Throughout everyone’s life, they are sure to experience some kind of conflict that dramatically changes their perception of the world. This conflict can be mentally, physically, and emotionally trying, causing the feeling of being lost and alone, unable to control your own life. In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi experiences a conflict of faith that sends her spiraling when her uncle Anoosh is arrested and executed. At the beginning of Persepolis, Marjane wanted to be a prophet, following in the footsteps of others like Jesus and Muhammad. She felt strongly connected to God, even showing on tier one of page eight that she would have nightly conversations with God, who referred to her as “My last and my best choice” (Satrapi 8). For Marjane, her religion …show more content…
It gave her a sense of belonging, like she fit in with God and the other prophets. Even when told she couldn’t become a prophet, she held on to her hope that she would be one, ignoring all reason. However, like most childhood dream jobs, Marjane began to grow out of her dream of being a prophet, instead devoting herself to communism. Despite this, she remains religious, sometimes still speaking to God. However, when Anoosh is arrested and executed, Marjane loses her connection with God. Pages seventy and seventy-one are the best depiction of this loss. On page 70, the panel that makes of tier one shows the report of Anoosh’s execution in the newspaper, with the two ducks he made framing the article. This is the only panel on the page with a white background, and unlike the other panels, it has no edges. This is representative of how much of an affect his death had on her, unable to be confined to a single panel and spreading across
Persepolis Argumentative Essay In the memoir “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi we learn the effects the revolution had on the Satrapi’s family. To summarize, Marji grew up around the Islamic War. This caused her to become very curious about why people act a certain way or do things. In the story, she is constantly learning from what’s right and wrong.
Ten year old Marji plays a huge role in rebelling against the laws made by the Shah. She is a very vocal about her beliefs and is a religious person who in the beginning relies on her relationship with God to guide her into becoming a prophet. After the exile of 400 victims and finding out that her grandpa ...
Western culture has often misperceived the east and the way that their society functions. In Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, Satrapi uses graphic novels as a way to demonstrate to the western culture how the east has been misrepresented. The use of media helps to depict to the west how their views of the east may have been unfairly formed in the past. The media has only revealed limited knowledge that only shows partial perspectives because it is difficult to get perspectives of the minorities although they are the ones who hold the most truth. In other words the use of graphic novels and a child’s perspective give the west a new idea on how it is that society in the east functions. This style of writing brings the connection between the two vastly different ideologies closer together through the use of a relatable perspective. Having multiple perspectives of a foreign outlook helps the west to better understand the beliefs of the east and expose the misrepresentation that has been given by the media. It also is important to the way that the west understands that the media has wrongly perceived the ideas of the east and how they can change it.
When looking at the events in Persepolis you can easily see how tradition carries people through difficult times. Marjane says in response the the veil “I really didn’t know what to think about the veil. Deep down I was very religious but as a family we were very modern and avant-garde.” (6) This quote demonstrates how Marjane is open to knew ideas but she also adheres to her religious traditions. This
“Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return” by Marjane Satrapi is a memoir that depicts the troubled life of Marjane Satrapi. Marjane Satrapi, the author, was born in Rasht, Iran in the year 1969. She was born to a rich family in Iran and grew up in Tehran during the revolution and revolt against the Shah, the ruler at the time. She lived during the era where Islam was emerging in Iran and becoming the predominant religion. Marjane lacked academics for two years in Iran and suffered indeed from the bombings of Iraq. These horrific events impacted her and her parents, so as a result was sent to Austria for a better life. Her juxtaposed life in Austria and emergence of maturity is described in Marjane’s second installment of Persepolis.
A major venue for identity formation is an individual’s homeland or nation. At the outset of the novel, Marji’s identity is ascribed to her because of her nationality and ethnicity. Being in an Islamic country, Marji adheres to her Islamic values and traditions. At an early age of six, the formation of her identity leans towards her Islamic religious values and traditions. Marji is convinced that she “was the prophet” (p. 6). Her words that she “was [a] prophet” (p. 6) demonstrates that Marji’s imagination and intelligence conceive thoughts that are very pertinent to her religious beliefs. At this early age, Marji’s relationship with religious thoughts and values are clearly defined. However, Marji’s thoughts and beliefs are not pinned to a static foundation. In her book A Reader’s Guide to Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2010), Heather Lee Schroeder writes “Satrapi lived through the civil and political unrest during the 1970’s and early 1980’s. Before the revolution, she attended a western style French school” (p. 41), which was a non-religious and westernized school. Marji is very well acquainted with the western or modern values, of freedom, liberty, ...
Colonialism has a severely negative impact on those being affected due to unknown cultures and systems being infiltrated in their country. In the first chapter of “The Complete Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi, the author starts off with the Islamic Revolution and the changes it brought to her immediate surroundings. This reminds me of colonialism and the changes it brings to the colonized country. Colonialism started with the expedition of the Portuguese and Spanish to discover new wealth. Since then, the drastic after effects of colonialism are still felt today by the affected group. In the 20th century, colonialism plays a part in why some cultural groups are the way they are today. In conclusion, the change the Islamic Revolution did to Marjane’s immediate surroundings is similar to how colonialism affected the colonized countries.
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
Throughout the book author Marjane Satrapi tries to show us that not all Iranians are extremist and that not all Iranians want to hurt other cultures. She offers a viewpoint on a subject matter that most people come in with a fixed mindset about. The challenge that stood and still stands in her way today, is that the view that has been reinforced over and over again in people's minds from the media’s portrayal of the actions of a few religious extremists is so powerful. Satrapi is trying to separate those extremists from the rest of the Iranian people in our minds. “This is why writing Persepolis was so important to me.
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
Despite the fact that Marjane is born and raised in Tehran, Iran, she is as much a product of Western customs as of Middle Eastern customs. The younger Marjane showed how the Iranian Revolution affected her life. The Iranian Revolution was the exiling of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and its concluding substitution with an Islamic republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution, supported by a mixture of leftist and Islamic organizations. The new government became more suppressive by enforcing Islamic laws into the constitution and prohibiting westerner influence of any kind. On the contrary Marjane is raised by Marxist parents, who believe in freedom and tend to adapt to a more westernized upbringing. Marjane is similar to any other teenager, she starts to grow up and rebel against her elders and her traditions. Her revolt takes the form of a better awareness of and interaction with western culture. Marjane have many items ...
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 strongly due to the women who have influenced her.
Often critics refer to books as a piece of the author's soul, this is true in many cases as the author transfers their emotions and opinions into their novels. Marjane Satrapi has done just that, she has put her emotions and desires into her novel Persepolis and has given readers a look inside her life in the process. Satrapi uses her book to show readers just how different life is in her home country than one may think, she uses sociological theory points to help portray how unfair and sexist her home country's government is. Satrapi also uses marxist theory to show how the government can do whatever they want since they hold the power in the country and can control the media. Feminist theory is a very prominent theory that Satrapi has used
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.
Faith, for most people is considered an unbreakable bond that one can always fall back on. However, when someone experiences war in all of its ugly forms, their faith is almost always called into question. Whereas Marjane and Elie’s formerly strong beliefs are now a faint and distant hum, Amir’s faith is strong on after his rescue of Sohrab. Because of this, Amir is able to rediscover the faith that had driven him as a young child, whereas Marjane and Elie view their faith as a part of their childhood innocence. These characters’ experiences with faith show how experiences in war can heavily alter what people hold in high regard, in this case, their faith.