In the book Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi this novel about her life growing up in Iranian Islamic revolution. This book take place during 1980. At the beginning of the religious and political turmoil, Marjane was forced to wear the veil to school when the boys and girls were separated. She told her parents she wanted to be a doctor but always wanted to be a prophet because there were things, she wanted to change in her life. She wanted, her maid to eat with them. She also wanted her grandmother’s’ feet to stop aching. She desired to forbid older people from being in pain.
Marjane’s parents were against the revolutionary and they would attend political protest. In addition, many of Marjane’s family members were against the revolutionary too. Maryjane’s uncle, Anoosh tried to flee the country because he was accused to be a spy, but was later got caught and sent to be executed. This was the moment she stopped believing in god. Because of her family impact, Marjane decided she too wanted to be an activist, and finally she decides to join a protest against the police pg. (2.39). However her parents did not let her to join the protest. That night she prayed God, but did get her wishes.
Marjane realized that the biggest problem with the world was the division of social classes. She learned the division existed between different classes in the society when the maid Mehri falls in love with the boy next door. Marjane would write letters for her, but she was not allowed to pursue him because she was a much lower class then him. Marjane and Mehri went to protest and Marjane ended up getting caught by her mother who was worried about her. The mother slapped her and Mehri in the face.
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Later, Mirajane uncle, Taher got a heart attack and they rushed him to the hospital. He needed an open-heart surgery and to get that he needed to go to England. They had to fake a passport and Marjane father tried to get him one, but before the passport arrived, the uncle died. A year later the border was reopened, and her parent got passports to go to Turkey but she didn’t want to go. She did ask for poster of her favorite thing like Rockstar posters. When her parents came back, and she got a Rockstar jacket. She wore her jacket out to the streets and a woman stopped her to shame for wearing such a thing. The woman threatened to report her. She lied and claimed she has a stepmother who would beat her if she got in trouble.
When Marjane went shopping one day, she heard that a bomb had hit her neighbor’s house and rushed home. When she arrived home, she found out that her mother was fine but nobody else was home. Her mother tried to convince her that all the neighbors were unharmed and safe. However she found her friend Neda’s bracelet which she never took off and started to worry about her.
Later, she discovered Neda’s death and collapsed due to the trauma. After Neda’s death, she became more rebellious. One time she hit her principal and got expelled because of her strong independence. Her parents were worried about her safety and came to conclusion that she must leave to Iran. They sent her to one of her mother’s friend in Vienna. As they dropped her off at the airport her mother fainted as her father carried. All she could do, was to watch them walk away from the glass.
This book is very interesting to read, it is first hand story which took place during the Iran Islamic revolution. A lot of human suffering is taking place in short time when Iran changes suddenly. Marjane found herself difficulty situation which forever changes her life and faith. Some of the Marjane stories reminds me the stories that my parents told us, when they left Somalia because of the civil war. However I do not agree with Marjane that social classes has something to do with Islam, It is rather a cultural tradition which still exist many places in the world.
