Persepolis Close Analysis

Marji Satrapi was a young girl at the time of the Islamic Revolution. Her story shows what she saw through her own eyes, and by following her changes and reactions throughout the story, one can obtain a greater sense of what was actually going on with the people of Iran in the early 1980s.

It is clear that Marji, or anyone really for that matter, did not know what was really going on during this time. She was born a religious person, and aspired to become a prophet. Despite the discouraging reaction of her peers and teacher, she spoke with God on many occasions about becoming this type of leader. Marji also put extreme importance towards having a hero for a father. When it says, “The battle was over for our parents but not for us” (44), it is referring to the battle between the children about who’s father killed who or who had a heroic family or not. There are a number of references to people’s confusion throughout this event. One example is when Ramin tells Marji that his father killed communists rightfully. Her mother reacts with, ‘”My God! He repeats what they tell him! He will understand later…”’ (46). Marji seems to obtain most of her opinions from the television and other sources of questionably reliable information. She tries explaining some statistics to her uncle and father, in which her mother has to respond with, “Calm down, Eby. She’s just a child who repeats everything she hears” (62). Interestingly enough, when she is saying these statistics, the box reads, “Sometimes, I even formed my own opinion” (62). Clearly, what she heard on the TV was simply something that she only adopted as her own opinion because she did not really have one of her own.

Following along the same lines as the issue about having a “hero” or not in the family, Marji was one of the worst at this. She made up things about how her father had been tortured to try to induce him into confession. Unfortunately, her friends were unimpressed. “And I had a hero in my family…naturally, I loved him immediately” (64). When she says this, she is referring to her Uncle Anoosh who had been in prison. She instantly formed a connection with this man and respected him. Later on in this graphic novel, however, Marji finds that being a hero is not necessarily, what she wants. When Anoosh is executed, she demands that God leave her and never come back; a sign of remorse. It was interesting, however, that before he was actually executed, one of Marji’s thoughts were, “Nine years! That’s more than Laly’s father…” (60).

Another way that Marji changes “with the war” throughout the novel is in the way she dresses. Obviously rebellious, there is a point in the book after her parent’s vacationing, that she is wearing “inappropriate clothing.” She was walking through the street singing “Kids in America” while wearing tight jeans, “punk” shoes, a denim jacket, and a Michael Jackson pin. One of the Guardians of the Revolution tells her, “Lower your scarf you little whore!” (133). Later on, Marji is caught wearing a bracelet to school. When the instructor sees her wearing it a second time, she attempts to confiscate it. Marji ends up hitting her and is expelled from school. People wear bracelets in America all the time, but in Iran at this time, it was a risky endeavor.

Marji Satrapi lived during the time of the Islamic revolution, and proves that she had very strong resisting opinions and actions against what was happening around her. Because of this novel, a greater understanding can be found as to why some people were religiously wearing their veils and following the new rules. The reader can now know that there were many dissenting opinions, even though opposition was almost impossible at times.