The Average Man Does Not Want To Be Free In Persepolis

“The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.” by H.L. Mencken. I do agree with what H.L. Mencken is saying that an average man does want to be safe but I would also have to disagree. People need to feel as if they are free at a certain extent. Countries tend to have cults and gang related violence. This is probably how dictatorship had come about and how other people would argue that as Americans , we don’t care much for our freedom.

H. L. Mencken said, “The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.” This quote holds true for today’s man as the dream of freedom is being pushed aside by the need for survival. Especially as the horrors of terrorism and war spread throughout the world, mankind is sacrificing their freedom and bringing the need for safety to the forefront. Man is giving up rights and peace when life is on the line, all in the name of safety.

In the 1880’s to 1990’s, the government had not yet reached a point at which they could proclaim the United States as safe. However, in our contemporary society, this is not the case, as a majority of the U.S. is considered safe. It is safe to say that, although, the people of other centuries viewed freedom as a trivial and considered their safety to be of utmost importance. This phenomena in the centuries happens to not apply in our current society. Therefore, H.L. Mencken’s statement about not wanting to be free is not necessarily wrong, but does not apply to society at the moment. There are many examples of new men in this case adults who view freedom from their parent’s gaze is far more important than them securing a good life, good wealth,

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

Evident in the abundant arguments regarding freedom and to the extent of which these freedoms are protected by legislation, Americans typically believe that their fellow citizens can be trusted with almost unlimited freedom. Americans exercise many privileges such as speaking freely and having access to news media (whether true or fictitious) that we assume are our basic human rights. We believe that the more freedom we have the better and that we can control ourselves rather than relying on external pressures on freedom However, these are not given to all people and were in fact punishable offenses for Marjane Satrapi in her childhood and young adulthood as a woman in Iran as revealed in Persepolis. While at first she despises the constraints on her freedoms put in place by the government and her family, after struggling on her own with virtually unlimited freedom she goes back to the more restrictive environment in Iran. Satrapi argues that while we should not allow extreme government control of freedom, so restraints made by parents and other family members is crucial in the development and bettering of a person’s upbringing. With too strong of governement restriction of freedom, one has no outlet of self expression or individuality and with too much freedom Satrapi is unable to create a safe environment for herself and remains emotionally unstable and she therefore argues that an environment with some restrictions is best.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood is a book written by Marjane Satrapi with the intent of disproving the common beliefs of the western world about Iran. Many people of the western culture viewed Iran as a predominately terrorist nation with strong ties to fundamentalist. Marjane, at the age of ten, recounts her childhood memories of growing up in Iran during the 1979 cultural revolution. Her story is told from the ages of six to fourteen and includes the attitudes and realities of the overthrow of the Shah, the Islamic revolution and the devastation of war. Many of Marjane’s memories include imitation of world revolutionary power such as Che Guevara and Fidel Castro.

“And then suddenly in 1980, we found ourselves veiled and separated from our friends” (Satrapi 4). Marjane Satrapi wrote about Iran in her childhood years and it made Iran seem like a dangerous place. Marjane gave a negative connotation of Iran in the book Persepolis but it illustrates accurately how life in Iran was like from 1979-1983 as she experienced revolution, a new Islamic regime, and danger. Persepolis starts out in a revolutionary time period where the citizens of Iran are tired of the Shah and strongly wish to overthrow him. The photo demonstrates this because in the photo, Iranians are tearing down a statue of the Shah due to their dislike of him.

An American essayist, H.L. Mencken stated, “The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants be safe”. I disagree with this statement because an “average man” wants to live. In order to live you must have two necessities; freedom and safety. I believe neither is more important than one another because being free gives you the opportunity to a safe nation, and a safe nation allows you to be free. You cannot live a life without exploring and growing because that would not be considered living. On the other hand, you cannot expect to be free without safety around you.

Everyone craves the right to be free, but at the same time wants to feel secure in his own society. Like freedom, though, security has a price that can vary. It is not a stretch

The last time I saw Charlie outside prison walls we were on the run. Charlie was on the run, not I, I just went along for the ride because he was my husband. Charlie was on parole, but he loved to drink his booze. In our state it's a violation to drink while on parole.

In light of the analysis of the graphic novel of Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi, it is clear that events portrayed in the novel represent the tribulations and tragedies that various citizens of Iran experienced upon the downfall of Reza Shah, the Islamic Revolution, and the Iran-Iraq War. In terms of plot, the story is told through the memoirs of upper middle class Tehran female citizen, Marjane Satrapi aka “Marji”, as she recounts her perceptions and views of the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the success of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of the war with Iraq in relation to her transitioning beliefs on matters and how they affected loved ones. Each of these events showcased an extensive change in reform and Iran cultural values which shaped what views, lifestyles, and choices were supported and vilified by the masses. Furthermore, the story showcases the influences that foreign powers such the United States and Iraq permeated into Iran society along with the changing reception of foreign actions and ideologies throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The novel also displayed the issues related to male and female expectations of behavior in response to regime changes and cultural values during the transitions. The author subtly makes the point in her past recollections and her views on the events that transpired that the people of Iran were distinctly divided in terms of what ideology was supported. She also made a point to affirm that

The historical synopsis of Persepolis shows the depiction of Iranians and of the battles they encountered, and are still experiencing, in post-revolutionary Iran. Persepolis makes essential pace toward transforming how Western audience discerns Iranians. Persepolis gives readers a glance at how life is like in Iran, however, people base their impression of different countries on what the media reports. Sadly, the notion of Iranians is usually adverse and associated with fundamentalism, terrorism, and fanaticism. Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis recounts her childhood days in Iran as an innocent child, striving to comprehend the changes happening in her homeland due to consequences of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Why spend money that is really needed for other things? Why live uncomfortably? Why be trapped in this hole called a home that belongs to another person? Why not live free and peacefully? When a person rents he or she usually throws away money that could be used to purchase something that belongs to them. Money is not easy to come by so why pay out hundreds toward something that is not benefit to the person paying it out. There is no good explanation for making a decision like this. The best option in a situation like this is to buy a house. Buying a house is a better option than renting an apartment.

Because of this many of them arrive to work in fear of rejection or being ‘outed’ causing them to lose their job. As discovered by expert Cosby Burns “Discrimination and unequal treatment on the job inflicts significant economic harm on gay and transgender public-sector employees and their families.” (http://www.americanprogress.org) Many open homosexuals will be turned down for employment just because of their sexual orientation despite qualifications, even though it is completely irrelevant to their skills and no one’s business but their own.

“Your assignment is to write a persuasive essay and present it to the class in a week. You will be graded based on how convincing it is. Today we will be choosing topics,” announced Mr. Bowerbank, my 7th grade English teacher and ruler of classroom 110. My class simultaneously groaned at the prospect of work. I simply lifted my head with intrigue as it was already May and about time we had our first essay. He then proceeded to give examples of topics we could choose and gave us some time to think before we had to tell him our topic. My classmates were already rushing to tell the teacher their idea lest someone else steal it. That meant the usual abortion, death penalty, or drug use topics were out. I really couldn't think of anything and the teacher was slowly making his way through the remaining students like an executioner beheading criminals in a line. I have always thought that he would make a marvelous supervillain if he had a curly mustache, a tophat, and a cape. Eventually my name was called. I slowly dragged myself over to his desk. Even sitting down, he still seemed to tower over me. “What is your topic Cindy?” As usual in such desperate times, my mind turned to food. “Waffles are better than pancakes.” I figured that a waffle was just a differently shaped pancake with a nicer texture. “Hmm. Excellent topic. I look forward to your essay!” I survived to live yet another day.