Breaking Rules In Persepolis

The graphic novel Persepolis captures the complex lives of the citizens of Iran during the Islamic revolution. More specifically, the story is told from a young child’s perspective of the life going on around her. During these times, there were formidable rules set in place to keep the people from going against the theocratic government. However, despite the repressive rules set in place, the people of Iran learn how to find the silver lining of the situation by breaking rules such as having parties, drinking alcohol and playing card games, and wearing certain clothes or styles. In the book it is said, "Every situation has an opportunity for laughs," (97). The citizens of Iran take this idea to heart as they try to make the best of the terrible

These parties would have items such as alcohol and cards to help people enjoy themselves because both items were forbidden as well. In general Iranian citizens would have illegal alcohol in their homes. However, it was not easy to hide these parties or illegal items, the hosts and people at the party were in a dangerous situation. If caught with such items they would be severely punished and no one would know if they were going to be caught or not. Such as in chapter fourteen when on the way home from a party, Marji and her family are stopped by patrol who follows them home to sweep the house of contraband. Marji and her grandmother manage to sneak in first and pour all the alcohol down the drain, only for Marji’s father to come in and say the patrol only wanted money in order to go away. This situation shows how even though the people of Iran are doing whatever they can to make their lives more enjoyable, there is a large risk that if they are caught their lives will be

An example that played throughout the book was Marji’s character and the way she acted. Since Marji was so young and grew up during this time, Satrapi had the advantage of being able to use Marji’s childhood manner to add comic relief. Satrapi did this by capturing the way children think they know everything in the world and the manner they present themselves to adults and turning it into a way to relay important details to readers but also add comic relief. Such as when Marji’s had a friend whose father was in prison and Marji was upset because she felt as if her father was not a hero for not going to prison. The situation itself is not funny but the way it was presented from a child’s point of view was interesting and funny because of the fact she was upset about her father not going to prison because generally that is a good thing. Even as Marji grew older, she still brough comic relief throughout the book through different scenes. Such as when she came home after being stopped by the guardians of the revolution, though she was upset she went to her room and rocked out to Kids in America by Kim Wilde. This allowed for comic relief in the story and also allowed for a relatable moment between Marji and young readers the same age because listening and dancing to music is a common way for