“Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood” is a graphic memoir detailing the childhood and trials of its author Marjane Satrapi. She was born November 22nd 1969 in the Iranian city of Rasht to French educated avant-garde parents who saw fit to ensure she receives an education similar to their own. It is the first part of the Persepolis duology where Satrapi grows from an innocent child into a rebellious young adult. This first memoir details the Iranian revolution against the dictator known as the Shah as well as the Iraqi invasion of the newly formed Islamic theocracy that replaced Iran’s dictatorship. The graphic memoir revolves around the themes of feminism, innocence, oppression, and religion while being told from the perspective of a young girl growing up in a rapidly changing world.
The context of the work is that it is told at the beginning of the Iranian revolution against the dictator known as the Shah where the people rose up. In his place the government transitioned to an Islamic Fundamentalist theocracy of oppression. Iraq invades shortly afterwards and the new country is plunged back into a far more bloody war than its previous rebellion.
The narrative revolves around the oppression in Satrapi’s world even if she is unaware of what is happening around her. She is unable to do some things and many doors are closed to her from the onset because she is not a boy. Being a tomboy, however, she enjoys doing boyish things and champions the ideals of feminism before she even understands what such concepts are. It is her innocence that allows her to believe that god and society will let her realize her goals even if some of them go against the religious gender roles imposed by society. The Theocracy that replaces the Shah steadily crushes her innocence to force her to grow into a young rebel who thinks for herself, and for her parents’ decisions for her in her youth.
The memoir is more than a simple recount of Satrapi’s childhood, but instead offers an insider view of a country transitioning from a modern dictatorship to a theocracy plagued with archaic laws where all who dissent are enemies of the state. Its offers insights into the life of a girl born during an age of conflict while also portraying events in a visceral and personal manner. Satrapi does an effective job of telling her story in such a way that enables the reader to understand not only her own perspective, both then and now, but to come to their own conclusions. Juniors and seniors in High school will have little issue understanding what is presented therein. Persepolis is one of the few graphic memoirs to come out of Iran after the fall of the Shah, and it portrays its subject matter both effectively and with respect to what happened.
The work is rendered exclusively with simple black and white ink while using methods such as thatching, stippling, and other shading methods to deliver the moods and environments it tackles in the narrative. Overall the images are simply rendered to ensure the narrative is accessible to anyone reading it even if they do not understand the language it is written in.
Overall a solid narrative, a clear evolution of Satrapi as a youth, and an insider perspective of Iran during harsh times or transition and oppression make this a must teach.
The context of the work is that it is told at the beginning of the Iranian revolution against the dictator known as the Shah where the people rose up. In his place the government transitioned to an Islamic Fundamentalist theocracy of oppression. Iraq invades shortly afterwards and the new country is plunged back into a far more bloody war than its previous rebellion.
The narrative revolves around the oppression in Satrapi’s world even if she is unaware of what is happening around her. She is unable to do some things and many doors are closed to her from the onset because she is not a boy. Being a tomboy, however, she enjoys doing boyish things and champions the ideals of feminism before she even understands what such concepts are. It is her innocence that allows her to believe that god and society will let her realize her goals even if some of them go against the religious gender roles imposed by society. The Theocracy that replaces the Shah steadily crushes her innocence to force her to grow into a young rebel who thinks for herself, and for her parents’ decisions for her in her youth.
The memoir is more than a simple recount of Satrapi’s childhood, but instead offers an insider view of a country transitioning from a modern dictatorship to a theocracy plagued with archaic laws where all who dissent are enemies of the state. Its offers insights into the life of a girl born during an age of conflict while also portraying events in a visceral and personal manner. Satrapi does an effective job of telling her story in such a way that enables the reader to understand not only her own perspective, both then and now, but to come to their own conclusions. Juniors and seniors in High school will have little issue understanding what is presented therein. Persepolis is one of the few graphic memoirs to come out of Iran after the fall of the Shah, and it portrays its subject matter both effectively and with respect to what happened.
The work is rendered exclusively with simple black and white ink while using methods such as thatching, stippling, and other shading methods to deliver the moods and environments it tackles in the narrative. Overall the images are simply rendered to ensure the narrative is accessible to anyone reading it even if they do not understand the language it is written in.
Overall a solid narrative, a clear evolution of Satrapi as a youth, and an insider perspective of Iran during harsh times or transition and oppression make this a must teach.