Persepolis Faith Essay

Transition on Faith, Gender, and Doubt of the Innocent
The “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi is an important aspect to understand faith and doubt and the roles gender has in place. The author discussed the transitions of an innocent, curious child along side with faith, gender, doubt and ways it shapes a child’s belief in adulthood. Therefore, this paper will focus on the aspect of “Gender, Faith, Rebellion, and Doubt, alongside with Mary Daly and Saba Mahmood articles. Gender bias has always been a problem for centuries, even in the religious faith. For instance, in chapter one, (Satrapi, 1969, p. 6) the young girl mentioned that she wanted to be a prophet, but the society stared at her in dismay and neglected her doctrine because she was a young girl. Hence, this implies that women were not destine to become a “Prophet.” Moreover, her
professor scolds her before she changed her decision to become a “doctor.” Likewise, (Satrapi, 1969, p.13) the writer mentions “God” has a male figure “HE,” by comparing Marx with God.
Also, worshiping and praising the male figure may lead to scolding and degrading the feminine side. Similarly, when she grew older she assumed that her father was very courageous and intelligent to discover the idea to hide her posters while crossing the border. Meanwhile, the mother was irritated by her daughter assumption because she figured out that brilliant and courageous idea, while the father was frightening at the notion. However, the daughter acknowledged the mother’s idea (Satrapi, 1969, p.130). Another notion of gender bias, the book examines is the separation of boys and girls in their schools (p.4). This separation may lead professors to educate their students that the masculine sides are superior while the feminine sides are inferior and submissive this notion creates gender discrimination. Lastly, howling at a woman should not be condoned in the society and defending the women’s right should be encouraged. For instance, in the book, the father was yelling at his wife for unnecessary reasons. However, in delight the daughter stepped in and defended her mother,
which lead to her father apologizing to his wife (p.88). In Sisterhood. Standing together in faith and unite as sisters. On the other hand, faith is an important aspect of life everyone especially as children. For instance, the young girl was steadfast towards her faith in God that she was able to commune and dine with God on a daily basis. In addition, the young lady had faith in heroes. These heroes include, her uncle from Russia and her grandfather (p.52&53).
Although human beings depend on faith to survive in this world, rebellion and curiosity to learn about other faith or defend their own faith, is another aspect in transition and development. Furthermore, if a government or a major religious group forces a person with weapons to condemn their own faith, and rely on the government, then that person may rebel against the new policies. Instead, of forcing a person, persuasion and information about other beliefs that allows a person to freely decide the path to follow, is the best approach for a society. For example, the young girl was educated about politics, religions, than her peers at a young age. So, when another regime stepped in, the young girl was filled with furious that wanted to protest but her parents disapproved of her action. However, she rebelled against her parents twice by attending the protest even though she was instructed not to attend (p.39). This led to her realizing that life is not always a bed of roses and people are treated like animals in their own country. Furthermore, the young girl rebelled against her teacher by not abiding by the new rules and regulation of the school. Although the citizens of Iran were killed at the warzone, displaying signs of self-mutation is not the best solution to mourn one’s death (p.97). Likewise, the teacher should not scold the students because in face of misery, there should be a time for laughter and joy. Laughter is the best medicine, which helps reduce stress. Lastly, the first rebellion was when she decided to skip class with her friends and hang out in the restaurant. Also, when she arrived back home her mother instantaneously yelled at her because she was worried for her safety. However, the young girl did not apologize for her action, but rebelled against her mother (p.113&117). When, she rebelled against her mother’s wishes she reached the transition stage of an innocent child to adulthood. She wanted to think critically for herself so she decided to disobey her mother. A rebellious person seeks freedom, but does not yet have a good understanding of the responsibility that comes along with it. People in a transition stage in life seek independence from their parents and settle into a conform society. At this stage, she was able to think critically about the tragic event that occurs in her country. Further, she pondered deeply about the situation and wonder if she would last longer in Islamic regime. After she pondered about the conflict that occurred in her life, she decided to smoke a cigarette, which symbolizes a rebellious child towards her mother. Also, she was trying to repress the struggle she was facing in life and by doing so, she decided to smoke. The transaction stage is always painful.Not only is the young girl rebellious towards the Islamic regime, but also her parents disapprove of the regime that they had to redesign their house, so their neighbors would not report their false practices towards a new faith. In addition, parties, westernized clothes, and women smoking were forbidden in the new regime. Conversely, the family members did not accept the new rules and regulation. Therefore, women smoke cigarettes and the family members secretly organized parties because celebration in the face of misery brings happiness and good health (p.103). Lastly, doubt is an important aspect in this book. The first doubt that occurred in the book was when the young girl prayed and plead for God to save her uncle from execution, but later he was dead (p. 70). Further, the young girl started having doubts about her faith and the reason why God did not listen to her, but interacted with her when still were going pretty well. Consequently, the young girl became angry and instructed God to leave and never return back. Another notion to point out, when the bomb landed in their community and they had to run and hide. The young girl was shocked because a mother left her child in her arms and dashed away. After that incident, the girl began to question the importance of maternity (p.107). Finally, at the end of the chapter, when she was about to depart to another country, although she desired to be independent, she regretted that notion. Suddenly, she began to doubt herself, on whether she can live without her parents for years in another country (p.148 &152). In conclusion, gender, should not be a barrier to any religion or faith and doubt should be discussed without criticism.