IB Candidate Number

Works in Translation
Reflective Statement

PROMPT: How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the
work developed through the interactive oral discussion?

After listening to and participating in the Interactive Oral on the graphic novel, The Complete

Persepolis , by Marjane Satrapi, I learned more than I had previously known about the history and
culture of the relationship between the West and East and how Irans political tensions were at a
peak during the setting of the graphic novel. I became more interested in the the culture and history
surrounding the veil and how it has led to controversy and discrimination today.
The topic of several Interactive Orals in my class were centered around political systems such
as socialism and communism and the figures that influenced those beliefs. I learned more about
Vladimir Lenins influence on Iranian revolutionaries who believed that a communist government
would best fit Iran. This information influenced my view of the graphic novel by presenting some
background on some of the historical figures mentioned and the views of Marjanes parents and
friends. I also began to understand the complexity of the Islamic Revolution and the opposition to the
religious figures that would become government officials soon after the revolution. Because of the
chaos present during the setting of the novel, the actions of characters such as Marjane and her
parents can be more easily interpreted, especially if their actions concern their safety or
surroundings.
While I researched the history of the veil and the controversy that arose during the Islamic
Revolution, I became more interested in the opposing viewpoints regarding the reasons for wearing
the veil. This research allowed me to better understand the tensions surrounding the veil when
Marjane is told to wear it at school and later when she is almost taken by a fundamentalist group for
not dressing conservatively enough. I learned that one of the biggest reasons for wearing the veil is
to protect modesty and allow a woman to be unique because of her intelligence and personality
rather than her body. One of the biggest reasons for not wearing the veil is the objectification that
some women feel when they wear it. They feel as though they are no longer viewed as humans and
are only encouraged to wear the veil to take the blame off men that may assault them.
Because of the historical and cultural information that I learned through the Interactive Oral, I
am now able to better understand the significant transformations that were taking place during the
setting of the graphic novel.

(400 Words)
IB Candidate Number
Works in Translation
Written Assignment

Freeing herself from that which binds: An analysis of Marjane Satrapis The Complete
Persepolis

The struggle for the existence of a society in which women have the same opportunities and
privileges as men is depicted through art of many forms, including literature. The presence of this
struggle in Marjane Satrapis The Complete Persepolis is a call to action for women everywhere,
regardless of whether they are affected by oppression in the same way. Satrapi conveys the
message that until all women begin to fight against an oppressive patriarchal society to gain their
independence, both physical and moral war will continue to abolish womens rights until there is no
freedom left. This situation is shown to result in chaos and a counterproductive society as a whole.
The first page of the graphic novel introduces the existence of a dress code for girls of only ten
years old. The brainwashing of children from lower class and poor areas is suggested when she
describes how the government persuades young boys to fight for Iran by convincing them that the
afterlife is even better than disneyland (Satrapi 101/7). By introducing the idea that lower class
children are convinced to follow the actions of the Islamic Regime with promises of a purposeful life,
she conveys that women who believe that the veil should be mandatory were just raised to believe in
such values. Satrapi chooses to describe a scene in which she and her classmates are outside at
school, playing with their veils, to accompany her statement, We didnt really like to wear the veil,
especially since we didnt understand why we had to (Satrapi 3/5). She utilizes this scene to portray
how ineffective the control of womens bodies is, especially at a young age. Satrapi and some of her
friends resist this control by taking off their veils and using them for jump rope, which presents
situational irony as they are resisting a violation of their rights by utilizing childish activities. Soon
after being forced to wear the veil at school, Satrapi becomes increasingly more interested in
protesting against the Shah and the Iranian regime. Because there are some women who believe
that wearing the veil should be mandatory, the restrictions on freedom for women gradually get more
oppressive. Satrapi embraces a punk style as she grows into an adolescent. When looking for
banned CDs in the black market one day, she is cornered by women known as the Guardians of the
Revolution, who would arrest women who were improperly veiled (Satrapi 132/5). She is told that
her jeans are too tight and her scarf not low enough. Satrapi incorporates these women to present a
juxtaposition to the secular values of herself and her family and to portray that since there are
women who do not fight for basic rights for all women, the oppression placed on women will continue
to grow. The faces of the Guardians of the Revolution are also drawn with harsh and angry
expressions to represent the classic struggle between good and evil, but Satrapi reveals earlier that
social class and education play a larger role in the presence of these ideals than any other factor.
These experiences display the ineffectiveness of restricting womens rights because even after being
told to adopt different values several times, Satrapi continues to rebel against societal expectations.
While the struggles Satrapi face in Iran are more apparent than those she faces while living in
Austria, she continues to face ideas of misogyny, especially from other women. When speaking with
her roommate, Satrapi is confused about the connection made between her roommates mothers
sexual relationships and her attitude. She thinks, I didnt yet have any experience that would have
allowed me to make the connection between Armelles character and her sex life (Satrapi 183/6).
Satrapi uses this anecdote to display the absurdity of making assumptions about a womans sex life,
which is a private matter, based on her personality. The friends Satrapi makes in Austria are punk
and encourage her to change her lifestyle and appearance to be more like them. When she begins
experimenting with her appearance, especially her hair, and cuts her hair to be short and spiky.
When she reveals her new look to her friends, one of them questions, Have you seen how beautiful
she is now? (Satrapi 190/9). This situation portrays the standards that Satrapi is held to because of
who she spends her time with. She is only assumed to be beautiful because she looks like her
friends expectation of a woman. Because these assumptions are common occurrences among men
and women alike, Satrapi conveys again that all women need to be on the same page regarding
sexist conclusions based on such trivial criteria.
The idea of emotional independence for women is pushed by Satrapi and exemplified through
her relationship with a man named Markus. After a relationship filled with disagreement and
demeaning experiences, Satrapi ends up homeless and on the streets during winter. She reflects, I
didnt have anyone. My entire existence had been planned around Markus. Its surely for this reason
that I found myself wandering like this (Satrapi 239/5). This thought promotes the idea that women
who depend emotionally on an uncertain relationship, like a boyfriend, will lose their bearings when
that person is no longer in their life. Because Satrapi wanted so badly to be good enough for Markus,
she started doing more and more drugs. When she was no longer the type of girl that Markus wanted
to be with, he cheated on her. Satrapi depicts these events as the cause for her time on the streets
without a home. She describes her homelessness briefly, but it is clear that she was emotionally lost
at the time when she reflects her thought, How could I have been so blind? What relationship? What
love? What support? What an asshole!!!! (236/7). When she makes the decision to go back to Iran,
Satrapis decisions have nothing to do with the opinions of others, like many of her past decisions,
which creates a positive connotation for her idea of independence. Her new independent decisions
represent her newfound liberation, which supports the theme that women need to fight against
oppression.
Satrapi utilizes the opinions of her friends and family to portray the idea that not all women
support ideas of physical and emotional liberation. Upon returning to Iran, Satrapi experiences the
oppression of her homeland that she had not experienced for several years. Because she had been
living in Europe, where societal expectations of women are much different, she is shocked when she
visits with some childhood friends and learns their opinions of her sexual experience. While they
seemed like they would not judge Satrapi for her decisions, she exclaims, Underneath their outward
appearance of being modern women, my friends were real traditionalists (270/5). She draws her
friends to look like western women, with detailed hairstyles and makeup, while she draws herself with
a simple, dark hairstyle and all black, modest clothing as a paradoxical statement. This contrast
illustrates the importance of ideas about civil liberties rather than assumptions based on appearance.
The idea of changing based on what others think of her continues when she meets a man named
Reza and late marries him. She describes their marriage and how it is falling apart because they do
not communicate truthfully. Satrapi describes, after my pitiful love story in Vienna, I needed to
believe in someone again so much so that I continually lied to him (318/4-5). The lies Satrapi tells
to Reza represent her need to please those that she loves most, even if it takes away her strength
and independence as a woman.
By the end of the novel, Satrapi divorces her husband to end their failing marriage. She
asserts, Weve stayed together out of affection, certainly, but mostly out of habit. We werent able to
admit that we arent made for each other, because that would mean that we recognized our failure
(338/5). When Satrapi moves on from her marriage that she never felt right about, her development
into an independent woman is finalized. As she grows up, Satrapi relies on different relationships to
define herself, including her marriage to Reza. When she admits to herself that she married him
because it felt comfortable, Satrapi frees herself from a relationship that defines her. With this new
liberation, she decides to move to France and claims, Not having been able to build anything in my
own country, I prepared to leave it once again (339/9). The idea of her homeland being the root of
the oppression she felt portrays the concept that origins and places of comfort are often the things
that hold one back. She urges all women leave behind the restrictions of wherever they come from
and fight together for equality and independence.

(1465 words)
 Works Cited

Satrapi, Marjane. The Complete Persepolis. Trans. Mattias Ripa and Blake Ferris. New York:
Pantheon Books, 2004. Print