Name: _______________________________ Class: Pre-AP 8th Grade

Persepolis by: Marjane Satrapi

Vocabulary for pages 1-40
1. Capitalism (pg. 4)- an economic and political system in which a country's trade and
industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.

2. Decadence (pg. 4)- moral or cultural decline as characterized by excessive indulgence in

pleasure or luxury.

3. Avant-garde (pg. 6)- favoring or introducing experimental or unusual ideas.

4. Predecessors (pg. 7)- a person who held a job or office before the current holder.

5. Perpetrated (pg. 15)- to carry out or commit a harmful, illegal, or immoral action.

6. Degenerate (pg. 18)- decline or deteriorate physically, mentally, or morally.

7. Putsch (pg. 19)- a violent attempt to overthrow a government.

8. Entourage (pg. 23)- a group of people attending or surrounding an important person.

9. Communism (pg. 23)- a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war
and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works
and is paid according to their abilities and needs.

10. Rheumatism (pg. 25)- any disease marked by inflammation and pain in the joints,
muscles, or fibrous tissue, especially rheumatoid arthritis.
Study Questions for pages 1-40
1. What revolution broke out in 1979?

2. What year was it mandatory for girls to wear the veil at school?

3. What did Marji want to be when she grew up? What were 3 rules she wanted to enforce if
they came true?

4. Which person supported what Marji wanted to become? Why did Marji lie to her parents
saying she wanted to be a doctor?

5. What 3 things in 1 does Marji want to be when she becomes a prophet?

6. Summarize what happened at the Rex Cinema. Who really started the fire? How many
victims died during this massacre? Did the police help the victims or did they make the
situation worse?
7. Why does Marji want to go to the demonstration? What and why do her parents react the
way they do?

8. Who was Marji’s great grandpa? Summarize what happened to him.

9. How did Marji’s reactions change when she found out who her great grandpa is and what
he went through?

10. Why does Marji feel ashamed on page 33?

 11. How does social class impact a person’s life? Explain how it affected Mehri.

12. What would you do if you were Marji…would you have gone to the demonstration and
fight for what you believe in or would you obey your parents and stay silent?

13. Describe Marji in 3 words.

Vocabulary for pages 41-80

1. Effigy (41)- a roughly made model of a particular person, made in order to be damaged
or destroyed as a protest or expression of anger.

2. Savak (44)- secret police of the Shah’s regime

3. Euphoria (45)- a feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness.

 4. Dialectic materialism (59)- the Marxist theory (adopted as the official philosophy of the
Soviet communists) that political and historical events result from the conflict of social
forces and are interpretable as a series of contradictions and their solutions. The conflict
is believed to be caused by material needs.

5. Proletariat (69)- workers or working-class people,

6. Fundamentalist (72)- a form of a religion, especially Islam or Protestant Christianity, that

upholds belief in the strict, literal interpretation of scripture. In Persepolis,
Fundamentalist believe that no embassy & no visa = no way of going to America

7. Decadent (73)- characterized by or reflecting a state of moral or cultural decline.

8. Imperialism (73)- a policy of extending a country's power and influence through

diplomacy or military force.

9. Chador (75)- a large piece of cloth that is wrapped around the head and upper body
leaving only the face exposed, worn especially by Muslim women.

10. Stupor (75)- a state of near-unconsciousness or insensibility.

Study Questions for pages 40-81.

1. How does the picture of the people on page 40 differ from the picture of the people on
page 42?
2. Is it fair that Marji is put in time out for questioning how the teacher goes from saying the
Shah was chosen by God to disregarding him and making the students rip out his picture
from their textbooks?

3. Notice how impulsive Marji is. What does she want to do to Ramin? Why?

4. Marji’s mom makes Marji think about her actions and teaches her that she has to learn
how to forgive. What does justice and forgiveness mean to you?

5. Name at least 3 ways that political prisoners were tortured.

6. Why do you think Uncle Fereydoon decided to stay and accept his fate instead of running
away and escaping like other people did? What happened to him?
7. Why did Marji’s friend leave Iran? Where did they go?

8. Why is it hard for people to accept change? (reference to page 64)

9. Reflect on pages 62-72 (section called “The Sheep”). In a few sentences, summarize what
happened. Talk about how dehumanization is seen and the different emotions Marji feels
throughout the events that occur in this section.

10. On page 74, what happened to Marji’s mom? Why?

11. What does the fundamentalist woman and man look like? (pg. 75)
 12. What does the modern woman and progressive man look like? (pg. 75)

13. “She should start learning to defend her rights as a woman right now!” (pg. 76). What
does this quote mean? How does Marji defend her rights?

14. On page 78, the top right picture is of Iran being covered by a black cloud. How do you
think this makes Marji and her family feel? How would you feel if you saw something
like this about the United States?

Vocabulary for pages. 80-118

1. Flatulence (92)- the accumulation of gas.

2. Refugees (92)- a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape

war, persecution, or natural disaster.

 3. Reservoir (94)- an extra supply.

4. Nuptial chambers (94)- used to refer to things relating to a wedding or to marriage.

5. Carnal (94)- relating to physical, especially sexual, needs and activities.

6. Resignation (94)- the acceptance of something undesirable but inevitable.

7. Flagellated (96)- flog (someone) for religious discipline.

8. Carnage (101)- the killing of a large number of people.

9. Vintner (106)- a wine maker.

10. Belligerent (115)- hostile and aggressive.

Vocabulary for pages 118-153

1. Veritable (122)- being in fact the thing named and not false, unreal, or

imaginary —often used to stress the aptness of a metaphor.

2. Ransack (125)- go hurriedly through (a place) stealing things and causing damage.

3. Imports (126)- bring (goods or services) into a country from abroad for sale.

4. Brutes (126)- a person who is offensive, rude, and often violent.

5. Permissive (131)- accepting or tolerant of something, such as social behavior or linguistic

usage that others might disapprove or forbid.

6. Decadence (133)- moral or cultural decline as characterized by excessive indulgence in

pleasure or luxury.

7. Fatalism (137)- the belief that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable.

8. Circumspect (137)- unwilling to take risks.

9. Espadrilles (138)- a light canvas shoe with a plaited fiber sole.

10. Bureaucrats (144)- an official in a government department, in particular one perceived as

being concerned with procedural correctness at the expense of people's needs.