A graphic novel written by Marjane Satrapis Persepolis - Essay Example

Persepolis Introduction Persepolis is a graphic novel written by Marjane Satrapi’s. The has used her own name as the main character name of the novel. Persepolis is a very powerful memoir depicted by Marjane Satrapi while she enlightens her childhood memories in the novel and the film. The presentation of the Iranian culture and the historical background are portrayed in a fascinating manner which makes the film and the novel more interesting. The author has used the graphics novel method to target the younger audience with the message that she wants to deliver to wide audience by her novel of Persepolis. Marjane Satrapi had experienced various down falling situations in her childhood and her adolescence period in Iran. With the change of rule in Iran, compulsory laws were enforced in the country which was to be abided by all the citizens of the country. Failure to abide by the rules may lead to vital punishments. This event has been depicted in the novel when the Shah of Iran burns down a movie theatre by locking it from out so that no one could escape (Satrapi 15). The novel and film depicts how an Iranian expatriate wants to visit her country and portray the message to the world that it is not difficult to be an Iranian. The famous proverb which says that pictures speak more than a thousand words applies completely on the graphic novel method. The visual aids tend to help more in delivering the message plus the concept being delivered becomes easier to understand by the readers as compared to a regular novel. For those readers for whom some of the concepts are very unfamiliar, the graphics helps them to visualize the concept better. Like for example, when the author is trying to portray that the girls were compelled to wear veils according to the laws of the new government. In these cases graphic novels are better than the regular novels. All the strips discussing about the veil are depicted in the first chapter of Volume 1 of Persepolis which is titled as “The Veil”. Discussion Marjane Satrapi depicts her own life events and experiences in the novel of Persepolis. Marjane was born in 1969, and when she was just ten years old, Iran had been reformed as the Islamic Republic of Iran. With the advent of the new government and rule in Iran, the whole atmosphere was gradually changing. For some people to adjust to the new laws were quite difficult, Marjane was one of those young teenagers who was facing difficulties while adjusting to the new laws. This has been depicted in the chapter of “The Veil” in the novel where Marjane couldn’t understand why she had to wear a veil, protests against the veil were depicted as the women enchanting “the veil, the veil” in the graphics portrayed in the novel (Satrapi 5). The ten year old girls were found playing with the veil instead of wearing it over them. The historical and political fear that has been inbuilt in the minds of the people about the Iranian government in the era of 1979 has left proliferating impacts on the later generations. People in other parts of the world had a strong fear related to Iran. They had a feeling that an extremist government had been oppressing its citizens and enforcing them with harsh and cruel laws making life difficult for them. The film of Persepolis has been portrayed in simple styles in some clips and in some parts the styles are portrayed in ascetic ways. Especially those parts are austerely depicted in which the laws are to be implemented by everyone. In the chapter of “The Trip” in Persepolis which is the last chapter of Volume 1, there is an alarming news depicted that “They’ve occupied the U.S embassy”, an image has been given that the Americans have been harmed by the foreigners (Satrapi 198) The resistant that is depicted portrays the fact that to compel anyone can lead to negative behavior from some people. It is mentioned that this attitude was causing Marjane to distance herself from the rest (Satrapi 193). This would lead to someone else paying for the mistake conducted by another individual. The film portrays a strong sense of individuality being observed by Marjane of how she reacts to the changing situations in her country and why she feels that to settle abroad is the best decision for her. This situation has been highlighted in the 2nd volume of Persepolis, in the first chapter “The Soup” (Satrapi 210). The different images in the graphic novel create a sense of urgency in the readers to read the novel till the end. The graphics makes the novels more interesting to read and help the reader to actually experience what it would be like to face a certain situation like the one Marjane and her family faced. The film and the novel both depict clearly that the concept of terrorism or fundamentalism that is linked to the Iranian civilization is not true. The reality is far away from this. The political issues or the stereotypes that have been created by others do not have much reality in them. The main purpose of the author to make Persepolis is to eradicate the misconceptions that have been built of the Iranian citizens by the people around the world. Marjane has given a clear picture in her novel and in the film of Persepolis that being an Iranian or a female in Iran is not that difficult as some people around the world perceive it to be as. The laws of the new government restricted females to a large extent but this should not give a image to the people around the world that Iranians are living under oppression or cruelty. This was not truly the case at all. Imposing laws does not at all mean that women are oppressed and disregarded. The message was that the Islamic government was imposing laws which are beneficial for the women but those who had a broad thinking and believed in westernization were having difficulties implementing this law. The Coming of Age discussed in the novel and film shows that all teenagers have the same feelings, likes and interests when they are at a certain age of immaturity and living a tension free life. They may not understand the importance cultural or religious barrier that is present within their boundaries and if not dealt with them properly they may tend to show excessive retaliation towards it. Conclusion The ending of Persepolis gives a clear picture to the audience and the readers that the decisions that are made by some Iranians are due to their wishful thinking and modern lifestyle. It should not be linked to the religion or the citizenship of any country. Persepolis is an attempt to engage the link together the relations of panel and the figurative spaces of personal or national relations. The confrontation which Marjane faced in Europe was because the people were not able to differentiate the fundamentalists from the mediocre citizens of Iran. The concept related to Iranian women that they were not given a place in society was removed from the minds of the audience by the film and novel of Persepolis. Perceptions can be developed based on a number of notions, and it takes quite an effort to remove the vague perceptions from the minds of the people which have been developed due to the various circumstances being observed by the country. References Girl, Expatriated- TIME. Girl, Expatriated By Lisa McLaughlin, 2010. Web. 8 July 2010. Observer review: Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi |Books |The Observer. Marjane Satrapis drawings paint a bleak picture of modern Iran in Persepolis 2, 2010. Web. 8 July 2010. Perspolis DVD, (2008) directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud She Can’t go Home Again- NYTimes. She Can’t go Home Again by Marjane Satrapi, 2010. Web. 8 July 2010 Satrapi, Marjane. The Complete Persepolis (Volume 1 and 2). Pantheon, 2007.Print.  Read More