Spring Break Essay- Persepolis Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel, Persepolis, is a story based on her own childhood in Iran. The story consists of the struggles her family and friends are forced to deal with, changing Marji’s view of Iranian life and its people. The book starts during a revolution, the Iranian people are trying to overthrow the emperor and when they finally do, war breaks out between Iraq and Iran. During the war thousands of people’s lives were taken, women, children and men of all ages. During this Marji’s parents forced her to leave Iran because they know it is too dangerous for a child of her age to live in the middle of a war so severe and life threatening. During the time Marji did live in Iran, she heard many tales about the umpteen conflicts and struggles that lower class people were faced with. Marji saw her maid whom she loved and cared for, not being able to date her love, their neighbor, because she was embedded in a different social class. She experienced the harsh realities of divergence between men and women. Women were compelled to wear a veil in order to not “distract” men with their hair. Younger boys in the lower end of the class system were given a “golden” key to take to war, which was actually plastic; this key meant that if they were killed fighting for what they believed in, it would guarantee their entrance to heaven. In Iran, there were a variety of ways in which the people of Iran can be distinguished between social classes. Your social class affected you in every way there was during this horrible time in Iran. For example, Mehri, Marji’s maid, was given to them when she was just eight years old because Mehri’s parents couldn’t care for her anymore. She didn’t know how to read or w... ... middle of paper ... ...nearly as much as the middle and upper class. Marji believed that underage lower class boys shouldn’t be sent to serve in the war, that it is immoral and that they are as equal as any other young boy. Social class in Iran was extremely important because it separated everyone in to different groups. Depending on what group you are in you are seen and treated different from everyone else. Marji’s maid was born into a lower class family and was treated like the lower class people even though since the age of eight she had grown up with a middle class family. Even children in the lower class had to face conflicts everyday, such as how they were going to support their family all by themselves. All women in Iran were treated equally where the veil was concerned. Iranian fundamentalist men would threaten and physically harm any women they saw who wasn’t wearing the veil.
Points of view about the Iranian Revolution differ. From Marjane Satrapi’s perspective, the Iranian Revolution (and resulting regime) was sexist and anti-feminist. The reader meets and comes to know an articulate Iranian female voice standing against the fundamental ideas of the regime. Accordingly, Persepolis is not only a humanist work, nor is it simply a recorded history of revolutionary Iran. Instead it is an original feminist text equally because thinking women capable of individual action are at its center, and because by reporting her story Satrapi explores femininity in a fiercely male dominated society.
It is debatable that most people of western societies especially here in the U.S share a common perspective about the country of Iran having a reputation for terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism. In the media today, Iran is accused of having nuclear weapons and various politicians have made references to its contribution to the constant violence in Iraq. The information that we absorb everyday from news reports adds to our biases and enhances our negative opinions of Iran as a country. Through the help of the media, people of our culture stereotype the Iranians based on an ethnocentric viewpoint without developing a clear sense of understanding or the reasons behind their beliefs. In the graphic novel Persepolis, the author Marjane Satrapi, provides a viewpoint of the Iranian society far different from the widely perceived stereotypes. She depicts the Iranian people as much more than fundamentalists, fanatics, and terrorists by incorporating a humane atmosphere within her family and visualizing events that conveys to all people regardless of ethnicity and culture.
Due to the serious tensions looming in the air, many people would think it is strictly forbidden to laugh a little or have fun in Iran. The constant political instability makes it seem like the citizens live like robots under extreme oppression. However, in Marjane Satrapi’s biography, Persepolis, she gives an inside look at her experiences growing up in Iran and adds comic relief throughout the novel. As the main character, Marjane, evolves from an innocent girl into a mature woman, Satrapi adds bits of comic relief to highlight her typical personality while living in the midst of an oppressive society.
The markers of cultural difference that I have analyzed in book Persepolis are Gender Roles and government politics. Persepolis is a story by Marjane Satrapi, a young girl who grew up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution in 1979. During this time period, many cultural and social inequalities took place. Satrapi communicates the story of her life in Tehran from ages’ six to ten during the conquest of the Shah’s regime. “She also discusses the shocking effects that took place during the war with Iraq throughout the Islamic revolution” (History of Iran). Persepolis conveys a unique graphic style of Satrapi’s narrative. “In black and white, Satrapi represents her own child...
Persepolis is an autobiographic novel that tells the story of young Marjane Satrapi’s attempt to find her own identity after losing herself in a time of war, violence, and an oppressive country. She loses her identity in three aspects: mentally, physically, and religiously. Mentally, she is thrown into a war at very young age, which she tries to cope with by using comedic relief. Physically, her country is attempting to hide who she is with the veil and the strict dress code. Religiously, her faith become shakable. At a crucial age where people found themselves and their identity, Satrapi is not given that choice. The chance of developing an identity is stolen from Satrapi. But, this does not stop her. She will attempt to try her hardest to
Overall, Marjane Satrapi’s book, “Persepolis,” shares her experiences throughout the conflicts and war in Iran. She gives firsthand accounts of struggles every average woman faces in Iran. Through her eyes we can see the true impact of war and the pain it brings with it. We can also see that Iran is not all evil, Iranians did not chose to live under the harsh government forced upon them. Marjane Satrapi resisted the oppressive laws, saw the consequences of rebellion and did it anyway, and fought for her right to be
Persepolis is a graphic memoir of Marjane Satrapi. The book has received multiple accolades and citations for its realistic and well-written script as well as its commitment against totalitarianism. Satrapi writes (and draws) of her life during the war between Iran and Iraq. It has both literal and symbolic meanings hidden among the drawings, as it also shows the hardships she faced in other countries and even, at times, in her home country of Iran. It helps to show the past and somewhat present views of Iranians and others about Iran, it’s leaders, the war, and the corruption of the Iranian government. Satrapi uses symbolism, anecdotes, and a strong motif of the unfair treatment and view of Iranians to help create a deep, true, emotional, and captivating story.
In history, women had stood behind men as companions or supporters. Women were treated as if they were politically and socially inferior. They were seen as men’s property. In the last hundred years, women’s rights in Iran or the Middle East had always been a controversial issue. In the book Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, women played an essential role in the society. Throughout the book, Marjane showed how the Iranian Revolution had affected women and how the women around her changed her life. The book displayed the vital role women around Marjane have in developing her character and becoming the woman she is today in the Iran strictly feminine society.
“The reason for my shame and for the Revolution is the same: the difference between social classes.” (Pg.33) These are thoughts expressed by Marjane Satrapi in her book called Persepolis. This book is about Marji’s childhood in Iran as she faced many issues, ranging from the Islamic Revolution to the process of growing up during political turmoil. Among the many issues encountered by Marjane, one important political issue raised in the book is the division of the social class difference in the societies of Iran as illustrated in the quote.
Do you ever wonder what its like to grow up in tragic, heartbreaking, war-like conditions? What it would feel like? How it would affect your family? In the novel, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, Marjane Satrapi, expresses her take on growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution, through an autobiographical memoir presented through simplistic yet complex comic strips. This book develops the readers understanding on the revolution itself as well as how it affected individuals experiencing the situation. The main character, Marji, expresses and relays the sense of “lostness” she was going through throughout the novel. The author decided to use artwork to exemplify her story which appealed to me personally. It kept me interested in the not only
The graphic novel is a book that tells the story about the childhood of an Iranian girl named Marji, while instantaneously attempting to display what the Iranian people are like in nature. It states the many actions and thoughts Marji has to go through during the histrionic and dramatic times in Iran’s history including the reign and the fall of the Shah, the Islamic Revolution, and the Iran and Iraq war. It also expresses multiple effects these dramatic events had on the families, mainly Marji’s family. To add to that, Marji g...
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.
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi reveals the hardships of citizens in Iran during the Iranian War, retold in the perspective of the author. When evaluating the novel, the story it told gave fascinating insight on a country that most people have never seen before. This piece of literature gave an exemplary value to me while analyzing the text for class. This was done through the novel having an approachable appeal through the graphic novel style, and the knowledge that many readers obtain through a first person perspective.
In the beginning of the story a revolution took place and that made it so in obligatory to wear the veil. The veil’s symbolisme on the political level captures the repressiveness of the Islamic Republic. But at the time every religious people wanted to the veil but the more modern people did not want to wear so they protested the streets. “Everywhere in the streets there were demonstrations for and against the veil”(satrapi,2000,p.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