Question Commander - Persepolis

Persepolis
Author: Marjane Satrapi
Pages: 3-62 + introduction
Question Commander

In the beginning of the book, Marjane constantly says that she would be a prophet when she grows up. When she would tell that to other people, they would laugh and say that she is crazy. Why do you think people didn't accept that she wanted to be a prophet?

I think that people thought it was crazy that Marjane wanted to be a prophet because it's not that just because she wants to be a prophet she will be one. A prophet is someone chosen by God to teach other people about him. People thought it was crazy that a little girl kept saying that she was going to be a prophet when she's just a child. If she tells people that she sees God every night like the book shows, people won't believe that is actually true. No one can believe in what a child says because they could be saying something that didn't happen. Little kids always say nonsense so you can never believe in everything they say. I think that the parts that show that she saw God was just what she imagined. Since she is a child, she could be imagining these things. If Marjane came to me and said that she wanted to be a prophet when she grows up, I think I would react that same say as other people because it's not like God chose a little girl to be a prophet.



On page 10, Marjane says, "The revolution is like a bicycle. When the wheels don't turn, it falls." What do you think she means by that?

I think what Marjane is trying to say is that if everyone doesn't work together to stop the government, they won't be able to stop them. She compares that with a bicycle because if the bike doesn't move, it will fall. If the person is not pedaling, the bicycle will fall. She's trying to say that everyone has to work together so that the revolution succeeds. If they don't work together, the revolution will fail. She is saying that teamwork is very important. They have to work together to remove the power from the government. When we ride that bicycle with two of more people, everyone has to work together and pedal so that the bike moves. If one person is not pedaling, it will not move. It is the same thing with the revolution.


Why do you think Marjane was so proud to tell her friends that her uncle and a lot of her siblings went to prison? And why did she keep referring them as heroes?

During the Islamic Revolution, people would go to jail if they took picture, wrote articles, protested, etc. People would do that to fight for their country. If they went to jail, it was because they stayed protesting and fought back for the freedom of their country. Since Marjane's uncle and her other siblings went to jail, it means that they fought for their country. They would say that they were heroes because they fought for freedom and justice. They protested until they were free. A lot of people were afraid to protest and fight for their country because they knew they would be caught and sent to jail. Those people who went to protest knew that they were going to jail but did it anyways because they wanted freedom for their country. Their desire for freedom and justice was so big that they didn't care if they were going to jail. That is why they were called heroes. They put freedom, justice, belief over their lives.

Link for first image
Link for second image
Link for third image