Cultural Acceptance in Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis
Whitfield Logan
English 102
Ighade
4-7-14
Cultural Acceptance in Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi‘s graphic novel Persepolis is an autobiography that depicts her childhood up to her early adult years in Iran during and after the Islamic revolution. Throughout the novel Satrapi incorporates character development, religion, and the conflict of freedom vs. confinement in order to develop a greater appreciation between two opposing eastern and western cultures.
When analyzing the current relationship between eastern and western cultures, it seems as if tensions and conflict arise from a complex and layered set of problems. These issues range from political, economic and military stances to opposing cultural beliefs. The genesis of these issues arises in a lack of empathy for the people in each nation. Satrapi uses character development to form a persona surrounding her childhood that makes the reader understand the human aspect of someone they would otherwise not relate to. The focus on her childhood establishes innocence. This innocence is what initially gives the reader the ability to view a different prospective with an open mindset. Satrapi also builds on this innocence with events in her childhood that can be appreciated by both eastern and western cultures. When she interacts with her friends they talk about romance and the opposite sex, dreaming of their price coming to save them. This is not something that is exclusive to young Iranian girls, but to all young girls. This similarity pulls the reader’s attention away from the fact that Marjane Satrapi is Iranian and builds a focus simply on that fact that she is a person with the same emotions and feelings as the reader.
Satrapi also establishes the persona of her childhood through her personal morals. Throughout Persepolis Satrapi is vehemently concerned with social injustice, and is seen as a very empathetic child. She gets mad at the suffering of those who are in a lower social class because she sees
English 102
Ighade
4-7-14
Cultural Acceptance in Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi‘s graphic novel Persepolis is an autobiography that depicts her childhood up to her early adult years in Iran during and after the Islamic revolution. Throughout the novel Satrapi incorporates character development, religion, and the conflict of freedom vs. confinement in order to develop a greater appreciation between two opposing eastern and western cultures.
When analyzing the current relationship between eastern and western cultures, it seems as if tensions and conflict arise from a complex and layered set of problems. These issues range from political, economic and military stances to opposing cultural beliefs. The genesis of these issues arises in a lack of empathy for the people in each nation. Satrapi uses character development to form a persona surrounding her childhood that makes the reader understand the human aspect of someone they would otherwise not relate to. The focus on her childhood establishes innocence. This innocence is what initially gives the reader the ability to view a different prospective with an open mindset. Satrapi also builds on this innocence with events in her childhood that can be appreciated by both eastern and western cultures. When she interacts with her friends they talk about romance and the opposite sex, dreaming of their price coming to save them. This is not something that is exclusive to young Iranian girls, but to all young girls. This similarity pulls the reader’s attention away from the fact that Marjane Satrapi is Iranian and builds a focus simply on that fact that she is a person with the same emotions and feelings as the reader.
Satrapi also establishes the persona of her childhood through her personal morals. Throughout Persepolis Satrapi is vehemently concerned with social injustice, and is seen as a very empathetic child. She gets mad at the suffering of those who are in a lower social class because she sees
Bibliography: Darda, Joseph. "Graphic Ethics." Theorizing the Face in Marjane Satrapi 's "Persepolis" 40.2 (2013): 31-51. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. Journalist Joseph Darda discusses the implications of the Iranian revolution Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. New York, NY: Pantheon, 2003. Print. Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis tells the story of her childhood and the trials she faced with her family during the Iranian Revolution