...Hi babe In the graphic novel, “Persepolis”, Marjane Satrapi brings to light the devastations in her life in Tehran during the Iranian revolution of 1973 as well as the eight year war with Iraq. She was forced upon a life surrounded by Middle Eastern conflicts and policies that became unavoidable. After Satrapi and her parents came back from their vacation one day, they later find out from her grandma that Iraq and Iran were at war with one another, having the country’s strict government policies, military forces, and eliminating all those who protested against it. Because we can see what is happening from an innocent point of view during Satrapi’s life, the pain and violence that was expressed throughout the novel is based upon the real suffering...
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...as one key lesson in Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis. This unique graphic novel is an autobiographical memoir of Satrapi’s life during a rough period of time that lasted many years in twentieth century Iran. Her story is set during the Iranian Revolution, where the reader can see Marjane grow up before their eyes and go through all the turbulent stages in her life. Marjane, the main character is a strong, rebellious and passionate girl that has a strong faith in god and fights for what she believes in; liberty. The novel features and is mainly centered on her whole family and what they go through as well. Marjane comes from a very brave and strong family, her ancestors have fought for their freedom and she and her family continue...
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...In 2000, Marjane Satrapi published an autobiographical graphic novel, Persepolis, The Story of a Childhood, exhibiting her undergoing in Iran. In the novel she depicts the shift in her spiritual and mental development, as well as her views of society. The first major alteration is in her religious beliefs, from being close to religion to distancing herself from it. Marjane next shows growth in understanding what occurs in her country and society. In the beginning of the novel Marjane is depicted as very religious, but as the novel goes on she questions her religion until she eventually forgets about her beliefs. The novel opens up with her questioning the veil, and she justifies why she should wear it and why she can’t. Marjane states, “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.” (Frame 1, pg. 6) This shows...
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...Oppression on Women in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, is memoir of a little girl growing in Iran. She refers to a secular pre revolutionary time through contrast, the oppressive characteristics of the fundamentalist government upon women in particular. Her work is a lot similar to Margaret Atwood's, A Handmaid’s Tale, in which the protagonist Offred reflects upon her former life’s freedom, cherishing her former name and in doing so emphasizes the cloistered and enslaved life that she must now endure. Although both Margaret Atwood and Satrapi show how a totalitarian state oppresses women in different ways by taking away the freedom to think and decide for oneself, both accentuating on the ways a woman should dress, which stratified society in Handmaid’s tale and enforced religious modesty in Persepolis. Growing up in the western society, we often think clothing as a means of expressing our individuality, our style, defining who we are. Offred grew up in a similar environment but it was taken away once she became a Handmaid. That was the precise reason why she felt “ fascinated but also repelled” (28) at the same time when she saw the Japanese tourist. She says she “used to dress like that. That was freedom. Westernized they used to call it”(28). She says this because she no longer gets to dress like the tourists any more. In a very little amount of time, the society has forced every individual to change...
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...Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s autobiography. It covers her childhood and teenage years in her hometown, Tehran; her experiences abroad while she studies at the French Lyceum in Austria; and her return to a country devastated by war and mistreated by the Regime. Therefore it is hardly surprising that the protagonist’s identity is formed at the crossroads of two cultures, the Western and the Eastern ones, without really belonging to either of them. Satrapi herself has stated that “[she is] a foreigner in Iran. . . Nowhere is [her] home any more” (Tully, 2004) and this feeling of alienation is materialised throughout the work. Thus, Persepolisrevels in the middle-grounds between opposite stances, with images which are able to show the complexity both of the situation in her country and of the author’s personal life. One of the richest and most representative images may be this one: Satrapi, Marjane (2006) Persepolis (London: Jonathan Cape, 283, 3) This image shows the picture that she had to draw to pass the exam for university, where she would study fine arts. She knew that, in the wake of Iran-Iraq war, when propaganda was overwhelming and 40 % of places were reserved for martyrs’and handicapped people’s children, one of the exam topics would be the martyrs’ representation. This image constitutes an interesting re-interpretation of both Christian and Muslim religious symbology. Thus, we can read, in the text box above, that: I practiced by copying a photo of Michelangelo’s...
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...Persepolis and the Iran-Iraq War Persepolis, is a graphic novel, by Marjane Satrapi, the story follows the life of a young girl growing up in Iran during the Iranian Revelation, and later during the Iran-Iraq war. Throughout the story Satrapi focuses on the major cultural difference between her and her family and the other people, and how it changes as the story progresses, with different forms of government controlling Iran. "Following the 1979 Iranian revolution, the Iraqi leadership sought to exploit Iran's military and political chaos in order to resolve border disputes, gain control of Iran's oil-rich western province, and achieve hegemony in the Persian Gulf" (Britannica Concise Encyclopedia) Since many of the Iranian air force pilots where in jail for being members of the revelation the Iraq air force was able to attack Iran with little resistance. This was mentioned in Persepolis when Marjane and her parents are talking and they hear the national anthem of Iran, and the news caster announces that the Iranian pilots have been released and have attacked Iraq. During the war Iran stores had a lack of quantity and people where fighting over the things that the stores had. Like in the scene in Persepolis when Marjane and her mother went shopping and they witnessed two woman fighting over something. Marjane's mother tried to separate them, but they turned on her, so Marjane suggested they leave. Iraq continued to bomb cities in Iran kill many Iranian civilians, and people...
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...eventual loss of that language, to give up parts of your culture in order to fit in (clothes, ect.). her everyday life in the hopes of finding a more empowered identity for herself. use of western culture to indivilize themselves In Alan Ball’s film Towelhead (2008) and Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis (2000/2001), the adolescent female protagonists from Middle Eastern cultures desire to empower their own identities through utilizing Western media and its images of independent women, as well as the role models they encounter in their actual lives. background must find the perfect balance between what is expected of them in their environments and what they desire as individuals. From the time that they are born, these girls have social expectations created for them by the men in their lives. In the beginning of both Persepolis and Towelhead, this is exactly how the adolescents live their lives, conforming to society rather than being individuals in any positive sense. Because they are so young and unaware of how empowered women can be in other parts of the world, they are stuck in their own self-created states of disempowerment in their own countries (like Iran and Lebanon). As Marjane and Jasira grow older, they begin to look past their specific cultures’ morals and begin to pay closer attention to role models in the media in order to create a new purpose for...
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...Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi is an autobiography graphic novel. The book is about a young girl named Marjane Satrapi growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In the book, many stories and struggles are presented, such as the Islamic revolution, issues with school, the war between Iran and Iraq, and Satrapi’s struggle with growing up. The strongest theme from all of these situations in the novel is rebellion. Rebellion is constantly seen, in many different shapes and forms, all throughout this book. In the beginning of the book (page 3) it became obligatory to wear the veil at school. The panel at the bottom of the page shows the children rebelling against the veil by using not wearing the veil properly. They make a mockery of the situation because they didn’t understand why they had to wear the veil. This rebellion against the rules and the veil repeats several times throughout the novel when it mentions and illustrates the women wearing veils with some of their hair showing, which is not how it is supposed to be worn. Marjane’s mother later gets insulted by fundamentalists because she wasn’t wearing the veil. However Marjane’s mother would continue wearing the veil in public like all the other woman but wouldn’t wear at home. The people in Iran obey and don’t rebel for example (on page 75) Marjane’s neighbors change by wearing a chador and mouth washing every time they utter the word “alcohol.” Another example of rebellion comes later in...
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...growing up during a time of war and chaos. In the autobiographies Persepolis and The Dairy of a Young Girl, the reader is shown that both main characters Marjane Satrapi and Anne Frank lived similar yet different lives. Their lives, as told in their autobiographies, consisted of adversity, cultural conflicts, and political issues, while after their novels were published both Anne and Marjane rose to fame. Anne, born on June 12, 1929, in Frankfurt Germany, shares her personal experiences and first-hand encounters during World War II in her novel. Anne along with her upper-middle-class family; which included her mother Edith, father Otto and sister Margot, fled Nazi persecution of Jews and went into hiding for two years. Her...
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...Persepolis Essay Pesepolis is an autobiographical graphic novel depicting the life of Marjane Satrapi during the Iranian Revolution. In the early pages, Marjane illustrates that she saw herself as a prophet. She wanted to change the world, and with the help of God, she thought that she could. During Satrapi’s early childhood, the traditions and history of Iran had been going through drastic changes. The Iranian Revolution was when Iran’s monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown and replaced with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who led the revolution. ii Persepolis is framed during 1979 and after the Iranian Revolution. The Shah of Persia was overthrown and eventually replaced by an Islamist government during this time. Satrapi narrates her experience of the Revolution, which includes bombings, violent deaths of family and friends, and inequality. Women of Iran had many restrictions, and the leaders of Iran had disrespected them in many ways and belittled them as citizens. I The Islam religion forces women to wear veils for many reasons. Satrapi shows us how men saw themselves superior to woman and how most women did not enjoy the attitudes of men and also following certain obligations like wearing the veil. Following the Revolution, intense social changes took place in what had previously been a liberal country, became a religious republic. Her family lived through many events. She discusses how her mother told her that the regime burned...
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...Brandon Dominguez Lorentzen hour 6 3-5-17 Are you in high school and planning to go to college ? The change from high school to college can be a really hard change, but itsn also life changing. It is a time of independence. This transition is a growth , just like the book Persepolis, the story of Marjane Satrapis childhood and growth. Both are about transitioning from a safe place to an unknown place. Marjane learns to question authorit and form have own opinions through her experiences during the Iranian Revolution. By the time she steps onto that plane to leave her parents behind in country faced with political problems and issues, she is an independent woman. A part of growing up is learning how to think for yourself in order to...
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...women of their individuality, retain their lower status in Iranian society, and bind them forcefully to the Islamic religion. As a result, many women become increasingly defiant to the new law. They display their resistance in small increments, at first, by gradually revealing small parts of their hair from under the veil. School-aged girls would complain and throw the veils off their heads on the playground. While this opposition provides some truth to the oppression of the veil, it is important to notice that Satrapi includes that the veil did not make the normal Iranian woman an absolute figure of frailty. Note that not all of the female population felt oppressed by the veil. In fact, some embraced it fully as a part of regular life. Marjane is occasionally stopped and reprimanded by some of these women when she walks out on the street, donning Western-style clothing dominantly over her veil. Stephanie Cawley also mentions that Satrapi does not present the veiled women with an identical template. As she talks about each character, Satrapi illustrates the unique characteristics in the girl, whether in hair texture or facial features. It is this detailed representation that exhibits a true feminist approach to the complicated meaning of the veil. The forceful circumstances around the veil were oppressive, but Iranian women were not submissive to its alleged tyrannical nature. The important thing is that they dealt with the clothing however they seemed fit to their own well-being...
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...Students Name Instructors Name Course Date Rhetorical Analysis on Marjane Satrapi's “The complete Persepolis” “The Complete Persepolis” is a memoir and story based on Marjane Satrapi, who is also the author of the memoir. This is a rhetorical analysis on Marjane Satrapi’s story and we’ll see how the writer attempts to change the perception people have on the middle-east countries. The writer tries to prove that those countries are not as bad as depicted and there is still hope for the people living in those countries. She believes that people in the middle-east countries have the power to revolutionize their culture and fight for what they believe in. The writer is able to express the struggles and sufferings of the victims in the middle-east. Marjane Satrapi is shaped by the events in her life to become a rebel and through this, she is able to make the audience understand why people start and join revolutions in the middle-east. The writer is of the opinion that their culture is deeply flawed and in the beginning of the story, she is displeased that she has to wear a veil to school as it is mandatory for girls to wear veils, “Then came 1980: the year it became obligatory to wear the veil at school” (Satrapi, page 4), and the fact that boys and girls are still separated in school and can’t learn together. The writer mentions about her French school which was shut down because it was non-religious. The writer seeks to display the extent of cultural inequity and the social injustices...
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...Bishant Baral Professor Dunnigan May 7, 2014 Persepolis: Final Exam From the beginning of Persepolis, one can come to the conclusion that Marjane has a very bright future ahead of her. Her curious and patriotic demeanor as a child matures and allows her to become a strong-minded woman during a time of great female oppression in Iran. For Marjane, the ideas of nationalism and patriotism had been a major part of her upbringing. The novel begins with ten year old Marjane in 1980. Although not a teenager yet, Marjane is forced to conform to the oppression and the various laws that specifically target women. Marjane's mother was a very opinionated individual who believed in equal rights. Her rebellious nature becomes an influence to Marjane as she begins to grow older and mature. Taji, Marjane's mother, is a passionate woman who is extremely disappointed with the things in Iran. She actively protests with others who are not happy with the elimination of women's rights and violent attacks on innocent people It began with schools becoming segregated by sex. The French school that Marjane once attended was no longer allowed in Iran. The revolution had begun to ban all sorts of western and European influences. For example, women were obliged to wear veils in public now. If a female was to be caught by the authorities without a veil on, they would be verbally abused and possibly even severely chastised. Moreover, a man and a woman were not allowed to be seen in public unless they...
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... It is hard to understand and obey any law forcing individuals to change their way of living. In the book Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi there were many changes in the way of living during the Revolution. Persepolis was written based on Satrapi’s childhood memories through her eyes as a child. Satrapi explains the difficulties she had changing her usual ways and getting in trouble for expressing herself with the things she liked. It was not just Satrapi who faced changes but other families as well and even the society as a whole. Although there were many changes in the lifestyles of many, there was a great impact on the military, women, education and in many adolescences. To begin, the military began recruiting teenage boys at age fourteen living in poverty which created a change in the military. This was a change within the military because at fourteen one is still considered immature and has not mentally or physically developed to the fullest. To join the military one should be mature and fully grown. Many of these fourteen year old boys were tricked into joining the military. They were given a key painted gold representing value. They were told if they were fortunate enough to die, the golden key would open the door into heaven. They were promised a better life than the one they were living in the lower class. As Mrs. Nasrine, Satrapi’s maid, explains, “‘They told him that in paradise there will be plenty of food, women and houses made of gold and diamonds’”...
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