Marji was just a small child when she began rebelling. Throughout Persepolis Marji makes quite a few questionable decisions in her attempt to rebel. Although what she does may seem unnecessary, her decisions make sense to her considering the circumstances. She rebelled very frequently, but she eventually realized that she needed to change for the better. The rebellious choices she made throughout her early life caused her to be ashamed of herself, so she decided to be a more compassionate and kind person. Marji began rebelling against what her parents said very early in her life. Even though her parents had unintentionally raised her to be rebellious by being that way themselves, they were surprised when she rebelled. Marji didn’t seem to realize that they were rebelling with good cause, so she rebelled. An instance of rebellion was when she and her friends decided to “nail” one of her classmates. She said “My idea was to put nails between our fingers like American brass knuckles and to attack Ramin.” (45). After being spoken to about her actions, she told herself “You have to forgive! You have to forgive! I had the feeling of being someone really, really good.” (46). After Marji went to Vienna, she was staying with nuns. She was being yelled at for eating out of a pot while watching tv. The nun said “ It’s true what they say about Iranians. They have no education.” (177). Marji replied, “It’s true what they say about you, too. You were all prostitutes before becoming
Marji asked her parents if she could go, but they declined every time;however, Marji still snuck out and went. Marji and her maid Mehri proceed on with their plans and go. When they arrive, Marji sees first-hand how people are really being treated, and she does not like it. A little while after the demonstration, Marji decides she is going to wear her new jean jacket and new nike shoes. She gets caught and makes up a lie so she will not get into too much trouble. She wanted to express herself a little bit, and show her own style. She comprehends now that she cannot wear what she wants, and she becomes angry and disappointed. Marji is tired of having to be who someone else wants her to be, and always having someone holding her back. Because of everything going on, Marji starts to do everything her parents ask her to, and she starts rebelling. Marji’s school teacher started being rude, so Marji decided she had enough and stands up for herself. She accidently hits the teacher and gets herself expelled. This promotes a big change in Marji, because she seems as if she really does not care. The final event that changes Marji is the bombing in her neighborhood. She thought her house was her safe place, but the bomb was an eye opener to her that she really was not safe anywhere. Some of the events that change Marji are: Uncle Anoosh’s death, the demonstration, the Nike shoes, getting expelled, and the bomb going off.
(1) Marji started off innocent and gullible to everything, specifically what God and her teacher, told her. (2) She came home claiming that she loved the Shah because he was chosen by God; however, her parents did not agree with her statement. (3) As Marji stated on (4) page 19 panel 5, “He did so! It is written on the first page of our schoolbook.” (5) This shows how trusting Marji was as a child; she believed everything she learned at school from her instructors. (6) Eventually, her father explained the truth about the Shah that occurred 50 years ago making Marji realize how society can be so deceitful.(7) Since she was young and easily manipulated, she was convinced by others that the Shah was chosen by God. (8) Therefore, exposing her to a glimpse of the evils she may acknowledge in the near future.
(7). Her grandmother also buys her books to help educate her on what is going on in their country (28). Both of these actions display that her grandmother wants her to be educated and also wants Marji to do whatever she desires and teaches her that she truly can be whatever she wishes. Before Marji leaves to go to Austria, her grandmother tells her “always keep your dignity and be true to yourself” (150). This is something that continually goes through Marji’s mind as she begins to make mistakes, being true to herself is something Marji is constantly struggling for and becomes a major theme throughout the novel. In the end of the novel Marji learns how to be true to herself and her ambitions as she divorces Reza and moves to Paris, which was an action heavily based on the ethics and teachings of her grandmother.
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
Not cognisant of why the world works around them, the main characters in both Persepolis, and A Long Way Gone play roles as victims, while struggling to be heroes. Themes of Revolution and Rhetoric are primarily present in Persepolis, the story of a childhood girl by Marjane Satrapi. The tale is told from the perspective of a young girl, taking place in Iran, during the Islamic revolution. A Long Way Gone, the gripping story of a child’s journey through hell and back, by Ishmael Beah deeply connects to Persepolis in terms of each story’s message. Coping with each’s individual problems, as well as the problems coinciding with the war, each child at one point feels hopeless. As children, they are not advocates of their battles, feeling as if
Since she is a young child, Marji believes almost every word she hears. She does not question what is being asked of her, but only goes along with what is being told. Marji’s view on the government is positive at this point, she has no reason to believe otherwise as opposed to what her parents think. With time and research, Marji’s view does change.
Marjane Satrapi was a young independent girl, strongly reliant on her own decisions and logic. However, throughout the novel “Persepolis” she is greatly impacted by many different women in her life. These women helped her develop her character and built her to be stronger and wiser. Women such as her grandmother, the maid, her school teachers and her very compelling mother have helped her to evolve into an independent, ambitious and quite intelligent lady. Throughout this powerful novel displayed by comic strips, Marji never releases her roots and she stays true to herself. This is due to the influence these women had on her.
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
Marji only being twelve has boundaries and rules. Her mother wants her to full-fill her education for that is what Marji will only have after the war. But Marji trying to be cool and rebellious, skips class with two fourteen-year olds. “ I had already broken the rules once by going to the demonstration in ‘79. This is the second time.” -pg.111 This is a sign of lost innocence because she is no longer listening to her mom and rebelling against her rules. She is starting to want to become her own boss and make rules for herself as for she is an “adult”. In this stage of life a child wants to be more independent and more mature. This means no more childhood, which means no more innocence. This made her mature in a way because she is starting to be more distant with her mother. In every child's life, there is some point where the bird has to start leaving the nest and for Marji that point is now. This situation ties in when Marji loses her innocence when she smoked her first cigarette. After her argument with her mother about skipping class, Marji revolts against her whole childhood and kisses it goodbye as she smokes a cigarette Because of all the bad and misleading things that are happening around her like war, violence, and rebellion, it is influencing her to be like that. She wants to rebel against her mother to show, that it's over and done, she isn’t a child anymore and she doesn’t want to be treated like one. “With this cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye.” -pg. 117 This shows her losing her innocence because she doesn’t want to be a child anymore. She is done being the little girl and she wants to have her own say in things. Innocence is a big part of a person's childhood. If Marji doesn’t have her childhood, her innocence will go right with it. She definitely doesn't lose her childhood entirely although because there are still things she needs to experience. Her maturity is also rising because she
What is the first thing that comes to mind when the word “rebellion” is presented? Some would
In the very beginning of the book, Marji’s rebellious side is slightly shown to the reader. “We demonstrated in the garden of our house” (10). This was the beginning of Marji’s own rebellion for religion. The thing that makes this illogical though is that she doesn't fully understand what she is rebelling against. All she knows is that the adults around her, including her parents, are rebelling and that she should follow suit. In order to fully understand why she’s doing what she is doing, she reads plenty of books. “To enlighten me they bought books” (12). Marji learned more and more of what she was fighting against, and for, but she then decides that she wants to go to an actual demonstration. “‘I want to come with you tomorrow!’ ‘Where?’ ‘To the demonstration on the street! I am sick and tired of doing it in the garden’” (16-17). This is yet again an illogical choice that Marji makes, however it can be justified due to the time and her own reason. The choices Marji makes for religion show just how much effort she puts into rebelling. Marji puts plenty of effort into rebelling in something that she does not fully understand, and it shows that shes has personality traits that reflect from what her parents do. Her parents rebel against the shah, and so does Marji. She does not understand why she does, but she decides to do it anyways. Her personality is reflected from her parents, and show how she is so rebellious.
Taji says this because she also believes strongly in what she has taught her daughter and to her, Ramin is too young to fully understand the meaning behind his words. Although she criticizes Ramin’s parents for this, she does the same thing with Marji. Marji’s opinions on the revolution are shaped by the stories her father tells, what her teachers tell her in class, and what she hears from her friends. As Marji grows and gains her own experience and knowledge about the world, she is able to use it to form her own opinions about the Iranian Revolution. However, as a child, she is too young and inexperienced to form a well-thought opinion.
What does freedom mean to one person? How do they define it, and do different groups of people interpret the importance of freedom differently? These questions have been asked by philosophers since the beginning of the Enlightenment. After the Protestant reformation, freedom meant the right to practice your own religion. The English colonies of America in the 1770’s valued a say in parliament. Black revolutionaries such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr fought for equal social and political standing for blacks in the United States. Throughout history, the definition of freedom has meant similar things to different groups of people, especially the freedom to express oneself and the promise of basic human rights. These ideas are greatly focused on in Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, a memoir of her experiences and her personal life as a child during the Iranian Revolution. From a young age, Satrapi begins to develop her own opinion of what freedom means, using the circumstances around her as motivation to stand up for what she believes in. During the whole of Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi defines freedom for herself due to influences of those around her, witnessing a fundamentalist regime brainwash her generation in order to remain in power, and fighting back for what she believes is right.
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.
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