Persepolis is an autobiographic novel that tells the story of young Marjane Satrapi’s attempt to find her own identity after losing herself in a time of war, violence, and an oppressive country. She loses her identity in three aspects: mentally, physically, and religiously. Mentally, she is thrown into a war at very young age, which she tries to cope with by using comedic relief. Physically, her country is attempting to hide who she is with the veil and the strict dress code. Religiously, her faith become shakable. At a crucial age where people found themselves and their identity, Satrapi is not given that choice. The chance of developing an identity is stolen from Satrapi. But, this does not stop her. She will attempt to try her hardest to …show more content…
She declared that “[she] was born with religion” (Satrapi 6). This hints at the very depth of how religious Satrapi was. Religion played a major role in Satrapi’s younger life, which is evident when she declares that she will be the next prophet and that “[e]very night [she] had a big discussion with God” (Satrapi 8). Her relationship with God is one she cherished. However, throughout the course of the war, this too about her identity is lost. Her relationship with God begins to decline. It is first noted when God does not show up one night after she argues with her parents to allow her to attend a protest with them. She calls out “God, where are you?” but there is no response (Satrapi 17). This symbolizes the beginning of an end for her relationship with Him. Again, it is the war that tears off another piece of who Satrapi was. The annihilation of this relationship comes later on when Satrapi’s uncle Anoosh is killed. To her child mindset, God was allowing this to happen. God allowed her beloved uncle Anoosh to be murdered. All she could see God as was a tyrant and tells Him to “[s]hut up, you! Get out of my life!!! I never want to see you again!” (Satrapi 70). And with these words, God is not mentioned a single time more throughout the course of the
Satrapi’s relationship with God also plays an important role in the formation of her new identity. As a child, she prayed to a physical manifestation of God frequently, but the death of Anoosh ended this practice. She briefly renewed her faith when
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 coming of age story written by Marjane Satrapi in 20001. Depicting a young girl growing up during the religious revolts in Iran. Throughout the story the main character loses her innocence. The author uses the appeals of genre, ethos, pathos, and logos, historical context, and illustration to depict the loss of innocence in the main character.
“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 .
During our class discussions, the issue of identity in Marjane Satrapi’s novel, Persepolis (2004), became a contentious issue. The question was asked whether Persepolis might be understood to being in-dialogue with western ways of seeing and did the effects of modernization influence the identity of Marjane’s protagonist in Persepolis. How does the novel involve the issue of identity? I will extend the argument and, through the exploration of Marji’s changing ideologies, I will attempt to prove that Marji is caught between the traditional eastern culture and western modernization.
What is the role of religion in Persepolis? How does religion enhance your understanding of the themes and culture of the novel?
All religion is flawed, but that is only because all men are flawed. God created an imperfect man; consequently, man created an imperfect religion. In Persepolis, Satrapi highlights the imperfect religions of the world in order to support her theme: man must stay true to God. Religion’s height of belief rests in the hands of the believer; moreover, the strength and sustainability of a religion is solely dependant on the support of followers. Satrapi’s primary message in the book revolves around religion. However, she challenges the belief of an imperfect religion by creating her own perfect religion in order to emphasize the sustainability of life through one God and constant faith in Him.
The novel Persepolis, written by Marjane Satrapi, portrays a diverse amount of symbolism throughout the novel which contributes to the protagonist developing into a young women. The main character, Marji Satrapi flourishes at an early age in her life due to the setting of the novel. Satrapi acquires knowledge about different insights of the Iranian government which constitutes her self judgement. Satrapi reckons that the individuals that make up the population of Iran should all support the idea of the government before the ministry of Iran can commence a war. “For a revolution to succeed the entire population must support it" (Satrapi 17).
Persepolis 2: The Story of Return is anchored around how Marji is affected by the social injustice that occurred during the Islamic Revolution. Growing up as “a westerner in Iran and an Iranian in the West,” (Satrapi 274) changes and molds her into the young woman she is at the end of her journey. In this second chapter of Satrapis life she moves away from the comfort of Iran and finds a life in Vienna. Marji desires to find her purpose and identity during her brief time here and faces many battles with language barriers, people and herself. Marjis past from Iran haunts her and instills the idea that she needs to make something of herself while in Austria. Finding that Austria took her down a darker path where the light was scarcer and the
In 1979, the Islamic Revolution took place and along with the government, the people of Islam were changing. In Persepolis, Marji and her family experience changes in which impact both their society and them personally. The new government of Iran set a mandate saying that all women must wear a veil because they thought that wearing the veil was an essential to their religion and those who opposed were seen as unfaithful to the Muslim regime. After the mandate there became a noticeable change in the people of Islam, not just the government. Views on the government and people’s personality were a noticeable changes seen in the people like Marji. In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi’s overall purpose was to exhibit how transformative
Marjane Strapi had the choice to share her coming of age story in many ways but she decided to share her experience in a surprising way. Satrapi wrote her autobiography in a comic novel. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a popular autobiography comic novel not only, because it is a primary source of historical events of Iran but also, because the book provides many life lessons and makes a person more open-minded of its surrounding. “ They were Guardians of the Revolution, The Women Branch…. [they] arrested women who were improperly veiled.”
When it comes to culture, different views can cause major conflicts, and these said conflicts occur in the novel Persepolis. The book is a memoir about Marjane Satrapi, also known as Marji, growing up in Iran under the Shah’s rule and the Islamic rule. Even with the many different cultures in Iran, she stuck up for what she believed in and rebelled against the things she thought were wrong. In Persepolis, Marjane’s growth is affected by various aspects of culture including religion, government, and social organization.
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.
Nowadays, there are many religions that one can choose from. Religion, to some, is a guide line, but to others it’s more like falling in love. In 1979, Iran was in the midst of the Islamic Revolution. During this time, some people held tight to religion while others let it go. Marjane Satrapi wrote Persepolis about her life at that time. At the beginning, Satrapi grasps religion tightly; however, by the end of the book, she seems to let it go. Throughout Persepolis, religion acts like a security blanket and enhances the understanding of the graphic novel’s theme, which is “stay true to yourself.”
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. To begin with, Satrapi writes Persepolis from a child’s point of view.