Persepolis:The Story Of A Childhood.

Persepolis Blog Post

A little girl’s experience in Iran is documented with wonderful dialogue and excellent illustrations in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. The joy and curiosity of a child is expressed in numerous panel illustrations and dialogue. The story is told through the experience of a young Iranian woman seeking to assert herself on a world that forces her to grow up way before many of her Western counterparts have too. She is proactive in seeking out relationships with her family and friends but suffers from an alienation brought upon by her high intelligence, assertiveness and relentless challenging of the status quo. She navigates this existence and it is recorded in the form of a graphic novel. Persepolis is a wonderful narrative that showcases the beauty of Iranian culture. It is political in nature without risking alienation from a pro-Western audience. This achievement alone makes this book one of the best graphic novels to have ever been released and arguably the best discussion that an Iranian has had with the West since Iranian political activist Shirin Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize.

The work covers many themes but the most reoccurring is the different examples of constraint. Perhaps the most notorious form of constraint that many Westerners comment upon is the wearing of the veil. The choice or requirement for a woman to cover herself attracts a lot of controversy. Many see the visual display of constraint oppressive and wish to modernize Islamic countries with women’s liberation in the form of freedom to wear what one wants. Marjane critique in her novel is not of the veil itself but the system that takes away choice.

One of the most touching scenes in the book occurred when Marjane spoke to a panel of men questioning the rules that required her to wear clothes at a greater length in order to cover herself. She pointed out that men could wear what they wanted and women had to follow rules set aside for them because of their gender. The exposing of the blatant sexism of the University showcased Marjane’s absent of fear when speaking truth to power, a trait that some of the greatest political activist in history all share.

Another constraint that one sees in the book is that of class. Marjane’s helper,Mehri, is a woman of poverty who can’t find love with a man across the street named Hossein due to their social relationship. It was a tear jerking scene to see how quickly Merhri was cast aside by Hossein who found she was a peasant and quickly departed from her life. This angered Marjane intensely and she found gravitation towards Karl Marx who envisioned a classless society where social interaction would be based on equality rather than hierarchy.

Both instances of constraint deal with the restrictions that an environment has imposed on a person. Marjane escapes to Austria and experiences a liberation she hasn’t felt before. She is allowed to go to grocery stores to buy what she wants, wear western attire, and pursue romantic relationships with boys without hiding public displays of affection. Of course, new freedom comes with new constraints. Her Iranian background quickly marginalized her and although she didn’t have to wear a veil in Austria, she still was confined to people’s perceptions of her, which largely came from negative stereotypes.

Persepolis gives an inside view into the culture of Iran through the lens of a family’s relationship to their country in one of the most turbulent time in its two thousand plus year history. Education can occur in many forms but a story is the most intimate way a lesson can be learned outside of personal experience. Marjane does this with superb writing skills, a personal story worthy of an academy award nomination, and a history of a people rich in culture. Although the theme of constraint is present, one feels liberated after finishing the book having been set free of their ignorance about a people who have given so much to the world as a whole. Persepolis is a wonderful achievement in literature and comes highly recommended by this author.