About to Lose Faith

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Recommended: Impact of religion on society

Nowadays, it is impossible to open a newspaper, listen to the radio, or watch television without being bombarded by debates about abortion, divorce, gay marriage, feminism, animal rights, and especially religious. Some can even say that religion is a major force in human experience since it has shaped the world’s history, art, literature, politics, ethics, culture, and economics. Thus, it is no surprise when a lot of people all over the world depend on religion. They pray to God for the strength to get through hardship. However, sometimes, human feel a doubt about existence or justice of God, especially when they are in unbearable poverty, sadness or adversity. Persepolis, a book written by Marjane Satrapi, paints an unforgettable picture of a daily life of a young girl during Iran war with Iraq. The story explores how that little girl’s perspective of religion change; yet, at the same time reflecting the impact of family and society on one’s religion.
The war created a void in the soul of those who survived. Marjane Satrapi, the protagonist of the story, is merely one of those people. At the beginning of the book, the girl was very religious, or as she stated, “I was born with religion” (Satrapi 6). Before the war and the revolution, she could not even imagine questioning about God. Marji wanted to be a prophet, even if she was being laughed at by her friends, as she believed that it is her path to go into religion. To Marji at that time, God was more than just a divine deity; he was her friend. She talked to him every night while God cradled her. Therefore, she wanted to be “[…] justice, love, and wrath of god all in one” (Satrapi 9). When she was scared sitting in the bath tub after listening her Grandfather’s story about him b...

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...c Revolution causes a divide between those who strictly follow and agree with the rules and those who only do it when in public, to avoid getting in trouble. Religion, the universal placeholder of faith, accidentally was being used to turn against itself and its people as the fundamentalists used it to manipulate people.
Religion plays an essential role in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. Even though Marji has survived the war and the revolution physically, she is essentially dead. One of the most devout children that used to dream of being a prophet is gone. Her soul was killed by the suffering she witnessed and endured. Persepolis is a book that does not only illustrate the horror and evil of a control government that tries to suffocate its people by using religion; at the same time, it also explores how family and society contribute to a loss of one’s faith as well.

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