Persepolis Reflection

After reading my first graphic novel, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, I was very shocked by the thought of being surrounded by some crazy, horrible events that a regular American kid only hears about on headline news. It was also very interesting to learn the common similarities that an Iranian Muslim can have with a Californian such as my friends and I. It was strange and exciting to learn about how the Islamic Revolution changed the lives of Iranian families. The rapid switch between one set of laws to another as well as the change in the expectations of proletariat men and women like Marjane’s mom and dad was difficult to understand the feeling of.
Beginning with the conquering of the Persian Empire by Cyrus the Great, the name of the country being changed from Persia to Iran, and the discovering of the reservoir of oil, this book told me that Iran had almost always been a center for controversy. Satrapi then describes how after a number of protests such as the violent Black Friday, death threats, and the obviousness that he was “Westernizing” the country, Reza Shah Pahlavi was forced out of Iran. From her own point of view as a rebellious kid growing up through the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran, Satrapi describes her experiences with great detail. The new government wanted to keep out U.S. influence and ideas like capitalism which leads to decadent people. This was interesting because this new Islamic rule affected everyone in Iran, including secular families.
Personally, I was excited about reading this novel because unlike most of the normal documents you’ll find about Iran and its Islamic Republic as well as its religious leaders are only news articles and interviews that tell an American point of view. Through this book, the author tells her first hand account of how her friends and her family were forced to conform to the Islamic law. It was surprising to hear how people were treated when they did not dress appropriately or pray. It was amazing to hear about martyrs who would sacrifice their life rather than conform to the laws of Iran. Also, I found out that many people in Iran actually broke the rules of their government in many clandestine acts.
Satrapi then tells us that when the Iran-Iraq War began each and everyone around her was affected in one way or another. It was also shocking to learn that unlike the U.S., young poor boys in Iran were forced to fight in this war on the frontlines and in school, the other children did practices to show their support of the soldiers such as hitting themselves. With great detail, the author describes the few times she remember the attacks and bombings that she witnessed during this time. One of which was an attack on the capital of Iran, Tehran where Marjane lived. This particular bomb actually hit her family’s neighbor’s home where the Jewish residents that lived there were killed.
Through this story I was shocked to know how uninformed I had been about the true causes of the controversy with countries like Iran in the Middle East. This book told me the reason behind the U.S. and Iran’s harsh relationship with one another which also caused an embargo between the two countries. Not only for me but for my classmates as well, this story taught us that the war in Iraq was never neither caused by the 9/11 attacks nor was anyone from Iraq connected with Al-Queda. I am glad to know that when the discussion of how Islam plays a role in Iran or the Iranian government comes along, I will be able to better understand it and on a much more personal level than others who haven’t read this novel. I am proud to now have a much more veritable account of what has been happening in Iran.