A Book Review About Of 'Persepolis' By Marjane Satrapi: Class Conflict (Book Review Sample)

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date Persepolis INTRODUCTION Persepolis is a graphical novel published by Marjane Satrapi in 2003. The writer is Iranian-born, and she uses the graphical novel to communicate important messages. The book utilizes both words and pictures to tell Marjane’s story. Her life in Tehran between ages six and 14 years old and the novel, therefore, illustrates from Satrapi’s viewpoint how Iranian politics caused suppression and tribulation of Iranian people and how it disrupted their lives. The novel is based on drawings or figures colored black and white, and they are very engaging. The principal characters are Marjane, Mr. and Mrs. Satrapi, Siamak and Mosen who were heroes, Mehri who was Marjane’s maid, and Anoosh who was her uncle. The novel explores class conflict, the tension between the present and the past, fundamentalism versus modernity, abandonment of faith and the relationship between children and their parents. It also shows the kinds of injustices and oppressions Iranians faced at the time. DISCUSSION Marjane Satrapi grew up in Iran as the living conditions started worsening. Women’s rights were not obeyed, students were separated based on gender, and family members also got executed when it was suspected that they were spies. It was not easy to survive, but Marjane even moved to Vienna where she got exposed to parties, drugs, and sex CITATION Tar07 \l 1033 (Tarlo). She later traveled back to Iran but managed to go back to Europe. The characters in the book are incredibly realistic and dynamic. Shah got overthrown, and the Marjane was now forced to wear a veil. She even met Mohsen and Siamak who were friends with her parents and had been released from prison. Marjane loved uncle Anoosh who had earlier been imprisoned, and he gave her bread swan. Anoosh, however, told Marjane that his divorce was more painful than his torture and therefore his character showed that family and love are important than social and political ideals. In the novel, Marjane felt that the Persian empires past was glorious and significant while the modern was violent and with many problems. She had earlier asked her parents that “she loved the king because he was chosen by God” CITATION Mar \l 1033 (Satrapi). She felt she was a symbol of tolerance and love and therefore defended the Iraq-Iran war thinking its cause was the 1400 years conflict between the Arabs and the Persians. She, therefore, denounced their present conditions but still loved the past which shows tension. The author uses Bildungsroman, a literary genre which explains how the main character reaches self-actualization by undergoing very intense moral growth. She began Persepolis when she was a young girl, but in the end, she became independent from her parents and even smoked cigarette. Marjane and her friends sneaked off to go to “Kansas” where teenagers did not fear persecution, and this symbolized some sense of western normalcy. She also talks about the cultural change since “She was very religious, but they were a modern family, and she did not understand why it was mandatory for her to put on a veil” CITATION Sar03 \l 1033 (Tan) which explains her confusion. Class conflict is evident in the book since her father was a driver of the Cadillac family, yet his family had a maid, and he still preached virtues like class consciousness and equality. In Iran’s History, there was great poverty and wealth, and the country was characterized by impoverished people from the countryside and urban elites. This is evident in ‘The Letter’ where Marjane’s maid, Mehri could not be the neighbor’s girlfriend since they belonged to different social classes. Her father clearly stated that “In their country, people had to stay in their social classes” CITATION Mar \l 1033 (Satrapi). It was a great injustice since her parents, who supported the Marxist revolution now talked about social classes. In the first half of the novel, the author recounts how she lost naivety and faith CITATION Ish17 \l 1033 (Surendran). She had earlier compared herself to the prophets of Zarathustra, and God even encouraged her to stand up for justice and faith. When she began confronting the social and political realities of the society she detached from her faith. Marjane completely broke away from the faith when her uncle Anoosh was imprisoned and executed, and she described herself as lost and alone ...