Persepolis the story of a childhood summary

The Veil

Persepolis begins in Iran in the year 1979, when the Islamic Revolution takes place, and ten-year-old Marji's life is forever changed. Her bilingual school is closed, boys and girls are separated to different schools, and all girls must wear veils. Marji's mother protests against the veil, but when a picture of her appears in a local magazine, she disguises herself to avoid notice. Though from a very modern family, Marji is deeply religious from an early age and believes she is the last prophet of God: she writes her own holy book, which only her grandmother knows about. God speaks to Marji every night. One day at school, Marji tells everyone she wants to be a prophet. Her parents are not shocked when her teacher tells them, but when they ask Marji herself, she says she wants to be a doctor. That night she explains to God...

Persepolis: the Story of a Childhood Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. This study guide contains the following sections:

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A major achievement in comics narrative, Marjane Satrapi's first major work Persepolis debuted in France in 2000 to great fanfare. The first two French volumes were translated and reprinted together in the American volume Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood in 2003. Named after the capital city of the Persian Empire, the book is an autobiographical tale set during the Islamic Revolution of Iran and the Iran-Iraq War in the 1970s and 1980s, told through a series of comics. It illustrates how civil strife within the country was as damaging, if not more so, than threats from abroad. Persepolis also dispels the one-dimensional stereotypes of Iran and Iranians, providing a complex picture of life under the regimes of both the Shah of Iran and the Ayatollah Khomeini.

Satrapi's unique position as a descendent of Persian royalty influences the narration, making it less a history and more a memoir in a historical setting. As a child, young Marji learns the history of Iran from family members who participated in important national turning points, enabling her to understand them in an intimate way. Factual details are transformed into details of the heart: how a deposed emperor's son is reduced to a broken man; how a broken marriage weighs more heavily than torture in prison; and how the children of Iran reflect the values of the adults around them.

Satrapi's artistic style is bold and straightforward, evoking the simplicity of childhood drawings and making her work immediately accessible to readers. However, she also uses a range of techniques and styles to capture different moods, alternative perspectives, and dramatic moments. In this way, her story balances the perspective of a child in wartime with the complex politics and morality of the adult world.

There are several kinds of war in Persepolis. The civil disobedience against the Shah of Iran leads to the Islamic Revolution, but the rise of the Islamic Republic government leads to a different kind of oppression that is again met with resistance—albeit in a more subtle, complex form. Satrapi casts a clear eye not only on how the Islamic Republic justifies its exceedingly harsh measures in the name of religion, but on how oppressed people assert their individuality in unexpectedly creative ways. When the war with Iraq starts in 1980, Satrapi notes the strange ways the civil unrest mixes with the national conflict.

Throughout Persepolis, a desire to live life to the fullest, to enjoy what one has even in the worst of times, is an integral concern. Readers witness contraband pop music and family celebrations, school pranks and moments of absurd irony. They also witness torture and propaganda, bombings and execution. This is indeed a very different, more complex image of Iranians: instead of Islamic fanatics who unthinkingly support the Ayatollah, they are a people who defiantly party in the face of political oppression and violent injustice, who know deep pain and suffering as well as ecstatic love and joy. As a child of these times, Satrapi captures the depth and breadth of her Iranian heritage.

Persepolis the story of a childhood summary
Persepolis the story of a childhood summary

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Review Source: Graphic Novel Resources
Book Author: 
Marjane Satrapi

Marjane Satrapi was in elementary school when the Shah was ousted from power in Iran and a conservative Islamic regime took control. Because her family had communist and socialist leanings, as well as a distant familial relationship to the deposed Shah, they had to navigate a perilous political landscape. During this time, Marjane struggles to find meaning in the vast changes, the many injustices, and the specter of martyrdom and war that hung over her country. She wrestles with religion, school, and the authorities who place restrictions on clothing, make-up, and popular culture. Being questioning and rebellious, Marjane has to deal with seemingly mundane situations that suddenly deteriorate into danger.

This volume contains the first two chapters of the books originally published in France. It is followed by a sequel where we follow what happens to Marjane as she becomes a young adult. This volume is very episodic and provides many scenes from a country in conflict where one family is struggling to get by. Incidentally, the title of the book comes from the Greek name for Parsa, an ancient capital of the Persian Empire. Continue reading.


Persepolis the story of a childhood summary

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Published by Pantheon Books on 2003
Genres: Arabic, Graphic Novels and Comics, Middle East
Pages: 153
Reading Level: High School
ISBN: 9780375714573
Review Source: Graphic Novel Resources

A New York Times Notable Book A Time Magazine “Best Comix of the Year” A San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times Best-seller

Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.

What is the summary of the book Persepolis?

Persepolis is set in Iran and follows a period of social and political tensions starting with the 1979 Iranian Revolution, to life under the new Islamic Republic, to the Iran-Iraq War. The 1979 Revolution aimed to overthrow the Shah, who aligned with America and attempted to modernise the country.

What is the theme of Persepolis the story of a childhood?

The main themes in Persepolis are political maturity, people within history, and Iranian culture. Political maturity: Marji's inclination is to rebel against the oppressive, theocratic government. Though forced to wear a veil, Marji continues to assert her individuality by wearing jeans and smoking.

How is childhood represented in Persepolis?

Children are constantly learning about themselves and the world around them. As they grow up, their world expands from their home to peers and, eventually, to people and places they know about.

What happens at the end of Persepolis the story of a childhood?

At the end of Persepolis, Marjane divorces her husband and returns to Europe. But she's not fleeing her life in a Lifetime Original Movie way (no crying in the shower here)—she's leaving to regain her freedoms. Moving back to Iran from Vienna has its positives and negatives.