Photo Analysis: Persepolis

Persepolis Photo Essay
Things are often most memorable when they are graphic. If one sees something disturbing or shocking, it is very common for that thing to become stuck in that person’s head for a while, the image of it permanently ingrained in their head. This is especially true in the authentic coming of age story that is Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi. In the graphic novel Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi effectively uses graphic images to demonstrate the themes of revolution, religion, and loss of innocence.
This first visual consists of religious symbols and words meaning ‘religion’ or ‘faith’ in many languages, all going around the Earth. This displays religion because it is almost entirely composed of symbols and words that are directly
This represents revolution because it shows a group of people working together to do and make something greater than they can do alone. Comparable to the picture, Persepolis contains very strong themes of revolution. Marjane Satrapi grew up during the Islamic revolution, therefore she knows revolution well. Due to the fact her parents were quite politically charged in the revolution, Marjane was as well, and would give her opinions, too. The unfortunate part about their revolution was there were a lot of people there to support it, however nobody was really doing anything. Satrapi compared it to riding a bicycle, saying “The revolution is like a bicycle. When the wheels don’t turn, it falls” (10). The images on page ten all are relatively surprising and memorable, as they consist of children pretending to violently fight in a revolution and a useless revolution-representing bicycle. These images, while not exactly really graphic, are rather memorable and make the themes more clearly stated, thus are effective in enhancing the
He is seven years old and is part of his country’s civil war. This demonstrates loss of innocence because he, rather than engaging in usual child activities, is helping fight a war and has more than presumably seen horrors no one should ever see. There’s no innocence in his eyes; it left when he started the fight. This idea of loss of innocence is also very present in Persepolis. Marjane Satrapi, kind of similar to the photograph, has grown up in a very war-involved area and lost her innocence at a young age. Through her story, her innocence dwindles more and more, eventually to the point where her innocence is completely gone. Loss of innocence being a major theme in the book, there are many quotes to show it, such as when Satrapi states “My life took a new turn” and “I was 14 and a rebel. Nothing scared me anymore” (143). The intense pictures of the fight between Marjane and her teacher clearly shows that her innocence is gone, demonstrating an effective use of graphic images.The most notable example in the book is when Marjane smoked her first cigarette that she stole, and “kissed childhood goodbye” (Satrapi 117). The image of Marjane smoking as a child is considerably graphic and shocking, truly getting across the theme of loss of innocence. Therefore, if Satrapi hadn’t included the images of her smoking, the idea of loss of