Persepolis

The book Persepolis is the memoir of a girl named Marjane Satrapi, a native Iranian who tells the story of her childhood in post-revolutionary Iran. The background story for this book is based on the upheaval faced in Iran both during and after the Iranian Revolution. Through this book, it is discovered how the revolution was experienced by a member of the proletariat community, how a common citizen was affected by the upheaval of their country. Some major events that take place during the narration of this story include the drastic change of the school system, from a relatively secular system of education, to a suddenly highly religious based form of instruction. It is said that the bi-lingual schools are unnecessary, even a form of decadence. Her hopes of moving to the United States are dashed when the U.S. Embassy is taken over, its employees taken hostage, and eventually closes. Not only that, but the entire form of government is reformed into a veritable theocracy, and the former Shah and the type of government that accompanies him is disbanded and destroyed. An embargo is taken between Iran and numerous countries, and the nation suffers because of it. As well as the changing governmental tide, there is also trouble brewing between Iran and its neighbor, Iraq. The country is a reservoir for strife and change (not always in the right direction).

But Marji not only suffers through enormous administrative changes, but personal ones as well. Family members die, friends leave, and her personal life changes drastically. She must now move clandestinely through the streets of her own city for fear of being caught and punished simply for her dress. She soon gains the mindset of a martyr, sacrificing what she must for her country, and her freedom.

Throughout this book, we see Marji as she matures. We see how her view on what is happening to her country and her people changes. Marji becomes the very embodiment of a teenage rebel. But her rebellious nature shines out for a reason. She believes in the freedom she deserves, and she fights for it. She begins to see her parents more for what they are, freedom fighters. As she ages, she wishes more and more to become one of them. The events that shape her new conscience include the death of her uncle, to whom she was very close. Not only do her friends depart for other countries, but soon her family is put to the new stresses of enduring constant bombings and the threat of death.

At the end of Persepolis, Marji is sent off to Vienna, with the last image of her parents being that of her mother collapsing in her father’s arms. Not exactly the most heartwarming and encouraging scene for a now-lonely teenager. But, soon she grows accustomed to life without her parents. She lived in Austria through her years of high school. After she finished high school, she decided to return to Tehran in order to attend university there. She soon met and fell in love with a man, at age 21, and moved to France. Once there, she began publishing comics in the newspaper, and soon became famous for the publication of her autobiography, Persepolis and Persepolis 2.