Context Presentation Week 6

The presentation of Marjane Satrapi gives a short history of Iran which is a fairly uncommon element of a realistic novel, which plans to, simultaneously as illuminate the peruser about Iran, unequivocally layout the motivation behind the realistic diary. It’s an astute, amusing, and deplorable, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s journal of experiencing childhood in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In amazing high contrast funny cartoon pictures, Satrapi recounts to an incredible narrative in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the oust of the Shah’s system, the victory of the Islamic Revolution, and the overwhelming impacts of war with Iraq. The intelligent and honest only child of devoted Marxists and the extraordinary granddaughter of one of Iran’s last heads, Marjane gives testimony regarding a youth interestingly laced with the historical backdrop of her nation.

Satrapi’s decision to title her book “Persepolis” isn’t on the grounds that it is set in Iran, which used to be called Persia, but since it encourages her recount to an anecdote about culture and digestion. Persepolis paints an extraordinary representation of everyday life in Iran and of the confounding inconsistencies between home life and public life. One example is her parent’s underwriting of the upheaval yet want to keep up class status; another is the equals in how the Shah’s and the ayatollah’s governments smother discord. In this manner, the Iranian unrest, both for Iran and Marjane, leads not to satisfaction yet to disarray and dissatisfaction. Her defiant conduct proceeds into youth and early adulthood yet brings just tension and misery; she is generally hopeless at the point when she attempts to revolt inside a Western setting. She would not like to be Western, however, to be Iranian is not completely conceivable inside the Islamic Republic. On closer perception of the substance, one finds a few leitmotifs that rise all through the journal. The cycle of unrest, represented by many definite models from pre and post progressive periods, stands apart as an essential theme in Persepolis. There is a conspicuous difference here between the discontent of the individuals as to the new laws presented by the upheaval and their undeniable disappointment with their pre-progressive lives. In her journal, Satrapi has committed a lot of room to ponder the effect of exacting guidelines forced, the disappointment of the individuals and the continuous fights. She portrays how they fell into an unwanted way of life while they were battling for a superior life, attempting to be liberated from the limitations and the weight the government put on them.

 

Chris Reyns-Chikuma, and Houssem Ben Lazreg. “Marjane Satrapi and the Graphic Novels from and about the Middle East.” Arab Studies Quarterly, vol. 39, no. 1, 2017, pp. 758–775. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.13169/arabstudquar.39.1.0758. Accessed 28 Sept. 2020.

https://rhinehartadvancedenglish.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/1/0/22108252/the-complete persepolis-by.pdf

Behbahani, Zahra Modares Mousavi and F. D. Haan. “Transnational Migration and Identity Construction: A Comparative Case Study of Female Iranian Migrants Marjane Satrapi and Parsua Bashi’s Graphic Memoirs.” (2013).

11 thoughts on “Context Presentation Week 6

  1. Thanks for your sharing! It is very impressed when I read through your post. The impact it took from the torpor of Iran on Satrapi is huge. I agreed with your thinking on her struggle between becoming a western and keep insisting her belief, which is giving up and persisting. I realized that it is a kind of changing of perception when the upheaval occurred. The “other” step in and influence what Satrapi’s original thinking.

  2. Hi, you did a good job explaining the life Persepolis lives and how her parents were. It is sad how she fell into a life that she didn’t want and getting out of a toxic and sad environment is super hard especially for a women. The cartoons in the comic were very interesting and it kind of made the read a little better to read.

  3. I think comparing the lifestyles between her family and the government is very powerful and relevant. We can tell that Satrapi’s parents were more progressive and lenient with their upbringing of Marji, we see this when she sneaks her things with her family to Europe. However, the Iranian government suppresses women and requires veils to be worn in public or women can be imprisoned. I find your post interesting and I will continue my readings with being more aware of the compare/contrast found within the social-economic structure in Persepolis and further readings.

  4. Good post. I like how you explained the background information about Persepolis and why Satrapi titled it that, as well as the situation that she was living in. I think your post was really well written.

  5. This is a good post! I like your reference to the need for readers to understand the context of the times. The painful change in the status of women before and after the Islamic Revolution is also reflected in Persepolis. Women’s personalities are hidden and their rights are limited. I have seen you mention that Iranian women have tried and failed to defend themselves, which shows that women are eager to be treated equally. But the time line of this struggle must be hard and long.

  6. Thank you for sharing. This is a good text that educates myself about things happen on the other side of the world. I feel empathic with her struggles and her experience shows that women are as capable as men.

  7. I completely agree. When I first read it, I was a little confused about why the title was Persepolis, but I realized, as you did, that it truly represents the difference between her home and public life. The idea behind the city during the Islamic Revolution, and the meaning behind the independence (or dependence) of Iran during the war and governmental control is the true message of the story, and I’m so glad that we were all able to experience it through this beautiful novel.

  8. I liked reading this. After reading this, I thought about what really does happen on the other side. As we have read in the past and talked about equality between men and women, we see that women can do anything the men can. Women’s right have always been limited, but women have always been voicing their opinion to try and defend themselves. They do want to be treated equally.

  9. Thank you for sharing this information as it was really helpful when reading Persepolis to have some background information going into it. One of my favorite things you mentioned in the article was how the title of the novel came to be with the Persian roots in Iran. Very well written and overall a great job!!

  10. thank you very much for your detailed description regarding the context behind Persepolis, it helped me greatly in understanding the reading. I found your point on how the book was named “Persepolis” not because of it having taken place in Iran, but rather because it contains a story about culture and digestion. Great job!

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