“Persepolis”, the graphic novel, written by Marjane Satrapi narrates the story of a young Iranian girl growing up in İran before and after the “Islamic Revolution”. Marjane explains rough conditions that Iranians faced under the reign of Reza Shah, Ayatollah Khomeini and she also tells the consequences that Iran-Iraq war had on the country and its citizens from a childs perpective. She discusses her ideas on social issues that existed during this time, yet one of the issues she wrote was the enlargement of the different social classes. Throughout the novel, Marji obtains a merciful wisdom as a result of growing up in a place that has class inequlities and seeing social and cultural transformation on society caused by the revolution and the war.
Under the Shah’s oppresive rule, the society was divided in distinct social classes that influenced the population negatively moreover inspired them to revolt against his rule. Marji saw the class differences between the people and she wanted it to be fair for all people. İn the chapter veil Marji tells that she wants to be a prophet because their made did not eat with them and because her father had a cadillac. While growing up Marji saw that her maid is not in the same social class with her and even though they were like sisters the social classes don’t allow them to eat together and Mehri was her maid since the age of 8. Furthermore she saw that most people was living in poverty while her father had an cadillac. She wanted to make everyone equal by becoming a prophet. Young Marji was in the middle of class conflict that causes her to grow up faster than the other kids as she struggles to understand these cultural issues. İn the chapter “the letter” Marjane wrote about her maid,Mehri, fa...
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...ring the war an interior discrimination had been made between social classes on refugees. When Mali’s family came tol ive wit Marji’s family, in the market two woman were talking about the lack of supplies becaause of the refugees and how the refugee women are prostituting themselves. Low class doesn’t like the rich class, especially if they are refugees and decreasing the amount of their supplies. They don’t like this condition so they tslk badly behind them.
İn conclusion in every new time period Iran’s social classes remained. The only thing that changed was the ruler and the countries condition apart from those there were allways social classes which we can see the examples from the book. Under the shah it mostly used by the help of political power. Under Khomeini and during the Iraq-Iran war it used by the help of religion since he was the religious leader.
In Marjane Satrapi’s memoir, Persepolis, the characteristics and qualities of revolution are portrayed through rhetorical devices such as visual text, similes, and pathos. Satrapi’s use of rhetorical devices enhances and supports her expression of the revolution in Iran. Persepolis was Marjane Satrapi’s way of allowing people to see how the revolution in Iran affected her family's lifestyle and her upbringing. This memoir also allows the readers to analyze how war changes the way of the people and government in a country.
Persepolis is a inspirational story written by Marjane Satrapi in the perspective of a young girl’s life during a powerful, historical moment in Iran. The Islamic Revolution was a life-changing moment that impacted her view on the world around her and her innocence shaping her into the woman she is today. Not many people understand what it feels like to feel pain, hurt and abandonment as a child from major and minor things. The author writes this story and decides for it to be a graphic novel to allow the not only young readers, but also for those who do not understand what happens everyday in the world they live in. Satrapi uses all rhetorical stances, ethos, pathos, and logos to show problems, purpose and emotions.
In the graphic novel, Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, Satrapi’s childhood was highly impacted by American culture. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of American culture on Satrapi’s view of the Iranian Revolution.
There are many different influences in the world today; a big one that most people in the world face is religion. Religion is an influence that people first encounter during their childhood. They grow and learn to have faith. People’s perspective on religion is affected by their culture, their family and the events they witness during childhood. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is the story of a young girl growing up in Iran, during the Islamic Revolution, and the war with Iraq. Throughout the novel religion develops along with the plot, in good and bad ways. In the story Marji loses her faith and it changes who she is, religion also changed her lifestyle by the government putting religion into the law. Religion is a topic that people label as
A major venue for identity formation is an individual’s homeland or nation. At the outset of the novel, Marji’s identity is ascribed to her because of her nationality and ethnicity. Being in an Islamic country, Marji adheres to her Islamic values and traditions. At an early age of six, the formation of her identity leans towards her Islamic religious values and traditions. Marji is convinced that she “was the prophet” (p. 6). Her words that she “was [a] prophet” (p. 6) demonstrates that Marji’s imagination and intelligence conceive thoughts that are very pertinent to her religious beliefs. At this early age, Marji’s relationship with religious thoughts and values are clearly defined. However, Marji’s thoughts and beliefs are not pinned to a static foundation. In her book A Reader’s Guide to Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2010), Heather Lee Schroeder writes “Satrapi lived through the civil and political unrest during the 1970’s and early 1980’s. Before the revolution, she attended a western style French school” (p. 41), which was a non-religious and westernized school. Marji is very well acquainted with the western or modern values, of freedom, liberty, ...
What is the role of religion in Persepolis? How does religion enhance your understanding of the themes and culture of the novel?
Religion, government, and social organization all played a part in Marji’s journey in Persepolis from childhood to adulthood. Religion caused many arguments between Marji and parents, friends, and teachers. The Iranian government affected Marji by making her more rebellious than she already was. Social organization was a big issue in her life, because she had a good relationship with her maid and was angry that she could not have the same opportunities. The revolution in Iran has changed Marjane Satrapi’s life, in ways good and
Despite the fact that Marjane is born and raised in Tehran, Iran, she is as much a product of Western customs as of Middle Eastern customs. The younger Marjane showed how the Iranian Revolution affected her life. The Iranian Revolution was the exiling of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and its concluding substitution with an Islamic republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution, supported by a mixture of leftist and Islamic organizations. The new government became more suppressive by enforcing Islamic laws into the constitution and prohibiting westerner influence of any kind. On the contrary Marjane is raised by Marxist parents, who believe in freedom and tend to adapt to a more westernized upbringing. Marjane is similar to any other teenager, she starts to grow up and rebel against her elders and her traditions. Her revolt takes the form of a better awareness of and interaction with western culture. Marjane have many items ...
Iran’s society became more fundamentalist, which made Marji more disillusioned of her religion. At the beginning of the story, when the westernized dictator Shah governs Iran, Marji defines herself as a “very religious” (6) person, although she and her family think of themselves as being “very modern and Avant-Garde”(6). Religion, and its many stories and traditions perspectives allowed Marji to think of herself as “the last prophet”. Thinking of herself as a prophet somehow made her to escape to an imaginary religious glory where there were not violent atrocities. But, ironically, that religious imaginary boundary was only a façade that blocked her to see the violent reality. However, in the story “The Sheep” she began to see the cruel reality. In the story “The Sheep” Marji’s uncle Anoosh got executed by the so-called “Divine Justice”. Although the
Persepolis is a book that centers on the author’s family during the Iran-Iraq war that lasted for eight years. Marjane’s experience of the war is quite innocent since she saw it from the eyes of a well protected child. She grew up with need to help and make things better for everyone without really understanding what it takes to make the world a better place. In her mind the only possible way to make a change is by becoming a prophet and using supernatural powers to make the world a better place. Marjane’s childhood is proving that children form defense mechanisms to deal with difficulties. These defense mechanisms take children to “happy” places where things are better and everyone is happy unlike in the real world.
Throughout the book, Persepolis, there is this constant theme involving the education system of Iran, which is that the education system revolves around whoever is in charge of the country. The two figure heads that are in charge of the country throughout the book are the shah and the Islamic regime. The Shah was in power for the first part of the book, until he was forced to step down and the Islamic regime took over in his place. There are numerous examples in the book showing how the education in Iran is shaped by those who are in power. The different education systems of the the shah and Islamic regime failed the children of Iran not because they were kaput systems in themselves, but because the change from a secular education to a religious
There are many times when problems in a country affect one's life. Persepolis by Majarne Satrapi recounts the coming-of-age of a girl during a period of war. Utilizing a graphic novel to illustrate, Marjane recalls the struggles of her family and herself living in warfare. For instance, in Persepolis, Marjane's external conflict result in her internal conflict.
Throughout the novel Marji is constantly trying to figure out who she is and who she is going to become. But by the end of the novel Marji evolves into an independent woman who does what she wants with her life to make her happy, something that would never have happened without the influence of women throughout her life. Works Cited Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. Pantheon; First Edition, 2004
Marjane Satrapi in her memoir, “The Complete Persepolis” enlightens readers with the reality of living in Iran, as she tells her journey through her life of becoming a woman during the Islamic Revolution. Iran similar to other countries has made different prescribed roles for their women and men based on their cultures religious and traditional set of laws. Society to them was a depiction of what their people were expected to look, and act like when in public. When trying to understand the importance of gender along with their roles in society, it’s crucial to acknowledge outside factors, for instance things like culture and social class. The characters throughout her memoir illustrate how their
Persepolis, a graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, is not a run-of-the-mill comic book. It is written with purpose. Satrapi wrote and illustrated this book to show Americans that their perspective of her home country, Iran, is askew. She believes Americans are too focused on the “fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism” (Satrapi ii), of the nation and that they forget to notice the normality and humanness of it. Since these two perspectives have vast differences, Satrapi wants to change their minds. Thus, it is crucial that she effectively communicate this humanness of Iran to the literary audience in America. Since the literary devices in a work are needed to correctly convey a message, she found it necessary to include these and manipulate them in her favor. Satrapi uses the innocence of a child along with morals in her pictures and a relation of cultures to effectively communicate her message. It is necessary to examine how she manipulates such literary devices in order to gain a full understanding of the text.