The Veil

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A veil is a piece of fabric you put over your head. It could be sheer, covering from your eyes to your chin. It could be thick and draped over your hair and across your forehead. Either way it conceals some part of your body. It not only covers up what you look like but who you are, it veils you under the cloth and stifles your individuality. Marjane Satrapi chose to tell her story “The Veil” in a unique way that benefits her particular portrayal of a character to express the overall meaning of finding one’s identity. Satrapi creates a 10 year old girl named Marji. Marji has two conflicting feelings about having to wear a 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” (Veil 757). Satrapi uses pictures instead of words to tell her story, so I will describe the pictures to you. The drawing that goes along with this quote above shows a box where Marji is standing with two different backgrounds behind her, dividing her in half. The right side of the drawing shows an abstract view of religion. It has a white background on which black vines with leaves are shown winding around. Marji is wearing the black veil on this side. On the readers left it has a black background with white objects such as a hammer, ruler, and gears. Marji is shown wearing a white t-shirt. The meaning of this entire box is to show the reader how confused Marji appears to be about which identity she should follow. On one hand Marji sees her identity as religious. She wants to conform with what is currently happening around her by wearing the veil and following her deep religion. She does not want to be considered the outcast of the society. Satrapi shows this further ... ... middle of paper ... ...lution. In the end Marji decides that she does not have to settle on just one identity. Her particular identity she concludes is to be more then one thing. “I wanted to be justice, love and the wrath of God all in one” (Veil 760). She declares while talking with God in her bedroom, her once plane white night gown has now become something different. She has embraced her true identity and gone from a solid white nightgown to one that is speckled with black flowers. Marji has combined her modern avant-garde with religion. Satrapi shows that Marji has finally found her individuality by combining everything that has happened so far in her young life. Works Cited Charters, Ann. The Story and It’s Writer, An Introduction to Short Fiction. Compact 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2011. Print. ---. Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis: The Veil. Charters 754-760. Print.

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