her personal life. Inequality between genders is heavily discussed within the story, as well as the struggles between the fundamentalist ideas and customs compared to the less extreme morals of some families: it is shown through the simplistic, but effective images by Satrapi.