Review of Persepolis

A story about strength and survival are two adjectives that can very well be used to describe the story of Persepolis.  Throughout this story we meet a young girl, Satrapi, and her family and we were able to follow them through their journey of what it is like to live in a revolution, the Islamic revolution.  Satrapi starts off as wanting to be a prophet when she grows up, but as time goes by and as many negative events occur she loses her faith in god.  She becomes very interested in the revolution and she begins to, in a way, do her own research by asking any family members and friends about their experience in the Islamic revolution.  She grows up knowing about family and family friends that were arrested, due to the revolution, as well as tortured.  Growing up her life was nowhere near normal; she was restricted from having any freedom what so ever due to the rules in her country.  She was not able to dress how she wanted and even listen to the music she wanted, which is why in the end she is sent away to Austria because her parents believe she can live a better life and once and for all be who she is.

            Persepolis does a great job of showing us that we need to be grateful for the life we have and the environment we live in.  For instance, many of us tend to consistently whine about anything and everything we can, such as we do not have anything to wear therefore we won’t go anywhere or the food that is at home is not the one we wanted.  Instead of focusing on little things like that we should be grateful to at least be able to have clothes we can wear everyday and that at least there is a meal on our table every day.  Another thing we need to appreciate is our freedom, because throughout Persepolis we see that this was one essential factor missing in Satrapi’s life.

            Throughout the story we clearly see that Satrapi has to follow the rules of the society she lives in.  She has no freedom what so ever, she is not able to express herself because she is not able to dress any other way that is not “society approved” and she cannot listen to any music that she likes because it would show a sense of rebellion towards her country and her people.  There is an event in the book where Satrapi decides to go out wearing Nike sneakers and a denim jacket with a Michael Jackson pin because she felt that here was nothing wrong with her wanting to express herself, but she was wrong.  As she is walking, a group of women who were known as Guardians of the Revolution stopped her.  “What do I see here?  Michael Jackson!  That symbol of decadence?”  (133)  one of the ladies said.  This clearly shows us how impossible it was to express yourself during the time of the revolution.  Personally, it allowed me to be grateful for the freedom I have.  I am able to go out and dress however I want without having the worry of being stopped and getting in trouble.  The only thing is to worry about is ‘what do others have to say” but that is nowhere near as important or as scary as having somewhat officers stop you. 

            This story also reminds us to be thankful for not living in such a dangerous and violent environment where living in fear is not an option but rather a feeling that can be seen in everybody.  Satrapi mentions, “Together with the other people in our building, we turned the basement into a shelter… After the bombs and the instinctive fear of death, you’d think of the victims and another kind of anxiety seized you.”  (103-104) To always be alert was something Satrapi learned to live with.  You never really knew when an attack would happen, but you would have to be ready and prepared to not freak out because that could of lead to negative consequences.

            In the end, I think this book does an excellent job at letting us learn abouit the life of someone who lived through hard times.  The way Satrapi makes the book into a black and white comic gives us the sense of seriousness, since there is no color to “brighten” our mood.  And learning about a revolution through the eyes of a child makes us more compassionate.  As mentioned before, after reading this book we are reminded to be thankful for the life we have and the little things that make our lives easier than others.  I would greatly recommend this book because not only is it an easy read, but the meaning of it and the moral you get out of it is something that everyone can relate to and it is something that is important and we can carry that everywhere we go to remind us to be happy and smile no matter what because there is something in our life that we should be grateful to have.