Identity In Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis

“Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I've ever known.” (Palahniuk) In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi undergoes magnificent changes on her way to adulthood as she encounters the love of family, the horrors of war, heartbreak, drugs, loneliness, alienation, oppression, marriage and divorce, accomplishment, and autonomy. Satrapi’s identity is formed by her childhood in Iran and solidified by her path to maturity through Austria and a return to Iran that are intertwined with her country’s tumultuous narrative. Satrapi’s family plays a very important role in the formation of her familial and moral values. Her parents set an example for Marji, teaching her to stand up for what they thought was right and protest the false
The injustices that Marji witnessed and was told about made her a very empathetic person. When Marji first heard about her grandfather being in prison and being tortured by being kept in a cell filled with water for long periods of time, she took an extra long bath because she “wanted to know what it felt like to be in a cell filled with water”.(P.1-25) Similarly, when Marji’s dad find out about the letters she had been writing for the maid’s love interests who are of different “social class”, Marji is very troubled.(P.1-37) Additionally, the Islamic regime and its many injustices, martyrs, and executions undoubtedly shaped Satrapi’s overall character and influenced her decision to move to France and become “a free woman”.(P.2-187)
Marjane Satrapi, whatever her intent was for Persepolis, details in the novel the many factors that led to the person she became at the end of the story. Through Family ties, through traveling abroad, and through living in a war torn country, became the compassionate, dignified Iranian woman that decide to move to France, away from the turmoil of her country. Of all of the characteristics that make up Satrapi in the book, her grandmother’s influence was one of the most