The
book “Persepolis” by Marijane Satrapi is a graphic novel following the life of
the author’s memory of growing up in Iran as a little girl. This story closely
follows the unique life of a little girl growing up in a country with rapid
social changes. Each chapter seems to present a new lesson on the vastly
differing ideologies present in Iran at the time. As this young girl grows up
living through new experiences, and as she notices and ponders upon how her way
of life she once knew was changing at a pace quite fast for a little girl, I
developed a few opinions of my own.
Religious institutionalism slowly
started to rise as she grew up and it was having a huge impact of her way of
life. In the first chapter the author introduces veils in school, where little
girls have to have their head hidden with a piece of cloth as a sign of respect
to a patriarchal God. However in my opinion, wearing a veil is the opposite of
showing respect to God or to men, what could be more disrespectful then hiding
your true self. Furthermore, it is quite sexist to make a whole segment of a
nations population to wear a certain cloth because of their gender. This young
girl talks about revolution and revolt and how she yearns to be a part of it.
The parents of this girl are dedicated protestors of the government in Iran, for
they are educated and oppose the communist government that has taken over their
government. This young girl speaks of religion and how she was “already sure
[she] was the last prophet” (6). The author of this book had a wild imagination
but above all believed in herself like no one else would. I find this unique
characteristic of this child to be respectable if nothing else. How are others
going to believe in you if you don’t even believe in yourself? There had never
been a female prophet, but this young girl with optimism ignored everyone and
wished for the best. If I was in this young girls place, I don’t know if I
would have had the courage and bravery to stand up to my own countries social
institution like she did. Everyone hopes that they would do the right thing in
the time of justice, but truth is many people wouldn’t sacrifice their lives
for the greater good or their own true opinion. I respect this young girl
because she stood up for what she believed in for the good of the community. I
personally never had the opportunity to stand up for what I truly believe in. I
was lucky enough to be born a fortunate life and I am very grateful for that.
However, so many of us are not that lucky and have to deal with what this girl
did at such a young age and it is quite inspiring. If everyone could have the
same courageousness as this girl, I believe the world would be a way better
place. There are many important life lessons to take away from this book but a vital
one is to be a strong individual who does not sacrifice their beliefs.
I'm glad you are gaining some insights by reading Persepolis.I agree that this book focuses on the development of the self in relation to the world. I also agree that women are uniquely targeted in this culture and I find that a fascinating aspect of this reading. I had an Iranian student explain covering to me using the analogy of the pearl. She told me that women in the Muslim religion cover themselves in much the same way that an oyster's plain covering protects the beautiful pearl within. The society values this pearl more than anything else and no woman needs to reveal her external self because it is assumed that the pearl resides in all women. It's hard to fathom this from our perspective, but it is something to consider, especially when we think critically about how our own society exploits the feminine.
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