Analysis of Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi - Admission/Application Essay Example

 Topic: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi In the present times, the understanding of a common man about the issues confronting the humankind, specifically social, economic and religious problems concerning a particular country, are thorough readings from newspaper/magazine reporting/ television channels and one’s own superficial knowledge about world history. This is not a good foundation to arrive at conclusions. Take for example the word “Iran”—the immediate reaction from people from most of the counties is that it is a country where people practice Muslim fundamentalism and fanaticism. But the word has an oriental connotation. The word “Iran” is derived from “Ayryana Vaeja,” which means “the origin of the Aryans.” What is this book Persepolis about? “Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran: the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life and the tall repressive regimes exact on the individual spirit.”(2003, Front Flap) Marjane sums about her intentions and contentions about this book beautifully: ““Here’s the problem, today, the description of the world is always reduced to yes or no, black or white. Superficial stories. Super-hero stories. One side is the good one. The other one is evil. But I’m not amoral lesson giver. It’s not for me to say what is right or wrong. I describe situations as honestly as possible. The way I saw it. That’s why I use my own life as material. I’ve seen these things myself, and now I’m telling it to you. Because the world is not about Batman and Robin fighting the Joker; things are more complicated than that. And nothing is scarier than the people who try to find easy answers to complicated questions.”(2006, Believer….) Marjane has used her own style and drawings to tell the story. This is interesting and unique. Cartoons are funny stuffs meant for the children mostly. She has depicted one of the most serious issues of the twentieth century that had impact all over the world, in one form or the other. The visual style makes deep and unforgettable impact on the minds of the readers. The images become unforgettable, than what is described in words. Whether it is cartoon history (p.11), the description of an explosion and a party (p.102), the blackout of anger (142), her body changes (p.189), drug tripping (218), the loss of identity (272), massacres and mass demonstrations, like burning of theatre (p.15), mass execution of political prisoners (p.256), the pictures create unforgettable impact and pierce the conscience of the readers. According to Marjane, growing up is an adventure. The childhood innocence disappears and that place is occupied by personal opinions, values and the strong desire to excel oneself. A competitive spirit creeps in within the personality. Amongst the family members and relatives, one develops choices about those people who understand and those who seem to neglect. The emotions of a child are mostly innocent and they border truth. Marjane was a child during the Islamic Revolution and the contents of the book reveal the various facts of that major development in Iran and the effects of cultural changes. Her writings are political, historical and their extreme personal nature adds to the authenticity of the descriptions. Her life-experiences are so varied, changes of locations and environments are so frequent and she is able to disseminate a great range of emotions in the novel. Also these things happen in her life at the most impressionable time of her life—the childhood. iShe is born in Iran and educated at the Lycee Francais and her family status is great. She is the granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors. She is the child of Marxist parents. Compare the orthodoxy prevailing in Iran and her drinking wine and having a look at the posters of Kim Wilde and Iron Maiden. The influence of Western Culture brings so many questions into her mind and she wonders about the strange happenings around her. Why is the veil compulsory? Why it is improper to wear a denim jacket and Nikes? Marjane defines many types of rebellion in the society. According to her the fear of knowledge is most important. She describes in detail the prevalence of social censorship during the era of revolution. She has problems of understanding the reasons for meaning of specific cultural symbols that define the people of Iran. This novel, though related to conditions in Iran, the theme of the novel becomes universal to all societies that are engaged in putting up boundaries, barricades to nurture ides of in-groups and out-groups. One may fight for the future, but what about achieving peace for the present? She doesn’t pass judgments on any particular group. This novel creates awareness about oneself, details the consequences of change and what such changes mean to an individual and the society as a whole. Marjane was ten years old when the Islamic Revolution of 1979 overthrew Shah of Iran out of power. Marjane’s family was no friends of Shah. Many of their friends were imprisoned and executed by Shah’s police. They welcomed Shah’s fall from power, but the country under the ayatollahs was no less oppressive. Marjane and her female schoolmates were separated from the boys and were forced to wear veils. By the time she is a teenager, she fears danger to her life, if she continues to live in Iran. Her parents send her to Vienna to live with her friends. Before Marjane leaves Iran for school in Austria, her grandmother tells her, “Be true to yourself” (150) and her father says, “Don’t forget who you are and where you came from” (152)…..but Marjane takes up to the western mode living so fast and soon she decides to have sex for the first time (212) In the book she weaves the various incidents related to her, and gives the graphic description about how her world is crumbling in front of her. Her uncles and parents of friends are arrested and killed; her mother is accosted and given threats of rape and death. The normal freedoms of day to day life are all suspended. Notwithstanding the grim and uncertainties of politics of Iran, she depicts the human face of Iran. Growing up is hard in a conflict-ridden culture. She shows maturity in her observations when she writes, how good and bad people exist. She resents the people who follow the bad leaders like sheep. She has a piece of advice as well for the people- believe not what the media tells always! The Islamic Revolution brings about unprecedented changes in the lifestyles of the people of Iran, especially the women. Marjane is confused why she is obliged to do the things which she does not like to do. She is just ten years old and she along with other girls students are asked to wear veils as part of the laws in Iran at school. Marjane writes, “We didn't really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn't understand why we had to" (3). The young children like Marjane are so confused, they fail to understand what is going on and make fun of wearing the veil. As a young child she believes in God to the extent that her classmates think she is crazy. One of Marjane's teachers asks, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Marjane replies, "I'll be a prophet" (8) Marjane develops the habit of reading extensively. About the support from her parents she writes, "To enlighten me they bought books" (12). Through books and other reading material she realizes what is going in Iran. Reading books fires Marjane’s imagination; she writes, "Despite everything, God came to see me from time to time. So you don't want to be a prophet anymore", God asked. "Let's talk about something else." Marjane replied, God said "You think I look like Marx?" She replied, "I told you to talk about something else" (13). With her imagination, she thinks she is really talking to God and he is replying back to her. Reading adds to Marjane's Imagination because, that is her escape from the world. Marjane does a really good job on describing her childhood and with the illustrations a person can imagine everything that is happening. Furthermore, books are a life saver for Marjane that is her only way to be like a normal child. As she grows, her convictions become strong; her fighting spirit kindles. When another child's father kills lots of people she wants to show that kid a lesson, she states, "In the name of the dead, million, we'll teach Ramin a good lesson. I have an idea" "My idea was to put nails between our fingers like American brass knuckles and to attack Ramin" (45). As she grows, she becomes more rebellious, and begins to smoke and she is expelled from the school. With her first cigarette, Marjane announces the end of her childhood (117). In Vienna, she struggles to fit into the alien culture dealing with sex, drugs, and ethnic prejudice. She says, “The harder I tried to assimilate, the more I had the feeling that I was distancing myself from my culture, betraying my parents and my origins, that I was playing a game by somebody else’s rules” (193). Conclusion: Persepolis is the story of an important, well-connected child of Iran; it is the story of kings and ayatollahs; it is the story of religious persecution; it is the story of how common people suffer under any type of regime. How fixed opinions change after interaction will people of different cultures. In Marjane’s own life such a change came through her second boyfriend, Markus, who she describes as her first great love. Marjane and Markus disagree over the value of protests—Markus insisting that education is a better weapon against political oppression and religious fundamentalism (p.229) Throughout Persepolis, Marjane struggles with what it means to be Iranian, especially when she realizes that the West sees all Iranians as terrorists (203) or the epitome of evil (195). This book gives a graphic picture of Iran during the heady days of revolution, how the Iranians are tossed from one political hypocrisy to another. For a student of literature in any genre, this book can be considered as a high-endorsement. *********** Works Cited: Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. United States: Pantheon Books, 2003. Satrapi Marjane. An interview: Believer magazine, August 2006 issue. Read More