Table of Contents
Intro
This is the beginning of something new. Here, we will explore the possibilities of an exciting adventure.
Persepolis : literary analysis
Stream-of-consciousness
First-person narrative
Recollections of past events
In conclusion, …
Introduction
This is an introductory section.
Persepolis (Persepolis) is a graphic-autobiographical novel by Marjane Sataropi. Its purpose is to criticize Iran’s regime while educating its audience about Iran’s social, cultural and political issues. Marji’s story is told visually. Satrapi decided to create a simple graphic novel because she wanted the book to be easily accessible and comics communicate well with all readers. Marjane satrapi uses literary tools to help the reader empathize with Marji. The literary devices she uses are stream of conscious, first person narration, and flashback. Persepolis: analysis of literary devicesStream-of-consciousnessSatrapi uses stream-of-consciousness to teach the social and cultural issues of Iran to her audience. Marji, a 10-year-old girl, describes how the veil was required in schools since 1980 – one year after Islamic Revolution. Marji in the first and second panels are both unhappy. Marji’s (the thought bubble that is at the top in each panel) thought bubble says: “We really don’t enjoy wearing the veil. We don’t even understand why”. And we can see them throwing it around, jumping rope, and role-playing with the veil instead of having to wear them. Satrapi addresses this through her stream-of-consciousness because the veil is a symbol of oppression towards women, as it is forced upon them by the government instead of being offered the choice to wear them. Marji tells us through her inner-monologue that the teachers and students were instructed to hit each other on the day they returned to school from summer vacation. Although the children initially seemed confused (as shown by the question mark above their heads in panel three), they eventually did as well, as can be seen in panel four. Iran has a religious ritual that can be brutal. People will sometimes use knives or chains to harm themselves. The religious persecution of children is shown when they are forced to hurt themselves. Marji becomes upset when she returns to Iran from Austria. She was upset that the street name had changed from the names the martyrs. Marji’s silhouette is small in comparison with the ground that is covered by the skulls. This is the fourth panel. Marji’s reaction to seeing the street names is shown in this illustration: “I felt like I was walking through a graveyard”. She is shown in the next panel surrounded with the skeletons and it looks like she’s carrying them. She feels guilty for leaving the war when others have died. As it’s an autobiographical book, the first-person narration in the novel tells the story of Marji. She has many problems which the audience can relate to. Figure 1 shows a picture of 10-year-old Marji facing the reader, as she is telling the story from her point of view. She starts her story with the words “This is myself, when I turned 10”. It was 1980. In the first two panels you can see that her thoughts and speech are in rectangular bubbles. The reader is drawn to Marji. Marji’s “physical metamorphosis”, or puberty, from the age 15 to the 16 is shown in Figure 4. The experience of puberty can be related to by anyone who is in their teens. Satrapi’s first panel depicted her in an ugly and unsymmetrical manner to reflect her real feelings regarding puberty. Persepolis has a very simple, direct and short language, as Satrapi uses images primarily to convey her ideas. Marji, once again facing the viewer, shows how she changes her hairstyle and haircut in a week due to her low self-esteem brought on by puberty. In the panel with her long hair in the first row, she cuts her hair on both sides and then applies eyeliner. Marji undergoes a “physical transformation” in which her identity also changes. FlashbacksSatrapi employs flashbacks in order to provide more information about Marji and to enhance the plot. Satrapi narrates her story in flashbacks throughout the novel. Figure 6 shows a historical snapshot of Iran. In the first picture, the Iranians appear to be “sleeping”, as they are not actively fighting against their invaders. In the second panel we see a horizontal repetition pattern that shows how Iran was invaded over the years. Satrapi chose this flashback because she wanted the audience to understand the history of Iran and the reasons behind the Iranian revolution. Marji tries to understand her parents’ conversation in Figure 7. She becomes confused after hearing that pilots were being jailed. A flashback shows her old school friend Pardisse whose father used to be a pilot. Two images are similar. In the image on the right, Pardisse can be seen smiling and reading a book. In the next picture, Pardisse was missing and students were frowning. The reader can infer that Pardisse’s father is behind bars, which would explain why she has disappeared. This is a personal memory flashback for Marji. The story is about her friend, and it helps Marji to understand why she has a strong connection with fighter pilots. There is no doubt about the importance of literary devices in Persepolis. These include flashbacks, first-person narratives, and stream of consciousness. They also encourage readers to empathize with Marji. The audience can gain a better understanding of the cultural and social issues in Iran by using these literary tools.
