Themes In The Complete Persepolis

The Complete Persepolis is the retelling of the adolescent and early adulthood years of Marjane Satrapi, the author, through a series of comic strips. The purpose of the book is to tell a personal firsthand experience of the conflict in Iran. It is an important book to society in that it tells a perspective that often isn’t heard. The major connection from The Complete Persepolis to class is how revolution and war affects a regime, people of a regime, and the general well-being of a state. This book delves into the details of the revolution that sparks war and how it affects the everyday lives of the people in Iran. Along with this, it describes how the regime reacts to these events and how it changes the laws and practices that they enforce.

One theme is how growing up in an undeveloped state affects a person. Marjane spent her childhood in Iran, with their education system and their beliefs. When Marjane moved to Austria, the difference between how she acted and thought was opposite to the European students. To fit it, she felt like she had to believe what they did, which she didn’t understand. Since she hadn’t been exposed to these beliefs, she had an open mind towards these ideas, having a new outlook toward them. This book also touches on propaganda. Propaganda heavily affects Marjane through her schooling, the news, and the people around her. At school, Marjane was taught what the government wanted the children to be taught. When the regime changed, so did the class material. They were taught how to be faithful to the Islamic regime, fitting the propaganda of the new Iranian state. As she grew up, she was less surrounded by propaganda and not affected by it personally. This gave her a more true outlook on her own country. This propaganda was most apparent in the people that surrounded her. Since she grew up in a family that was against the regime and more westernized, she was surprised to hear how willing certain people were to trust the regime. An example of this propaganda was how the government gave young boys a key on a chain necklace. They told the boys that if they were to die, this key would unlock the gates of Paradise for them. This

Social cleavages are apparent in parts of the book which is a frequent topic in Comparative Government. Before the war started in Iran, there was a divide between the Islamic fundamentalists and the more westernized population. They had very different beliefs and this caused a divide between the people. This is similar to political cleavages in Russia, which was discussed in class during Unit Three. Some citizens have wanted the past autocratic rule of communism and others have wanted a more westernized democracy for the state. Regime change is also an important topic in class because it often leads to significant changes in a state. This was true in Iran when the regime changed from the Shah to the Islamic Republic. The regime switch caused many changes including the requirement for women to wear veils, the termination of many French schools, and assemblies against western influence. In Unit Four, the class discussed how China switched from the dynastic rule to a communist rule. This caused many changes in society such as more rights for women. These changes defined the new regime in China like Iran’s regime change did as well. The main connection is the topic of revolution and war in The Complete Persepolis. War and revolution are discussed throughout the entirety of the book from Marjane’s personal experiences and her family’s experiences. It is discussed in class because war and revolution