The graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is an animated ‘identity crisis’ showing how she has trouble reconciling the Eastern and Western values that she has been influenced by. By ‘identity crisis’ I mean Marjane is uncertain about who she is and where she belongs to. The Eastern values would include hierarchy, restraint, collectivism and deference, whereas the Western values would include equality, freedom of expression, individualism and self-assertion. A graphic novel can be defined as a book containing a long story told mostly in pictures but with some writing. I intend to investigate why Satrapi has chosen to use the graphic novel instead of using other styles to present Marjane attempts to reconcile the different values and find …show more content…
After the Iranian Revolution, it became compulsory for women to wear the veil as the Islamic dress code and all women were removed from government positions, leading to increasing oppression and inequality in Iran. The use of black and white on the first page of the book creates a very clear image that a lot of people are unhappy with the new rules that are introduced by the government. The use of images shows us the oppression of freedom in a way that it would be hard to imagine with words. The first panel shows Marjane in a somber mood, crossing her arms to show her defensive thinking against the veil and the world. In the following panel, the girl’s expressions range from neutral to dislike or discomfort, which shows the general thoughts from people on how they think of the veil. Marjane cropped herself out of the class photo to show that she doesn’t want to be a part of the regime nor accept the principles of it. It would be hard for the reader to notice that Marjane isn’t in the class photo if the reader wasn’t informed and this is due to the lack of visual distinction between them, which emphasizes the oppression of women. The fashion statement in Iran creates a confusion for Marjane, who lives in a modern family but is restricted by the rules introduced by the government. She has the choice of wearing anything she wants in her home, but when she’s at school she is once again restricted by the veil and her religion. When Marjane is in Vienna, she changes from a conformist that she needs to be in Iran to an individual that she is allowed to be in Vienna. This shows the freedom that people are allowed to have rather than the restricted rules that are implemented in Iran to oppress women. Marjane thought the act would be liberating, however, it wasn’t as simple as that because her inner thoughts still continued to conflict with
While this is happening, none of the people in Iran are fully aware of how to react because the country didn’t have a leader at the time. Marjane had to experience this imperialism during her teenage years and it played a large role in her perspective. To demonstrate this in the book, it says, “‘God did not choose the king. ’[said Marjane’s father] ‘He did so!
There is an established thought that every person must be an active participant in their life, and this is done by making choices; however, it is accepting responsibility that controls our lives and the people around us. Marjane Satrapi is an outspoken female, who is not afraid to stand up for something she believes in. As she grew up, Islamic Fundamentalists created strict moral and dress codes for the people of Iran. As a woman, she was forced to wear a hijab in a certain manner. At the time, Marjane was studying at an art school.
Tim LaRocca Persepolis KPA In the book “Persepolis”, the author Marjane Satrapi, uses excellent diction to help the reader obtain knowledge and gain understanding of her main purpose in a specific passage or chapter of the book. Despite her specific word choice, it is challenging for readers to truly understand her main purpose only through literary terms and devices used throughout the book. Therefore, to help increase the readers ability to understand the main purpose of a certain specific passage, Satrapi uses an extensive amount of precise graphic elements. For example, in the passage “Kim Wilde”, Satrapi is able to express her main purpose that when governments tend to restrict the people too much, and become oppressive, the people tend to resist their law and rebel against the law by using the graphic elements of shading and facial expressions to express her purposes in and easier and clearer visual way.
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a graphic memoir that reveals the life of a woman growing up in pre-revolution and post-revolution Iran, as well as her experiences in Western countries. In this book, Marjane recalls and highlights historical events that affect her life during her upbringing in Iran. These include the oppression of the Shah, along with the rise and effects of the regime. These events are integrated into Persepolis in order to showcase their effects on Marjane and the other citizens of her country. These events’ inclusion are important due to the context and understanding that they grant readers unfamiliar with the text.
Marjane Satrapi uses a variety of graphic techniques, specifically on pages 61 and 137, to describe the way that Iran’s oppressive environment has forced Marji’s young, optimistic mind to think in a way that is painfully realistic. Throughout the book, Satrapi’s style of drawing is signature and
Importance of religion in Iran and its society is a crucial point in this graphic novel, Persepolis: A Story of a Childhood. It was mentioned in the novel how the society was corrupted when the Shah took charge. When the Shah took over, this lead to the many rebellions and demonstrations Iran had in order to keep the peoples freedom. The significance of women and how they were treated was also affected when everything changed during the 1980’s. Women are treated not only like trophy wives but they also did not have any sort of freedom for themselves.
An impenetrable way through perseverance and resistance in the book “Persepolis” has sent a powerful message to audiences everywhere. This graphic novel is a story of small Marji, who had to face formidable obstacles through her childhood. Living in Iran surrounded by war and thousands of deaths, inspired the little girl to fight for her rights. On page 102 of the book, we can see a powerful juxtaposition, where both of the panels have a profound effect on the reader. Looking at the elements of a graphic novel, Satrapi uses caption, movement and mood in both of the panels in order to enhance the significance on the narrative.
Without God as a guiding presence in her life, Marji began to rebel against the ever-encroaching fundamentalist institution as much as possible. Under the pretense of religion, Iran strictly enforced new laws against social gatherings and all items of decadence, “They found records and video-cassettes at their place. A deck of cards, a chess set, in other words, everything that’s banned… It earned him seventy-five lashes”(105). This sudden loss of mediums to enjoy one’s self and prevalence of excessive punishment enforcing the declared moral code (132) were invitations to rebel for Marji.
The story begins with the life of marjane and ends with her life. But in the background, the novel involves the war in Iran. Iran is always at war which includes the Iranian revolution and the struggle of people after the revolution. Though these are not implied does not affect their significance. They have a very important function of shaping the actions of the characters of novel which have long lasting effects.
In this text, the author exposes the principal character (Marji) as a girl that is affected by the 1980’s revolution that happened in Iran, and how this situation affected her identity search. Marji started to have critical experiences, when all the revolution began to take place, that’s why this character represent children
It also illustrates a belief in personal freedom because she is wearing clothes that are frowned upon. In this panel, Satrapi is challenging the negative stereotypes about Iranians by showing that people do still want to be free and not part of the Islamic regime. In the book Persepolis the author shows many reason as to how everyone in Iran didn’t want the Islamic regime. Satrapi challenges stereotypes about Iranians by showing people still want a better life and also by showing Individualism in Marjane.
When people believe in something, they must stand up for it and speak out. In Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Marji stands up for what she believes in against the government. Likewise, in The Importance of a Single Story, Chimamanda Adichie speaks out against what she believes in injust. Finally, Anthony Bourdain No Reservations shows him writing about the truth in Iran, despite political threats against him.
The readers can see the transition of cultural background by noticing details within the image, for example, character’s clothing and how they dress themselves up. The transition of clothing and fashion represent cultural backgrounds that create struggles for Marjane and her search in self identity. The necessity of Iranian girls wearing veils indicates the regime taking over Iranian society further effect Marjane’s belief towards her identity. The first part of the book presents the background history of this graphic novel by saying, “In 1979 a revolution took over place.
Everything can be viewed from two perspectives; A fist fight, a murder, bullying, just to name a few situations. This is still the case with Iran and it’s people. Iran and its neighboring countries are often portrayed negatively as terrorist, or failed nations. This is not always the truth, however, and one can learn that through Marjane’s coming of age story, Persepolis. The personal nature of the story is told through Marjane’s loss of innocence, her opinions on religion, and her observation of the prominent gender roles.
The graphic novel shows how we carry on, with laughter and waterworks, in the face of absurdity. Satrapi clarifies the complications she had altering her typical ways and getting in trouble for articulating herself with the things she enjoyed. Although we see Iran’s way from young Marjane’s eyes; as we learn about Marjane, we also learn about: her mother, father, grandmother, uncle Anoosh, and more. There were many changes for the people of Iran during the Revolution. Marjane just wants to grow up as a normal teenager, listening to rock music and doing what she wants.