Marjane Satrapi
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Blog #5
How did historical events influence the ideas in the novel? What cultural issues may have influenced, challenged, or inspired the author?
As mentioned in the book's introduction and can be evidently seen throughout the novel, Persepolis is set during the Islamic Revolution. The Islamic Revolution, according to the Iran Chamber Society, began in 1979 and was a revolution against the leader of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah and how he used the secret police, The Savak, to control the country.
Marjane, both the protagonist and author of the novel's life is heavily affected by this revolution. We can clearly see, by comparing the beginning to the end of the novel, how much her life has changed because of it. For instance, in the very beginning of the book, we are introduced to the first adjustments Iran made to its culture and society: making it mandatory for women to wear veils and as the novel progresses. One is also able to see how it affected her life when it took place, by forcing many of her family's friends out of the country because of fear and even murdering some of her own family members for joining the revolution.
Noticeably, this revolution irrefutably transformed Majane's life, however, as one learns while reading the novel's introduction, her goal by writing Persepolis was not to tell the world about the Islamic Revolution. Her goal was to tell the world that Iran, no matter how many mistakes and errors its committed, should not be judged by them. Her goal was to show the world how gruesome it was, how it tormented its entire population and "how many Iranians lost their lives in prisons defending freedom" (2, Satrapi). Both the revolution and Iran's mistakes inspired the author to flawlessly write her novel, in attempt to clear her county's name.
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