Satrapi's The Iranian Revolution

In 1979, the Iranian Revolution ended the Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi’s reign when Iranians forced him out of power and exiled him. Like in the illustrated novel, civil unrest was prevalent under the Shah’s regime. People, such as Mr. and Mrs. Satrapi, protested the Shah to demonstrate their anger towards their current government and ruler. The Satrapi couple’s reasoning for wanting the Shah to abdicate was the result of both internal and external factors that played out over a series of decades (Lecture, 11-30). The opposition to the Shah’s regime resulted from certain circumstances that include corruption within the government, significant western influence in the region, enforcing a strict social class structure, as well as the Shah violating the basic human rights of his citizens. Although this does not encompass every facet for why Mr. and Mrs. Satrapi to actively involve themselves in these anti-Shah demonstrations, it does consider some of the more prominent factors for them wanting to participate. “Extensive corruption” within the Shah’s government led to some of the

Marjane’s parents could have protested because they viewed the Shah as essentially a puppet for his “greater contact with the West” (Stearns, 622). Another potential reason for the couple to protest was because both Mr. and Mrs. Satrapi were “committed Marxists” (Satrapi, second cover). During this period in time, the West, particularly the United States, was attempting to ‘contain’ communism as much as possible (Lecture, 11-16). Eliminating Mossadeq by putting him on house arrest until his death allowed the United States to establish someone in power that protected their interests (Lecture, 11-30). The Satrapi couple possibly could have viewed the Shah as someone against the ideals in which they profoundly believed