Essay On Persepolis

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Persepolis is a graphic novel that follows the true account of a young Marjane Satrapi, as she comes of age during one of history 's most dramatic times, the Iranian Revolution. In my opinion however, the beauty of this literary work lies in the way that Marji brings normalcy into her messed up experiences during wartime. The way that the author relates her experiences to the reader is unlike anything I’ve ever read before, and the reader can’t help but laugh and cry with her along the way.

In the chapter called “Kim Wilde”, Marji’s parents finally got passports when the border opened up after years of being shut down during the revolution. They revealed to Marji that they would be going to Turkey, to which she replied, “Only uncool people go to Turkey.” She was more interested in them traveling to the West (that’s where the cool people were), however when she found out that Turkey had imports from the West she was ecstatic. She came up with a list of …show more content…

She decides to show this to the reader, and I think this is one of the most impactful graphics of the novel. The quote inside of this particular box on page 131 of the book reads, “...and my denim jacket with the Michael Jackson button and of course, my headscarf.” But it’s not what is said that is important. What struck me in this part was that Marji was the only thing drawn into this graphic, directly in the center of it. This is a stark contrast from the beginning of the novel. In “The Veil”, Marji presents a class photo where only part of herself is showing. This provides the reader with the feeling that Marji is cut off from the photo intentionally, showing us that her identity felt cut off at the time. In the chapter “Kim Wilde”, by showing us her full self with the denim jacket on in the comic, the reader can infer that this is Marji as her truest self in the