Waiting For The End of The War!

The novel Persepolis, the main character is Marjane who desires to be a prophet. The war will soon begin, and people start to leave before everything gets worse. People move to the United States to seek a better life for their children and themselves. They did not want to face the horrors of the war because they know everything would get worse. Women were not allowed to show their skin or hair. Men have to wear loose clothes and could not shave at all.

Marjane’s parents take her to protest, so she could learn how to defend herself. At the end of the novel, she moves away from her parents. Marjane experiences horrible moments. Then she decides to go back to her parents because she does not have money. Her parents accept her back, but she tells them not to ask her question about anything. The main character suffers a lot after the war. War has a major effect on things in the time period.

Early in the novel, Marjane is in school and the teacher asks a question: What will they like to be when they grow up. Marjane says, a prophet. The teacher is shocked with Marjane’s answer she then decides to talk to her parents. Her father asks, “So tell me, my child, what do you want to be when you grow up?” (Satrapi 9). Marjane says, “I want to be a doctor” (Satrapi 9). She feels guilty because she does not know how God will react. She knows her parents are not going to understand her.

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That same day God appears in her room, he starts to talk to her. He asks her, “You want to be a doctor? I thought that…” (Satrapi 9). Marjane feels guilty towards God. Then she tells God what she actually wants to be. She says her parent could not know because they will not understand. Her parents wanted their daughter to be a doctor.

Marjane’s grandmother is the only one that knows about her dreams. She is the only one that supports and understands her. She mentions to her grandmother all the rules she is planning on putting as a law: “ Rule number six: everybody should have a car. Rule number seven: all maids should eat at the table with the others. Rule number eight: no older person should have to suffer” (Satrapi 7). Marjane thinks enacting these laws in the future will be easy but little does she know that it will be difficult. However, Marjane starts to act violent and God chooses to leave her. Marjane is angry with God because he does not show up when she needs him. However, there is a time when God appears, and she kicks him out because she is mad at the world. Marjane is mad because her favorite uncle is killed. After, her uncle is killed Marjane starts to change and have a different point of view.

Furthermore, some of Marjane’s friends leave to the United States for a better place. She is sad because she will not have any friends left and mostly that her best friend is leaving. Her friends leave because they know the war will start and they are trying to avoid all the consequences. Then, Marjane and her parents decide to travel before they are not able to do so because of the war. They go to Spain and Italy for vacation. Then they start to watch Tv in Spain. However, they did not understand because they did not speak Spanish at all. When they get home, her grandmother finds Marjane and her parents at the airport. From that moment, they know something is going on because of her grandma’s troubled face. Once they get home her grandmother says, “We are war” (Satrapi 79). She also explains, “… They only officially announced it two days ago, but really, it’s been a month… the Iranian fundamentalists tried to stir up their Iraqi Shiite allies against Saddam, he’s been waiting for the chance. He’s always wanted to invade Iran. And here’s the pretext. It’s the second Arab invasion…” (Satrapi 79). Once Marjane is finishing listening to her grandmother, she decides she wants to be the hero of the world. Marjane is ready to fight for her rights and to defend her country.

Once, the war starts people become increasingly unsettled. There is barely any food left in the stores and people fight for food. Also, there are changes in how women and men have to dress. Women are not allowing to show any hair or skin. Men have to wear loose clothes and could not shave their face at all. In the novel, Marjane’s mother mentions, “LOOK AT HER! Last year she was wearing a miniskirt, showing off her beefy thighs to the whole neighborhood. And now Madame is wearing a chador. It suits her better, I guess” (Satrapi 75). Marjane and her parents could not believe how the war changes everyone. Women do not have the same rights as men. Women have to be households while men defend their rights.

Continually, it is the day Marjane decides to go defend herself and her rights. Marjane’s mother says, “Tomorrow there’s going to be a meeting against fundamentalism” (Satrapi 76) Marjane wants to attend and while her mother thinks it is important, her father believes it is too dangerous. Marjane is ready to defend herself and to go where she always desires to go. Marjane is excited that she is finally allowing to go protest. Once she is there, she starts to hand out flyers. Marjane’s experience is horrible and she sees gunshots and knives. Her parents make a run for it, trying to get her away from all the violence. Marjane is surprised to what she sees in the protest. For the first time she sees people using knives and guns. Marjane did not think her first time protesting is seeing violence.

In the movie Persepolis 2, Marjane travels to Europe so she could continue her schooling. When Marjane gets there, she finds a hard time making friends and fitting in. Marjane is doing grocery shopping. She walks into the store and says, “It had been four years since I’d seen such a well-stocked store” (Satrapi). Eventually, she starts to hang out with a group of friends. Those friends she is hanging out with are a bad influence on her. However, Marjane starts to be like them and she starts doing drugs. Then, she gets kicked out of the place she is staying. She goes from houses to houses until she finds someone that accepts her.

Throughout the novel, Marjane experience horrible relationships. She falls in love with a guy named Markus. Unfortunately, one day, she finds him cheating on her. That breaks Marjane into pieces and causes, her to have an argument with the women she is staying with. Marjane says, “Where was my mother to stroke my hair? Where was my grandmother to tell me that lovers, I would have them by the dozen? Where was my father to punish this boy who dared to hurt his daughter? Where? (Movie) She sinks into depression until she meets a guy named Reza. Who she ends up marrying. Then, in the future, she leaves him. She stays homeless for a couple of months. She did not want to tell her parents because she is not trying to worry about them. For months she eats out of the garbage and sleeps on the streets.

Nobody helps her out. Finally, she decides that it is time for her to go back home. She finds a phone and calls her parents. She gives them a condition, if she returns, they could not ask her question about anything. Her parents agree with her conditions because they want to see their daughter. Her parents send her money, so she could return home. They are waiting for her at the airport and she is right next to them. At first, they did not recognize her, but then her mother sees her, and she knows that is her daughter. They take her home, they want to know how Europe was. But Marjane did not want to talk about anything, she will not answer questions. Then time passes by and Marjane moves again. Lastly, the first part in Persepolis, people are getting kill because they are protesting in the revolutions.

One main change is how women and men have to dress. Women are not allowing to show their skin or hair, they have to wear the veil. Men have to wear loose clothes and could not shave at all. Marjane wants to be a prophet and the only person that knows about it is her grandmother. She is the only one that supports her. Before the war begins, Marjane’s and her parents travel to Spain and Italy before they are not able to travel. They return and have to face the experience of the war until there is an end to the war. However, after the war, Marjane moves to Europe to continue with her studies. She experiences horrible relationships, hangs out with the wrong group of people. She ends up being homeless for a couple of months until she decides to go back home with her parents. The war effect Marjane more than anything. She moves to England after the war. Then comes back but every person she meets, she does not tell them about her life. It makes Marjane become the women she is now. She has been through so much which makes her strong.