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The short essay about persepolis marjane satrapi
Persepolis analysis
The short essay about persepolis marjane satrapi
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Think back to when you were younger — what do you see? Many people would consider their childhood to be a happy, stress-free period, spending time with friends and learning new things. This, however, is not the case for Marjane Satrapi, author and illustrator of Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. The autobiography depicts the author’s personal journey of growing up in Iran in the midst of revolution. Theis graphic novel deals with religion, protests, family, and identity. Satrapi’s use of graphic weight, artificial depth, and as well as both real and abstract imagery, portrays the growth ofin Marji’s character.
There have been multiple occasions in Marji’s childhood which have involved violence. For instance, when she was Aat a young age, Marji laid inside of a bathtub “filled with water” in order to mimic her grandfather's demise (25.8). Satrapi illustrated this naive thought of hers by strategically placing a black rubber duckducky in the white bathtub. This contrast in color draws attention to the toy, emphasizing her young state of mind, contradicting the action within the panel. Another moment in young Marji’s life that shows her innocence is when she talks
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Satrapi used action-to-action panels in order to show each detail in that short moment. At the end, Marji stated that “now [she] was a grown-up”. Something else rebellious that Marji did was when she purchased tapes from American artists (132.3). Time was sped up here because instead of being two panels to show Marji looking both left and right, it was combined into a single panel. This represents her looking both ways before doing something she’s not supposed to. There is also a divide in both sides of her, literally and figuratively: her oppressed and free sides are breaking away from each other. Teens from all over the world can relate to these rebellious acts, which is why they were
Because her parents were lenient enough to let her own the illegal American items, Satrapi was exposed to a culture that most Iranians were not. Objects such as those mentioned above not only presented her with an opportunity to rebel, they were responsible for demonstrating an alternative way of life; A way of life with more leniency and freedom to be who she
In the graphic novel, Persepolis, the main character, Marjane, faces many coming of age moments. Each one of these change her in a way that impacts her view on the world around her as her and her family strive for a better life amongst a war that hinders their ability to follow their beliefs. Marjane learns to forgive, experiences pain and suffering, and changes her opinions on God and her own views on religion forever. Marjane’s life has been filled with hard times, but also glorious moments as well.
Orientalism is a way of viewing the world as divided into two unequal halves: the Occident and the Orient. Occidental means Western Hemisphere, and Oriental means Eastern Hemisphere. These ideas of orientalism are challenged in Satrapi's Persepolis. A book about a young girl Marji who lived in Iran in the 1980’s, and therefore is placed in the beginning years of political and religious turmoil in Iran. Satrapi Juxtaposes the western view of Iran to Iran by showing similarities between America and Iran through Marji’s youth and adventures throughout the book.
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.
“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” This quote by Helen Keller sums up the book Persepolis perfectly. Margi went through many hardships but in the end it strengthened her character and she was able to embrace the world in a better way. Margi is like a baby. The first time they try and take their first steps they topple over in a few seconds but each time they fall they learn and soon enough they are running as happily as can be. The events Margi experiences throughout the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi helps her be able to deal with life`s hardship in .
Growing up in Iran for Marjane Satrapi was not easy. She had to deal with many heartbreaks including the death of her grandfather. After Marji hears of this, there is a panel where God tries to talk to Marji, but she refuses to respond (Satrapi 25). This is significant because up until that point she worshiped him with all her heart and even believed she was a prophet. This was the first time we saw her rebel against her religion. Later on, Marji gets word that her Uncle Anoosh was executed. This was her breaking point. She and her uncle were so close and when he died she felt like she had no where to go. This feeling is described in a panel where she is floating through space with no where to go (Satrapi 71). In the panel before, she is pictured as screaming at god to get away from her (Satrapi 70). She is upset that he has left Anoosh in his time of need, so what make her different. This made her think what would God do for her in her time of need. The realization that God would not fix all her problems shocked her. Now that she has totally rejected God, she starts to make choices that put herself in danger. For example, at one point, she leaves her house wearing western clothing. This is against the law and this almost puts her in jail (Satrapi 133). She did not have God to help her choose right from wrong, and this lack of guidance almost lead her to
...e panels that depict her actions, and the results of said actions, magnifies the reassurance imparted with Satrapi’s words. She was in no true danger and yet her hasty decision to cast the Guardians attention onto another could very well have proved deadly to her chosen scapegoat. In fact, the Guardian she calls out to for protection from the supposedly “indecent” man immediately responds to the situation with, “Where’s the bastard, I’ll shut him up once and for all!” This blunt, aggressive statement is written on of the very few panels in this chapter that have a black background. It brings a temporary sense of fear and anxiety as to whether or not the poor confused man will fight the Guardians to try and keep his freedom from completely false accusations. The white backgrounds return as the reader learns the man thankfully did not fight the armed group of men.
Through her devotion to the art and music of the United States, she was able to rebel. The encouragement of the pursuit by her parents created further inspiration for her to use it as a way to protest. Already having a deep devotion to American culture, the ability of Satrapi to use her passion to disobey the regime only strengthen her love. The affection she felt for American culture gave her the courage she needed to stand up to the harsh government of Iran. Despite the risks associated with possessing items from America, Satrapi did so anyway. She was willing to risk serious punishment to pursue happiness through the means of her favorite hobbies. The influence of said entertainments helped shaped Satrapi’s views. By providing her with experiences that were foreign to the majority of her peers, the culture that Satrapi enjoyed influence her open-minded opinions. Listening to the music of artists such as Kim Wilde and Iron Maiden and following the clothing trends like denim jackets and Nikes exposed Satrapi to ideals she normally would not have been growing up in post-revolution Iran. They provided a door into a different, more accepting world and a glimpse into the possibilities of what could
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of an oppressive regime on the child Marjane Satrapi as depicted the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.
She says, “I was born with religion” (pg 6). Unlike other children, Marji wants to be a prophet when she is older. This idea is not normal for a child or anyone under the Muslim religion since prophets have always been men. Her classmates laugh at her dream of becoming a prophet and her teacher speaks to her parents, but Marji stays true to her passion. Marji believes religion should be used to create good things and change anything bad. Growing up, Marji doesn’t understand why her maid cannot eat at the dinner table with her family or why her friends do not drive a Cadillac like her father. Marji is a child and does not understand the concept of social classes. As a result, Marji sees religion as a way to change these things. She believes that in the name of God she could make sure everyone is treated equally. Marji’s opinion is untainted by any other connotations of religion. She is forming her own opinions and they are good. Satrapi uses her perspective of religion as a child to show how pure religion could be in the eyes of someone young. The perspective of a child is appealing to the reader because it is innocent and naive. Satrapi is trying to make the point that if everyone saw religion in a good way it could be used for good
After Marjane learns that her great grandpa was an emperor of Iran, she pictures him living an extraordinary life as royalty. Her image includes her great grandpa riding an elephant with a crown and the sun shining with a castle in the background (Satrapi 22). This illustration of her imagination is comedic because it shows Iran’s past being perfect through Marjane’s eyes when, in fact, it was nothing like she envisioned. Her limited knowledge causes her to perceive things almost opposite of how they really are, while distracting the reader from the conflicts occuring in the country. Futhermore, Satrapi uses comedy to demonstrate that Marjane’s personality is similar to an average child her age, despite the environment she is living in . When Marjane’s father goes out to take photos of the revolution, her mother and grandma become worried about him, and they start to discuss the matter. They are clearly not talking to her, but
Marji is depicted internally when she says refers to herself by saying “this is me.” Readers are able to use their imagination and the context of the scene to completely fulfill the face of the character in the panels. Satrapis illustrations do not incorporate much detail so this allows readers to fill in the story with their imagination. The cartooning in Persepolis 2 is simplistic and to the point. There is little distraction on the page and her layout of the panels is neat and read left to right. When looking at her work it is made clear that it is the reader’s job to fill in the illustration. Why would Satrapi do this? She presents her illustrations like this because doing so allows the reader to believe the characters more and get encompassed by the story. Moving forward, looking closely at the veils in the panel above, one can see that it is so much more than just an accessory appearing on the page. The veil attracts the audience to her features and expression allowing one to access her internal traits. The power of illustration and what you allow to show or keep to yourself is
In the story “The Shabbat” Marji’s Jewish neighbor’s home gets destroyed by a missile, at first Marji thought that her own house was bombed. But in reality, her neighbor home was the one that got hit. In this scene Marji is traumatized when she sees the arm of her dead friend Neda. She said, “ No scream in the world could have relieved my suffering and my anger”(142). Neda’s family were Jewish and getting hit by missile, it proves that not matter where you go, there will be always violent crimes related with religion. This scene represents one of the most important moments in Marjane’s life. The scars, grief and anger emotions that she felt, made her stop romanticize about religion. Indeed, the brutal image of her dead friend traumatized her, and those images made her to act more rebellious. According to Hillary Chute, the technique of using black and white colors in Persepolis clearly emphasizes the traumatic stage of Marjane. Hillary Chute States, “ Satrapi’s drawings and the infinitely complicated traumatic event, they depict: harassment, torture, execution, bonbings, mass murder”(99). The technique of using only black and white colors helped the drawings to illustrate its main goal, which was fundamentalist religion. The use of black and white colors in the drawing show the traumatic events that Satrapi acquired after witnessing violent
When Mrs. Nasrine is telling her dilemma of the key (99.3.1), Marji frowns and looks concerned but out of place, as if she doesn’t know what to make of it. She tries to show sympathy, suggesting that her privilege makes her unable to truly relate. She continues to look uncomfortable and bug-eyed when Mrs. Nasrine says, “Now they want to trade this key for my oldest son”. “Trade” connotes simplicity, an object, suggesting the government thinks of the lower class citizens as valueless objects. When arriving home from school, Satrapi draws Marji as a small figure in the distance (100.2.1), symbolizing the distance in economic status between her and the maid. This proves the separation of classes and the reason why Marji, not offered a key by the government, will not go to war in hopes of using a key to paradise. When her son says “I’ll marry her” while pointing a finger at Marji (100.2.2), it grants him a “whap” from his mother (100.2.3). Her reaction to his statement shows his ignorance and naïve behavior towards the social hierarchy; a maid’s son would never be allowed to marry a girl of Marji’s status because only rich people marry rich people and only poor people marry poor people. This shows the economic difference between Marji and the maid’s son, and the wall between them through government orders. When she asks her cousin Peyman whether or not the government offers his school the keys to paradise, he replies, “Keys to what?” (100.3.3) implying his equally high economic status. This suggests the government values upper class citizens more than lower class citizens. Satrapi also contrasts Marji and the poor boys in between the bombing panel (102.1.1) and the party panel (102.2.1) where Marji dances with her friends at Peyman’s birthday party. She jumps from discussing dying boys to having fun at a party to imply a difference between the poor and
Young Marjane Satrapi displays the characteristics that any child might have. She is simple, innocent, and easily influenced. For example, when her parents are demonstrating against the king, Marjane Satrapi says, “As for me, I love the king, he was chosen by God” (Satrapi 19). Her teacher tells her this, and she believes her teacher because Marjane Satrapi is a child and, in all innocence, will believe anything because her teacher, in her eyes, knows everything. Situations such as this show the influence of authority on her as a child because the teacher is an authority who tells Satrapi a misleading fact and Satrapi believes her, or is influenced by her.... ...