Persepolis By Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is about revolution. As Marjane, or Marji, grows up, she experiments with different ways of being rebellious, from being a child Marxist, to a punk, to being a proud Iranian in the west, to homelessness, to aerobics, and finally to her career as an artist. Marji’s thoughts on what is revolutionary change with the people she meets, being disappointed by person after person that she had once idolized in her mind. She is, in every way, an idealist. Marji chases after rebellion throughout her entire life, often unsuccessful, but with a sense of never-dimming passion about her country, her ideals, and her emotions. Marji’s parents go out of their way to give their daughter the intellectual freedoms, education, and autonomy that other girls did not have in post-revolution Iran, and this distinction is what frees

She grows up to be a strong-headed woman, with a mind of her own, and unafraid to speak her opinion. She questions those in authority, and even questions herself, and her own morals. She holds on to her freedoms, intellectual and physical, and refuses to apologize for her determination. She is a successful scholar, who learns from her mistakes, and keeps going even when her life is grim. Marji has no reason to believe that her parents would not be proud of her. Persepolis was published in 2003, nearly 25 years after the Iranian Revolution had taken place, with an update in 2009 to include Marji’s commentary on the Iranian election. By telling the story of her life, her parents, her friends, and her people, Marji can change the mindset that people in the West have towards Iranians, and people living during conflict in the Middle East as a whole. There is nothing that lives up to Marji’s parents’ expectations more than this: the unapologetic and honest take on the suffering that their people had endured, and the challenge to Western stereotypes of Iranian