Moya 1

Brenna Moya

Dr. Mountz

HNRS 298

10 May 2021

Persepolis: Loss of Innocence

Marjane Satrapi, writer of Persepolis, shares her journey as a child living in Iran

experiencing life changing events, which include the Islamic Revolution of 1978 and the Iranian

and Iraq War. Instead of watching cartoons or doing “typical kid activities” Marji, the persona of

Satrapi as a young girl, is thrust into a world full of political and religious turmoil. According to

Marji’s mother, “Now is the time for learning. You have your whole life to have fun.” (Satrapi

113). As readers dive into Persepolis, they watch Marji try to make sense of the world around

her, and with increasing age, Marji gains a greater understanding of family, friends, and fellow

country men’s actions. Satrapi’s Persepolis is an engaging memoir that illustrates many of its

main themes through symbolism. This device truly aids in bringing Satrapi’s childhood to life.

Persepolis symbolizes Marji’s loss of innocence with the usage of a veil, key, and cigarette.

The story of Persepolis takes place in the late 1970’s in the country of Iran. The current

Shah at the time wanted to westernize Iran, but in doing so, weak political and economic

decisions were made. This ultimately led the Shah to lose support of the citizens of Iraq and led

to the rise of the political and social movement called the Iranian Revolution. Both of Marji’s

parents were involved in the political protests and supported the revolution, which inspired

Marji’s passions in social activism. Even at a young age, Marji wanted to eliminate social classes
 Moya 2

and simply find meaning in her life. These aspirations are hard to accomplish in a perfect

situation but virtually impossible with an extensive amount of political unrest happening. “In any

case, as long as there is oil in the Middle East we will never have peace.” (Satrapi 43). Marji, at

the age of ten, acknowledged that “peace” in her country would not happen anytime soon. The

Shah, who had become a puppet to the western countries, was overthrown, and the western ways

of life were replaced by the sacrilegious religion of Iran that would enforce the ways of Allah.

The new leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, received major support from the population for

his differing political ideas from the Shah. With all the violence and unrest, Satrapi reminds

readers in the introduction of Persepolis that “an entire nation should not be judged by the

wrongdoings of a few extermeist” (Satrapi).

“Everywhere in the streets there were demonstrations for and against the veil.” (Satrapi

5). The veil is a significant symbol when learning about Marji’s identity. Even though Marji

believes herself to be religious despite her parents not being religious, Marji still denied wearing

the veil. “We didn’t really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we

had to.” (Satrapi 3). Satrapi begins Persepolis with the introduction of the veil in the school

systems. The occasion of the veil marks the start of the Islamic Revolution and creates a divide

between those who are traditionally religious and those who wish to keep the western influences.

This split even seeps into the school “boys and girls were together” and all of a sudden “we

found ourselves veiled and separated from our friends” (Satrapi 4). While Marji considers herself

to be Muslim, she does believe in her parent’s western ideals. Marji now finds herself living in a

country that forbids her to express herself. The veil for Marji and many other women in Iran

during this time becomes a symbol of oppression.

 Moya 3

“You see this? It’s a plastic key painted gold.” (Satrapi 99). This gold painted key is a

horrific symbol that is presented in Persepolis. Mrs. Nasrine, Marji’s family maid, is upset

because her son was given this key at school with the idea that “if they went to war and were

lucky enough to die, this key would get them into heaven” (Satrapi 99). While this key tries to

portray the “beautiful” idea that if one dies a martyr in war then they will enter heaven, it is still

a plastic object being used for nothing more than brainwashing and propaganda. Also, not only is

this key being used to persuade young men to go to war, it is exploiting the social classes since

this key is only being given to those of a lower class. This “plastic key painted gold,” was a way

for the regime to expand the political war and citizens enthusiasm, but it was just another empty

promise that the regime used for their own benefit. When Marji, who has expressed her distaste

for the social divide, finds out that her cousin that is of higher status was not told about the key

Marji now sees the lengths that the regime is willing to go to establish power.

The cigarette is a very important symbol that signifies Marji’s loss of innocence. Just like

an ordinary teenager, Marji decides to disobey her parents by skipping school to get an illegal

burger. When Marji returns from her exploration, she is faced with a very angry mom; whom

Marji identifies as a “dictator.” As Marji is getting scolded by her mother, she compares her

questioning to “the same tactics as the tortures” (Satrapi 113). After this Marji proceeds to her

room where she smokes a cigarette as a show of further defiance against her mother. “As for me,

I sealed my act of rebellion against my mother’s dictatorship by smoking the cigarette I’d stolen

from my uncle two weeks earlier.” (Satripi 117). Marji feels as though she is an adult, even

though her actions are still very childish. The gesture of smoking a cigarette demonstrates

Marji’s battle not only against the suppression by her parents, but also the regime who has made
 Moya 4

life for Marji and others very difficult. Marji has a desire to be a “normal teenager,” but in order

to do so she must sneak around. Marji's use of the word “dictator” and comparing her mother to a

“torturer” shows just how much the current political issues have seeped into Marji’s childhood.

As Marji takes her first smoke of her stolen cigarette, she states “With this first cigarette, I kissed

childhood goodbye.” (Satrapi 117).

In Persepolis, Satrapi depicts her “coming of age” story through the Islamic

Revolution and the war between Iraq and Iran. These political issues brought in many restrictive

difficulties that ultimately affected Marji’s childhood. Marji’s rebellious nature and

nonconformity accelerates the journey from a child to adulthood. Similar to Marji, children

everywhere go through their own particular variation of “coming of age.” These transitions from

youth to maturity have symbolic markers. Marji’s symbols that represent loss of childhood are

the veil, key, and cigarette, though these milestones vary across the globe. In America one of our

“coming of age” traditions is the Sweet 16, which is an extravagant birthday party that is thrown

when a girl turns sixteen (“13 Amazing” n.d). Also, the age of sixteen in American represents the

time when youth are permitted to earn a license to drive a car, which is one of the first “big”

freedoms for American children (“13 Amazing” n.d). Similar to America, the Hispanic culture

“coming of age” milestone for women is the Quinceanera, which is celebrated when a young girl

turns fifteen (“13 Amazing” n.d). This tradition usually consists of religious traditions, such as a

baptism and vows that display the young girl’s commitment to her faith and family (“13

Amazing” n.d). The idea of being accepted as an adult in society doesn’t have one finite

definition. The process of finding this definition is a challenge because this definition is

constantly changing throughout cultures and time periods (McCue n.d). While most countries
 Moya 5

have legally defined the age in which a person is determined to be an adult, there is still a

distinction between the “legal” age of an adult and the social responsibilities that youth acquire

with age (McCue n.d). Also, the turning point of a child to an adult can be debated from a

psychological standpoint, in which one reaches both cognitive and emotional maturity (McCue

n.d). Marji’s journey to adulthood is vastly different from an American child’s process to

maturity. Symbolism is a major component found in Persepolis to show Marji’s loss of

childhood innocence in politically charged Iran and is demonstrated through the veil, key, and

cigarette, but symbolism can be found throughout various cultures as “coming of age” traditions

and can have an infinite amount of definitions.

In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi shares her childhood story as a young girl named Marji,

who is living through a state of political and religious turmoil. Throughout the book, Satrapi

shows symbolic milestones in her life that ultimately lead to the loss of her childhood innocence

at a very early age. The use of symbolism truly aids in bringing Satrapi’s childhood story to life.

The veil, key, and cigarette are all symbolic markers that lead to Marji’s “coming of age.”

Throughout the world, every child goes through visual turning points in which they leave their

childhood behind and embrace the world of adulthood. These markers are numerous and vary

throughout the world. Here in American getting a driver’s license or being old enough to vote are

symbolic moments of maturity. Though for Marji, these milestones were influenced by the

chaotic state of her country. The veil, which was forced on her by revolutionists, marked the first

time Marji could not fully express herself, the key showed Marji just how far the regime was

willingly to go to get their way, and the cigarette signified her grasping for some control of her

own life. From clothing to a token of propaganda, Marji was a child who was forced to make
 Moya 6

sense of a world full of political tension that inevitably accelerated her loss of childhood

innocence.
 Moya 7

Works Cited

“13 Amazing Coming of Age Traditions From Around the World.” Global Citizen,

Global Citizen, www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/13-amazing-coming-of-age-tr

aditions-from-around-th/.

McCue, James. “Our Definition of Adulthood Is Changing.” World Economic Forum,

www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/07/howideas-of-adulthood-its-rights-and-reponsib

responsibilities-are-changing-around-the-world.

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. Pantheon Books, 2004.