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  • Essay / The Islamic Revolution and a Theme of Religion in Persepolis

    “After a long sleep of 2,500 years, the revolution has finally awakened the people” (Satrapi 11). In “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi, we discover the story of a young girl who lives in Iran after the Islamic revolution. The Shah is a brutal force who has made great differences in daily life in Iran. They separate boys and girls at school and force girls to wear a veil to cover their hair. The novel is very fast-paced and allows you to better understand what happened during the Islamic Revolution. Satrapi cleverly weaves motifs, themes, and images into the novel to describe what it was like during the revolution and make it easier for young readers to understand what happened during such a difficult time. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Satrapi uses a variety of motifs to symbolize what it was like at that time. She uses obvious motives and other more hidden ones. An example of an obvious pattern is the veil. Marj didn't know why she had to wear the veil: "We didn't really like wearing the veil, especially since we didn't understand why we had to do it." None of the young girls knew why they had to wear the veil, but their elders told them to wear it, so they did. Women had to wear the veil during this time because it was part of the religion they were trying to promote. Many people also did not like wearing the veil. On the other hand, an example of a less obvious motif is Marj's bed. Marj does a lot of thinking in bed and at the beginning of the book, where she talks to God. It was also in Marj’s bed that she cried about her uncle Anoosh and told God, “Shut up, you!” Get out of my life!!! I never want to see you again! (Satrap 70). Her bed is like her safe place where she can escape the world and the revolution. She is seen several times throughout the book reading or talking to God in bed. When Marj wanted to protest to her parents, her father put her back to bed and she said, "He didn't come that night." Marj waited for God to come but “he didn’t come.” She is afraid and wonders what to do without God to talk to. There are many different themes represented in "Persepolis", but one of the main themes is religion. At the beginning of the novel, Marj talks to God every day and develops a strong relationship with him. “Every evening I had a great discussion with God” (Satrapi 8). Marj trusted God with everything in her life. Marj even wanted to be a prophet at the beginning of the book. “At the age of six, I was already sure of being the last prophet” (Satrapi 6). Marj was very focused on religion at the beginning of the book. However, towards the end of the book, his relationship with God completely disappears. Marj even says she “never wants to see him again.” When she says this, it really means that she is not the hopeful, innocent little girl she was at the beginning of the book. The revolution changed his view of everything, including religion. Some of the imagery Satrapi uses in Persepolis includes the cigarette Marj smokes near the end of the book. The cigarette means that she is no longer a child: “With this first cigarette, I said goodbye to childhood. » She truly lost her innocence and her hope at the end of the novel. Marj also says, “Now I was an adult,” even though she is only fourteen. She also had friends older than her who encouraged her to do things she wouldn't necessarily do on her own. Between her friends and the revolution, Marj grew up exponentially faster than another child who was.