The Role Of Heroes And Nationalism Shape Pride In Persepolis

Davis Coziahr

Mrs. Sondag

IB Language Arts 11

May 8, 2023

How Heroes and Nationalism Shape Pride in Persepolis

The graphic novel Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, is a memoir about her growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution. The reader follows the younger Satrapi as she battles with finding how she feels under a new government in Iran. From books telling her one thing and her parents telling her the opposite, to seeing her friend under a fallen building, Satrapi searches to find her identity. As the war rages on and a new form of government takes place, heroes are being idolized and martyrs are becoming the symbol of the revolution. Satrapi realizes that this new government might not be all it says to be, and she questions her pride

In the beginning of the graphic novel, Satrapi uses heroes in her life to show pride in her Iranian culture. Persepolis starts as the reader meets Marji during the start of the revolution. The girls are forced to wear veils to cover their heads and are separated from boys because of the new regime. She states that she wants to be a prophet but hides this from her parents. She likes to read and takes an interest in books about dictators like Karl Marx and Fidel Castro. While the revolution is starting, Marji thinks that a single leader is good and supports the Shah. Her school books, which were made before the revolution, support her ideas. When she learns that her parents went to a protest against the regime she says “As for me, I love the king, he was chosen by god '' (Satrapi 19). Since Marji is very religious, she will support anything that is appointed by god. Marji loves her country and believes that the Shah is a hero to her culture. She shows pride and nationalism during this time which many people don’t. Only after she realizes the social class difference do her views start to change. Later, once the

Soon after she meets her uncle Anoosh, Marji finds out that he will be executed by the regime for being a spy. After his death, Marji writes “And so I was lost, without any bearings… what could be worse than that” (Satrapi 71). The lack of light in the illustration helps show how lost she truly was. She had exclaimed that Anoosh was a hero, but now that he was dead and died for his cause, Marji doesn’t want him to be a hero, she just wants him to be alive. Something she once was proud of has changed in the blink of an eye. After the execution, Marji starts to lose pride in her culture and wants to support the revolution. The juxtaposition of light and darkness in this frame shows how lost she was. Something she once believed with all her heart she now has shame in. Marji also loses her faith in this moment, kicking out god from her life. Religion was a big part of her culture and an even bigger part of her pride as a human being. Her views quickly change after this, however. As the revolution starts to pick up speed, the leaders of the revolution decide that the schools and universities will be closed in order to rewrite the books that the children have been reading. They say the books are leading the youth off the path of Islam. This crushes Marji’s dream of becoming a doctor and wanting to be the next Marie Curie. Satrapi writes “I wanted to be an educated, liberated woman” (Satrapi