Summary vs Analysis Persepolis

At this point in the book, Satrapi explains the mixed feelings that Marjane has toward the veil.

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Satrapi uses the black and white contrast between the darkness of night and the character of God in order to highlight the tension between Marjane's fears and her hopes.

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At the beginning of the book Satrapi depicts a row of girls, veiled, looking identical. Marjane goes on to give them names, which enables Satrapi to emphasize Marjane's frustration that the government had attempted to rid each person of their identity.

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By splitting the panel in half, Satrapi emphasizes the tension Marjane feels between her own identity and that of her family's identity.

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What is the common theme that connects the parallel plot lines of Marji’s childhood, her friend Neda, and the Iran-Iraq war?

• There is a common theme of hope during dark times.

• There is a common theme of growth through struggle.

• There is a common theme of destruction of innocence.

• There is a common theme of hatred of the other.

How does the last panel of the story emphasize the text in conveying Marji’s emotions?

• The image lets us know that the narrator does not want us to see her screaming.

• The image does not add to the text, but instead detracts because we are unable to see anything.

• The words tell us what she is feeling, but the black panel helps to convey the depth of the darkness of those emotions.

• The black panel shows us that the emotions are not important enough to illustrate.

The narration on this panel enables Satrapi to emphasize how specific moments are only realized as pivotal later in life through the maturation process.

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Satrapi uses this series of panels to explain how Marjane learned how so many people she knew who she thought were traveling had really passed away. This is highlighted by how she runs away after she discovers this.

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Satrapi not only uses the character of God within the novel to show Marjane's religious devotion, but the character also serves as a way to illustrate Marjane's fears and a deep need for reassurance in the midst of turbulent times.

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Satrapi, at the beginning of her novel, explains how often women promoted the revolution by helping to enforce the very laws that were enacted to put women down.

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