Persepolis/ Breadwinner ​Comparison Notes
Persepolis Both Texts
Context Historically, Iran had just entered a
(historical/ new phase where the Reza Shah
social context) decided to modernize the
country, in addition, to discovering
oil. They were invaded by the
westerns but Reza Shah’s son
succeeded in the nation. Shah ruled
the throne until 1979 when the
Islamic revolution occurred.
The event triggered extremist
groups to become active in terror.
Socially, people were against
communism and some were killed
because of their faith. Protesters
roamed the streets and the police
were attacking civilians. Censorship
was in order because
taking pictures of the event was
prohibited. Males and females were
separated– females were
required to wear veils.
Genre/ Formal & - Iconic abstraction (How
Stylistic Features abstract a cartoon is)
- Stripping away
detail from a
photorealistic image
until it is called
abstract
- It makes the image
focus more on
important
The Breadwinner
In both texts, the citizens suffer
injustice because of the state of the
government. They are to obey the ways
in how they present themselves to
spare the severe punishment.
Academics and the proliferation of
information are also restrained to
prevent the citizens from revolting
(which works in the Breadwinner
because the rules are imposed
stricter compared to persepolis.)
Both have pictures and text(speech)
complimenting each other to convey
the story.
Afghanistan used to be Parthia and
Kohrisan, until people started to fight
for rule. Devastating civil wars ensue
with massacres. Soon a regime called
the Taliban takes over.
This caused many social changes like
the prohibition/limitation of
academics and the free rights of the
women was violated.
Men also had to abide by rules such as
growing their hair out. Going against
any of this resulted in their
punishment.
- An animated feature film with
two kinds of animation styles:
picture and paper.
- The main story and the events
occuring with Parvana is
portrayed using the picture
animation
- The paper animation is used in
the story Parvana (and Baba) is
narrating as reference.
 characteristics
- Concept of universality
- The masking effect (readers
are able to relate to it more)
- Panel
- Figures
- foreground/background
- Speech bubble
- Captions
- Narratory blocks
Plot Structure The story begins with Marjane’s
childhood, and her experiences
living in Iran. Because of her
privileged lifestyle, she is able to
distinguish false information in the
country and acquire a more
generous living. The story then
reaches conflict in which she then
moves abroad.
Characters Marjan​e
Marjane is ten years old in 1980
when the novel begins. She is head
strong and heavily influenced by
western culture. She is well
educated and privileged which
makes us see the story of the war
from a more fortunate perspective.
Marjane's Mother
Marjane’s mother is also very proud
The mother of the main character
faces distress because of the social
inequality in the country.
Stories are used to shape the main
character, and influence the citizens.
We see the punishments of law
presented in both stories.
The Main Character looses someone
important to them in both instances.
The stories both begin with a brief
overview of the history in the country.
The main characters are both children
and females, which help us see the
disadvantage they have in the society.
Their parents are very intelligent
individuals who care for them, which
allows us to understand the power
conflict has in bonding people.
- The animation uses colors and
the characters still have most
of their features.
- BGM
Parvana is out at the market with her
Baba talking about history. In thhis
story the conflict comes quicker
because her Baba is arrested at this
point. She dresses as a boy to make a
living, as well as have hope in finding
her Baba at the Jail he was taken away
to. When she does so, the country is
embroiled in a war. Meanwhile all of
this happens, Parvana narrates a story
of a boy(her brother) who went on a
journey to take back the seeds for
harvest from the evil elephants.
Parvana
She is the main character of the story
who is just an ordinary girl who fights
with her siblings. But she is extremely
brave as well because she does all she
can to help her family.
BaBa
He is the protagonist's father who had
lost a leg in the war. He was a teacher
and always taught Parvana about the
history of Iran although she didn't
as a woman like Marjane is, but is
more mature and aware of the
boundaries that can't be crossed.
She is also very empathetic which
teaches Marjane a lot.
Marjane's Father
Marjane's dad is a photographer,
and he often finds himself in
dangerous situations.
Uncle Anoosh
Marji's Uncle Anoosh has helped
Azerbaijan declare its independence
amongst other things and is a hero
to Marjane. However he is executed
in the name of a russian spy,
showing just how inaccurate and
disparate the local news was from
reality.
Mehri
Mehri is the family maid who
started working for Marjane’s family.
Her presence gives us an insight on
how one can get mistreated due to
their different social classes.
seem to show much appreciation for it
at the time
Parvana’s Mother
Her main concern is to protect her
children the best she can but she is
also not hesitant to use them in order
to support the family
Parvana’s Sister
She is the classic older sister that tries
to help out her mom the best she can,
and insult her little sister. (This shows
the humanity in the whole situation
and allows the viewers to relate to the
story)
The man who helped her BaBa get
released
He was a very brainwashed man to
begin with but he transformed into a
selfless individual with good
intentions. (We see how the whole
pressure from the regime can mess
people up.)

Mali
Mali is a friend of Marji's mom, and
when her house is bombed, she
comes to stay with Marjane’s family.
This appearance of hers showed that
people can either gather or divide in
conflict.
Conflicts (person Person, self
v. person, person In the event of the Islamic
v. society, person revolution, we see that Marjane
v. self) struggles to find what she believes,
especially because she is pretty
religious, however, she also
advocates for her rights to
education and freedom in how she is
to dress.
Person,Person
When Mali comes to join Marjane’s
family, they were really welcoming
and polite. But in a scene when they
are at the supermarket we see two
ladies ranting about how the people
who were bombed were a nuisance
to their community, being rude to
those like Mali.
Society, person
When the bombings were getting
out of hand and a headstrong girl
like Marjane will have surely got into
trouble, Marjane’s family sent her
away to keep her safe, changing her
ideals and the way she dresses/acts.
- Coming of age
Key Themes - Withstanding change
- Suppression
- Forgiveness
- Pride (Cultural identity)
- Internal conflict
In both productions we see a conflict
within society because the war had
somehow affected the person’s life.
We also see people fighting with each
other because of the division in ideas
and perspective. Finally we see
internal conflict because all of what is
happening can be confusing.
- Family
- War
- Differences
- Power
- Inequality
- Censorship
Person, self
Parvana is conflicted about becoming a
boy and not being able to use her new
stance to make improvements in her
society. She feels uncomfortable and
ashamed.
Person, society
The person who helped Parvana get her
dad out of jail suffered the death of his
wife because of the societal norms in
Afghanistan at the time
Person,Person
When a higher ranked individual had
something against another, we see
them using their position to have them
arrested with Baba and an offended
taliban supporter.
- The power of knowledge
- Sacrifice
- Hypocrisy - Gender norms
- Retrospective (looking back - Death
in the past) - Significance of stories
- The understanding of who
you are. (Identity)