“After a sleep of over 2,500 years, revolution has awakened people” (Satrapi 11, p. 1). Marjane Satrapi tells the story of a young Iranian girl after the Islamic Revolution. The Shah’s brutality changed the Iranian daily life. The girls are forced to wear veils and separate the boys from girls at school. The novel moves very quickly and helps you learn more about the Islamic Revolution. Satrapi uses motifs, images and themes to show what life was like during the Islamic revolution. This helps younger readers understand the events.
Satrapi’s paintings use a range of motifs that represent what was happening at the time. She uses both obvious and hidden motifs. The veil, for example, is a clear motif. Marj had no idea why she needed to wear her veil. No one knew why these young girls were required to wear veils, but elders made them do it. The women had to wear veils at that time as part of their religion. The veil was not a popular choice for many people. Marj’s bed is a more subtle example. Marj often thinks in bed. At the beginning of the novel, she also talked to God. Marj cried in her bed about her Uncle Anoosh, and she told God to “Shut Up!” Get off my life!! I don’t ever want to meet you again!” Her bed represents a place of refuge for her, where she can go to escape the turmoil and chaos. In the book, we see her reading in bed or talking with God. Marj says that when she wanted to protest her parents with her dad, he put her in bed. Marj waited but “he did not come”. She is left feeling scared and wondering how to proceed without God.
Religion is one of the many themes that “Persepolis” portrays. Marj begins the novel by talking to God every day and developing a close relationship with him. “Every evening I had an extensive discussion with God”(Satrapi 8). Marj believed in God and trusted him with her entire life. Marj even wished to be called a prophet in the first chapter. “At six years old, I knew I was the last Prophet” (Satrapi 6). Marj began the book with a strong focus on religion. By the end, however, the relationship she has with God is completely gone. Marj has even said that she doesn’t want to ever see God again. She is no longer that innocent and hopeful little girl who was introduced in the first chapter. She changed her mind about everything, even religion.
Satrapi incorporates the image of Marj smoking a cigarette towards the ending of Persepolis. The cigarette is a symbol that she’s no longer a child: “With my first cigarette I said goodbye childhood.” She lost all innocence and hope by the end. Marj, who is only fourteen years old, also says “Now I am a grown up.” She also had older friends who influenced her in ways that she wouldn’t have done on her own. Marj’s growth was accelerated by her friends and revolution. Persepolis also has imagery such as the “gold” keys. It wasn’t gold at all. “It is a plastic gold-painted key” (Satrapi 98). The shah lured teenagers into the war by using the key. To some, the key represents hope for teenagers that they will reach heaven. But to others, it is like a weapon. Close friends of these teens may consider the key a death threat. The shah led the teens to believe that the key would get them into heaven, but it was actually a way for the shah to recruit more people in order to wage a horrible war. The key did not help the teenagers at all. It only allowed the shah’s army to grow.
The book helps younger readers understand the islamic Revolution. Persepolis by Marjane Staprati is a perfect example of how to make such a serious event easier for younger audiences.
