Persepolis--Close Analysis

Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel, Persepolis, was written to explain the middle east in a simple way to the western world. The author shows the similarities between the cultures so that we may understand her better. Satrapi then shows a captivated audience that some of the major conflicts in the Middle East have been caused, and made bloodier by the industrialized nations.

The cultural similarities between the Middle Eastern and developed nations are explained through many allusions throughout the novel. Characters in the novel play Monopoly, dress in punk rock clothes, and sing to American music. All of these cultural activities are from the western world but have been melded into the story so that we may understand that Iran is not as backwards as many Americans expect it to be. While this is true, westerners can also see what a huge impact the industrialized nations have on the rest of the world. One of the two refugee boys who spend a few nights at Marji’s house tells her “At my house, we have all the Star Wars stuff” (91). This cultural similarity seems almost paradoxical because although the boys are familiar with the hit movie, they are also refugees in a warring nation. Satrapi also hints to the reader that this book is aimed at the developed nations in the pictures; the two spoiled boys are wrapped in a blanket with white stars on it while Marji has a blanket with strips, reminiscent of the American flag (91)

Marji is not excited that her parents are going to Turkey until they tell her that all the “‘hip stuff’” (126) from the west that enter Iran are from Turkey. After hearing this Marji lists off the things she would like that we would expect American children to ask for on a daily basis; she wants “a denim jacket, a poster, no two posters, one of Kim Wilde, and one of Iron Maiden” (126). These allusions make the characters, especially Marji, more understandable, and it is thus easier to empathize with her later.

After making Marji relatable to the reader and showing that the cultures are not as different as one might expect, the author demonstrates that industrialized countries actually fuel the strife of the Middle East which inhibits the region’s development. For example, Britain fueled the revolution just so they could get Iran’s oil reserves: “You just give us the oil and we’ll take care of the rest” (21) a British aristocrat says to Reza, the revolutionary and future king. Even before this Satrapi, shows her claim graphically when she says that her people have endured tyranny from many sources including the “modern imperialism,” under which she shows Uncle Sam and a man holding the British flag (11). Marji’s father explains the suppression of Iran by America with the logic that “All that interests him [Jimmy Carter] is oil” (43). Mr. Satrapi says this after the U.S. president refused to give the Shah asylum in the United States, even though the U.S. had supported the Shah before.

Satrapi then explains that some industrialized nations did not only start the wars, they made them more bloody and gruesome by giving money and weaponry to both sides of the war. “Our torturers received special training from the C.I.A.” (50) Mohsen casually explains. And later, at the hospital, a doctor explains to the Satrapi family that “The Germans sell chemical weapons to Iran and Iraq. The wounded are then sent to Germany to be treated. Veritable human guinea pigs” (122). With this statements melded into the story, Satrapi is trying to tell her audience that her nation is not the only one with sins.

With evidence that Iran’s actions and tyrannical government was fueled by developed nations and that Iran’s wars were made worse because of democratic countries, Satrapi is trying to stop the world from thinking that the Middle East is a backwards region.