THEMES IN PERSOPOLIS

 Innocence
 Death
 Imprisonment
 Imperialism
 Identity
 Gender roles
 Culture
 War
 Growing up
 Immigration
 Rebellion
 Innocence
 Brutality and violence
 Fear
 Religion
 family[ e.t.c

Theme of identity and culture

Iranian-born Marjane believes that “I would always be an Iranian in the West, and a Westerner
in Iran.” This encapsulates one of the memoir’s central conflicts: as Marjane moves back and
forth between Iran (her home country) and Austria (where she goes to school), she must
constantly adjust her understanding of social norms—often with only limited success. As
Marjane comes of age and attempts to figure out who she is, she must also figure out whether she
feels more comfortable in Europe or in Iran. The memoir makes the case that to some degree,
this is a black and white decision—a person must decide where to live, after all—but it’s also
possible to bridge the gaps between cultures and form a multicultural identity.

No matter where in the world Marjane is, she consistently finds that her friends—if not she
herself—view her identity as oppositional to the dominant culture. For instance, in Vienna,
Marjane is shocked by her friends’ sexual activity and their openness about it—in Iran, people
who have premarital sex go to great lengths to hide it. Thus, although Marjane came from Iran
believing that she was liberal in her thinking about gender relations and sex, her friends find her
embarrassingly innocent and conservative. Marjane ends up having several sexual experiences of
her own while in Vienna—though when she returns to Iran years later, she doesn’t necessarily
think of herself as being as promiscuous as many of her European friends. But even to her
sexually curious friends in Tehran, Marjane finds that she’s an outsider—they ask, for instance,
whether Marjane is any better than a sex worker given that she’s had sex with more than one
man. This issue with sex is only one area in which Marjane finds herself on the outs, both in
Vienna and in Tehran. This sends the message that no matter where Marjane goes, she can’t win:
she’ll always be too liberal or too conservative in at least one regard.

Marjane also discovers that no matter where a young person lives, the desire to fit in is often
overwhelming. But to someone from a different culture, those attempts can look wildly
misguided. In Vienna, this desire to fit in leads Marjane to study political theory and philosophy,
to experiment with drugs, and to alter her appearance so as to stand out less. Marjane immerses
herself in the works of Sartre, cuts her hair and begins wearing heavy eyeliner, and even
becomes her school’s resident drug supplier. Nevertheless, she recognizes that her intellectual
and physical experiments don’t always help her be the person she wants to be. Indeed, Marjane
takes issue in particular with her own heavy drug use. Using drugs and procuring them for her
friends might make Marjane popular, but her parents’ warning that drugs turn people into
vegetables rings in Marjane’s head. She feels ashamed about using drugs, though she
simultaneously relies on them more and more to escape this shame. In this sense, then, Marjane’s
attempt to fit in turns her into someone she knows she doesn’t like and who she knows her
parents wouldn’t appreciate either—and Marjane still deeply craves her parents’ approval. She
thus realizes the importance of bridging the part of her that wants to fit in with the part of her that
wants to remain true to who she is: a proud Iranian Muslim woman and a believer in women’s
independence.

Once Marjane moves back home, she learns how a person can combine different aspects of their
identity into a cohesive whole: they should simply discover and pursue what makes them happy.
Marjane does this by pursuing her degree in art from the local university and by marrying a
fellow student named Reza. But while her art gives her the opportunity to express herself and be
happy, Marjane also realizes this pursuit isn’t something she can successfully pursue in Iran.
This becomes abundantly clear when Marjane and Reza’s joint final thesis (plans and designs for
a theme park using Iranian mythology as inspiration) receives high marks but is turned down by
the local government. The government official points out to Marjane that while their designs are
beautiful and well-researched, they have no place in Iran’s fundamentalist culture. For instance,
he notes that it’s impossible (and illegal) in this culture to portray a woman without a veil riding
a mythical creature as Marjane and Reza did in their designs. The kind of art Marjane wants to
make (including this graphic novel and its predecessor, Persepolis) can only find an audience
outside of Iran. This ultimately leads to Marjane divorcing Reza and once again moving to
Europe. But this doesn’t mean that Marjane leaves behind her identity as a proud Iranian woman
simply because she chooses to leave—rather, Persepolis and Persepolis 2 symbolize a merging
of cultures within Marjane’s identity. The books allow Marjane to express her love for and her
frustrations with her home country, and to introduce its intricacies to others.

in Persepolis, the veil is one of the most prominent objects that represents the Iranian culture. In
the 1980s, the leaders of the Islamic revolution made it mandatory for all women to wear a veil
(Satrapi, 3). The opening frames of the novel, which portrays a group of girls who are covered in
veil, immediately depicts the importance of the veil in revolutionary Iran. The veil becomes a
part of the social values and norms, and shows the political ideology in Iran. However, for
Satrapi, the veil symbolizes something different, and they could be repression, a loss of identity,
and a possible need for a revolution.

The western culture is also presented in Persepolis through materials such as rock band posters in
Satrapi’s room and Satrapi’s clothing. Satrapi also visits ‘black markets’, where people sell
western commodities like audiotapes (Satrapi, 131-2). The presentation of Western culture
shows the how influential cultures can be. It allows Satrapi to really show her personal identity,
which is the western political and social beliefs she and her family holds.

How does Satrapi adapt to the two contrasting cultures? In this scene, Satrapi embraces both
cultures. She wears her denim jacket with a Michael Jackson button and Nike, and says ‘of
course, my headscarf’. This displays Satrapi’s multiple personal identities: following middle
eastern customs while sharing western values.

Clothing and fashion as a marker of cultural identity in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. Marjane
Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, presents the central tension of Marjane struggling with the
relationship of her nationality and herself by seeing the transition of clothing, makeup and
accessories that female characters wear in the book. During her teenage years, she had been to a lot
of countries and she always felt like she couldn 't find her real identity, either as a westerner or an
Iranian. The book presents a lot of struggles with her trying to figure out her relationship,
nationality, and her identity. The readers can see the transition of cultural background by noticing
details within the image, for example, character’s clothing and how they dress themselves up. The
transition of clothing and fashion represent cultural backgrounds that create struggles for Marjane
and her search in self identity. The necessity of Iranian girls wearing veils indicates the regime
taking over Iranian society further effect Marjane’s belief towards her identity. The first part of the
book presents the background history of this graphic novel by saying, “In 1979 a revolution took
over place. It was later called The Islamic Revolution” (Satrapi 3). The readers see right away that
every students entered school was asked to wear veil due to the fact that “1980: The Year it
became obligatory to wear the veil at school” (Satrapi 3). The veil symbolizes the restriction of
social liberties for

WAR

The repression and war in Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi The autobiographical novel Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi, depicts the life altering experiences she encounters from growing up during
the Iranian revolution and war. Satrapi’s naive and minimalistic perception of war drastically
changes as she becomes an adult, by witnessing tragedies and death of family members and
friends throughout the novel. Moreover, she becomes more coherent and understanding of the
social construct of Iran. Through Satrapi’s exposure to western culture and education, she grows
up becoming more rebellious towards the Iranian government and her parents. Satrapi’s
Persepolis, represents how the innocence of a child can be tarnished as a result of life altering
experiences such as the Iranian war, these memories influence the later portion of her life as she
gradually develops a deeper understanding of war and the Iranian society. Dealing with the loss
of people close to her, Satrapi understands that warfare will only bring upon darkness and pain.
To explain, at a young age she suffers the loss of her beloved uncle Anoosh, which causes an
immense amount of agony in her life, “And so I was lost, without any bearings what could be
worse than that?” (Satrapi, 71). Satrapi conveys her feelings as if she is physically and
emotionally lost by illustrating herself floating in space to oblivion. However, later on she also
loses her close friend Neda from a bomb attack, initially Satrapi is heartbroken, but from
previous experiences she finds a way to deal with the devastating loss. “After the death of Neda
Baba-Levy, my life took a new turn. In 1984, I was fourteen and a rebel. Nothing scared me
anymore” (Satrapi, 143). Through this quote she expresses her fearless mentality towards the
death of her friends and family. In contrast to a younger Satrapi, she copes with the passing of
loved ones in a more mature manner. Furthermore, Satrapi develops a thorough understanding of
the war as she sympathizes with the people who have been affected by it. This relates to Mali’s
family since they lost their home and all their belongings from a missile attack on their
hometown. During Satrapi and Mali’s family visit to the supermarket, they hear prejudice
remarks towards southern refuges. “Anyways, as everyone knows; Southern women are all
whore”(Satrapi,93). These comments are especially offensive towards Mali’s family, since they
have recently displaced from their homes and are seeking refuge themselves. From this
experience, she empathizes with Mali’s family by saying “I felt ashamed for myself and felt so
sorry for her” (Satrapi, 93). This encounter makes her realize the sorrow that emulates from the
war, as Mali’s family has lost everything due to the bombing and are now subjects of prejudice
remarks from her own people. Therefore, she realizes the challenges and discriminatory remarks
refugees of war must endure. In addition, young Satrapi does not fully comprehend the concept
of war and the bloodshed that comes with it, for example she makes bold statements on how she
will defend her country from the enemies. “The second invasion in 1400 years! My Blood ¬¬was
Boiling. I was ready to defend my country against these Arabs who kept attacking
us”(Satrapi,79). From the context of the quote, she expresses her feelings by passionately saying
that she is ready to fight the adversaries of war. However, at this age she does not fully
comprehend the mental strain and physical strength needed to battle in the war. Later on, her
maid, Mrs.Nasrine, explains how her fourteen year old son is being brainwashed by his school
into joining the military. They persuade him by giving him a plastic golden key, which
symbolizes passing into heaven. Mrs.Nasrine also states that the school told her son, “If they
went to the war and were lucky enough to die, this key would get them into heaven”(Satrapi,99).
Satrapi sympathizes with her maid, since she understands how mentally draining losing someone
close to you can be. Furthermore, she illustrates a white key to show how the children originally
think, that it will bring them to a better afterlife. Later in the novel, she portrays a black key
instead, to represent the children comprehending the darkness and traumatizing effects of war.
Juxtaposing this situation to her younger self, she would have been supportive towards this idea.
Since, at a younger age she has minimal concept of war and how; death and heartbreak, follow it.
Throughout the novel, Satrapi’s view and understanding of the Iranian society grows more
profound. For instance, when Satrapi and her friends are separated from each other due to the
cultural revolution, she follows it up by saying, “And that was that” (Satrapi,4). This quote
displays how she does not consider or care about the changes the Iranian regime makes. Satrapi,
also illustrates herself with a nonchalant shrug to further show how she does not ruminate with
the alterations. Moreover, it represents how she does not have her own ideas or opinions towards
political matters. As Satrapi comes to age, she learns that people were politically repressed and
tortured in prison. To elaborate, she meets Siamaka Jari who explains to her, what his friend
Ahmadi went through in jail, “Ahmadi was assassinated. As a member of the Guerillas, he
suffered hell. He always had cyanide on him in case he was arrested, but he was taken by
surprise and unfortunately he never had the chance to use it…so he suffered the worse
torture”(Satrapi,51). At first, Satrapi misinterprets the significance of the message, by saying
“Those stories had given me new ideas for games” (Satrapi, 53). This shows how she initially
does not understand the meaning of the story, however later she reflects on this and comes to the
conclusion, “Back at home that evening, I had the diabolical feeling of power… But it didn’t
last. I was overwhelmed.”(Satrapi, 53)This quote implies how she understands that torture is not
something to joke about, as people are being killed by cruelty. Also, it shows that Satrapi
understands the harsh tactics that the government is using, to suppress people who do not agree
with their political views. From a young age, Satrapi has the luxury of being able to learn about
western culture through books, music, and fashion. However, after the Iran revolution, western
culture is forbidden, and the Iranian women is forced to wear Veils and less revealing clothing.
In the quote, “I put my 1983 Nikes on… And my denim jacket with the Michael Jackson button,
and of course, my headscarf”(Satapi,131). Satrapi, intentionally states, she will put her headscarf
on at the end, to show how unimportant it is to her compared to the other clothing. By wearing
Nike shoes and a jean jacket, it goes against the Iranian regime, because they are trying to
dispose of western culture in their country. Due to her understanding in western politics, she has
a strong sense of freedom. In a subtle way throughout the novel, she depicts herself wearing the
veil not fully covering her hair. This shows how Satrapi is trying to retain her freedom, even
though she may be risking her life. In the quote, “Go on get in the car we’re taking you to the
committee” (Satrapi,133). This quote further demonstrates how she is rebelling against the law
so that she can have freedom in her life. Contrasting her rebellious actions to her younger self,
there is a prominent change. For example, when she insist on going to the demonstration, her
parent deny her and say, “You can participate later on” (Satrapi,17). After hearing this, she begs
to her parent but to no prevail, at this age she is not as rebellious and gives up on attending the
demonstration. In contrast, as Satrapi gets older she does not abide by her parents rule and acts in
defiance to their wishes. She tells her maid “Tomorrow we are going to demonstrate” (Satrapi,
38). Even though, she is not allowed to go to the rally she does so anyways. Satrapi also draws
herself with a determined face to show how not even her parents rules will stop her. These
situations indicate the rebellious nature she develops towards her parents and the Iranian regime.
Satrapi’s Persepolis, explains the life altering experiences she confronts from growing up during
the Iranian war and revolution. Her perception of war and death shifts tremendously, from
witnessing the tragic death of friends and family members. Furthermore, her perception of the
Iranian society deviates from her initial understanding as a youth. Satrapi’s exposure to western
influence makes more rebellious towards the Iranian government and her parents. The novel
Persepolis, epitomizes how childhood memories of the Iranian war can greatly impact a person’s
way of life.