Lana West

English
November 24, 2009

Persepolis Book Report

1. Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. New York: Pantheon Books,
2004.

2. Persepolis, written by Marjane Satrapi, is a graphic novel unfolding the secrets of

the Iranian Revolution in 1979 from the view of a child. First her bilingual school is

closed, and all the boys and girls are separated. Once attending the all girls’ school at

age ten, Marji is forced to wear the veil along with all the other girls. Although she is

from a modern family, Marji is a very religious child. She firmly believes that she is

the last prophet of God. But as bombs fly through the air as the war staggers onwards,

despite her deep faith, fear overcomes her family as well as the nation. Marji’s bold

sense of style causes her parents to worry about her safety. So at age fourteen, she is

sent to school in Austria.

3. The three words that I would use to describe Marji would be bold, adventuress,

and clever. Bold because at the young age of six, she wanted to go do the

demonstrations with her parents to defend the rights of her country. Adventuress for

the same reason, but also because she would go to Gandhi Avenue to buy illegal

things such as records. She didn’t care that she could get in trouble; she wanted them

so she found a way to get them. Finally, I would say that Marji is clever, because

there were many moments that she could have gotten in huge trouble for and been

sent to prison, but she somehow wormed her way out of them. Like when she lied to

the Guardians of the Revolution by saying that her mother was dead, and if her
 stepmother found out she was in trouble she would burn her with an iron. Needless to

say, the Guardians of the Revolution let her go.

4. Marji lived in Tehran, Iran in 1979. She is living during the Iranian, or Islamic,

Revolution. This was a very dangerous time, especially for young girls growing up in

Iran. They were forced to wear the veil, and were faced with serious punishment if

they did not oblige.

5. If I were to ask Marji one thing, I would like to know how she was able to find the

courage to leave her family. The reason for my asking is because I don’t think I

would ever be able to leave my mom. I might get mad at her, but I don’t think that I

would ever actually leave her; even if it was for my own safety. The second thing I

would ask Marji would have to be if you got a tan line while wearing the veil. Odd

question, I know. But I have always wanted to know that!

6. Marji has many memorable qualities and accomplishments. I would consider her

‘escape’ from the Guardians of the Revolution an accomplishment. She is also daring,

and very, very brave. Not only was she able to stand up for what she believed in

starting at a young age, she lived through a war. And nobody can do that without

courage.

7. I learned that even though you may be going through some very hard things, there

will always be someone else in the world having a much harder time that you are.

Even though she was practically living through hell, I don’t think she ever

complained once. Never did she show that she wished she had a better life.

8. The main conflict Marji faced was the whole war and results of it. The veil,

safety, self-torture at school, everything was caused form the Revolution. She did
 many things to overcome it. She would do things she enjoyed with her friends at first,

or listen to music as loud as it would play. In the end, she had to leave the country

because it just wasn’t safe anymore.

9. Many things were said in Persepolis that really touched my heart: “To die a

martyr is to inject blood into the veins of society.” (pg. 115) This means that if you

die a martyr, you are giving your dead country life. Another quote I liked was “‘You

can’t go beyond this point!’ ‘…I live here…’ And he let me through.” (pg. 139) I

can’t imagine the fear that she must have been going through. I would be absolutely

terrified.

10. I would definitely recommend this autobiography to others. It was very

informative, and I liked having the option of a graphic novel. Not only did I learn

about the Iranian Revolution, it was in the perspective of a child growing up. I didn’t

realize this until I was half way done with the book, but she is actually getting older

in the story. It was just very enjoyable.