The Concept of Identity

How important is fitting in? Does fitting in mean more than what one may let off? In reading Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, I noticed that Marji is constantly struggling to fit into the common criteria of an Iranian girl, no matter what age she is. From the beginning of the story, Marji’s actions are constantly identified with her headstrong attitude and her desperate attempts too seek more knowledge. From her younger ages, she consistently comes across as different because unlike her younger peers, she actually knew what was going on in the world around her and her parents did not hide important matters from her. Now who is to blame for Marjane’s incapability to be normal? Some may say the Iranian Revolution. However, I feel that it is solely Marjane who is to be blamed for her so called “being different”.

                Marjane comes to a point of complete depression and failure while she was in Europe. She does exactly what her grandmother tells her not to do, and loses herself. At one point she does not even attempt to find a connection with God anymore. When Marji returns to Iran she has some difficulty connecting with old friends. When speaking to her mother, Marji states “My friends, I find them all so unbearably inane” (Satrapi 260). I feel in most cases Marji gets too upset with her friends when they do not identify wither her. But, this poses the question of if it’s really her friend’s fault for not being able to understand Marjane?  Is there a point when one could just be too educated or too experienced to be able to connect with certain people? Marji is the perfect answer to this question because being too intelligent is exactly what she struggles with.  I do feel however, that Marjane too often fills this gap between herself and those who don’t understand her with self-pity. While I do feel remorse with Marjane’s desire to find herself, she needs to accept who she is in order to be happy. Her identity evolves over the course of the book. Although Marji always comes across as much more sophisticated than her actual age what she truly seeks is happiness and acceptance. However, the only way you can be happy with others is to first accept yourself.

The Role of the Government

        As I read Persepolis I feel more and more sympathy for Marji. The Iranian Government has an excessive amount of control over the people. This control infiltrates into people’s personal lives, and Marji has first hand experience with this. In Marji’s society, a man and a woman cannot rent a room or an apartment together unless they are married. When Marji and Reza went on a trip and asked to rent a room, the clerk responds with, “Your marriage certificate, please” (Satrapi 312). The same issue occurred when Marji and Reza attempted to rent an apartment together. The real estate agent says, “The owner...he’ll have problems with the authorities” (Satrapi 312). The Iranian Government has strayed from political matters and has taken control of the people’s personal lives. 

The questions that arise from this are, should a government be allowed to have this much control over one’s personal life? Does this type of control benefit the government in any way? Personally, I cannot justify this type of treatment of people. The government does not gain or lose anything in allowing an unmarried man and woman to rent an apartment together. I am forced to think that I find this absurd because of the freedom I have always had. This also raises the question of, do Americans, in general, take the rights we have for granted? I know that when I walk outside I do not have to worry about what I am wearing, but I never thought of this as lucky until I read Marji’s story. 

Importance of Women

          When reading Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel, The Complete Persepolis, one theme stuck out to me more than any other.  The importance of women.  How important are women?  Marjane feels that women are of much importance by the way she reflects the double standard placed between men and women.  During this revolution, men can have all different styles of hair while women cannot have hair shown at all.  It is considered a crime to have any body part shown other than the face.  What makes women much more sacred than men?  Was it because they were more sacred, or ultimately because they were an easier target than men?  In the graphic novel, men are often sent to prison for committing war crimes while women are punished for wearing make-up, showing hair, or wearing bright colored socks.

            Marjane may have over exaggerated this double standard.  However, when looking further into this Islamic Revolution, I realized women were truly punished for less serious offenses than men.  A large percentage of women’s arrests came from improper wearing of the veil.  While most men were arrested for crimes against the country.  After looking into this harsher punishment against women, I came to my conclusion.  Women did not have more sacredness or importance, but, the Iranian government needed a weak target to feel more power.

Since Marji was young, she was deeply concerned with the large number of deaths as a result of the war. Even after returning from Austria, Marji was affected by the street names being changed in honor of the martyrs; however she quickly changes her morals when she gets a boyfriend. To impress her boyfriend, she "arrived very made-up to give him a surprise." She is wearing lipstick which would get her sent to The Committee. The Guardians show up to raid the street. Marji distracts the men from her makeup by lying and saying an innocent man was harassing her. Why would Marji risk her and another man's life to impress her boyfriend?

Marji does not even know what will happen to the man she accused, because she only thought about herself in that moment of fear. Her attempt to make an impression on Reza was a failure, and in the end, it was pointless. Reza did not like her lipstick and even said, " What are you doing out wearing that flashy lipstick that doesn't even suit you?" (Satrapi 287). Marji endangered a bystander's life for no reason. What would cause Marji to be so irresponsible?

When telling her boyfriend what she has done, he laughs about it as if it were nothing serious; comparitively,  Marji's grandmother had different feelings about her granddaughter's actions. Her grandmother calls her a "selfish bitch". Marji feels bad about her grandmother scolding her.

I think Marji's attitude has changed due to growing up too fast. The war and fighting has affected her whole life, and she is unsure of how to handle things as an adult. After spending four years in Europe, she is immune to the violence and severity, because she was not exposed to it. She is unaware of what will happen to the man, because she has not experienced the regime's strict punishments. Her boyfriend is not affected by the violence, because he served in the war. Having a boyfriend has changed Marji. She disregards her morals for the sake of his attention. Why would Marji abandon her morals for a guy?

Is Marji still Considered a Child?

In Persepolis, we as the readers see a transition in Marji. Although she is only a pre-teen, she tries to show herself off as an adult. We feel bad for Marji because she is a confused individual. She is living through a revolution and cannot express her individuality because of the veil and she will be condemned if she rebels. In the earlier chapters, we see her trying to understand what is going on around her, how society is radically changing, and how she obeys her parents. She gets inspiration from her Uncle Anoosh because she feels he is a hero and he was executed for his heroism. As the story continues, we see her expressing herself with the music she listens to, (Iron Maiden), and the clothes she wears, such as denim jackets, Nike sneakers, etc. Marji also shows rebellious actions when her teacher tries to remove her bracelets, so Marji hits her. I started thinking, is Marji still a child? For someone to be rebellious at that time was high risk; she also tries to understand what happening in the political aspect which a child would normally not bother to care about. I feel that she is forced to grow up and her childhood was robbed, especially when her parents come to the conclusion to send her to Austria so she can live a better life. Living in Austria will give her the opportunity to live free, and to stay away from the danger occurring in Iran. Would one still consider her a child, even though she has grown up witnessing war and is about to live a new life without her parents?

What Makes A Hero

 In Persepolis Marjane looks up to her Uncle Anoosh because of all the suffering he endured due to his beliefs in Marxism. She believes he is a hero because of all the pain he suffered, but does not look at her father as a hero because he has not went to prison. This got me thinking; what makes a person a hero? Is it a person's actions, sacrifices or their suffering? To Marjane, who is just a child, you have to suffer to be a hero. I feel as if sometimes society looks at heroes the same way Marjane does.

We respect those who fight for their beliefs but they are not taken as seriously as someone who was condemned for their beliefs. Marjane's states that her father takes pictures of the demonstration even though it is forbidden, and tells the reader about how her father had been arrested but escaped last minute. But, even though she knows her father had been arrested she does not view him as a hero. She is jealous of Laly's father because he went to jail for his beliefs. Everyone admires those who have faced torture and pain for their beliefs, but what makes them less heroic then someone who stands up for their beliefs with out being condemned? I understand that Marjane is a little girl but she is easily influenced by those around her. She sees the adults praising those who went to jail and that is her idea of a hero. I can agree that those who have been tortured are heroes but I feel that Marjane should learn that being tortured is not the only way to make someone a hero. I hope that as Marjane gets older her understanding of the world she is living in becomes stronger and violence is not the only thing she admires.

Glory or Stupidity

     Would you die for a love one?  Would you risk your life for glory?  The question of why Antigone needs to bury her brother is unclear. Antigone knows that her brother, Polynecies, has betrayed his home of Thebes.  But why did he betray those who loved him?  The burial of a love one is to benefit the living.  The living need to find closure after seeing the dead buried.  Antigone can only see one of her brother, Eteocles, be buried.  Eteocles died a hero who fought to defend his city, against his traitorous brother.  Is it right for a traitor to be shunned?  Should Polynecies have a proper burial?  I believe that Antigone is right in burying her brother.  All the dead should be respected, and have a proper burial. 

            Is Antigone stupid for putting her life on the line?  Does she need to be killed for burying her own flesh and blood?  The fact that Antigone accepts her death baffles me.  She wants to feel the power and glory of accomplishing the forbidden burial.  How is there glory with being buried next to a traitor?  I feel that Antigone actions are ignorant. No glory ever comes from dying next to a man that is hated by all.  Antigone should find the closure and satisfaction of burying her brother, because it is what Polynecies deserves.  Leaving a body out to be destroyed by wild animals is barbaric.  She should find happiness in having a proper burial. 

            Antigone’s decisions to just feel glory by dying is moronic.   Is Antigone able to make a realistic decision?  Antigone being only a woman makes me question her knowledge and strength.  Does she have the strength to face death?  Creon comparing Antigone to a man made me question her femininity.  She chose death to achieve a speck of glory.  She found the closure she needed by burying the “honorable” brother, but she finds glory by burying the traitor?  I do not understand what propels Antigone towards her idiotic decisions.  Is it the lust for power that drives most men to death and failure?  Antigone accepting her death makes her stupid, not glorified. 

            

The Insanity of Shakespeare

Throughout the play King Lear by Shakespeare, I find that madness and insanity are very strong themes. It makes me wonder, why were these themes necessary? Why did Shakespeare have to incorporate such absurdity? Would the play be different if it did not have those bizarre scenes such as the one where King Lear, The Fool, Kent, and Edgar (Poor Tom) are stuck outside in the storm? The entire scene is a frenzy. Could the play have done without it? I personally don’t see the point, but then again was Shakespeare even trying to make a point or was it out of entertainment and comedy? For example, in Act 111 scene 1V, “Bless thy five wits! Tom's a-cold,--O, do
de, do de, do de. Bless thee from whirlwinds,
star-blasting, and taking! Do poor Tom some
charity, whom the foul fiend vexes: there could I
have him now,--and there,--and there again, and there.”  I have come to the conclusion that Shakespeare believes that in order to get to the core of us human beings he places his characters in chaotic and turbulent settings that expose all of their weaknesses and vulnerability. Insane emotions such as the one in this play, can truly make us think and feel as if we were the character or perhaps if we were ever to be in that situation. I feel Shakespeare wanted to make the characters susceptible and explore their emotions by causing dramatic and preposterous life battles for them. Would the play have the same effect if it did not possess the insanity Shakespeare intended it to have?