Persepolis: The Story Of A Childhood PDF

Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com Persepolis Holocaust, was a harbinger for a critical reconsideration of the INTR INTRODUCTION...

Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com Persepolis Holocaust, was a harbinger for a critical reconsideration of the INTR INTRODUCTION ODUCTION merits and possibilities of comic books. BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF MARJANE SATRAPI KEY FACTS Born in Rasht, Iran, Marjane grew up going to French language schools in Tehran. Her family was highly educated and modern Full Title: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood in its outlook, which put it in a difficult position when the When Written: 1999 Revolution that overthrew the American-backed Shah of Iran Where Written: France ultimately resulted in the establishment of a repressively When Published: 2003 (in English) conservative Islamic Republic. As a teenager, Marjane was sent by her family to a French school Vienna in 1984. Returning to Genre: Graphic Novel; Memoir Iran after the end of the Iran-Iraq War, Marjane attended a Setting: Mostly Tehran masters program in the School of Fine Arts in Tehran Islamic Climax: The bombing of the Baba-Levy home Azad University until 1994. During this time she got married Antagonist: The regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran but the marriage was short-lived and the couple divorced Point of View: First person (Marjane) within three years; after graduating, Marjane worked for a short time as an illustrator for an economics magazine. Marjane then returned to Europe and attended school in Strasbourg to EXTRA CREDIT study Decorative Arts. In 2000 she published the four volumes Polyglot. Marjane speaks six languages: Farsi, French, German, of Persepolis in French, which was then published in English in English, Swedish, and Italian two volumes in 2003 and 2004. The Big Screen. Persepolis was turned into an animated film and HISTORICAL CONTEXT released in 2007. It won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film The many events that Marjane illustrates in Persepolis follow a Festival. linear path from the 1979 Iranian Revolution, to the political and social upheaval immediately following it with the rise of the Islamic Republic after a nationwide referendum, to the PL PLO OT SUMMARY subsequent Iraq-Iran War, which still rages at the end of the Persepolis opens right after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which graphic novel. The 1979 Revolution, which was marked by mass results in the downfall of the American-backed dictator known protests and political disobedience, led to the fleeing and as the Shah of Iran and leads to the rise of the religious overthrowing of the autocratic the American-backed Shah, who hardliners who establish the oppressive Islamic Republic. had been the king of Iran after inheriting the title from his Marjane Satrapi describes how she used to attend a French co- father. The Shah was particularly known for his attempts at educational and non-religious school, but how this is outlawed modernizing the country, for his land reform policies, and his because the Islamic Republic distrusts and rallies against all reliance on a brutal secret police to realize his aims. In 1980, Western influences. Further, the regime forces all women and Iraq attacked Iran, which led to the eight-year long Iran-Iraq girls to wear veils. Marjane’s parents, however, are modern and war, which left hundreds of thousands of civilians and soldiers secular in outlook; though they supported the Revolution again dead. the Shah, who was a despotic ruler, they are alarmed and dismayed at the fundamentalist turn of the new Islamic RELATED LITERARY WORKS Republic. Forced to grow up quickly, Marjane begins to learn Persepolis is part of a burgeoning field of new serious comic about the history of Iran and the many invaders and rulers it books, often called graphic novels. While comic books were in has had over its centuries’ long history. Her own grandfather the past not taken seriously, or seen as possessing much was a Persian Prince who was often imprisoned and tortured literary merit, this changed most prominently with the under the rules of the Shah. She also begins to understand that publication and following acclaim of Art Spiegleman’s Maus, different social classes exist, and that this is one root of much which was serialized in magazines for eleven years until a final tension and suffering in the country. and complete edition came out in 1991 and won a Special After the Revolution comes to an end and the Shah is ousted, Pulitzer Prize in 1992. Maus, which deals as its subject with the many political prisoners find themselves released from prison, including Siamak and Mohsen, both Revolutionaries who have ©2019 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 1  Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com been in prison for years. They speak of the tortures they makes her way to a new life in Vienna, Austria. experienced and the deaths they witnessed. Thinking of these two men as heroes, Marjane remains disappointed that her own father is not a hero, and that no one in her family is one, CHARA CHARACTERS CTERS either. However, she is enthralled when she meets her uncle Anoosh, who fled Iran to the USSR so that he would not be MAJOR CHARACTERS arrested for his activities against the Shah. However, when he Marjane Satr Satrapi api – Marjane is a strong-willed, sometimes came back to Iran, his disguise was not good enough to keep confused protagonist who we follow from childhood to him out of jail, and there he experienced much degradation. burgeoning adulthood over the course of Persepolis. The Marjane considers him a hero, and he hands her a bread swan confusion stems from her valiant attempts at trying to he made while in prison. Unfortunately, soon afterwards, with understand the embattled and restrictive world that she lives the new radicalization of the country under the hardline in—post-Revolution Iran—as well as her attempts at trying to government, the former political prisoners that were released maintain her dignity, independence, and individuality among become targets again, and Mohsen gets assassinated, though often senseless torture, suffering, and death. The main threats Siamak manages to sneak out of the country. Anoosh gets to her sense of self and growth are the new regime’s restrictive arrested, and Marjane is allowed to see him just once before his measures, most notably the imposition that all women must execution. This is the point at which Marjane rejects God. wear the veil, which disallows in public the kind of modern Many of Marjane’s family and friends leave the country, but the outlook and expression that Marjane would prefer. As a child, Satrapis decide to stay in Iran for economic reasons. Soon after, she must contend with being thrust into the consequences of Marjane’s mother gets harassed by men for not wearing her the adult world without being fully able or allowed—even by veil, and Marjane and her family go out on their last her mother and father, who try to protect her—to understand demonstration against the veil, which turns extremely violent. the shadowy mechanisms that dictate the oftentimes sorrowful Soon after that, the Iraq-Iran War breaks out. This is a moment fates of her friends and members of her family. She reacts to of great nationalism for Marjane, as she desperately wants Iran the forces around her by variously denying, lashing out against, to defeat its enemy, but as the war goes on she begins to realize emulating, supporting, or resigning herself to them. the cost of war, heroism, and of so-called martyrdom – Marjane Marjane’s ’s P Parents arents (Mother and Father) – Though many something the government regime valorizes – when her friend characters in Persepolis appear and then disappear, Marjane’s Paradisse’s father, a fighter pilot, dies while bombing Baghdad. parents are constants in the graphic novel, the two people who The new war brings many refugees from southern Iran up most affect Marjane, and whose cues and beliefs Marjane north to Tehran and many young boys are enlisted into the follows or alternately disregards over the course of her army. They are given plastic keys painted gold as a symbol of growing up. Educated, politically active, and modern, and the easy entry one enjoys into paradise after dying for the accepting of Western culture, Marjane’s parents represent for nation. Marjane and her family see this as a despicable lie, her an ideal mode of living. During the Revolution her parents particularly because it is only told to poor people. demonstrate against the Shah and take other risks to achieve During the War, the country’s policing of its people becomes the kind of government they think is best for the people. They more stringent, and the Satrapis' forbidden wine supply—as are dismayed, however, when the regime that takes the Shah’s people still hold parties as an attempt at normalcy—nearly gets place is even more repressive, and though at first they found out. When Marjane’s parents sneak in Western items for demonstrate against the Islamic Republic, too, and even let Marjane—like posters and sneakers—after their trip to Turkey, Marjane come along—though they always worry about what two members of the women’s branch of the Guardians of the information to share with her and from what she should remain Revolution nearly arrest Marjane. The Iraqis now use ballistic protected—they realize the danger is too great. They continue missiles against Tehran, which are very destructive, and one living secular, modern lives—but only while indoors. Still, they day the Satrapis' Jewish neighbors’ home gets destroyed, wish to give Marjane the kind of education and life that will though at first Marjane thought that her own house was hit. most benefit her, and by the end of the graphic novel they Nevertheless, Marjane is traumatized when she sees the decide that what is best for Marjane is if she leaves them for severed arm of her dead friend Neda beneath the rubble of her the foreseeable future and completes her education in Vienna, house. Marjane, always rebellious, becomes even more so. She Austria, away from the repressive Iranian regime. becomes bold, bold enough to slap her principal at school, and God – As a child, Marjane finds much comfort in God, who she is promptly expelled. Even in her new school she speaks her becomes a friend as well as a source of support. However, as opinions, and Marjane’s family thinks it best (and safest) that the world around Marjane becomes uglier and uglier, and as Marjane continue her education in a country that will afford she comes to understand that much of this ugliness is a result her more freedom. Tearfully, Marjane leaves her family and of the hardline religious leaders who now run the Islamic ©2019 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 2  Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com Republic, she begins to move herself away emotionally from Mohsen Shakiba – He is for a long time a political prisoner of God, and she finally banishes him from her life after she sees the Shah’s before being released after the ousting of the Shah. Anoosh in jail and knows he will soon be executed. He is then murdered in his bathtub by the Revolutionaries. Anoosh – Marjane’s Uncle who fled to the USSR after Laly – The daughter of Siamak. Fereydoon is caught and executed for opposing the Shah. He Ahmadi – Friend of Marjane’s Father, Siamak, and Mohsen, returns to Iran to see his family but, though disguised, gets who is tortured and executed. imprisoned. He becomes a role model for Marjane, who considers him a hero. However, after the revolutionaries take Fere ereyydoon – Cousin of Anoosh and the man who declared full power they again arrest Anoosh (just because he was anti- Azerbaijan as independent from Iran. He gets executed by the Shah does not mean his views accord with the new regime’s). Shah’s regime. He gets sent to prison again and executed, but not before Par aradisse adisse – Marjane’s friend whose father dies while a fighter Marjane gets to speak to him one more time in jail and he gives pilot bombing Baghdad. Paradisse writes to Marjane, “I wish he her a second bread swan. were alive and in jail rather than dead and a hero.” Taher – Marjane’s Uncle, he dies from his fourth heart attack Mali – Marjane’s Mother’s childhood friend who stays with after being frightened by an exploded grenade. Before he dies, Satrapi family after their house in destroyed in southern Iran knowing of his ill-health, Marjane’s family tries to get him a fake during the start of the Iraq-Iran War. passport through Khosro, but Khosro flees from the regime Mali’s Husband – Mali’s husband, who also lives with the and a real, government-issued passport arrives only on the Satrapi’s for a while after his own house gets destroyed. same day as Taher’s burial Marjane’s Father considers him very materialistic. Niloufar – A young communist, Khosro hides this woman until Mali’s T Two wo Bo Boys ys – Mali’s children. These young boys are she is caught and executed. Marjane’s parents use her as an materialistic and not very aware of their family’s losses and example to explain to Marjane of the dangers that young deprivations incurred during the Iraq-Iran War. women face when arrested. Niloufar was forcibly married off to Mrs. Nasrine – The Satrapi’s family maid, whose son receives a a prison guard and raped before execution because it is illegal plastic key painted gold in school, which is a tactic used by the to kill a virgin woman by the strict religious guidelines of Iranian regime to tempt boys to become martyr’s during the Iran-Iraq law. To add brutal insult to terrible injury, Niloufar’s family was war. She loses her faith due to the way the regime uses religion then sent a dowry for the wedding after the execution. to manipulate its people. Mrs. Nasrine Nasrine’s ’s Son – A schoolboy who receives a plastic key MINOR CHARACTERS painted gold and is very unaware of how the government and Marjane Marjane’s’s Gr Grandmother andmother –An early confidant of Marjane’s. At the school are manipulating him into wanting to become a the end of the novel she gives Marjane important advice about martyr during the Iran-Iraq war. how to live and survive in a world with people who wish to Shahab – Marjane’s cousin who, while on leave from the army, cause other people suffering. describes the way young men turned into soldiers are Marjane Marjane’s ’s Great-gr Great-grandfather andfather – Was emperor of Persia before convinced by the army that martyrdom will bring glory in the the Father of the Shah overthrew him. afterlife. Marjane Marjane’s ’s Gr Grandfather andfather – He was a Persian Prince, and though Khosro – A man who spent time with Anoosh in prison and at first Marjane gets excited by this fact, the truth of the matter agrees to make a fake passport for Marjane’s uncle Taher but is that he was often imprisoned and tortured for his communist must flee the country before he can do so. beliefs. Neda – Marjane’s friend and the daughter in the Baba-Levy Ramin Ramin’s’s Father – Ramin’s father is a member of the secret household. After the Baba-Levy home is destroyed in fighting, police under the Shah. Marjane and her friends at first blame Marjane discovers Neda’s bracelet—and the arm attached to Ramin for his crimes. it—in the rubble. Ramin – Ramin’s father is part of the secret police and Marjane Baba-L Baba-Leevy Family – The Jewish family next door to the and her friends decide to punish him for his father’s crimes, Satrapi’s who gets killed by ballistic missiles. They refuse to though later Marjane tells him that she forgives him. leave Tehran because their family has lived in the city for 3000 Siamak Jari – For a long time he is a political prisoner of the years. Shah’s regime. He is released but later targeted for Marjane Marjane’s ’s Bab Babyy Cousin – Marjane and her family take the time assassination. His assassins do not find him and kill his sister to celebrate his birth with the rest of her family even though instead. He flees across the border hidden among a flock of sirens ring throughout the city day and night. sheep with his family. Marjane Marjane’s ’s Bab Babyy Cousin Cousin’s ’s Mother – She hands her baby to ©2019 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 3  Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com Marjane and flees without him as a siren interrupts the party fancy and imagined glory—she sees herself as the last commemorating his birth. prophet—but also into ideas of social equality, aid for the weak, Mehri – Marjane’s childhood maid and friend. and the end of suffering. In pre-1979 Iran, Marjane does not see religion and modernity as incompatible: in her self-written Hossein – A neighbor who sends Mehri letters. holy book she adds a commandment that “everybody should Two women in the supermark supermarket et – Marjane and Mali’s family have a car.” Indeed, God, who comes into the book as his own overhear these two women denigrating refugees from character, provides Marjane with much comfort, southern Iran. companionship, and meaning. Hospital Director – The hospital director once was Taher’s But the Revolution, which many Iranians supported because family’s window washer. He has, since the Revolution, become they wanted freedom from the decadent, violently oppressive, very devout and reached a high position in society. and foreign-backed Shah, ended up bringing to power a regime Two Members – These are two members of the women’s of conservative religious hard-liners who saw modern branch of the Guardians of the Revolution who accost Marjane Western-style culture as incompatible with Islam. This new about the western clothes she is wearing and her improperly government—the Islamic Republic of Iran—soon passed laws veiled hair. that rigorously regulated all behavior on strict religious grounds and outlawed consumption of or interaction with Young policeman – He accosts the Satrapi family one day on essentially anything seen as Western, such as American music their way home and threatens to search their house for illegal or clothing. Much of the graphic novel depicts how the Satrapi goods, but he quickly vanishes after Marjane’s Father offers family, devoted as it is to Western ideas and practices, must him a bribe. hide these affinities behind closed doors (smuggling in, making, Peyman – Marjane’s friend who holds a party in his house. or buying Western luxuries like wine and posters of rock Tinoosh – A neighbor who is arrested after someone informed bands), while outwardly professing their devotion to the the police about his holdings of forbidden Western party religious values defined by the rulers of the nation so as not to objects. suffer terrible consequences that could range from beatings to Ka Kavveh – Marjane’s friend who left to live in America. torture to execution. Golnaz – Marjane’s childhood friend. Further, Persepolis shows how, while Iran ostensibly became more religious under the Islamic Republic, the government’s Mashid – Marjane’s childhood friend. attempts to force their religious practices onto the populace Narin – Marjane’s childhood friend. actually causes Marjane and others to lose their personal Minna – Marjane’s childhood friend. religions. After the execution of Anoosh at the hands of the Revolutionaries, Marjane yells at God to leave her, and he disappears as a character from the graphic novel. Under the THEMES new regime, she can no longer explore and think about religion on her own terms, and instead religion gets co-opted for In LitCharts literature guides, each theme gets its own color- nationalistic and political reasons. For instance, Mrs. Nasrine, coded icon. These icons make it easy to track where the themes the family maid, shows Marjane and Marjane’s Mother the occur most prominently throughout the work. If you don't have plastic key painted gold given to her son by his teachers. The a color printer, you can still use the icons to track themes in key, given to the poorer boys of Iran, represents their black and white. guaranteed entry to heaven if they are to die as soldiers in the Iraq-Iran War. Religion, here, becomes a tool used by the RELIGION, REPRESSION, AND government to not only justify but make schoolboys want to go MODERNITY to a war that is almost certain death for them. Seeing such a usurpation of religion, Mrs. Nasrine expresses that though she Persepolis explores the intersection of religion and has been “faithful to the religion” all her life, she’s not sure she modernity, as well as the impact of religious can “believe in anything anymore.” Further, Persepolis depicts repression on the religious feeling and practices of those who the hypocrisy of many of the representatives of the Islamic must endure it. At the beginning of the story, when Iran is ruled Republic, who declare their religious allegiance to the laws but by the Westernized, American-backed dictator Shah, Marjane also take bribes or overstate their devotion for the chance at defines herself as “deeply religious” even as she and her family extra money or promotion. The state-sanctioned religion makes think of themselves as also being “very modern and avant- shows of religion valuable as a means of career advancement, garde.” In fact, her religion at the start seems like a type of but does not inspire true religious values in many of even its freedom. Religion, Islam and Zoroastrianism, and its many most powerful adherents. Ultimately, the graphic novel stories and traditions allow Marjane an escape not only into ©2019 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 4  Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com portrays the repressive religion imposed by the Islamic and how there are many competing narratives about Iran’s Republic as actually standing at odds with the heartfelt past, present, and especially future. Much of the book’s aim, as religious feeling and belief experienced by an individual. Marjane explains in her preface, is to give readers at least one narrative about Iran: her own. NATIONALISM, HEROISM, AND MARTYRDOM VIOLENCE, FORGIVENESS, AND JUSTICE When the Revolution comes, Marjane, like her The historical body count by the end of Persepolis is family, rejoices. After decades under the despotic enormous: from the start of the Revolution to the American-backed Shah, she and her family believe that this end of the Iraq-Iran War over a million people moment will ensure that the Iranian people will finally be free die—on the battlefield, in the streets, and in prison cells—killed to decide for themselves who will lead their country and how. by the Shah and by the Islamic Republic that replaces the Shah. Put another way, Marjane is an Iranian patriot and a nationalist, By the end of the book, Marjane expresses her sorrow that “we in the sense that she believes profoundly in the value and need could have avoided it all”, indicating a belief that much of the for an independent Iran ruled by Iranians. Marjane’s love for damage done to the Iranian people was a result of the Iranian her country and belief that it should be free is so great that she regime’s own actions: its warmongering with Iraq, its feels the urge to fight for it, and glorifies those who do fight for radicalization of young soldiers, its religious fanaticism, its it—particularly those people who die in the name of the cause: valorization of martyrdom. Official, legally sanctioned martyrs. Marjane, just a child at this time, thinks of heroism in punishment for infractions as small as an improperly worn veil romantic terms, and sees martyrdom especially as extremely or the possession of forbidden party fare could be shockingly positive and desirable. In fact, Marjane hopes her own family severe, including torture and death, and the people who carry members will be heroes and she is disappointed that her father out these punishments are usually agents of the regime. As is not a hero. She is ecstatic when it turns out that Anoosh, her such, Marjane claims, “it was really our own who attacked us.” uncle, has had to flee to the USSR to protect himself from the Marjane must therefore contend with the reality of the Shah’s government against which he was fighting. complicity of the people around her. In the early days after the Yet as Marjane starts to come to grips with the actual end of the Revolution, Marjane and her friends find out that consequences of martyrdom and heroism—Anoosh, for Ramin’s father was part of the secret police under the Shah that example, gets executed by the new regime because of his killed many people. They decide to get revenge by holding nails former political activities—her positive feelings about heroism between their fingers and attacking Ramin. However, Marjane’s and martyrdom begin to fade. Even more importantly, as the mother teaches her that one cannot blame and punish the child Revolution results in a new regime even more oppressive than of the perpetrator, who has nothing to do with the crimes the Shah’s, and an Iran ruled by Iranians turns out to be no committed. She claims that one must forgive, and Marjane better and in many ways worse than an Iran ruled by foreign takes this to heart. Later, however, after seeing the deaths powers, Marjane is forced to grapple with the very notion of perpetrated by the new Islamic Republic, she contradicts nationalism. What country or which people should be the herself somewhat, saying that “bad people are dangerous, but object of her nationalism? Though before and just after the forgiving them is, too.” This comment suggests the realization of Revolution she complains that her father is “no patriot” an impossible situation, the realization that despite what the because of his pessimism, as she grows up and sees the actions storybooks might say, forgiveness is not a cure-all, that and impact of the Islamic Republic she begins to recognize her forgiving bad people won’t magically turn them good. At one own country’s stubborn foreign policy and ideologically-driven point, Marjane’s mother claims, “Don’t worry, there is justice on warmongering for what they are. She realizes that the boys earth.” But the book seems to constantly question the veracity sent off to war as martyrs are being brainwashed and used, of this claim. In Persepolis little justice is to be found. their lives wasted, in service to nationalism. She sees that just as nationalism can overthrow a dictator, so it can also be used CHILDREN, WAR, AND GROWING UP to prop up a dictator. And yet, at the same time, when she hears The memoir follows its protagonist, Marjane, from the Iranian National Anthem, Marjane is “overwhelmed” with childhood to young adulthood, and as such it traces emotion. Facing this conundrum in her feelings about her the effects of war and politics on her psyche and country, Marjane begins to understand that she can both love development. By her own admission, Marjane thinks that the her country and hate it at the same time. She begins to moment she comes of age occurs when she smokes a cigarette understand that a country is not one monolithic culture, one she stole from her uncle. However, by this point Marjane has monolithic religion (her neighbors are Jewish, for example), nor encountered so much sorrow, death, and disaster, with enough one monolithic people: she sees how the people in Tehran make grace, dignity, and sympathy, that her tiny act of rebellion fun of southern Iranians, how the country is very much divided, against her mother’s prohibition of cigarettes comes across as ©2019 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 5  Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com hopelessly childish—as more of a defense mechanism against without the other, and no individual in the story can exist or be the repression enacted by the state than an act of maturity. understood outside of the context of the historical change What might have, during peaceful times, been seen as a rite of happening in Iran around him or her, no matter how much he or passage into adulthood becomes muddied by the heightened she might try. From the start, Marjane’s story is about how the stakes of the war, and Marjane must grapple with growing up individual engages with the political—as her parents quickly even as she still retains many of her immature instincts. demonstrate against the Shah during the Revolution—and how War both stunts and quickens her growth, and brings out both the political encroaches on the personal—as after the the weepy and sensitive child and the strong and willful adult in Revolution Marjane must suddenly wear the veil at school. her. Indeed, what Marjane at one point pinpoints as the source of Persepolis shows children to be extremely malleable the Revolution—class differences—she recognizes in her own ideologically and behaviorally during war precisely because family home: the family maid, Mehri, does not eat dinner at the children do not yet have the capacity to understand the table with them. complexity of the situations around them. For example, we see The question, then, becomes one of degrees: if one cannot how many boys easily become radicalized and come to believe escape the political in one’s life, how much should one in the heavenly benefits of martyrdom because they are participate in the political sphere, and does one actually have a naturally trusting of authority. In fact, the graphic novel opens choice in the matter? For the Satrapis, the question manifests with Marjane professing the fact that she and her friends did itself in questions over how much risk they want to take to not understand the meaning of the veil newly imposed by the protect their rights—do they want to demonstrate and possibly Islamic Republic; they only knew it as a change from the time be beaten, for example? The Satrapis' solution is to try to before, when they did not need to cover their hair. This alerts recede as much as they can, to appear like good citizens of the us to the fact that for a child born into this new rule, the rule Islamic Republic even as they privately hold parties, make wine, will seem perfectly normal, just as not wearing a veil felt normal and buy imported goods. Yet even these choices are political for Marjane before the Revolution. Children, thus, take their acts, as they are forbidden and might lead to arrest. cues about what is normal in the world from the adults around Though Marjane cannot outwardly rebel much beyond them, and Marjane and her friends throughout Persepolis improperly covering her veil, she finds small ways to resist the emulate in reality or imagination the roles of soldiers, torturers, oppressive rules imposed on her by the Islamic Republic. The demonstrators, prophets, heroes, and political leaders. Rather personal and the political, then, become inexorably intertwined than thinking rationally or sophisticatedly about all the in Iran. To assert one’s individuality in clothing or spoken different players in this societal moment of crisis, Marjane at opinion becomes a political act. Furthermore, Marjane first follows or reveres anyone with power and popular appeal. expresses that government policies really affect people’s However, the graphic novel literally illustrates her growth into behaviors: “It wasn’t only the government that changed. young adulthood as she becomes continually confronted with Ordinary people changed too.” Under such a repressive regime, the contradictions and confusions of life. Marjane’s growing up what once felt like an enormous separation between the public is complicated by the fact that the Iranian government sphere and the private one considerably narrows. By the end of understands that the children of today are the adults of the graphic novel, Marjane’s mother is both covering the tomorrow, and so wants to influence children to become adults windows to protect against flying glass—a consequence of the who will support the Islamic Republic. Marjane’s school thus ongoing warfare, indiscriminate in its destructiveness—and becomes a microcosm of the wider world in which the from the eyes of prying neighbors, who might inform the government’s ideology gets thrust onto the populace. Not only authorities about the family’s Western ways, which would be must the girls wear veils, whereas once they did not, but after an individually targeted and motivated act. the Revolution they must also tear out the photo of the Shah—a man whom they were once told to adore. This confusion leads GENDER Marjane to understand that she cannot simply follow the Persepolis opens at the moment in Iranian history opinions of others—she must make up her own mind about the when it becomes obligatory for women to wear the political realities and questions surrounding her. She must grow veil and schools become segregated by gender. The up. Revolution brings many changes to Tehran, but the changes imposed on women and men in how they dress and THE PERSONAL VS. THE POLITICAL look—women must cover their heads, men must cover their Persepolis is a story about Marjane Satrapi, her arms and not wear a necktie—might be the most immediately family, her friends, and the people she knows—and relevant and personally frustrating. Over the course of the also about the nation of Iran. These two stories graphic novel, Marjane begins to understand that to be a cannot be unspooled from each other—one cannot be told woman in her new society is to be subjugated to a lesser role ©2019 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 6  Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com than the one she expected to have in her younger years. As a Marjane must contend with a world that disallows her regular child, she imagines herself a to be the last prophet, explicitly mode of expression. The veil for Marjane and for many women despite the fact that all the other prophets were men. However, in Iran becomes the key symbol of repression, particularly as the graphic novel progresses, she realizes that though she against women. “wanted to be an educated, liberate woman” this “dream went up in smoke” with the Revolution. Though she had once wanted to be like the celebrated scientist Marie Curie, she thinks that BREAD SWAN “at the age that Marie Curie first went to France to study Marjane receives her two bread swans from [chemistry], I’ll probably have ten children.” Anoosh, her uncle who spends much of his life Marjane comes to understand that her destiny as a woman is hiding in Moscow from the regime of the Shah or imprisoned by dependent on the state’s allowance or disallowance of women’s it, and who, shortly after his release from prison after the freedom. Early in the days after the imposition of the veil, success of the Revolution, gets arrested and executed. Anoosh Marjane’s mother gets assaulted for not wearing a veil, and at a is a man who spent so much of his life hiding or imprisoned, and demonstration against the veil Marjane sees women getting yet the bread swan represents his ability to maintain his beaten up and even a woman getting stabbed. Though her humanity in dreadful situations. Having few materials to work mother thinks earlier that she “should start learning to defend with, he creates a sculpture of a swan from the bread he her rights as a woman right now,” Marjane understands this to receives in jail. Despite its modesty, its splendor comes from be impractical and dangerous, so she resigns herself instead to the fact that Anoosh has been able to find whatever good committing small acts of disobedience, like improperly wearing remains in his situation and create a work of art. He has not her veil. However, she continues to speak out against the become embittered or angry, but instead focused his energies contradictions and unfairness she notices around her, which on his sculpture. The bread swan indicates the redeeming gets her expelled from school. Soon after her parents reveal to quality of art, and suggests that Marjane’s book functions in a her the extent to which the state believes it has a right to similar sense of redemption after all the trauma and suffering control women’s bodies—it is against the law to kill a virgin she experiences. woman, so before executions of virgin women a prison guard will rape the condemned prisoner. The situation appears both PLASTIC KEY PAINTED GOLD completely hopeless and dangerous to an outspoken girl like Marjane, and so her parents decide to send her out of the The plastic key painted gold is a beautiful object country, to Vienna, where she will have the freedom to be and from the outside. Mrs. Nasrine’s son is given the grow as pleases and befits her as an independent woman, an key by his teachers at school, to represent the “beautiful” idea independent person. that if he were to die for Iran in the war against Iraq he would be a martyr and immediately enter heaven. Mrs. Nasrine, however, sees the key, which being plastic is actually nothing SYMBOLS more than a trinket, as propaganda and brainwashing—she believes that the regime wishes to sacrifice her son for the Symbols appear in blue text throughout the Summary and cause of a political war rather than putting any real value on his Analysis sections of this LitChart. life. The key, then, is a way for the regime to further the war and people’s enthusiasm for it, but it also comes to represent in the book how the regime’s promises emphasize beauty and reward VEIL but are often self-serving and hollow. It turns out, also, that The veil is an extremely vital piece of clothing to only the lower class boys, who are shipped off to the front, get Marjane’s identity, not because she feels pious and these keys from their schools. The rich boys do not get fed such wants to wear it and thus asserts it as part of herself, but stories of paradise. Thus, the key also demonstrates the great instead because she doesn’t want to wear it and must anyway. class divide entrenched in Tehran’s society. Persepolis opens with Marjane describing how she first has to start wearing the veil at school. This moment for her most markedly divides her pre-Revolutionary life and her post- CIGARETTE revolutionary life, when the rise of the Islamic Republic creates When Marjane reaches her teenage years, she an enormous schism in society between those who are smokes a cigarette in order to rebel against her traditionally religious and those who are not and prefer to mother’s strict rule. Marjane skips school in order to buy an dress with Western influences. Marjane, though she still illegal hamburger, and when she returns her mother yells at her considers herself Muslim, belongs to the latter category. But and indicates that to skip school is to throw away her future. the Islamic Regime dictates the moral code of society, and Later that day, Marjane smokes a cigarette as a symbolic ©2019 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 7  Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com gesture against her mother’s “dictatorship” and feels that she has reached adulthood. This insubordinate gesture, which is monolingual education. The reference to the veil here actually quite childish, becomes a way to deal with the heavy serves to represent not only the opression of woman, but stresses of the war. On the one hand, Marjane wants to be a also a curtain of sorts between Iran and the rest of the normal teenager; on the other hand, every move she makes modern world after the Revolution of 1979. Iran, like might have enormous consequences for her future—taking the Marjane, was veiled and separated from its "friends" (other wrong step might ensure that, in fact, she has no future. modernized nations) after the Revolution. Consequently, the gesture is broader even than Marjane intends, and is directed against all the repressions in her life: from her parents, who rightly pressure her to behave I really didn’t know what to think about the veil. Deep responsibly, but also from the regime, which makes life difficult down I was very religious but as a family we were very and restrictive enough that she has to sneak around in order to modern and avant-garde. lead what she considers a normal life. That Marjane uses the language of the regime—“dictatorship”—to describe her relationship with her mother indicates just how intertwined her Related Characters: Marjane Satrapi (speaker) personal life has become with the larger political issues of her Related Themes: day. Related Symbols: QUO QUOTES TES Page Number: 6 Note: all page numbers for the quotes below refer to the L'Association edition of Persepolis published in 2000. Explanation and Analysis Though Marjane's family is religious, her home life is not as devout as her school life becomes after the Revolution. This The Veil Quotes leads to tensions within herself as she grows up and hears We found ourselves veiled and separated from our friends. one thing at home and another in school. Though she feels strongly about the religion she learns at school, it conflicts Related Characters: Marjane Satrapi (speaker) with her parents' views, two people whom she loves and respects above anything.In this quote, Marjane notes that Related Themes: she is unsure how to feel about the imposition of the veil in 1980. She has previously been religious in her heart, but Related Symbols: feels oppressed when she is suddenly forced to wear the external trappings of religion--showing how Page Number: 4 counterintuitive any real state-sponsored or nationalistic religion is (since true religious faith is always a personal Explanation and Analysis choice, not a government rule). After the westernized Shah of Iran is overthrown by the This quote is representative of Marjane's larger feelings Islamic Republic in 1979, Iranian women and girls are about Iran as she grows up. While she knows logically that suddenly forced to wear a veil in public. The Revolution also the sociopolitical situation in Iran is grim, she cannot help led to the abolition of bilingual schools, such as the French- but feel deep love and allegiance to her homeland. Even Iranian school that Marjane attends as a child, due to the when her parents help her escape the repressive regime by government's belief that they are a symbol of "decadence." sending her to Vienna, she cannot bear to shed her "true" Thus, Marjane is forced to switch into a single-language, self in order to assimilate to Viennese culture, and she single-gendered school. ultimately returns to Tehran. Marjane will grapple with her In this quote, Marjane refers to the veil as a method of innate love but logical problems with Iran for years to come. separation not just from the public and a woman's body, but also between different groups of people and culture. Though she enjoyed a co-educational, secular and bilingual I wanted to be justice, love, and the wrath of God all in one. education prior to the Revolution, after Islamic Law was put into place, her world became much smaller as she was forced into a dogmatically-religious, single-gender and Related Characters: Marjane Satrapi (speaker) ©2019 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 8  Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com young age, the idea of a revolution that could change the Related Themes: way her world works is enough to push the idea of Prophet- hood from her mind. While the metaphor of the bicycle is Page Number: 9 clever, the fact that Marjane and her friends make a game of Explanation and Analysis the bloody disputes across the country shows that they do Marjane notes that she was "born with religion," and feels not fully understand the consequences of the political deeply religious from a young age. As a child, prior to the conflict. It is likely that Marjane heard this phrase from her Revolution, Marjane believed that she would be the next parents, in the media, or from friends at school. Marjane is Prophet of Islam. In this quote, she notes that she wants to therefore at a phase in her life where she absorbs her be both loved and feared in this role, and seeks to become a surroundings like a sponge, but still has difficulties Prophet in order to fix the various injustices she notices in processing her own nuanced points of view on various the world. issues such as politics, war, and religion. As a young girl, Marjane seeks to reconcile what she sees as problems with what she has learned so far from her parents The Water Cell Quotes and at school. Thus, she seeks to use the religion she deeply identifies with to fix these problems. This is representative As for me, I love the King, he was chosen by God. of the strong will and rebellion that Marjane expresses as she grows up: she wants to embody love but also wants to Related Characters: Marjane Satrapi (speaker) be greatly respected, a model of power that is difficult for her to imagine outside of religion, particularly between the Related Themes: monarchy and the dictatorship that she experiences in Iran growing up. Marjane's wish to be a Prophet shows her need Page Number: 19 to establish a personal identity through deep soul-searching Explanation and Analysis and a personal--not public or state-imposed--philosophy from a very young age. Even when she is reprimanded at After a long day of protesting against oppressive school for speaking her childhood dreams aloud, she is government policies, Marjane's parents come home steadfast in her wish and belief that she can bring about exhausted. When she demands that they play a game of change. Monopoly with her (a board game that takes a notoriously long time to complete), they tell her they are too tired. Angry, she lashes out against her parents' demonstrations, The Bicycle Quotes here claiming that she loves the King, as "he was chosen by God." “The Revolution is like a bicycle. When the wheels don’t turn, it falls.” In this quote, Marjane parrots what she learned in school. She is too young to understand that her education is controlled by the government. To her, it is inconceivable Related Characters: Marjane Satrapi (speaker) that she would be taught something in school that is not true. Her belief that the King (Shah) of Iran was chosen by Related Themes: God is indicative of her fierce loyalty, even at a very young age. Iran comes first in her heart, even as she grows up and Page Number: 10 learns of its problems from her parents. Marjane comes to Explanation and Analysis be proud of her parents' active roles in the resistance to Marjane and her friends like to play pretend as repression, and learns to be skeptical of even the things she "revolutionaries," dressing up as figures such as Guevara learns in school--but at the same time she never loses her and Trotsky. Though they don't quite know what this loyalty to Iran itself, despite its different corrupt revolution will bring--nor does anyone--they are excited at governments. the idea of a rebellious change to the status quo. In this quote, Marjane likens the Revolution to a bicycle--if no one is pedaling its wheels, such as the Revolutionaries they hope to embody, it falls. Even though Marjane identified as very religious from a ©2019 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 9  Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com Persepolis Quotes “You know, my child, since the dawn of time, dynasties Explanation and Analysis have succeeded each other but the kings always kept their Marjane's grandmother continues to explain the promises. The Shah kept none.” sociopolitical situation that led to the Revolution. Here, she tells Marjane that the Shah was "ten times worse" than his father had been, and spent all of the government's money Related Characters: Marjane’s Grandmother (speaker), on frivolous celebrations of the State. Meanwhile, Iranian Marjane Satrapi citizens were starving and living in desperate poverty. Many revolutionaries were sparked by the injustice they felt from Related Themes: a government that served itself rather than its constituents. Page Number: 27 At this moment in history, Iran was receiving a lot of attention from nations around the world due to its Explanation and Analysis abundant oil reserves. Marjane's grandmother suggests After learning that her grandfather was in line for the that these lavish displays of wealth were ploys to earn throne of Iran, Marjane asks her grandmother to tell her respect and interest from other heads of state throughout more about his life and time in jail. Marjane's grandmother the globe, to assert Iran's wealth and power. This came at tells her about the problems Iran faced prior to the the expense of most Iranians, and ultimately led to uprising Revolution, but does not directly address the life and times and the Revolution. of Marjane's grandfather. In this quote, Marjane's By hearing the events that led to the Revolution, Marjane grandmother explains to Marjane that the tyrannical rule of slowly begins to grasp how important it is to her parents the Shah was a deviation from the Shahs that came before that they demonstrate against the rules they find to be him, thus leading to the current Revolution. repressive and detrimental to their fellow Iranians. Rather As a young child, Marjane takes everything she hears at face than continuing to feel angry at her parents' exhaustion and value, and is still learning to understand the complexities long hours away from home, Marjane feels proud that she and nuances of people's points of view and positions. has such politically active and brave parents. Though Marjane has learned much about the Revolution through hearsay at school and from eavesdropping on her parents, Marjane's grandmother tries to break down politics The Letter Quotes into concepts she, as a young girl, can understand, such as The reason for my shame and for the revolution is the the making and breaking of promises. Marjane's same: the difference between social classes grandmother, like her uncle Anoosh, helps to shape Marjane's understanding of her world and her country by explaining things in terms she can comprehend at her age Related Characters: Marjane Satrapi (speaker) and experience. Thus, a young girl can understand why the revolutionaries, such as her parents, are angry at a Shah Related Themes: who has broken promises unlike (supposedly) any ruler that has come before him. Page Number: 33 Explanation and Analysis Eager to learn more about her country's history and the “All the country’s money went into ridiculous celebrations reasons for the Revolution, Marjane devours a number of of the 2500 years of dynasty and other frivolities…all of books, both historical and fictional, that describe the this to impress heads of state; the population couldn’t have inequality in Iran. She particularly likes books byAli Ashraf cared less.” Darvishian, “a kind of local Charles Dickens," whose stories depict those who live in deep poverty in Iran. (Charles Related Characters: Marjane’s Grandmother (speaker), Dickens wrote many stories about social and economic Marjane Satrapi equality in 19th century England.) In this quote, Marjane expresses a kind of relief and also Related Themes: guilt at finally understanding why she feels shame when she rides in her father's Cadillac: though she has problems and Page Number: 28 difficulties in her own life, her economic and social standing ©2019 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 10  Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com means that many of her struggles will never come close to against repressive governmental policies, he is complacent the gravity of pain felt by many of her countrymen. Though regarding the social strata that already exists. her family is not currently involved in the government, she comes from royal lineage and enjoys the creature comforts that come from socioeconomic security, such as a nice The Party Quotes home, car, education, and a live-in maid. Here, Marjane “As long as there is oil in the middle east we will never have realizes that the same things that make her life comfortable, peace.” that make her feel shame when she drives past impoverished Iranians with her father, are also what have directly inspired her country to revolt. Related Characters: Marjane’s Parents (Mother and Father) (speaker) Related Themes: “You must understand that their love was impossible…because in this country you must stay within Page Number: 43 your own social class.” Explanation and Analysis Related Characters: Marjane’s Parents (Mother and Marjane's father continues to explain the situation in the Father) (speaker), Marjane Satrapi, Mehri Middle East to Marjane. Though the Shah attempts to belatedly appease protesters, it is too little and too late, and Related Themes: he eventually steps down from the throne. As he can no longer remain in Iran, the Shah seeks asylum from various Page Number: 37 global leaders. He is denied asylum from Jimmy Carter, President of the United States, and eventually finds a new Explanation and Analysis home in Egypt. Thinking about social and economic inequality in Iran In this quote, Marjane's father laments that much of the reminds Marjane of the case of her family's maid Mehri, and turmoil in the Middle East arises from the rich resources of her crush on the boy living in the neighborhood. Mehri was oil that exist there. World powers fight over the control and sent to live with Marjane's family at age eight because her collusion of governments in the region to retain access to family could not take care of her. Though she is technically this crucial natural resource. In explaining the crisis in Iran their live-in help, she was raised alongside Marjane as if to Marjane, Marjane's father explains how various world they were sisters, and they often slept in the same bed. leaders served to exacerbate internal crises due to their Marjane helped Mehri, who could not read or write, desperate need for oil. Marjane's father, though a compose letters to the neighborhood boy. When Marjane's passionate revolutionary who frequently demonstrates and father discovers the letters, he immediately recognizes his protests against the oppression of the Shah, here expresses daughter's handwriting. He tells the boy that Mehri is not a dismal outlook on the political situation of Iran's region. his daughter, but a maid, which ceases the relationship. In He is cautiously optimistic about the good that a Revolution this quote, he explains to Marjane that Mehri and the boy will do in Iran (as he does not yet know that the fall of the could never have married because of their separate social Shah will bring about a similarly oppressive regime) but is classes. less certain about the prospect of peace in the surrounding Marjane thinks of this anecdote involving Mehri because countries of the Middle East. Mehri is the only person she has known who comes closest to the characters in Darvishian's stories. Marjane is shocked to learn that social class is something someone is born with, The Heroes Quotes and that social mobility rarely exists in Iran. The memory of My father was not a hero, my mother wanted to kill Mehri's lost romance is particularly salient for Marjane, people…so I went out to play in the street. since she loved Mehri like a sister and often slept in the same bed as her. Marjane grapples with the concept that someone can be forced to remain in a position that they Related Characters: Marjane Satrapi (speaker), Marjane’s were born with and did not actively choose. This quote from Parents (Mother and Father), Siamak Jari Marjane's father also reveals a hypocrisy within his sociopolitical views: though he is eager to demonstrate Related Themes: ©2019 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 11  Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com Page Number: 52 USSR followed by prison in Iran. In this quote, Anoosh warns Marjane of the importance of keeping their family Explanation and Analysis history alive, even though she is young and does not quite When the Revolution succeeds, political prisoners are understand the pain it has brought. released, including many family friends of the Satrapis. Marjane immediately becomes attached to Anoosh upon Siamak Jahri and Mohsen Shakiba, two such victims of the meeting him for the first time. He is the only member of the regime, visit Marjane and her family upon leaving the family who speaks to her frankly as an equal, rather than prisons. Ignoring Marjane's young age, they regale the only allowing her to hear things of a gruesome or difficult family with gruesome stories of torture and execution. nature by accident like her parents do. As the youngest Horribly disturbed by the descriptions, Marjane's mother member of the family, it's suggested that it is Marjane's cries out that all torturers should be massacred, and burden to carry on its triumphs and struggles. Rather than Marjane learns from her friends at school that people who just being a bystander of the members of her family and survive such trials are considered heroes. their roles in the Revolution, she is now an active member. In this quote, Marjane continues to grapple with her Anoosh gives her a sense of importance and singularity she romanticization of the war. Though she previously has not yet felt, and this is why his story impacts her more considered her parents to be exceedingly brave and noble than any other tale of war she has experienced thus far. as avid protesters of the Shah's regime, she is shaken by what she hears from the released prisoners and her friends at school whose fathers have been executed or released. The Trip Quotes She struggles with the idea that her father is not as "heroic" I wanted to be an educated, liberated woman…and so as she previously thought, since he has not survived torture another dream went up in smoke. in the prisons, and that her mother, who advocated for an end to such practices, wanted to murder the very people Related Characters: Marjane Satrapi (speaker) carrying out assassinations and inhumane practices. By illustrating this anecdote, Marjane expresses her slow Related Themes: understanding of the nuances of war, in which good and bad are not always black and white, but rather a vast no-man's Related Symbols: land of gray areas. However, as a relatively sheltered child, she still has the opportunity and gift of being able to set Page Number: 73 aside such complicated ideas and play in the streets with her friends. Though the war looms large in the background Explanation and Analysis of her childhood, she is nonetheless privileged to still be After the success of the Revolution, the fundamentalist able to enjoy a childhood during wartime. regime that takes over the Iranian government decides to close the universities for the time being, since that kind of education was thought to be too "decadent," leading Moscow Quotes students away from the "true path of Islam." As an educated “Our family memory must not be lost. Even if it’s not easy woman, Marjane is crushed--she had dreams of studying for you, even if you don’t understand it all.” chemistry at university, like her hero Marie Curie. In this quote, Marjane notes that her dream of becoming a Related Characters: Anoosh (speaker), Marjane Satrapi famous chemist like Marie Curie has gone "up in smoke," just like her dream of moving to America prior to the Related Themes: fundamentalist student take-over of the American Embassy in Iran. Though the Revolution has succeeded, Marjane's Page Number: 60 family and other supporters of the Revolution are slowly realizing that this was not the outcome they had intended. Explanation and Analysis Though the Shah was corrupt and oppressive, he had at After the Revolution succeeds, Marjane's uncle Anoosh, least supported a modern Iran; the new regime serves to whom she has never met, is released from prison after nine impose a fundamentalist version of Islamic law onto years. He tells her about the trials he endured as a Iranians, which rendered women as second-class citizens to revolutionary, which involved thirty years of exile to the ©2019 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 12  Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com men. Without the chance to continue her education, the attack over the car radio. Together, they scream Marjane realizes that the prospect of becoming a housewife expletives against the Iraqis. Marjane asks her father if he with many children is far more likely than is a career as an will fight in the impending war against Iraq, but her father educated scientist. says he won't, and doesn't even cite the Iraqis as the obvious enemies. In this quote, her points out to Marjane that though the Iraqis have technically carried out the It wasn’t only the government that changed. Ordinary attack, the new regime is like an invasion of Iran in its own right, and may have aggravated the bombing. people changed too. Marjane becomes angry when her father says he will not fight on behalf of Iran, since her lessons at school have Related Characters: Marjane Satrapi (speaker) caused her to become increasingly nationalistic. However, she comes to learn through this event that her parents can Related Themes: both love and criticize their country. It is actually due to Page Number: 75 their love for Iran that they point out its flaws, and continue to demonstrate and protest to try to make it better. Explanation and Analysis Therefore, even when his homeland is directly attacked by With the new Revolutionary government, fundamentalist another nation, Marjane's father does not abandon his Islam becomes the law in Iran. It is mandatory for women to belief that Iran is not entirely blameless in this war. This wear the veil in public, and men must dress conservatively anecdote teaches Marjane about the nuances and as well (no Western neckties, or bare arms). Many people complexities of maintaining beliefs and a point of view, but adopt the fundamentalist point of view in order do adhere also about revising opinions based on changing politics. to the laws of the new regime. Though Marjane's family is not very religious at home, Marjane's mother urges her to pretend that she is in public. War always takes you by surprise. In this quote, Marjane notes that the new rules of the Revolutionary regime not only changed the politics of Iran, Related Characters: Marjane Satrapi (speaker), Marjane’s but also served to seep into the public consciousness such Parents (Mother and Father) that ordinary people changed along with the laws. In school, Marjane's fellow students compete over who prays the Related Themes: most; in public, resistance was expressed only in subtle ways. Marjane and her parents learn that the Revolution Page Number: 81 they hoped for was far from the one that actually happened. Remaining unique and individual is now an act of resistance Explanation and Analysis in and of itself. When Marjane and her father return home, they rush to tell Marjane's mother about the bombing. Having been in the shower, she had no clue it had occurred prior to being told The F-14s Quotes by her daughter and husband. In this quote, Marjane reasons that war is never truly expected--it always takes “The real Islamic invasion has come from our own people, and a nation, by surprise. government.” Though Marjane grew up in a state of political turmoil, this is the first time she has experienced being in the midst of a Related Characters: Marjane’s Parents (Mother and war. Previously, she heard about bloodshed and disputes via Father) (speaker), Marjane Satrapi secondhand accounts at school and from her parents. Now, she finds her city of origin as the point of attack. Though she Related Themes: knew that her country's position in world and Middle Page Number: 81 Eastern politics was far from friendly and stable, an Iraqi bombing of Tehran was the last thing she expected to hear Explanation and Analysis over the car radio while driving with her father. This event When Iraq bombs Tehran, Marjane and her Father learn of teaches her to expect the unexpected. ©2019 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 13  Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com “I wish he were alive and in jail rather than dead and a hero.” some local women complaining that there is less food on the shelves since the Southern Iranians have sought refuge in Tehran, and that southern women are "whores." In this Related Characters: Paradisse (speaker), Marjane Satrapi quote, Mali expresses her shame and rage at overhearing these remarks. Related Themes: Even though Iran has united in its efforts against the Iraqis, Page Number: 86 this quote illustrates how the country is still very much split internally. The war has affected everyone, but it has done so Explanation and Analysis in differing degrees based on location and socioeconomic Iran uses F-14 fighter jets to bomb Baghdad in retaliation class. While the only hardship the women in the grocery for the Iraqi bombing of Tehran. Marjane and her father store have come across is less variety of foods due to the rejoice over Iran's expression of its power in the face of an influx of refugees, Mali and her family lost their home, and enemy, but sober up when they hear that half of the fighter could have died if they were at home at the time of the jets, and thus their pilots, will not return. When she returns bombing. The war has increased Marjane's sense of to school, Marjane is saddened to see that one of her nationalism, but this event showed her how there can still classmates lost her father, a pilot, in the bombing. Marjane be serious distrust and malice even between native Iranians. attempts to console her friend by telling her her father is a national hero. In this quote, Paradisse (the friend) replies that she wishes her father were still alive and in prison, The Key Quotes rather than dead and a hero. “Our country has always known war and martyrs, so, like Ever since she learned of the glory that former political my father said: ‘When a big wave comes, lower your head and prisoners received once they are released, Marjane feels let it pass!’” marginally ashamed that her father, though a brave protester, is not technically a "hero."However, like Paradisse, Related Characters: Marjane’s Parents (Mother and she of course would rather have him alive and non-heroic Father) (speaker), Marjane Satrapi than dead and hailed as a martyr. As a part of growing up, Marjane realizes that there are complex nuances to the war: Related Themes: to be hailed a hero or martyr is an honor, but one that comes at a grave price. Marjane continues to learn that the Page Number: 94 war, like life, is not split into good and evil, or black and white, but a system of gray areas between the extremes. Explanation and Analysis As the war rages on, the newspaper prints the names and photographs of "today's martyrs," or the most recent victims The Jewels Quotes of the war. Marjane tries to talk to her mother about what “To have the Iraqis attack, and to lose in an instant she sees in the press, but her mother avoids the topic. In this everything you had built over a lifetime, that’s one thing…but to quote, she explains to Marjane that Iran has seen so much be spat upon by your own kind, it is intolerable!” death and bloodshed in its history that her own father taught her to remain stoic through even its worst moments. Related Characters: Mali (speaker), Marjane Satrapi, Marjane is surprised that her mother, a staunch Marjane’s Parents (Mother and Father) revolutionary and avid protester, is so passive about the current war. This is likely due to the fact that even though Related Themes: the Revolution she fought so hard for succeeded, the new regime is even more oppressive than the one it overthrew. Page Number: 93 Her disappointment at the state of her country is therefore understandable, though depressing to Marjane, who has Explanation and Analysis always looked up to her mother's courageous words and When Southern Iran is bombed by the Iraqis, one of actions. Her parents have always made her feel safe and Marjane's mother's friends loses her home. She and her protected from the horrors of the Revolution and the war in family come to stay with the Satrapis until they can get back the past, and though her mother intends these words to onto their feet. One day in the grocery store, she overhears comfort her, they have the potential to do the opposite. ©2019 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 14  Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com Whereas previously her parents advocated action, now her Related Characters: Marjane Satrapi mother encourages passivity. From this conversation, Marjane realizes that her parents are capable of Related Themes: complexities and contradictions, and that she must develop her own approach to the world separate from theirs. Page Number: 115 Explanation and Analysis The Cigarette Quotes As the war between Iran and Iraq rages on, Iranians become increasingly confused as to the trajectory of the fighting. “Now is the time for learning. You have your whole life to The government controls the news, so it is difficult to know have fun!...In this country you have to know everything better what is true and what the government says to save face. In than anyone else if you’re going to survive!!” order to boost morale and encourage citizens to fight, the government releases propaganda that glorifies those who Related Characters: Marjane’s Parents (Mother and die in war. This quote is one such slogan, suggesting that Father) (speaker), Marjane Satrapi each person that dies in the war serves to energize society at large. Related Themes: Marjane's parents teach her to be skeptical of Iranian news sources, since many Iranians believe that it is propaganda to Page Number: 113 make the public believe the war is progressing more than it Explanation and Analysis actually is. Though Iraq offers a peace settlement and Saudi Arabia offers to aid in reconstruction, Iran rejects both Marjane befriends some older students at school, who offers due to a refusal to compromise ideological beliefs. convince her to skip class to go buy hamburgers at a This suggests that the regime is using the war to unite Western-influenced restaurant called "Kansas." Though Iranians against Iraqis, distracting Iranians from uniting Marjane does not think it is a big deal to skip the class, against the Islamic Republic. Slogans such as these, as well which is on religion, Marjane's mother finds out and as rhetoric that tells young boys that they will be received becomes furious. In this quote, Marjane's mother into a glorious afterlife if they die in on the front lines, serve reprimands her for forgoing her education in pursuit of fun. to convince Iranians to continue fighting for a war that She is concerned that if Marjane does not become as seems to have no point and no end. Marjane, who grapples educated as possible, she will never succeed, or worse, between her wish for the war to end and her intrinsic love "survive" in the political turmoil of Iran. for her homeland, is fascinated by the idea that death is Now that the Revolution served to allow the Islamic supposed to invigorate the Iranian people. Republic to take over Iran, there are fewer chances than ever for women to engage in social mobility and intellectual pursuits. Marjane's mother wants her daughter, who is The Dowry Quotes smart and spirited, to have every chance she can to make a “If [people] hurt you, tell yourself that it’s because they’re good life for herself. She is particularly angry that Marjane stupid. That will help keep you from reacting to their cruelty. didn't mind skipping religion class, since safety within the Because there is nothing worse than bitterness and new regime is only ensured if one expresses devotion to vengeance…Always keep your dignity and be true to yourself.” fundamentalist Islamic education and ideals. As Marjane grows up and begins to express a stubborn and rebellious personality, her mother is both proud and scared for her Related Characters: Marjane’s Grandmother (speaker), daughter: she has the potential to do great things, but only if Marjane Satrapi she abides by the rules and receives an education. No doubt Marjane's mother sees in her daughter the rebellious Related Themes: nature of many members of her family, in particular Anoosh, whose bravery and spirit led him to his death. Thus, her Page Number: 150 scolding of Marjane is inspired by much more than anger Explanation and Analysis about her daughter skipping school. After Marjane is expelled from one school and is reprimanded for speaking out against political prisoners in a second, her parents decide that is in her best interest to “To die a martyr is to inject blood into the veins of society.” ©2019 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 15  Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com leave Iran. They decide to send her to live with one of and cruelty, and the aim of war is to cause so much damage Marjane's mother's friends in Vienna, where she will attend to an enemy that they are weakened to the point of being a Francophone school. On the night before she is scheduled unable to cause more damage. Though Marjane is stubborn to leave Tehran, her grandmother comes to spend one last and spirited, she is also kind and unique, and Marjane's night with her. In this quote, she gives Marjane the advice to grandmother hopes that she will be able to continue to be never react cruelly to anyone, even if they are cruel to her. herself, albeit herself with dignity, in Vienna, since she was The advice that Marjane's grandmother gives her extends not able to fully express herself within the strict regime of not just to interpersonal relationships, but to world Iran. relations as well. Violence and cruelty begets more violence ©2019 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 16  Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com SUMMARY AND ANAL ANALYSIS