Obstacles Faced In Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis

In Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, we follow Marji as she faces various obstacles throughout her childhood into adulthood. Most of her childhood is spent in Iran, yet her adolescent years are spent in Vienna. Although she and her family believe a different environment will bring her peace, she’s faced with a set of complex issues in both Iran and Vienna. She faces herself when she is thrown into less than ideal situations. Satrapi displays how even in a place away from physical violence, it can be just as hard to live without losing yourself. Marji walks us through her various identity crisis in the two places she is meant to call her home. Marji felt a disconnect in herself. She felt out of place with not only the people around her but also herself.
I Marji’s early years in Iran she often felt out of place. She often wished to be somewhere
She didn’t know how she fit in with the world around her. When the schools were shut down Marji felt like lost. “And so another dream went up in smoke” (73). Marji is so quick to give up on her dream. She immediately told herself that without going to school she could never be like Marie Curie and she would end up as a housewife caring for ten children. She is quick to give up herself. Often times her life at school is where she felt most confused. She didn’t know where to stand when it came to authority. When the girls all had to wear their veils everyday to school Marji felt conflicted about her feelings on the veil. “I didn’t really know what to think about the veil, deep down I was very religious but as a family we were very modern and avant-garde”(6). Marji felt lost between religious and progressive views. Growing up she often talked about being just like any