Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis

Denver Moore was a man who lived in poverty throughout his childhood and for some of his adult life. He was a share-cropper who thought that his only purpose in life was to be a slave to men. But that soon changed because Denver realized he was a modern day slave who had a bigger calling in life than just picking cotton in the brutal summer. So he hopped on a train car, and eventually made his way to Texas to make a better life for himself. Ron Hall was a Texas native who was a wealthy international art dealer who was accustomed to Armani and Chanel. On the other hand, his wife Deborah, had a different calling in life other than spending money on expensive things. Deborah had a calling to volunteer at the Union Gospel Mission to help all the

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.

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

Imagine a child growing up in a war-torn country, and imagine them having no idea where she or he fits in all this. This child at first holds onto their religion because it is safe and the only thing solid in their crumbling world. Yet, this too will be taken from the child. Now lost and confused the child must find their way in an unfriendly world. This is not a fictitious story. This is an actual event that happened to the author of The Complete Persepolis. Marjane Satrapi, the author of The Complete Persepolis, grew up during the 1979 Revolution. This event changed many people’s lives, either it was for the better or worse is hard to say. Nevertheless, it influenced Satrapi 's whole life. In the book, Satrapi expresses her childhood memories through her eyes as a child. Her experiences and ancestry can be clearly shown throughout the whole book. Satrapi’s family background/past, her parent’s perspective and her own life experiences in foreign countries have caused her to grow and evolved throughout the years.

At least once in your life, you will encounter someone with a different opinion than you. You will hit a wall with ideas. Someone will voice their opinion against what you believe, and it will hurt. Everyone can remember an experience where they felt this, and everyone knows how it feels when your opinion is rejected.

At the same time, Marjane feels tension between her parents' political actions. Their belief in equality for the working class

Western culture has often misperceived the east and the way that their society functions. In Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, Satrapi uses graphic novels as a way to demonstrate to the western culture how the east has been misrepresented. The use of media helps to depict to the west how their views of the east may have been unfairly formed in the past. The media has only revealed limited knowledge that only shows partial perspectives because it is difficult to get perspectives of the minorities although they are the ones who hold the most truth. In other words the use of graphic novels and a child’s perspective give the west a new idea on how it is that society in the east functions. This style of writing brings the connection between the two

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 Satrapi family were really good people who always did what they supposed to do if they knew that it was the right thing to do. They believed that you should have the liberty to make your own decisions, which is why Marjane was so independent, brave, rebellious, generous, understanding. Marjane believed that you should always do what is right because every one is considered equal. Well even though Marji was taught that by her parents she soon learned that not everyone is considered equal according to what socio-economic class that they were a part of. When Marjane's family maid fell in love with the teenage boy next door, she did not see anything wrong with them both wanting to be together and get married. It's only when Marjane's parents found out about the maid's relationship that it was soon ended because her father told the young man that she was their

With the Super Bowl fresh in everyone's mind, football is a major topic of discussion. But the sport we love so much has recently been in the news again for another, more serious reason. One that’s associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) – an injury that occurs during a blow to the head according to Ohio University.

At some point in their lives, everyone goes through that archetypal phase of teenage rebellion. While this may be slightly different from person to person, almost all kids rebel at some point in their childhood. Their rebellion, however, will differ and depend on their own personal situation or environment. Even when talking about one single person, rebellion changes with the situation. This is exhibited in many ways in real life and literature. In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi employs graphic and textual elements and strategies on pages 3 and 117 to illustrate how the increasing amount of pressure and violence that is put on Marji and her living environment cause her to rebel more frequently and in more severe ways.

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

Given that western clothes and icons were outlawed in conservative Iran, Marjane’s dressing up in jeans, denim jacket, and Nike shoes is an attempt to express her modern outlooks, Satrapi conveys the importance throughout the text reinforcing the conflict between Eastern values and Western values. In this scene, Satrapi embraces both cultures. She wears modern with a Michael Jackson button and Nike, and says ‘of course, my headscarf’. This displays Satrapi’s multiple personal identities: following middle eastern customs while sharing western values. A portrait image of Marjane is illustrated to show that she is proud of who she is and her posture and body language of her standing tall like she wants to show off her personality. But this doesn’t last long when she meets two guardians of the revolution that arrest women who are improperly arrested. When Marjane is caught, expressionism is used when Marjane is bawling her eyes out. The eyes look ghost-like representing the whole idea swapping personalities so that she could fit the government's likings. Marjane is not being able to fully express herself by wearing the clothes she wanted, doing her hair how she wanted, or listening to the music she wanted. From a young age is prevented Marjane from finding her identity and making her feel trapped. The revolution brought back Islamic ideals and customs, which were welcomed initially but soon became overbearing and restrictive and eventually totalitarian.

The theme of repression is a never changing issue with Persepolis. The abuse of power happens because there is a leader trying to run the country in a certain way. Satrapi illustrates how Iranians were repressed in public spaces and by public figures. Satrapies mom was on the newspapers, because a German journalist took a photo of her (5). Her mom would hide most of the time, this was creating some sort of discomfort for her, and obviously she was scared. She even had to dye her hair so she wouldn’t be recognizable. Satrapies mom, makes this a

The use of marijuana in the United States used to be a rather taboo subject. The infamous slogans of “Just Say No” and “Reefer Madness” filled the ears of society and many listened. However, in recent years marijuana legalization has come to the forefront of politics, as more and more Americans are opening up to the idea of legalizing marijuana nation wide for medical and recreational purposes. With about half of adults in the United States in favor of legalizing marijuana it shows that this may be the first time in history where complete legalization of the drug could be a real possibility. It’s not just millennials at the forefront of this fight either. Support from Generation X, the Baby Boomers, and even the Silent Generation have been steadily climbing over the past decade (Nathan). Legalization of marijuana would not mean a free for all for those who use cannabis for either medicinal or recreational purposes. Supporters of legalization propose that marijuana should be regulated and taxed similarly to how alcohol is. There would be a set legal age for those who wish to purchase it, the marijuana would only be available at certain retail outlets, it would be taxed, and there would still be criminal charges placed on those who drive under the influence. Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and the District of Columbia have already passed legislation to legalize marijuana and have seen positive effects from doing so. Washington and Colorado were the first two states to do