Childhood innocence shields us from the horrors of the world. Children only know what you teach them and there are a select few years during which you can get away with only teaching them about the good things in this life, like Santa Clause and no bills. There are only happy times full of excitement and simply not being burdened by adulthood and the real world. It’s worth protecting as long as possible, as long as it is also practical and fair to the child. You can’t tell them that Santa still exists when they are 20 years old. They all have to grow up someday and some mature faster than others, but most the time that’s a luxury. And it some places and in situations, they are forced to mature quicker because they experience a traumatic experience or grow up in one.
Persepolis, written and narrated by Marjane Satrapi's, is a tragic memoir of growing up in Tehran in the 1980s during the chaotic years when the Islamic Revolution took hold in Iran and the country fought off an invasion from neighboring Iraq. Marji is shown between the ages of 8-14 and is exposed to some of those horrors in her own world, exposing her to the real one. Marjane Satrapi communicates the idea in Persepolis that childhood innocence is a gift, that only a few people can afford.
Marji observes her parents as they fight against the regime and this plays a huge part in the shape of her own political beliefs. Her parents offer her direction in a complex system of personal, political and religious motivations. At the beginning of the story, Marjane Satrapi writes, “I really didn’t know what to think…deep down I was very religious but as a family were very modern and avant-garde” (6). Due to her parents “non-cookie-cutter” view it teachers Marji ...
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...gorously and dominantly. At the end of the consequence full scene, it shows how Marji went through the motions of acting on her beliefs, by starting out the page with injustice and ending with an action to end it, even though it didn’t go that well.
Childhood innocence is something that we all once had, and this is something that we all had in common. The thing that makes us different is when we lose that. Some are forced to give up that gift in one quick moment, like a flash of a camera. But other fortunate ones can lose it like falling asleep, slowly and then all at once. But what makes up who we are today is what we do with that abyss of innocence, and fill it with our accepted truth and how we deal with it. Not to be in denial of the real world, but not to be ignorant and believe what everyone tells us. To create our own little happiness of reality.
In the beginning of story Marji introduces the war and how it affects her country, “‘The revolution is like a bicycle. When the wheels don’t turn, it falls”’ (10). The revolution being compared to a bicycle explains, that when the government begins to make changes in a country that restrict people from their rights, it leads to revolt and outrage from the citizens. Satrapi also uses a simile when describing her uncle’s arrival, “‘We waited for him for hours. There was the same silence as before a storm”’ (30), this created imagery. Similes added imagery, description, and characterization to Satrapi’s
Respect can be achieved by putting in the necessary effort and by having the will to change behaviors. In the beginning of Persepolis, Marji begins to develop her own ideas which, in turn, leads to the development of disobedience and disrespect. She attends demonstrations and parties against her parent’s wishes, disobeying their direct orders. Throughout the rest of the book the readers watch Marji grow out of her teenage years and into a polite young woman with a great deal of respect for her grandmother. On the night before she leaves for Austria, she sleeps with her grandmother who tells her, “Always keep your dignity and be true to yourself,” (Satrapi 150). Marji’s embarrassment of her nationality is trumped by her respect for her grandmother at the end of the movie when Marji tells the cab driver she is from
In the graphic novel, Persepolis, the main character, Marjane, faces many coming of age moments. Each one of these change her in a way that impacts her view on the world around her as her and her family strive for a better life amongst a war that hinders their ability to follow their beliefs. Marjane learns to forgive, experiences pain and suffering, and changes her opinions on God and her own views on religion forever. Marjane’s life has been filled with hard times, but also glorious moments as well.
Do you think that the Islamic religion and the Middle East are only represented in a negative way? Well, this may be because of someone’s perspective. Marjane Satrapi’s perspective in her book Persepolis influences her opinions on nationalism, social/political awareness, and eventually causes her to lose her childlike innocence.
Persepolis is a coming of age story written by Marjane Satrapi in 20001. Depicting a young girl growing up during the religious revolts in Iran. Throughout the story the main character loses her innocence. The author uses the appeals of genre, ethos, pathos, and logos, historical context, and illustration to depict the loss of innocence in the main character.
The world is full of violence and war and is something that no one should have to endure. However the people who do experience war besides the soldiers fighting in it are regular civilians, including children. The children who are caught in the middle of it are changed and do not experience the things that normal children experience such as playing with action figures or having barbies. The children stuck in the middle of conflict are forced to mature faster as the things around them are so brutal that to comprehend them the children end up maturing faster and losing their innocence, Marji is no exception to this. In the book Persepolis the violence against innocent people, the strict religious rules, near death situations, and her own rebellion
Margi had been out shopping for jeans with her friend Shadi. Then all the sudden there was a big boom and Margi`s heart sunk when she found out that a missile had landed right in her neighborhood. ‘I didn't want to look up. I looked at my trembling legs. I couldn't go forward, like in a nightmare. Let them be alive. Let them be alive Let them…” (Satrapi 140). She quickly took a taxi to her house and found out that her family was alright and that everything was going to be ok. This made Marji reflect on how she acted to her mother and father and really question what she would do without them. If her parents had died then the last thing she would have said to her mother was for her to give Margi one thousand Tumans which was a ton of money because their currency value had dropped drastically. The bombing of the Baba-Levy`s house was one of the most influential parts of Margi`s life to that day. It forced her to reflect on how she has treated her parents and in the future she will remember that things could change any second so you should treat every second like it's your
She says, “I was born with religion” (pg 6). Unlike other children, Marji wants to be a prophet when she is older. This idea is not normal for a child or anyone under the Muslim religion since prophets have always been men. Her classmates laugh at her dream of becoming a prophet and her teacher speaks to her parents, but Marji stays true to her passion. Marji believes religion should be used to create good things and change anything bad. Growing up, Marji doesn’t understand why her maid cannot eat at the dinner table with her family or why her friends do not drive a Cadillac like her father. Marji is a child and does not understand the concept of social classes. As a result, Marji sees religion as a way to change these things. She believes that in the name of God she could make sure everyone is treated equally. Marji’s opinion is untainted by any other connotations of religion. She is forming her own opinions and they are good. Satrapi uses her perspective of religion as a child to show how pure religion could be in the eyes of someone young. The perspective of a child is appealing to the reader because it is innocent and naive. Satrapi is trying to make the point that if everyone saw religion in a good way it could be used for good
During our class discussions, the issue of identity in Marjane Satrapi’s novel, Persepolis (2004), became a contentious issue. The question was asked whether Persepolis might be understood to being in-dialogue with western ways of seeing and did the effects of modernization influence the identity of Marjane’s protagonist in Persepolis. How does the novel involve the issue of identity? I will extend the argument and, through the exploration of Marji’s changing ideologies, I will attempt to prove that Marji is caught between the traditional eastern culture and western modernization.
The novel Persepolis, written by Marjane Satrapi, portrays a diverse amount of symbolism throughout the novel which contributes to the protagonist developing into a young women. The main character, Marji Satrapi flourishes at an early age in her life due to the setting of the novel. Satrapi acquires knowledge about different insights of the Iranian government which constitutes her self judgement. Satrapi reckons that the individuals that make up the population of Iran should all support the idea of the government before the ministry of Iran can commence a war. “For a revolution to succeed the entire population must support it" (Satrapi 17). Marji expresses that the revolution will vanish due to many individuals not supporting
Persepolis 2: The Story of Return is anchored around how Marji is affected by the social injustice that occurred during the Islamic Revolution. Growing up as “a westerner in Iran and an Iranian in the West,” (Satrapi 274) changes and molds her into the young woman she is at the end of her journey. In this second chapter of Satrapis life she moves away from the comfort of Iran and finds a life in Vienna. Marji desires to find her purpose and identity during her brief time here and faces many battles with language barriers, people and herself. Marjis past from Iran haunts her and instills the idea that she needs to make something of herself while in Austria. Finding that Austria took her down a darker path where the light was scarcer and the
In “Protecting Our Children’s Innocence” the author points out “. . . our world today too often steals the innocence of our children.” This helps to compare the innocence of children throughout being lost, as well as today’s children. If the community works together, they, “. . . can protect and reclaim the lost innocence. . .”
Persepolis is a book that centers on the author’s family during the Iran-Iraq war that lasted for eight years. Marjane’s experience of the war is quite innocent since she saw it from the eyes of a well protected child. She grew up with need to help and make things better for everyone without really understanding what it takes to make the world a better place. In her mind the only possible way to make a change is by becoming a prophet and using supernatural powers to make the world a better place. Marjane’s childhood is proving that children form defense mechanisms to deal with difficulties. These defense mechanisms take children to “happy” places where things are better and everyone is happy unlike in the real world.
...ally acquire adult knowledge. Children are beautiful because they possess something that we have all lost – the quality of innocence. “We wish to keep adult knowledge from children because for all if its reality, too much of it too soon is quite likely dangerous to the well-being of an informed mind.” - Postman
The concept of childhood innocence began with the Romantic view of childhood, where children were seen as pure and sin free. The concept was greatly influenced by the eighteenth-century French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). Rousseau, (1765) believed that children are born good and guiltless, and through life experiences, they learn badness and guilt. Most parents see their children as innocent and want to protect them from the bad world we live in. This is not always easy, especially when the country they live in is at war and children take part in it, or they live in a poor country. The war and lack of sufficient money are some of the challenges the childhood innocence faces in today's world.