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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 that exist in her country by sharing this information with the reader.
The writer uses specific characters in the story to depict the extremities and illogicalness of their culture. For example, she introduces the character, Mehri who is their maid and she falls in love with the neighbor’ son but their love is forced to end since the culture in their society prohibits such kind of love. She also has characters in the story that embody real people in Iran that are in the same situation as the characters in the writer’s story. For example, she uses Mohsen to represent the real people in the middle-east countries that are part of the revolution and have even been imprisoned for fighting for their freedom and rights. This enables the audience to relate to the story as it representative of the crisis in the middle-east. Currently, there are protests and wars in the middle-east and the writer uses this setting to be able to make the story appear as real as possible. This makes the story more convincing to the audience as it is realistic and has some truth to it. She could have chosen a setting of peace and serenity in the middle-east but the writer knew this would be in contradiction to what is really happening. The writer is a small girl when the revolutions starts and this could have been a strategic move by the writer so as to capture the hearts of the audience as people are more inclined to sympathize with children. The writer could have presented herself as an adult but she chose to start when she was a small girl. She also thinks that everyone in the society has the right to dress the way they want and people should not be forced into following barbaric cultures which were established by their forefathers long before they were born. Throughout the story, the writer shares her hopes and ambitions and what she values in her society and the social evils that she believes are impeding progress and development in the society. The writer is tenacious and determined to hold onto what she believes is right in the society. She is persistent and despite facing obstacles in her quest for social equity she still remains true to her course and is never swayed. She is ambitious even when she was young and she even has the courage to share her hopes and inspirations with the rest of her class even though they laugh off her plans. Initially, the writer is quite religious and she even speaks of having conversations with god. The writer later on loses her faith after her uncle is charged wrongly for being a Russian spy. The writer could be sharing these information to show people that it is okay putting ones faith in religious beliefs and at times one may be forced to abandon his or her faith after certain events in their life.
The author seeks to enlighten the world on what is really going on in the middle-east and what is the roles played by the western countries in contributing to the constant social and political unrest in the middle-east. Marjane Satrapi targets the rest of the world as the audience in her story. The writer also targets the people and victims of social injustice living in the middle-east and through her actions she urges them not to give up but to fight for what they believe to be right and true. The writer uses strong language to convey her emotions to the reader, "You think I'm stupid?!!!... I can tell by your tie! Piece of westernized trash!" (Satrapi, page 33) The reader uses such language especially in this situation to express the feelings of distrust and hate the people in the middle-east have for the Western countries. They are tired of the western countries meddling in their affairs and trying to influence the middle-east. The writer believes that the Western countries are only driven by self-interest and anything they do would be to benefit themselves. The writer influences the audience’s feelings and perception of the Western countries and one is almost convinced that the Western countries have a part to play in the current situation in the middle-east. The writer also uses figurative language to justify her actions and to give purpose and sense to her cause, for example, “The revolution is like a bicycle. When the wheels don't turn, it falls” (Satrapi, chapter 2, page 4). The writer justifies why the revolution is important and why it must happen and she achieves this by use of figurative language. The writer also uses the art of story-telling to give the reader a more-detailed perspective of the story. Marjane’s father tells her a story about Reza Shah, who overthrew the existing leadership in the country with the help of the Western countries but later started oppressing people and people began a revolution against him and his government. The writer strategically chose to add the information that the Western countries aided the overthrowing of the current leadership in Japan and this influences the audience’s perception of the Western countries. The writer also chooses to tell the stories as they are a defining factor in the path the writer chooses to take later on. The stories and events happening before are the major determinants in the writer’s life and they shape the personality the writer grows into. The writer also presented herself as a person desiring to be a national hero as the writer talks about how she used to pretend to be a revolutionary figure when she was a kid. This forms the idea in the audience’s minds that it has been almost the writer’s destiny to liberate her country from oppression and the writer gains favor from the audience through this. One is almost certain that it is the life-long dream of the writer to change her country and the reader anticipates to see whether this actually happens in the end. The writer is emotional in her story and this captures the attention of the audience and the audience is moved by the story. The writer talks of a time when she had been separated from her family and she used to miss them very much. This makes one imagine the feeling of having to part with one’s family.
The writer chooses to part ways with her family for the sake of the revolution. This just shows how much committed the writer was to her cause if she was willing to go back to Iran and fight for the revolution. The fact that she sacrifices her education to become a rebel in the protests goes ahead to show just how important the cause was for the writer. The writer attempts to make the audience understand that fighting for what you believe in will never be easy and one has to make sacrifices and be prepared to lose a lot while staying true to the cause. In the story the writer loses her friend, Neda Baba-Levy in the revolution and this leads to her becoming a rebel when she grows up. In the end the writer is sent away abroad by her parents in fear that their daughter is no longer safe in the country. The series of events the writer goes through shape her up to become a rebel. She is encouraged to become a rebel by the family friends who were former prisoners for being part of the revolution. Her uncle is also another major contributing factor to her becoming a rebel. The writer is thus able to make the audience understand why it was important the writer become a rebel and what lead to her being one.
In conclusion, the writer is able to make the audience and the reader get a better understanding of the crisis in the middle-east through her emotional and thrilling story. The writer is also able to captivate the audience and give the reader the perspective of victims and people fighting for a revolution in the middle-east. The writer through-out the story manages to point out most of the things and events people in the middle-east experience, for example, in the story the writer is forced to part ways with her family, this is indicative of the family troubles and suffering people in the middle-east experience. The writer points out some of the major issues in the middle-east and she gives hope to the protestors and those part of the revolutions in the middle-east and she empathizes with them indirectly through the story.

References
Satrapi, Marjane, and Marjane Satrapi. The Complete Persepolis. New York: Pantheon Books, 2007. Print.