Marjane Satrapi, aka Marji, displays her life in this graphic novel to correct the misconceptions often made by the Western world. She makes sure her audience knows who she is, where she came from, and what her country is like.
Though she is born and raised for much of her life in Tehran, Marjane Satrapi is as much of a product of Western culture as of Middle Eastern culture. In the book you can see the influence that the western countries have on Iran. Her parents both ascribe to Western political viewpoints and are not reluctant to let their daughter indulge in Western popular culture. Marjane like clothes and shoes such as jeans, Nike’s, and head scarves. She is even rebellious about the veil they are forced to wear.
Many popular music artists are referenced in Chapter 17. Kim Wilde, the English pop singer in the 80s, was very well known for her debut single, Kids in America, which Marji sings the chorus to. This picture in Chapter 17 page 134 demonstrates very well Marji’s perspective of Western culture. She highly supports it with her fashion style that is quite rebellious and different than any other kid her age. The size of the layout is fairly big so you can see the Nike’s logo and her full outfit. The sentences are short to focus on the specific articles of clothing she is wearing. Chapter 17 also shows how Marji’s parents are fully supportive of her beliefs and what they do for her happiness. Her mother wanted to help Marji bring her Kim Wilde poster through customs and put lots of effort in sewing it discreetly in her husband’s coat. This just shows how far her parents will go to because the coat doesn’t look rather normal anymore but he is still prepared and willing to wear it for his daughter.
Those who live in the West have different ideas of what the West is depending on where they are in the world. Some see it as a place for freedom, and it can also be a source of entertainment and influence. Others see it as a place of opportunity, wealth, and prosperity. America’s pop culture has allowed Marji to obtain a little freedom and independence in the environment of the iranian Revolution and has had a huge effect on her teenage life.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The book is entirely black and white, while the film has some scenes in color. The film is more about the Iranian revolution and less emotional than the novel. It lacked details that were included in the novel. The film left out many scenes when Marjane was in Austria. This is a pretty big part in the book, because it shows Marjane’s transition from childhood to adulthood and all the challenges she endured while in Austria. The film also left out a few characters from the book. The family’s maid, Mehri, who was a good friend of Marjane’s, was never mentioned in the film. Mehri was not a main character, but she had a purpose. She showed the reader the issues of social classes in Iran. She falls in love with Marjane’s neighbor, and when he finds out she is a maid, he never wants to see her again. Mr.Satrapi explained to young Marjane that “You must understand that their love was impossible. Because in this country you must stay within your own social class.” Also, many of the characters were sort of “minimized” in the film, such as her uncle Anoosh. He was a important person in Marjane’s life that influenced her. In the film, he didn’t seem as important of a person to…
- 764 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
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 -
What if an entire nation revolted against its government, only to be faced with a new government that is even worse than the one overthrown? This is exactly what happened in Persepolis: The Story Of A Childhood by Marjane Satrapi. Persepolis: the Story of a Childhood is a story of a young girl’s life in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. After many organized and fatal protests The Shah is finally overthrown and a new Islamic Regime takes control and just like that the peoples’ lives were turned upside down. Unfortunately, everyone who supported the revolution was now a sworn enemy of the Regime. The people now came to realize the Islamic Regime is a new form of totalitarianism and is no better than the monarchy that came before their rule.…
- 748 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The book Persepolis expresses a theme that not only occurs throughout this book, but also in life. I believe that death is the key to reality. Two events that happened in my life when I was very young can back up my theme. From my uncle being executed, to my friend who lived right next door to me, these events have helped me open my eyes to see what was really going on around me.…
- 1081 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
It was unusual to hear the national anthem because it was replaced by the new government’s Islamic hymn and the national anthem had not been played for a year.…
- 5297 Words
- 22 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The Persian kings were considered to be the ‘king of kings’. They were presented as great worriers, strong leaders, and magnificent successors. They were considered as a godly figure.…
- 1178 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
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 -
“Childhood means simplicity. Look at the world with the child’s eye- it is very beautiful,” is a popular quote by Kailash Satyarthi. Anyone over the age of fourteen modernizes the idea whenever they say: “When I was a kid; life was much less complicated”. Marjane Satrapi literally illustrates this process in her graphic novel Persepolis as the main character Marji grows because her life becomes much more complicated. Marji transforms from a religious naive and self-centered little girl to a reckless rude and incautious teenager. By the time she is sent to Austria, she is more sentimental and aware of her actions, but not enough to change her ways. Five significant events that take Marji from child to teenager are when her parents begin to demonstrate, when Anoosh dies, when the Iran/Iraq war begins,when Mali’s family stays, and when Marji ditches school.…
- 942 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
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 -
connects to the idea of the tone being rebellious because both Marji and her mother…
- 905 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
Marjane Satrapi’s memoir Persepolis is considered a “coming of age” story based on her experiences growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. This graphic novel explores the life she lead in Tehran which encompassed the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. Undergoing life with such a chaotic environment, it took Satrapi courage to act and live as her “authentic self” and explore what it meant to her to be authentic. Similar to Aristotle, May and Medinas Persepolis examines the concept of courage, through the view of innocence; through Satrapi’s childhood.…
- 669 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Marjane was always curious especially during the Iranian Revolution. From becoming expelled, losing many loved ones, and finding out where she is as a person, Marjane went through numerous hard times. Marjane’s identity changes after her Uncle Anoosh gets executed, when she sees violence for the first time, and when she is sent off to Austria.…
- 515 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Marjane experiences revolution at a young age and learns to express nationalism as she explores her religion and what it actually means to her. From a young age Marjane sought to be a prophet and conversated with God most every night, always staying close to her religion. This shows a clear representation of Islamic Religion in Persepolis. At least Marjane's view on it. All throughout the book she bases thoughts and action off her religion always keeping it close at hand. As Marjane goes through her childhood she is also forced to experience revolution from the eyes of a child, altering her view on it. The Islamic revolution was forced upon Iran by Iraq, Compelling Iranians to change the way they act upon…
- 954 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Marjane Satrapi explains her desire to become a prophet when she grows up, therefore, we can infer that originally, Satrapi had faith in her country and religion. As the novel develops, the author uses Bildungsroman when describing how Satrapi’s parents educate her by buying her books, as a result, she can differentiate between propaganda and real information at her school, which makes her more open-minded, intelligent, and mature. However, Satrapi’s outspoken personality and liberalistic views led to conflicts with authorities at her school. The Iranian Revolution took her hobbies and interests out of her reach by making them illegal. Moreover, when her uncle Anoosh is executed, Satrapi’s faith in her country and God are shattered, Marjane Satrapi goes through moral growth after her uncle’s death, Satrapi has now experienced the harsh reality of war.…
- 437 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Until Marjane’s turning point, she saw the horrors of the war to a smaller extent and that allowed her still see beauty in her country and in her life. As she grew up, she became more informed and made up her mind on what was worth fighting for, freedom. Since Satrapi stops to switch between imagination and reality, we see that Marjane has grown up and her arc of character is complete for that book. Marjane’s transition is shown through her leaving her imagination and entering the adult world by smoking a cigarette without her parents knowing. After she leaves childhood, Satrapi starts to gives us more information and a bigger picture of the war, which also showed the effects of it. Since we are reading the novel as Marjane, we see as she sees. As the result of her growing, we start to learn more about her country because she was learning it as…
- 1229 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays