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.
In my opinion, it is the Iranian Revolution that causes Marjane’s struggle to fit in; however, not directly. As conveyed, due to the revolution, Marji is forced to move away from her family. This is how the revolution indirectly affects her. I believe when Marji moves away from home is when she truly and completely loses her way and identity. In Europe, Marji suffers from rejection, heartbreak, and different kinds of abuse. Away from Iran, she evidently misses her mother’s touch, her father’s intelligence and grandmother’s kind words of wisdom. It was once her family that instilled Marji’s identity. The fact that they are not with her is the reason for her incapability to fit in. This is when she completely loses herself; however, we can not blame poor Marji. Would any of us be able to function correctly without our families?
ReplyDeleteUpon her arrival, Marji’s past experiences in Europe that makes it hard to fit in again. After all, she has lived in a different country and society for some time. This is why Marjane falls into her depression. Fortunately, with the help of the stable family she once had to live without, Marjane slowly and surely finds herself again.
I completely agree with you, throughout the novel we see Marji's struggle to find herself. When she lives in Austria, Marji cannot find her comfort zone because she is not familiar with European culture. Also, like Leslie said, she misses her family. Her family was her form of comfort and all she knew, but when she moves back, life is different. All of her friends grew up and people she knew died because of the war. Marji feels torn between her past and her future which causes her depression. We can relate to Marji's character because she used raw emotion, so we can understand what she went through and how to realize that family is the foundation of our identity. Like Marji's father said before she went to Austria, "never forget who you are." I feel the answer to Leslie's question is that we could learn to function without our families, but it is difficult because our family is our foundation. Marji tried to adapt in Austria without her parents, but the end result was negative.
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