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.
Jessica, I agree with your accusations about the Iranian government in the book, Persepolis. The government enforces heinous laws involving marriage, schooling, clothing, and society as a whole. The people of Iran are told what to wear, what to say, and how to act in public. The people are even told how to entertain themselves! Items such as cards, posters, music, and cable are not permitted in the country. When cable television becomes popular, the Iranian people must go to the extent of covering their satellites to avoid being questioned by authorities.
ReplyDeleteThe worst part of this all is the fact that the Iranian government uses fear as their number one tactic to enforce these regulations. Stories flow through the country about those who refused to conform, and were punished and killed because of it. People are afraid they will be sent to The Committee, which in Marji’s words is, “the HQ of the Guardians of the Revolution” (Satrapi 133). Is it evident that this fear that is instilled in the people of Iran and it indeed controls them. As Americans, we do not have to live in this fear today, which makes me extremely grateful.