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Persepolis literary analysis
Persepolis symbol essay
Persepolis literary analysis
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Persepolis by Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi includes many symbols and images that make an overall statement about the condition of the world during the later part of the 20th century. In the film, protagonist, Marjane struggles to strictly follow the restrictions and limitations set by Iran and enforced by the Religious Police. It is evident throughout the movie, that Marjane’s surroundings affect her and the way she interacts others. Overall, through the use of selective lighting and symbols Paronnaud and Satrapi highlight the problems of Iran to make a statement about the severity of tensions amongst Iranians as well as how women are required to respond to such tensions. Lighting plays a key role in how the citizens of Iran are …show more content…
The hijab is one of the most prominent symbols in the film Persepolis, it is worn by all the women in Iran,the women in Marjane’s family typically only wear it out in public. The hijab in this film seems to represent freedom. For Marjane, she is judged based on how fitting the scarf is on her. For example, when she was caught purchasing contraband music, one of the women said to her “fix your scarf you slut!” This statement shows that not wearing the hijab in a certain way could also make a woman look promiscuous. Oddly enough, when Marjane portrays her experiences in France, the audience can see that she is longer wearing an hijab, in fact it is illegal. It is very interesting how something required in Iran is banned in France. Including this detail helps engender the idea that Iran is unfair with their strict guidelines concerning the attire of women. Not only was Marjane persecuted for the fitting of her hijab on this occasion, she was also antagonized for her “punk shoes and punk jacket”, of course Marjane not being dressed in her full abaya was quite odd, but even as a young girl the decision not to wear it made her appear immortal to the outside world. The use of the hijab and abaya as symbols in Persepolis help display the difficulty women of Iran faced when trying to overcome to
In Persepolis, Satrapi develops the central idea of Marji and her parents rebelling against the social injustices held by the Shah and the government. This is demonstrated in chapters “ The Trip”, “The Passport”, and “Kim Wilde”. Early in the revolution, females were forced to cover themselves up. They were told to wear their veils because it didn’t show a sign of western American style or sexual
“Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return” by Marjane Satrapi gives one to think about their own life and how positive it is compared to the one Marjane faces in Iran and Austria. Overall, this book would be a thumbs-up as it depicts an imminent theme of growth and maturity, which relates to our ages. Marjane develops from the person who wanted to experience torture to the person who is know married and learns the suffering she has had in her life. As a result, one should certainly read the second installment of Marjane Satrapi’s memoir.
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a graphic novel that depicts the life of Marjane Satrapri during the Iranian Revolution. Satrapi tells her story as a child growing up during the time of the many drastic changes forced upon women and the effects of the new laws made by the Shah. During this time people in Iran were banned from reading, or listening to music that was not approved by the regime. Schools were separated by gender and women were forced to wear veils to protect themselves from being molested or raped by men. The middle class women in Persepolis are prescribed the most important roles such as rearing their children and the duties in the home. But most importantly because they are in the home they are unable to attain legal rights for women in Iran. “In no country do women have on have political status, access, or influence equal to man” (Kazemi, 2000). The divorce of a man and woman lies solely in the hands of men. Though the women in the Satrapi family were oppressed outside of the home they continued to live two separate lives, one inside the household and one on the outside. They often had gatherings and drank alcohol even though it was not allowed. The roles that were prescribed to the women were not effective because they had no opinion, and because there were no laws in favor of women who sooner or later begin to give up and inherent the man’s thoughts.
Marginalization occurs when communities are prevented from participating fully in the economic, social, and political life of their society, and is a major cause for the difficult experiences the narrators must overcome. In Persepolis, the veil plays a large role in Marji’s life because it becomes a requirement for Iranian women to wear in public, marginalizing them from other women. Marji and her friends are unsure of the veil and do not understand why they need to wear it, (Satrapi 3). She says, “We found ourselves veiled and separated from our friends,” (Satrapi 4). The veil is a symbol of uniformity because the women cannot be told apart from one another. It erases their individuality and ...
Women in Iran don’t have this luxury.They never got the choice to wear what they wanted to because religious customs were enforced into the law. In “Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return”, Satrapi states, Little details made a big difference in the fight against the rule(Satrapi,84). When some of the women defied the laws set by the government, they discreetly had demanded their freedom.Makeup or colored clothing displayed their demand. They wanted to express themselves so they rebelled with these little actions risking arrest. Their choice of clothes was never given to them so they demanded the right by rebelling. After years of not being able to express themselves they felt as though they were representing the community with the same clothes, but they wanted their own. Azar Nafisi says in “Reading Lolita in Tehran”,” Does she realize how dangerous she can be when every stray gesture is a disturbance to public safety?”(Nafisi,83). The author emphasizes that many actions and clothing are banned so there is opportunity to rebel. Rebelling is demanding for it to be changed. Clothing and movements can be an act that represents the demand. This granted them the ability to rebel and
Persepolis is a graphic novel depicting the life of author Marjane Satrapi’s life throughout the Islamic revolution, starting from her childhood. At one point in the story, the Shah of Iran has left the country, and Marjane’s parents think that they will have new freedoms. Later, however, the country is bombed and fundamentalists occupy the United States embassy. After these events, Marjane is ultimately forced to leave the country without her parents to live in Europe. This was foreshadowed in arguably the most significant panel in Persepolis, the 7th panel on page 43. It features Marjane and her parents, sitting in the family’s living room, the news on a television in the background. They are discussing the fact that the Shah recently left Iran to live in Egypt. Around the panel’s frame is a serpent-like creature. In this panel, Marjane Satrapi uses the frame, and contrasting facial expressions and dialogue to show that the Shah is not the only problem in Iran, foreshadowing the unexpected events of unrest that fill the rest of the story.
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.
In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi’s childhood experiences allow her to demonstrate the cultural changes that occurred in post-revolutionary Iran, as well as those perpetrated by western culture. In Persepolis, western culture plays a major role in the author’s attempt to dispel the
Throughout Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi displays the vital role that the women around her have in developing her character and becoming the woman she is today. Women such as her mother, her grandmother, her school teachers, the maid, the neighbors, and even the guardians of the revolution influenced Marjane and caused her to develop into an independent, educated, and ambitious woman. Throughout the novel, Marjane never completely conforms or lets go of her roots, this is primarily due to the women who have influenced her. Marjane’s mother was one of the most influential people in her life, her mother taught her to be strong and independent. By introducing her mother through the story of her mother getting photographed at a demonstration, Marjane presents her mother as being independent and rebellious (Satrapi 5).
When looking at the events in Persepolis you can easily see how tradition carries people through difficult times. Marjane says in response the the veil “I really didn’t know what to think about the veil. Deep down I was very religious but as a family we were very modern and avant-garde.” (6) This quote demonstrates how Marjane is open to knew ideas but she also adheres to her religious traditions. This
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.
In fact, the graphic novel opens with Marjane professing the fact that she and her friends did not understand the meaning of the veil newly imposed by the Islamic Republic; they only knew it as a change from the time before, when they did not need to cover their hair. This alerts us to the fact that for a child born into this new rule, the rule will seem perfectly normal, just as not wearing a veil felt normal for Marjane before the Revolution. Children, to such a degree, take their cues about what is normal in the world from the adults around them, and Marjane and her friends throughout Persepolis emulate in reality or imagination the roles of soldiers, torturers, demonstrators, prophets, heroes, and political leaders. Rather than thinking rationally or sophisticatedly about all the different players in this societal moment of crisis, Marjane at first follows or reveres anyone with power and popular
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 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
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 ...