Marjane Satrapi, the author of Persepolis, wrote the graphic novel told through comic strips during a time both preceded and followed by unrest in the Middle East. The environment at the time she wrote the novel was growing volatile and unstable. Persepolis is told through the view of a girl living in the Middle East, in Iran, during a revolutionary period. The novel was written during a militarized and volatile period in Iran, which was largely due to the fact that Iran owns massive oil reserves, which are very valuable in a world dependent on natural resources. The novel follows a linear timeline, and the title Persepolis itself alludes to a history of unrest in Iran. Persepolis, centuries ago in Iran’s history during the time of Alexander the Great, was once the capital of Iran, which was left in ruins after an ancient war. The title of the novel is foreshadowing the plot of a place that is familiar with war and cannot seem to break the cycle.
Satrapi’s novel takes place between 1976 and 1994, during which she lived in Iran. The Iranian Revolution took place in 1979, and occurred primarily due to resistance of westernization and secularization attempts from the Shah. Persepolis focuses on Marjane Satrapi’s personal life during the Iranian Revolution, but many fictional events during the Revolution are depicted. The beginning of the novel is when Satrapi is young, and as the novel progresses her maturity and understanding of what is happening in Iran grows. Satrapi picks up on the unequal treatment of women in Iran, and views western and American culture in a positive light and doesn’t understand a lot of the restrictions imposed on women in Iran. There is also a lot of clash between religion and westernization, and Satrapi’s misunderstanding their incompatibility is shown in the novel as well. More extremist factions of Iranians cannot comprehend a union of religion and modernization, and this is another demonstration of the bildungsroman undertones with Satrapi.
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/english/currentstudents/undergraduate/modules/fulllist/first/en123/cwl-litcrit/persepolis2013/persepolishistoricalcontext
Hello! I thought your analysis on Persepolis was fantastic. Furthermore, I also liked how you connected the Iranian Revolution to the novel. You can see a lot of the similarities on how Marji was portrayed in the story, and how that was connected to Satrapi’s personal life during the Iranian Revolution. I really liked how you drew the connection between the two stories. It was interesting to see how Satrapi portrayed her own life in a graphic novel.
I enjoyed your presentation and appreciated the historical background you have provided. Like you say, Iran has had a long history of war and cannot seem to break the cycle. Just today, President Joe Biden ordered strikes against Iran, of strategic targets in neighboring Syria. Thank you for bringing up the clashes of religion vs. Westernization and modernization. I will pay more attention to this while finishing the graphic novel.
Marji does not seem to fit in, in Iran or Europe, but was able to develop her views, writing and art in both. It would be interesting to see if she is happy in France and her take on current events.
I thought your context presentation did a great job relating the novel to the historical events that it is based on. It is refreshing to read from the point of view of a woman in Iran who is so strong and outspoken about her beliefs because the oppressive government attempts to make their women appear weak and defenseless. I enjoyed learning about the sudden change in power and culture in Iran and how this affected the young, but very aware student age group. Right now we are all college students and I can imagine a similar confusion and frustration that Marjiane felt among myself and peers if we went through an extreme cultural change.
Hi! I thought you made great points throughout your context presentation and elaborated clearly on details that can be seen in the novel. I found it extremely helpful that you explained the title and the format the author wanted us to understand. I thought it was important to learn about the historic significance and the seemingly unbreakable cycle. I liked how your context presentation touched on the progression of the novel and the simplicity tied to the authors own experience and growth.
I really liked the historical context you gave when doing your presentation. Just like you noted that as the novel progresses Marjane becomes more aware of the injustices she faces, I picked up on that a lot too. It was very interesting to read along with Marjane as she grew up and matured, and became aware of not only the injustices that were happening but aware of why they were happening. I liked how we kind of grew up with her while also learning about a very important time in history.
Hello, I really enjoyed reading the book and agree that Marji was very mature for her age and aware of what was happening around the world at such a young age.Even at a young age she wanted to go outside of the social norms in order to help people who were suffering in different ways. It made me sad and upset that she and so many others had to grow up the way that she did. Great work