Marjane Satrapis Persepolis - 3668 Words

In the 1970s a great power struggle began in Iran, leading to a profusion of civil unrest and mass emigration. In 1941 Iranian monarch Reza Shah, was removed from power by the United States and replaced by his son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who Westernized the highly conservative and religious nation. He continued implementing the Westernized laws set by his father, which were known to discouraged democratic political expression in the public sphere and condemned Islamic fundamentalism (Khosrokhavar 3). The largely conservative citizens of Iran protested the alterations in multiple movements in response to the westernization, financial failures, and perceived belief that the Shah was being controlled by Western powers for†¦show more content†¦Babak Elahi mentions that â€Å"the link between ethno-national identity and language can be experienced symbolically, [†¦] as a reflection of identity[†¦] of ethnocultural uniqueness and existence† (Elahi). Marjane Satrapi depicts her life as an Iranian child growing up during the revolution, moving from Iran to Austria and how her ideologies change in response to the Islamic Revolution and the war. Along with many other Iranian womens memoirs regarding similar experiences in Iran, Satrapi reflects on the burden of using memory to represent experiences a large group of people lived through. She depicts the experience, common to all emigrants, young and old, of being seen as a foreigner in her new home country and in her home country once returning. For example, when Marjane alters her whole appearance in Austria and begins to deny her Iranian heritage, she overhears a few of her peers talking about her at the local cafe: ...she never talks about either her country or her parents she lies when she says that shes known war. Its all to make herself seem interesting to which she replied I am Iranian and proud of it! (Satrapi 196-197). Her attempt to assimilate into the punk culture in Austria is received by rumors being spread by peers, leaving her as an outsider. Similarly, when she is conversing with her old friends in Iran aboutShow MoreRelatedMarjane Satrapis Persepolis 2059 Words   |  9 PagesMarjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis is an expressive memoir of her growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, the fall of the Shah’s regime and the Iran-Iraq War. The dictionary definition of a memoir is, the description of one’s personal life and experiences, and most writers use the conventional text format to write theirs but Satrapi has contributed to a whole new way of writing memoirs that may last for many generations to come. Unlike conventional memoirs, she uses the black-and-whiteRead MoreMarjane Satrapis Persepolis1238 W ords   |  5 PagesPersepolis Review â€Å"One can forgive but one should never forget† is one of the quotes that Marjane Satrapi says in her memoir titled Persepolis. The memoir tells the story of Marjane when she was ten years old during the Islamic Revolution in the Middle East, specifically in her home country Iran. Most people evacuated the country because they knew there was not going to be a safe, prosperous future for their children. Due to Marji’s development from youth to maturity, she undergoes teenage rebellionRead MoreMarjane Satrapis Persepolis Essay1403 Words   |  6 PagesWestern culture has often misperceived the east and the way that their society functions. In Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, Satrapi uses graphic novels as a way to demonstrate to the western culture how the east has been misrepresented. The use of media helps to depict to the west how their views of the east may have been unfairly formed in the past. The media has only revealed limited knowledge that only shows par tial perspectives because it is difficult to get perspectives of the minorities althoughRead MoreCultural Acceptance in Marjane Satrapis Persepolis1616 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Whitfield Logan English 102 Ighade 4-7-14 Cultural Acceptance in Persepolis Marjane Satrapi‘s graphic novel Persepolis  is an  autobiography that  depicts her childhood up to her early adult years in  Iran  during and after the  Islamic revolution.  Throughout the novel Satrapi incorporates character development, religion, and the conflict of freedom vs. confinement in order to develop a greater appreciation between two opposing eastern and western cultures. When analyzing the current relationshipRead More The Veil in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis Essay1296 Words   |  6 PagesMarjane Satrapi’s Persepolis introduces the Islamic veil as an attempt by the Iranian government to control women. Islamic radicals promised safety and security for those who abided by their rules. Rebels who refused to wear the headscarf were threatened with beating, rape or death. These modern women who fought against religious oppression met the minimal requirements of the government rules to safely live in the hostile environment. Through being forced to wear the veil, the control of the IslamicRead MoreMarjane Satrapi’s Challenging of Stereotypes in Persepolis1059 Words   |  4 PagesMarjane Satrapi’s Challenging of Stereotypes in Persepolis In Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, Satrapi states that her goal in writing the book was to dispel many of the hasty generalizations made by the Western world about Iran, a principal sentiment being that the country is little more than a nation founded by fundamentalists and home to terrorists and extremists. To combat the misconception, Satrapi enlists the assistance of examples from her adolescence of barriers and dissent towardsRead MoreMarjane Satrapi’s Challenging of Stereotypes in Persepolis Essay example1112 Words   |  5 PagesIn Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, Satrapi states that her goal in writing the book was to dispel many of the hasty generalizations made by the western world about Iran, a principal sentiment being that the country is little more than a nation founded by fundamentalists and home to terrorists and extremists. To combat the misconception, Satrapi enlists the assistance examples of barriers and dissent towards the new conservative regime in Iran from her adolescence. By employing eventsRead MoreMarjane Satrapis Persepolis: A Personal Version and Vision of the Iranian Revolution1341 Words   |  5 PagesPersepolis: Marjane Satrapis personal version and vision of the Iranian Revolution Marjane Satrapis Persepolis is a graphic novel that suggests that there is a sharp discrepancy between the world of the Iranian Revolution, as depicted in the Western media, versus how many Iranians experienced it in the context of their own lives. Satrapi was the product of a liberal home environment. Behind closed doors, the life the young Marjane led was often very different from the images of burka-wearingRead MoreEssay on The Role of Women in Marjane Satrapis Persepolis 1111 Words   |  5 Pages 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 prima rily due toRead MoreOppression on Women in Margaret Atwoods the Handmaids Tale and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis966 Words   |  4 PagesOppression on Women in Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, is memoir of a little girl growing in Iran. She refers to a secular pre revolutionary time through contrast, the oppressive characteristics of the fundamentalist government upon women in particular. Her work is a lot similar to Margaret Atwoods, A Handmaid’s Tale, in which the protagonist Offred reflects upon her former life’s freedom, cherishing her former name and in doing