Satrapi's Persepolis

Persepolis is a more powerful tale due to the fact that it is a memoir and based off Satrapi’s life. The authenticity and relatability of Marjane’s tribulations and witnessed horrors would be lost if Satrapi fictionalized the story. The benefits of memoirs are that they personal and easy to relate to; the characters in memoirs seem human and make mistakes. I enjoy seeing the growth in a character as they reflect on their past. While the personal elements of a memoir can be positive, the fact that memoirs are direct events plucked from someone’s life can create pessimistic and serious atmosphere. The truthfulness derived from memoirs can also be hurtful, or because they are reflections, sometimes the reader can have an opposing opinion from the narrator

For example, although she lived in Iran during the revolution, Marjane still enjoyed Western films and music and had several different outlets of cultural entertainment. After reading Persepolis, I gained a better knowledge of the common occurrences throughout Iran during the revolution, and my beliefs that Iran may have had a complicated history, but, the people who lived there during those times were still human and had real lives, jobs and different opinions on their surroundings were confirmed.

Persepolis ushers you throughout Satrapi’s childhood and chronologically exhibits her growth. Throughout her childhood, Satrapi emphasizes her unique persona and humorous personality. As the chapters progress in the novel, Marji ages. Satrapi’s choices of color (black and white) help to show the darkness in Marji’s life, and the light as well as make sharp comparisons evident to the reader. A common trend Satrapi illustrates in her novel, is the comparisons between genders throughout the revolution and the regime and the differences found in social and economic