What struck me most in Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis was the idea of childhood innocence being lost and the emotional change that occurs when becoming an adult. I will analyse the emotional transformation of Marji during the time of rebellion in Iran. Specifically, there is a pivotal moment in the book when Marji finds one of her uncle’s cigarettes and smokes it as an act of rebellion against her mother and this is the scene I will be focusing on. The whole story leading up to this moment has been Marji hearing societal views from her family and her peers rather than developing them on her own. Through the rebellion against her mother, she is paving a path for her independence and individual views towards conflict. This shows the pivotal transition from a once innocent and clueless child a much more mature and grown independent woman forming opinions and views for herself.
The first image of the scene shows Marji with a lit cigarette in her mouth. She says, “As for me, I sealed my act of rebellion against my mother’s dictatorship by smoking the cigarette.” (117) This image marks the beginning of her innocence being lost as she turns into a woman who is able to form her own views and commits acts of resistance against values she does not agree with. This small act of rebellion with the cigarette is a direct correlation with Marji’s desire to grow up in society and become independent. The expression on her face shows not only her rebellion towards a dictator that is her mother but also a higher dictator that is the theocratic government. The theocratic government would not allow for her modernistic views and view her smoking a cigarette as an act against them. They instead force upon a fundamentalist view of Islamic tradition.
When Marji inhales the cigarette, we begin to see the fear she has on face as she realizes how hard the transition from child to adult is. Her inhale is immediately followed by a chain of coughing as we see tears rolling down her face from the pain of change. This scene shows that the once innocent girl is not so innocent anymore. She had the choice upon lighting the cigarette to either put it out and remain innocent or to inhale on the cigarette and begin her transformation to mature. This scene shows the transformation that she has accepted the idea and begins the journey to becoming an independent woman that decides her own actions.
The third image depicts Marji having finished her first inhale of the cigarette with tears rolling down her face in obvious pain yet continues to smoke more. Her acceptance of her actions is shown when she says, “It was awful. But this was not the moment to give in.” (117) I feel like this moment is when Marji realizes that there is no going back to her once innocent childhood and due to her changing circumstances, she needed to grow up and accept this. At this moment, she also realizes that change is hard and that there will be pain and suffering involved, which is illustrated in her facial expression. She wants to give up, but she forces herself to keep going because she sees no other choice. Her transformation in her life can be seen through her continuing to smoke the cigarette, by not quitting on her action, and pushing through even though it is something she quite obviously is not enjoying. This is a necessary step to becoming a grown up and becoming independent.

Marji is now able to take control of her life. She has lost that once innocent child mentality where decisions were made for her and has become an independent woman. She has overcome her obstacle and has accepted change as she says, “With this first cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye.” (117) Marji, having smoked a cigarette, is now able to release that once innocent child in her. She can now having independent thought towards conflict, towards rebellion and is now able to freely think for herself and form her own opinions on society. The expression of Marji’s face now is one of determination. She has a hardened face and she no longer feels the pain or the sadness of that once innocent girl she was, as she states, “Now I [am] a grown-up.” (117) She now holds high the pain the cigarette once brought upon her as it signifies that it is no longer feared or a threat but rather embraced and conquered. She has now accepted the change in her life into a grown-up who is able to become independent and have thought for herself. The most striking part of Persepolis to me is the transition from an innocent child into an independent and free adult. This strip is important in understanding Marji’s struggle throughout the story with her rebellion towards dictatorship. I believe this is the moment when she is finding out the truth about the world and thus transforms into becoming an adult. The cigarette symbolizes, for the most part, the world as being harmful, with many harmful effects on the human body. For a transition into adulthood, we need to accept the world as a harmful place that can be harmful for many people and societies. I believe the cigarette can become a symbol for the struggles we face in society. Marji’s facial expression throughout these scenes shows the transformation we face when experiencing such transition into independence and freedom. We begin with a new experience, which is then followed by a choice to undergo the transformation and embrace it. This is followed by fear, fear of what we have lost such as the innocence we once had. Finally, once we have gone through these stages, we learn to embrace change, conquer change and then transition to independence and freedom. As Marji smokes the cigarette, this acts as a catalyst into a bigger transformation of adulthood.

Works Listed Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. New York, NY: Pantheon, 2003. Print