Essay: Under A Cruel Star

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As Nelson Mandela once said, “for to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” The citizens of the United States are privileged to be apart of a society in that allows for individuality, and it is a social norm to respect those who are different from you. However, others have not always had this privilege. Specifically, the Nazi regime and Communism in Czechoslovakia, limited the rights of the Jews, as evident in Under a Cruel Star. On the other hand, women’s lives under political Islam were particularly hard in Persepolis 2. Both novels shed light on the ideologies that effected both men and women differently through their lack of identity based on their role in society and struggle to survive. Heda Kovaly, in her memoir Under a Cruel …show more content…

Austria’s ideology was very liberal and progressive, and women had it easier. In the West, she became exposed to sex, drugs, and parties; something not evident in Iran. Life was difficult for her in Austria, she specifically says, “the harder I tried to assimilate, the more I had the feeling that I was distancing myself my culture, betraying my parents and my origins, that I was playing a game by somebody else’s rules” (Satrapi 39). She manages to deny her true identity to her peers, something Heda also did, while signing for an apartment. These two did not want to face anymore struggles because of their origin, it was better for them to lie then assume the burden. Her acts of assimilating took a toll, as she faces racial prejudice. She too, struggled to survive. More specifically, she “spent more than two months on the street in the middle of the winter” (Satrapi 35). Just like Heda, her struggles forced her to become extremely ill. She never truly feels included in Austria, and again feels a sense of isolation when she returns to Iran, due to both worlds she has been exposed

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