Preview

Persepolis

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1901 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Persepolis
Persepolis Project
Persepolis is a graphic novel written by Marjane Satrapi. The book is written in a first person point of view, portraying Marjane’s interpretations of key aspects of her child hood and what she had to go through growing up in Iran. Unfortunately for Marjane she grew up in a very troublesome time, the Islamic revolution of 1979 and the continuous revolts that occurred after the revolution. And we see over the course of the book how this greatly affects her life and the decisions her parents have to make for her to ensure she is safe and properly educated. To get a better look at this, we must first look at the historical content of the revolution to get a more in depth knowledge of what her experiences were like.
The Pahlavi dynasty lasted for almost 16 years (1925-1979). In which Reza Shah began a quest to modernize Iran to secure his political leadership. Under his reign, the government asserted its authority over various tribes and provinces. During world war2 Iran had a great contribution in supplies to both Great Britain and the Soviet Union, who at the time were at war against Germany. As a result of this, the shah granted Britain permission to own various oil companies residing in Iran. This ruling earned the Shah great unpopularity amongst his country. To counteract this, the shah sought assistance from Germany to help Iran on its quest for modernization. However, both the British and Soviet governments saw this as a threat, and the British forced the Shah to step down in favor of his son Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who ruled until 1979 ( The ruling shah in the book).
At the Tehran conference of 1943, it was ruled that Iran was to receive its independence and security of territory which was once owned by Great Britain.
Once Iran was through with its territorial and war affairs, it was time for the new Shah, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, to focus on his reign. The Shah was still quite new to the job and his opponents saw this as a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Persepolis is a story of childhood through Marjane Satrapi’s childhood in Iran. Much of the graphic novel focusses on the author’s family during the Iran-Iraq War. The story is a personal memoir of Satrapi’s own life, which also leads into a larger event in history. Satrapi is the protagonist throughout the entire graphic novel. The character of Marji’s growth is shaped by her personal history and her community and demonstrates the theme of the inescapability of culture and family in determining one’s identity.With this also comes people in her life that have great impacts.…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Persepolis Book Report

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Persepolis is a historical book yet an entertaining story of a girl during a frightening time in an important era in her country. Author, Marjane Satrapi writes about her experience in Iran as a child. She includes humor as well as sentimentality in this book to express her view on how times were. As a reader of this book it helped me understand the dark times that the Iranian people faced. With this book being a memoir it further helped understand the Islamic Revolution and the actions taken by the people of Islam in their efforts to stay safe during the war with Iraq. Marjane Strapi brought her experience to life as she wrote this book.…

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Iran Hostage Crisis was when 52 Americans were held hostage for a year and 79 days in November 4th 1979 to January 20th, 1981 by University students in support of Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini. This is a continuation from Operation Ajax effects on U.S. ties with Iran. (Also, known as the U.S. Embassy Crisis) During the 25 years the Shah ruled, many Iranians feared the autocratic leader. The Shah created the SAVAK police based from the CIA and the Israeli Mossad. Whoever disobeyed the law, was imprisoned or tortured. A “White Revolution” began from 1963 through 1978 imposing a sequence of reforms that opposed the traditional system. In January 1963, the Shah announced the White Revolution. Enforcing women’s’ rights, land reform, allowing non-Muslims to hold office, westernizing Iran, and much more were some of the initiatives for this revolution. Pahlavi imparted fear to the people and tried to modify Iran in every which way. During his time in office, people didn’t appreciate the Shah for his abuse of power and thought he was adversative to Iran’s society made up of 90% Muslims. They looked up to anti U.S radical religious leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Khomeini began to protest and give speeches about Iran’s’ Shah and his plans in January of 1963. Throughout the months of January through June, Khomeini gave speeches about the Shah and soon his crowd of people grew from nothing to many many people. In June 1963, authorities took Khomeini and detained him in Qom, Iran and took him to Tehran. This caused an uproar as his followers rioted. He was released in August but almost a year later, in November he was held in jail for half a year and was forced to apologize after he was released. Standing up for his views, Khomeini stood his ground and didn’t apologize. Later, he spent 14 years in exile and stayed in Turkey for less than a year and Iraq for the rest. While in exile, Khomeini…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Changes In Persepolis

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood is about a young girl, Marjane Satrapi growing up during the Islamic Revolution. The revolution started in 1979 which meant that it brought many person vs. society conflicts for Marjane. Marjane didn’t understand why all these changes were being made. This caused person vs. self-conflicts. The author developed the central idea, the changes during the revolution by using the conflicts Marjane faced.…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Iranian Nationalist and reunited under the Prime Minister Muhammed Mossadeq and resent there foreign alliances. They nationalized oil company and forced the shah to go away. They feared that Iran might look to the Soviets for support. United States took action and help the shah regain…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of my favorite parts of this book is it is written in a comic strip format with extraordinary images that convey a great amount of emotion and depth. On page 144 in Marjane’s memoir she argues, “You say that we don’t have political prisoners anymore. But we’ve gone from 3,000 prisoners under the Shah to 300,000 under your Regime.” When she stands up to her teacher and portrays her point of view with facts she risks her life due to the fascist government. In other words, it shows the reader that the people of Iran fought for a better life, to only receive a life that contained limits and fear. In essence, when the Regime took over more people were arrested, more people were murdered and more people lived in fear. Personally, at the beginning of reading this book I was unsure if I would enjoy the read because I’ve never really had interest in the topic. However, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood really surprised me, Marjane Satrapi’s incredible story really kept me engaged while learning about the Islamic Revolution and the Regimes rule. This is one reason I would rate the book with 2 stars. Additionally, I would highly recommend reading this memoir because it allowed me to understand and grasp its contents with visuals. You can purchase Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood for only $13.95. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood was published by Pantheon Books in June 2004 with a total of 153 pages. If needed the ISBN number is…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    An internally cohesive people, their rulers were not so effective at expanding beyond their Persian base. They did not tolerate diversity. Whatever territories they conquered they ruled much more directly, based on central – and theocratic – authority. They also succeeded in transforming Iran, once a Sunni area, into a Shiite…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Symbolism In Persepolis

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Customs and Traditions,Religion, and Social Organizations impact the protagonist of Persepolis. Culture of Iran overall impacts the protagonist, but these are the main factors.…

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Iran Hostage Crisis

    • 1794 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Since 1908, the United States have repositioned their foreign interests towards the Middle East for the abundance of Petroleum within the region. Attracting the west, Britain and the United States have maintained a dominating role in Iran for their rich supply of oil. In 1953, Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh nationalized the Iranian oil fields. The United States responded by implementing a coup d’état in Iran, overthrowing Mossadegh, and placing “Shah” Reza Pahlavi in power. With a steady flow of oil and luxuries being sold to the United States, the Shah brought prosperity to Iran. However, there was a growing resentment towards the Shah from the Shi’ite Muslims community for allowing western influence into Iran. This was the beginning of a turbulent relationship between the U.S. and Iranian governments. Relations escalated to the point where radical Muslims led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini overthrew the Shah, who sought refuge to America in the 1979 Iranian revolution. The radicals then stormed the American embassy in Tehran, seizing more than 60 Americans hostages in what is now known as the Iranian Hostage Crisis. The hostage crisis was the most heated in a series of issues that arose during the last year of Carter’s presidency. Many Americans wondered if Jimmy Carter was at fault for the crisis. Gaddis Smith, an American historian, described the situation in the following quote: “President Carter inherited an impossible situation and he and his advisors made the worst of it” (PBS.org). Smith’s statement is an accurate summarization of Carter’s actions during the hostage crisis. Carters failed rescue mission known as Operation “Eagle Claw”, the emergence of the American media, and the rising gas prices due to the relations between the countries frustrated American people, as well as hurt Jimmy Carter’s image. When the presidential election of 1980 occurred, American people were anticipating a battle for…

    • 1794 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Iran Hostage Crisis

    • 1345 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The United States ' interest in oil many years before the crisis slowly developed into a volatile relationship between the United States and Iran. In 1908, the discovery of oil in Iran attracted western nations. Oil, also known as "black gold," was becoming the fuel for many ships and was a large commodity. The strongest navy belonged to Britain, and Britain capitalized on the great opportunity of oil. Britain lost control in Iran after World War II when Mohammed Reza Pahlavi rose to power. After the exile of Reza Shah Pahlavi, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Reza Shah Pahlavi 's son, united Iran although foreign nations, the United States, Britain, and Soviet Union, were still stationed in Iran. Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was named the Shah of Iran. The Shah asked for support…

    • 1345 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The U.S and Iran used to have a good relationship, but things fell apart during the Iranian revolution. Right before the revolution, the U.S propelled the Shah Mohamed Reza and replaced him with a charismatic guy called Mohammed Mossadegh. Mossadegh nationalized the Anglo- Iranian Oil company in the year 1951; it was a company that gave Britain billions of dollars every year. This nationalization…

    • 1135 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Persepolis

    • 1083 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the novel, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi, there are many different themes that you could look at and decide to analyze. I decided to look at four different themes that are brought up throughout the novel. In the novel there is a lot of talk about the contrasting regions of Iran and everywhere else in the world, politics and religion, and warfare.…

    • 1083 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    tensions with the Middle East hit a previously unmatched high. America’s need for oil fueled its relationship with Iran and it’s support for the shah. The shah, however, was widely unpopular in Iran, and America’s support fueled anti-American sentiments in Iran. These sentiments boiled over during the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and when the shah received cancer treatment in the U.S., it prompted the storming of the U.S. embassy in Tehran and the capture of 53 Americans.…

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Iran Hostage Crisis

    • 158 Words
    • 1 Page

    During the Iran Hostage Crisis, the United states supported former Iran leader, Shah. The Shah left for exile in January of 1979, just 10 months before the Iran Hostage crisis began. Shah Pahlavi, the leader that was taken out of office, was taken out because of the way he treated the Iranian people, including students. Since the United States supported the Shah, Iranian students…

    • 158 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ever since oil was discovered in Iran in 1908, it had attracted interest from the west including the United States. In 1953, the U.S. became involved and worked to place a new ruler in power in Iran—Reza Shah Pahlavi. From this time forward, the U.S. supplied Iran with military equipment and oil flowed to the U.S. In 1963, the people of Iran became increasingly anti-western, because Shah sent all of the religious leaders including Ruhollah Khomeini into exile in Iraq. President Carter continued to ignore the signs of instability and revolution under the Shah. On January 16, 1979, the Shah feared for his life so he fled to Egypt, and Khomeini returned. “President Carter inherited an impossible situation and he and his advisors made the worst of it”.…

    • 906 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays