Free Thesis Statement On Persepolis: The Story Of A Childhood

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood is a graphic novel written by an Iranian woman by the name of Marjane Satrapi. She starts off the book with a quick summary of the history of her land going far beyond what most people know of the Iranian nation and its people, and her love for the country shines through her words. She goes on to explain that she decided to write this novel in an attempt to show that Iran is more than a nation full of fanatics and terrorists as many people have come to believe over the last several decades. Instead she portrays the nation as she saw it with her ten year old eyes; how she viewed the revolution and the Shah. What it all meant to one young girl wishing she could be a prophet or a revolutionary. The book has many pages of importance, showing changes in how she views the turmoil engulfing her world. However I am choosing to examine pages 19, 36 and 65 because I believe that they hold a special kind of significance in the changing of this young child’s world view from one of innocent purity nad morphing her into the opinionated woman she became.
Page 19 has nine panels and shows a significant change in Marjanes demeanor. She goes from talking to her God about being a prophet to wanting to be a revolutionary and protest alongside her parents the next day. Each panel depicts her changing mind frame and realization that her imaginary friend is gone after she sets her mind on the evolution. However, after a single moment of looking for him she quickly refocuses on her quest and goes to convince her parents that they should let her come with them to the protest the next day. This scene can be easily overlooked but is in fact a turning point in her life; leaving fantasy to try to focus on reality. She doesn’t seem to realize what has happened as most children don’t when they start to leave childhood behind for the horrors of the real world. The left bottom panel shows her stomping down a dark hall looking determined. As if perhaps she fears they will not let her come and is resolute in her conviction to persuade them at all costs or maybe the dark hall symbolizes the very different path she has turned too. With no further ado the young Marjane opens her parent’s door and proclaims that she wants to come with them, marking a milestone in her young life and a change in her priorities even though she is very naïve about the reasons and people behind the protest. Even at ten this young girl wanted to stand up for what was right at all costs. Her Parents are blunt with her about the realities of these kinds of protests and even tell her that people get killed, but this only seems to increase her diligence. In a calm manner she insists and her eloquent line regarding rising together seems to be one that she learned from one of her many books. Nevertheless they are set in their decision. This scene truly shows Marjanes aptitude for fighting against oppression and cruelty and which eventually lead her parents to send her away from Tehran to convent where they believe she will be safe from the battles and shootings. (page 19)
The second page I chose is 36 because it shows an awakening in Marjane. She realizes for the very first time what the revolution is honestly about after reading as many books as she can on the subject. She reads about young children working from the age of three to provide food for themselves and their families and being scorned for doing so. She understands why she feels guilty when riding in the father’s luxurious car and why her family has a maid at home. For the first time Marjane understands what social classes truly mean and why the people are rebelling against them. She recalls her maid being heartbroken over the discovery that the next door neighbor that she loved did not want to see her once he discovered her social class, strange considering he is portrayed wearing western attire not indicative of any class. However, the traditions are deeply ingrained in Iran and one does not may move out of his or her social class.
The final page I chose was 65 because it gives the reader a better idea of what Marjane is being inundated with at home from her parents and uncle. This scene gives us an awareness of how Marjane formed her strong opinions about the revolution and the government of Iran, especially when taking into account how much she admired her uncle. Her parents do not shelter her from their political discussions. These panels show situations in which she is present for political discussions between her uncle and father. One of the panels even portrays the girl attempting to voice her own opinions on the matter of the revolution based upon what she saw on television but this view was quickly shot down as ludicrous by her father. It is apparent that her family is very one-sided in this matter even if they have varying concepts of how the people should be rallied around Marx. It seems no wonder that Marjane would become as strong-willed and opinionated as her parents and relatives. She was exposed to all aspects of the revolution from a very young age.
The pages chosen for this analysis were set in the early stages of Marjanes growth and maturity as a child. These three pages in the book show the realities that Marjane is facing at the tender age of ten. The scenes depicted in the panels radiate with the love of parents and the pain of death, showing us how a young girl living in Iran in 1980 felt when the country was facing such turmoil among those with differing religious and political views. This story is unique because the author is not trying to push her views on the reader; rather she is attempting to help the reader understand what she felt. She wants others to feel the humanness innately missing from the Medias view of Iran. In these pages a ten year old girl starts to lose the innocence of her youth symbolized by her imaginary friend in the form of her own personal God and begins to develop her strong opinions on right and wrong. It is reminiscent of the future overshadowing the past and Marjane growing up and seeing the realities of her world beyond the inconvenience of having to wear a headscarf for the first time and being segregated in school. Her world is changing and she is finally seeing those changes for what they are.

Sources

Marjane, Satrapi. "Part one." Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. London: Random House. Print.