Persepolis

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi is a thoughtful examination of the Iranian government’s corrupt regime against its own people. During the late 1970s, Iran experienced cultural upheaval as the citizens fought to remove the amoral Shah from power (Tedla and Dolan). Since the Shah’s removal, Iran has been subject to violence, terrorism, and extreme ideology. The context with which Persepolis was written helps give readers perspective and insight as to the reasoning that motivates Satrapi into such fervor for her religious views and why she simultaneously holds such rebellious beliefs and a self-determination spirit. In the period after the Shah’s removal, the divisions among Iranians persisted and continued to escalate
in violence (Parvaz). Satrapi does not change or exaggerate the historical actions taken by the government, whereby strengthening her argument and grievances against the increasingly dogmatic approach of the government.
The plot centers around the events before and during the Cultural Revolution and the sequence of actions that affected the Iranian people like the Satrapi family. Persepolis has generated widespread praise from scholarly communities, Meryl Jaffe of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund(CBLDF) believes this inspiring book should be reintroduced into the public school system, which would help educate students to the conflicts in the Middle East today (“Using Graphic Novels in Education: Persepolis”). Within the introduction, Satrapi explains that some Westerners greed for oil led to unwelcome interference in the region, though not the root cause it perpetuated the turmoil. Through the literary rich work, Persepolis, Satrapi seeks to provide truth into the Iran Revolution by contrasting the stereotypes of common Iranians, exploring the motivations for fundamentalism, and a rational for Iranians acceptance of a dogmatic
ideology. To begin with, Persepolis expresses truth from the perspective of Marjane Satrapi. Simultaneously, she conveys her journey of life as a young child and as an adult reflecting on the tumultuous events of her childhood with first-person narrative (Hawkins 109). Satrapi provides a thoughtful yet humorous analysis of truth that contrasts the mainstream, western view of life within Iran and the Iranian people. Also, Satrapi is an exemplary round character Marjane employs a narrative to convey her inner thoughts and emotions, this ultimately adds authenticity and functions to strengthen her truth. Her portrayal of Iran examines the underlying free-thinking society that Western History tends to neglect and readers appreciate her plucky and rebellious spirit(Lee 94).Uniquely, Satrapi is able to provide thoughtful grievances against the sinister government, while presenting it from the perspective of a child who could see the truth within these motives. To begin with, Satrapi utilizes her work to unveil the truth by showcasing the discrepancies between the extreme fundamentalists and ordinary Iranians. For example, on page 73, her mother, Mrs. Satrapi, denounces the new Ministery of Education’s extreme policy of temporarily closing universities and rewriting school curriculums, which was an effort to keep Iranian youths ideologically pure from Imperialism, as “Backwards policy”(73). Ordinary Iranians continually faced opposition from their doctrinaire government, who denied their citizens intellectual growth and self-expression. Additionally, page 76 depicts a large coalition of women demonstrators who protest compulsory headscarves and women’s suppression under fundamentalism (76). Within Iran, some average women did not willingly consent to the government’s creation of truth through fundamentalism. As canvassed on page 97 of Persepolis, young Satrapi’s fellow students could decipher the truth through the government’s hyperbolic creed and rituals. In defiance, the students mocked the martyrs, compulsory knitting for soldiers, and obligatory celebrations for the anniversary of the Revolution(97). Satrapi affords readers a truthful account from an average Iranian youth, and whereby dispels Western generalizations about Iranians and fundamentalism through her candid, well-reasoned work. Secondly, Persepolis functions as a chronological documentation of exploring the true intent for the shift to extreme Islamic fundamentalism. Satrapi examines this element of the Cultural Revolution with authority. In adolescence, Satrapi was a steadfast Muslim. Yet, her faith did not prevent her from listening to western music or wearing Nike shoes, which highlights her perpetual defiance to the fundamentalist argument (6, 130, 133). Throughout the book, Satrapi scrutinizes the new manifestation of greed and exploitation against the Iranian people and truth; the Iranian government’s ever-growing demand for control. After the Cultural Revolution, the new leaders of the Iranian government utilized fundamentalist ideology to remove the rights of the Iranian people and to presumably gain control of the country’s lucrative oil resources. In addition, even in adolescence, Satrapi correctly criticizes the deceptive “key to paradise” scheme by the governmental propaganda where they continued their manipulation of religion in an endeavor to gain more young, plucky soldiers for the war against Iraq (99,100,101). Satrapi never relents from her contentious views and disparaging the self-serving governmental leaders. Continually, Satrapi argues for truth and presents insight into the subversive lies peddled by the sinister government during the revolution. Futhermore, Persepolis canvasses the truth about the Iranian people’s plight in the face of an oppressive and violent regime. The setting of Persepolis opens with the historical context in the Introduction section that informs readers of the atmosphere of deep discontent and division in Iran, which laid the foundations for the government leaders to rule as merciless authoritarians (Lee 123). Within the government, every aspect of life was controlled and restricted, from clothing to food (75, 92). Satrapi’s true account of these events inevitably evokes feelings of sympathy from readers for the Iranian people who had to persist through war and decimation, even as their fundamental human rights were stolen from them daily. Satrapi explains how clothing became a central visual for religious reverence and simultaneously an example of the governance obstinacy to self-expression (75). Through the medium of graphic novel, readers can notice Marjane Satrapi’s silent protest by allowing some of her hair to be shown while wearing the compulsory headscarf. Also, she notes the dramatic shift in the lifestyles of those in her community (“Bridging Cultures Bookshelf Muslim journeys”). On page 75, her parents notice the hypocritical conversion of a couple whose wife used to wear miniskirts and whose husband had a penchant for alcohol, yet within days they wholly converted to fundamentalist ideology and the wife adopted the traditional fundamentalist form of dress along with her husband who replaced alcohol with “mouthwash”(75). Marjane Satrapi, herself is forced to follow this cultural conformity by lying that she prays daily “…Ten or eleven times…” (75). In addition, readers discover while attending a demonstration against fundamentalism, Satrapi witnesses the extreme brutality measures the fundamentalist inflict when they stab a protester in the leg (76). Marjane Satrapi eloquently structures her truth by rationalizing that the people living in Iran were threatened into submission because of the fundamentalist’s violent response to opposition. Ultimately, Persepolis serves as a document that dispels the myths surrounding Iran and the Cultural Revolution, which provides an autobiographical account of her life as a common Iranian youth, uncovers the insidious motives behind fundamentalism, and Satrapi’s rational for why Iranians accepted the extreme ideology peddled by the greedy governmental tyrants.
Indubitably, as Satrapi correctly identifies, the Western foreign interest in oil helped prolong the instability in Iran government, this trend has continued to mar Middle East and Western relations through to the twenty-first century (Parvaz). The book has gained critical acclaim from a broad range of academics because of its acute detail and the unique perspective it provides (Simon). Utilizing this assortment of literary elements, the diligent author enhances her argument and therefore creates a genuinely through, well-crafted account of the truth. Marjane Satrapi’s perspective is unparalleled; she seamlessly weaves humorous anecdotes into to her truthful attack against the mainstream views concerning Iran and the Cultural Revolution. Interestingly, in the class video titled “Persepolis - Exclusive: Marjane Satrapi,” Satrapi concedes that some fiction is introduced into the story and Satrapi stresses the main objective of Persepolis was to introduce her truth into the world so that people will have a more realistic view of the events that transpired in Iran before, during, and after the Revolution. Overall,
Persepolis is a masterfully crafted accusation of truth that informs readers of the true lifestyle of Iranians and disparages the government that afflicted their own people and manipulated her religion. As an adolescent growing up in Iran, she rebelled against the government’s manifestation of religious fundamentalism and as an adult living in Europe she fought to rectify the biased and misinformed views about Iranians that became acceptable, mainstream views in Western democracies. Furthermore, for the entirety of her life, Marjane Satrapi proves to be an inspiring rebel against convention and a fervent advocate for truth.