Persepolis

“[T]his old and great civilization [Iran] has been discussed mostly in connection with fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism. As an Iranian who has lived more than half of my life in Iran, I know that this image is far from the truth. This is why writing Persepolis was so important to me. I believe that an entire nation should not be judged by the wrongdoings of a few extremists. I also do not want those Iranians who lost their lives in prisons defending freedom, who died in the war against Iraq, who suffered under various oppressive regimes, or who were forced to leave their families and flee their homeland to be forgotten.”

In the Introduction, Satrapi not only gives historical context for readers but also provides a sense of stakes for the book. This book is not only telling her and her family’s story but also attempting to preserve Persian culture as she experienced it during her childhood. By writing and illustrating a book about Iran and centering the stories of those she knew, she helps to preserve Persian/Iranian culture.

“I really didn’t know what to think of the veil. Deep down I was very religious but as a family we were very modern and avant-garde. I was born with religion. At the age of six I was already sure I was the last prophet. This was a few years before the revolution. Before me there had been a few others […] I wanted to be a prophet because our maid did not eat with us. Because my father had a Cadillac. And, above all, because my grandmother’s knees always ached.”

Satrapi describes the tension she feels in her home life versus her school life. Her educated and Westernized family is out of place in post-revolution Iran. Satrapi is six years old but can still sense larger societal forces at work, such as differences in social class, even though she cannot fully explain them or understand why they exist. This demonstrates just how young and innocent she is at the beginning of the book.

“It was funny to see how much Marx and God looked like each other. Though Marx’s hair was a bit curlier.”

This comment made by young Satrapi provides both levity and a sense of her naïveté. The textual and pictorial daydreams featuring Marx and God also illustrate how Satrapi grappled with large, complicated subjects as a child—in particular, Putting One’s Faith in Religion or Political Ideology, which she here associates with one another.