1.10

from Persepolis

Marjane Satrapi

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Fabrizio Maltese/Contour by Getty Images

KEY CONTEXT This excerpt is from Persepolis, an autobiography in the form of a graphic novel. Persepolis depicts Satrapi’s early years growing up in Iran, just before and immediately after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. The revolution ousted the United States–backed Shah of Iran, who favored the aristocracy and was seen by the revolutionaries as corrupt. Satrapi’s family, though wealthy by most Iranian standards, did not support the Shah, nor did they support the Islamic leaders who took power afterward and who are still in power in Iran today. Like many nations, Iran at the time of this story had significant differences between social classes, which would make a relationship between people of different economic levels difficult. When reading this selection — and graphic novels in general — you will want to take your time with each individual frame to consider how the narration (in rectangles at the top or bottom of the frame) works with the dialogue and the images.

Focus for Your Observation

Consider the differences between social classes in Iran.

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Questions for Analysis

  1. Observe: What are the differences that Satrapi identifies between the social classes?

  2. Identify patterns: How are the maid, Mehri, and the narrator, Marji, similar? How are they different?

  3. conclusions: What is the author, Marjane Satrapi, suggesting about the nature of Iranian social classes in this excerpt? How does she demonstrate this point in the drawings and the text?