Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis

Persepolis is a graphic autobiography by Marjane Satrapi that describe her childhood up to her early adult years in Iran during and after the Islamic Revolution. The title is a reference to the ancient capital of the Persian Empire, Persepolis. During the whole book, Marjane Satrapi is changing. The reader follows her character development.

On panel 113 the last frame is illustrative of the contentious aspect of Marjane's relationship with her mother. While most of the book shows a tender and loving relationship between Marjane and her parents, through the process of growing up Marjane also finds fault in her parent's viewpoints and beliefs. In this fit of anger, Marjane compares her mother's strict oversight of her schooling and social activities to the violence and strictness of the regime's secret police force.Throughout the novel, Satrapi compares her reliance on and disagreements with her parents as a symbol of her love for and critical attitude toward her motherland. By accepting certain aspects of the relationships and rejecting others, Marjane is able to construct her own identity and grow into her own self.

On panel number 6, the third frame shows the vision Marjane when she was six years old. The caption tells us that she already wanted to be a prophet at that age. The sun around her face represents the prophet she wanted to be. There are four people near her, praying. She holds a book, we can suppose it is the Koran. She has a black dress. This can show that Marjane as a writer thinks that she, as a child, is doing something wrong or bad. Being a prophet is not a good thing. We can suppose that she has changed her vision of religion as an adult. Marjane is a girl who has that dream, her religious side is strong. Later on, we can see that she lost her convictions. On panel 70, frame 4, we can see that Marjane is angry with God because he let Anoosh die. This is the start of the loss of her