In the graphic memoir, Persepolis, family is featured as one the main backbones of the Iranian community. The author, Marjane Satrapi, prioritizes family during the war, because while enduring the violent Iranian Revolution, the lives of others, especially the enemy, become an afterthought. When people like Marji lack the guidance and care that is necessary during such times of struggle, they will get lost on their path to becoming a mature adult. Family is the one thing in life that is unchangeable, and in the book itself, it is essential for every character to love and care for their own. Throughout Persepolis, the author Marjane Satrapi uses the thematic idea of family to represent the theme that the ones that care about you should always …show more content…
Even though the grandmother was minutely present in the rest of the book, the end is where Marji needs her the most, and she of course, is there for her. Before Marji leaves for Austria, she spends the night with grandmother. On panels two and six on page 150, Satrapi distorts the background color of the page, so only the bed, Marji, and her grandma are white. The author does this to show the reader that the only positive thing for Marji at the time being is spending time with her caring grandmother. To add on, The grandmother even goes as far as saying “oh, I’ll come see you [Marji]” (150). This is positive reinforcement for Marji because if she is already looking forward to family coming to see her, she may be more excited about her journey. Although the war causes Marji’s parents to send her away, other people in her family, such as her grandmother, provide emotional support to Marji before she leaves. It is a sad experience for Marji’s grandmother as well, however, it is her responsibility to care for Marji because she is more sophisticated than her granddaughter. In short, it is Marji’s grandma’s assumed job to care for her when she needs it, and the graphic weight displays how Marji is happier with family, not in the outside
In the novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Satrapi’s childhood was highly impacted by American culture. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the affect American culture had on how Satrapi viewed the Iranian Revolution.
The image shows Marji behind a glass wall staring at her mother and father walking away. Her mother has either fainted or died and her husband, Marji’s father, is carrying her away from Marji. Marji is being sent to Austria because her parents believe that Iran is not the best place for their young daughter right now. the other two panels on page 153 show Marji saying goodbye to her parents, she appears to be very scared and her parents seem worried. In the background
Persepolis is a inspirational story written by Marjane Satrapi in the perspective of a young girl’s life during a powerful, historical moment in Iran. The Islamic Revolution was a life-changing moment that impacted her view on the world around her and her innocence shaping her into the woman she is today. Not many people understand what it feels like to feel pain, hurt and abandonment as a child from major and minor things. The author writes this story and decides for it to be a graphic novel to allow the not only young readers, but also for those who do not understand what happens everyday in the world they live in. Satrapi uses all rhetorical stances, ethos, pathos, and logos to show problems, purpose and emotions.
Persepolis is a graphic novel depicting the life of author Marjane Satrapi’s life throughout the Islamic revolution, starting from her childhood. At one point in the story, the Shah of Iran has left the country, and Marjane’s parents think that they will have new freedoms. Later, however, the country is bombed and fundamentalists occupy the United States embassy. After these events, Marjane is ultimately forced to leave the country without her parents to live in Europe. This was foreshadowed in arguably the most significant panel in Persepolis, the 7th panel on page 43. It features Marjane and her parents, sitting in the family’s living room, the news on a television in the background. They are discussing the fact that the Shah recently left Iran to live in Egypt. Around the panel’s frame is a serpent-like creature. In this panel, Marjane Satrapi uses the frame, and contrasting facial expressions and dialogue to show that the Shah is not the only problem in Iran, foreshadowing the unexpected events of unrest that fill the rest of the story.
In the graphic novel, Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, Satrapi’s childhood was highly impacted by American culture. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of American culture on Satrapi’s view of the Iranian Revolution.
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
The panel on page 71 shows the main character, Marji floating in space, almost as if she is dead. Her body is frozen and her facial expression is emotionless. There is a triangle facing downward on her shirt. The background is outer space, so it is inevitable that the background is black. Around Marji are stars, saturn, and the sun. The sun is significantly smaller than everything else on the page. Towards the right side and slightly more than halfway down the page lies a star that is much bigger than Marji. The text says, “Marji, run to the basement! We’re being bombed!” The immensity of the star and the harshness of the words from the text does not seem to phase her.
Marji is depicted internally when she says refers to herself by saying “this is me.” Readers are able to use their imagination and the context of the scene to completely fulfill the face of the character in the panels. Satrapis illustrations do not incorporate much detail so this allows readers to fill in the story with their imagination. The cartooning in Persepolis 2 is simplistic and to the point. There is little distraction on the page and her layout of the panels is neat and read left to right. When looking at her work it is made clear that it is the reader’s job to fill in the illustration. Why would Satrapi do this? She presents her illustrations like this because doing so allows the reader to believe the characters more and get encompassed by the story. Moving forward, looking closely at the veils in the panel above, one can see that it is so much more than just an accessory appearing on the page. The veil attracts the audience to her features and expression allowing one to access her internal traits. The power of illustration and what you allow to show or keep to yourself is
Religion, government, and social organization all played a part in Marji’s journey in Persepolis from childhood to adulthood. Religion caused many arguments between Marji and parents, friends, and teachers. The Iranian government affected Marji by making her more rebellious than she already was. Social organization was a big issue in her life, because she had a good relationship with her maid and was angry that she could not have the same opportunities. The revolution in Iran has changed Marjane Satrapi’s life, in ways good and
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.
There are many times when problems in a country affect one's life. Persepolis by Majarne Satrapi recounts the coming-of-age of a girl during a period of war. Utilizing a graphic novel to illustrate, Marjane recalls the struggles of her family and herself living in warfare. For instance, in Persepolis, Marjane's external conflict result in her internal conflict.
Throughout Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi displays the vital role that the women around her have in developing her character and becoming the woman she is today. Women such as her mother, her grandmother, her school teachers, the maid, the neighbors, and even the guardians of the revolution influenced Marjane and caused her to develop into an independent, educated, and ambitious woman. Throughout the novel, Marjane never completely conforms or lets go of her roots, this is primarily due to the women who have influenced her. Marjane’s mother was one of the most influential people in her life, her mother taught her to be strong and independent. By introducing her mother through the story of her mother getting photographed at a demonstration, Marjane presents her mother as being independent and rebellious (Satrapi 5).
Marjane Satrapi in her memoir, “The Complete Persepolis” enlightens readers with the reality of living in Iran, as she tells her journey through her life of becoming a woman during the Islamic Revolution. Iran similar to other countries has made different prescribed roles for their women and men based on their cultures religious and traditional set of laws. Society to them was a depiction of what their people were expected to look, and act like when in public. When trying to understand the importance of gender along with their roles in society, it’s crucial to acknowledge outside factors, for instance things like culture and social class. The characters throughout her memoir illustrate how their
When Mrs. Nasrine is telling her dilemma of the key (99.3.1), Marji frowns and looks concerned but out of place, as if she doesn’t know what to make of it. She tries to show sympathy, suggesting that her privilege makes her unable to truly relate. She continues to look uncomfortable and bug-eyed when Mrs. Nasrine says, “Now they want to trade this key for my oldest son”. “Trade” connotes simplicity, an object, suggesting the government thinks of the lower class citizens as valueless objects. When arriving home from school, Satrapi draws Marji as a small figure in the distance (100.2.1), symbolizing the distance in economic status between her and the maid. This proves the separation of classes and the reason why Marji, not offered a key by the government, will not go to war in hopes of using a key to paradise. When her son says “I’ll marry her” while pointing a finger at Marji (100.2.2), it grants him a “whap” from his mother (100.2.3). Her reaction to his statement shows his ignorance and naïve behavior towards the social hierarchy; a maid’s son would never be allowed to marry a girl of Marji’s status because only rich people marry rich people and only poor people marry poor people. This shows the economic difference between Marji and the maid’s son, and the wall between them through government orders. When she asks her cousin Peyman whether or not the government offers his school the keys to paradise, he replies, “Keys to what?” (100.3.3) implying his equally high economic status. This suggests the government values upper class citizens more than lower class citizens. Satrapi also contrasts Marji and the poor boys in between the bombing panel (102.1.1) and the party panel (102.2.1) where Marji dances with her friends at Peyman’s birthday party. She jumps from discussing dying boys to having fun at a party to imply a difference between the poor and
Thus, it is crucial that she effectively communicate this humanness of Iran to the literary audience in America. Since the literary devices in a work are needed to correctly convey a message, she found it necessary to include these and manipulate them in her favor. Satrapi uses the innocence of a child along with morals in her pictures and a relation of cultures to effectively communicate her message. It is necessary to examine how she manipulates such literary devices in order to gain a full understanding of the text. To begin with, Satrapi writes Persepolis from a child’s point of view.