Response to Persepolis

I greatly enjoyed reading Persepolis and how it was such a real point of view from a child’s experience growing up during the Islamic Revolution. It showed a very human side to a group of people that Western culture tends to love antagonizing.  It faintly reminded me of Maus at times, since Persepolis also dealt with  a war going on. Seeing Marj grow up and all of the things she experienced doing so in another country was something that I feel any immigrant or descendant of one could perfectly understand. I don’t know if I would refer to the beginning of the graphic novel as having the essence of a childlike innocence, but it was a very natural take regarding Marj as a young girl. Even more important was how it’s the POV of someone who a lot of people see as scary or as possible threats. Iranians are frequently antagonized in media both real and fictional, and it was so refreshing to see Marjane Satrapi show a very human and relatable side to, not necessarily challenge those views (since that isn’t Persepolis’ main goal or message), but show everyone her experience growing up.

A part of the story that I found to be the most relatable, aside from the usual experiences growing up, was when Marj decides to drastically change her appearance and wonders if she’s betraying her heritage. Another point relating to that is how her mother couldn’t even recognize her at first after she had changed so much in a later chapter. Assimilating into a foreign culture was something that I briefly mentioned last blog post, but it still applies here. She changed so much, not just appearance wise but personality as well in an attempt to fit in. It’s something that I think just about every high schooler or college student experiences, but it’s more significant when regarding someone not a part of the prevalent presence (ex. POC in a school where the majority is White). She cut her hair, changed her clothes, pretended to do drugs, and was wondering if she was betraying her own heritage. Despite all this, when she overhears observers wondering if she made up her past, she’s quick to defend herself and feels as if she’s redeemed herself.