BY: SAPHYRE#4892

Persepolis

Context:
- Autobiographically written by Marjane Satrapi, a woman who grew up in Iran right
after the Iranian Revolution; people overthrew the ‘Shah’ (the King) and replaced his
system with a more religious one
- The Shah was a man who supported more secular attitudes in Iran and also
someone who supported more Westernized and progressive values
- Replaced with a ‘theocracy’ - a society where there is no separation between
the religion and the state; it became a fundamentalist Islamic regime that was
extremely oppressive for women
- ‘Sharia law’ → a set of rules and regulations that many Islamic
countries follow whereby women are expected to conform to specific
attitudes and behaviors
- Examples include how women have to wear a full-body veil
(the ‘burqa’) or at the very least a head covering (the ‘hijab’)
- These laws are done to limit what women can do because of the
perception that if they are allowed to do what they want, they
will be heavily sexualized and therefore men will have
uncontrollable lust towards them; this is doubly sexist
- This essentially a type of victim blaming, whereby women are
victimized by men who have lust towards them; women are
held accountable for being aggressed upon
- Book was originally written in French, but translated into English in 2003; it was
published in English in a post 9-11 society; there was widespread islamophobia and
xenophobia, which contributed to a lot of hatred against Muslims
- George W. Bush, the president of the US at the time, stated that there were
three countries that were sources of pure evil in the world - Iraq, Iran, and
North Korea.
BY: SAPHYRE#4892

Genre:
- The graphic novel is a ‘bildungsroman’ (a ‘coming-of-age’ story)
- There are various conventions that are expected in this genre:
- The protagonist is usually a child/teenager that faces some kind of difficulty
(usually an internal one) that they have to overcome
- The way that the issue is overcome is typically through a process of maturity
- The protagonist at the end of the novel usually has a greater sense of their
personal identity
- The fact that this is a bildungsroman, which is a universal type of story, is valuable as
it allows people to better understand Iranians and see them all as terrorists and people
to fear

Themes:
- Maturity
- Cultural/national identity
- Culture clash between the East and the West → especially leads to mutual xenophobia
- The oppression caused by theocratic power
- Gender oppression of women and how it relates to double standards
- Family → Marjane’s family is very Westernized; they encourage her to explore more
of her own identity
- Sexuality → forms a central part of Marjane’s understanding of her personal identity;
it constitutes more acceptance of her femininity

Global issues (CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT):

- Female oppression, specifically how women don’t just suffer due to men, but due to
other women
- The impact of society on the individual
- Xenophobia and racism
BY: SAPHYRE#4892

Chapter 1 - The Veil

Literal meaning:

Describes the setting of Iran post-Revolution, and how religious fundamentalism

began to affect various aspects of society, even children, where they had to wear the
veil; audiences are introduced to her family which is very Westernized, as well as the
characterization of Marjane herself who is very innocent and naive about oppression

Thesis:

The chapter shows how people struggle with being individuals and having a sense of
uniqueness within societies, especially strongly fundamentalist theocracies.

Analysis

Page 10, Panel 1

Denotation: an image of Marjane split into two halves - one of which has
gears, the other of which has tribal/cultural patterns
Technique: visual juxtaposition, symbolism
Connotation: the gears represent logic, industrialization, progress, things
associated to the West; the right hand side symbolizes cultural elements in her
identity that she also is attached to; use of clothing indicates different cultural
attachments between more liberal Western style and conservative, religious
clothing; implies an identity crisis she is undergoing even as as child

Page 9, Panel 1
Denotation: showing two different groups of women protesting for and against
the veil
Technique: juxtaposition, irony
Connotation: ‘freedom’ implies that the women on the right appreciate deeper
philosophical and political concepts, implying that they are able to think about
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the broader implications of objects such as the veil, whereas the women on the
left focus more on dogma rather than broader spiritual/religious meaning; use
of clothing between the two groups also suggests ideas of identity and a lack
of identity; women on the left look homogenous and vice versa; the facial
expression of their eyes being closed implies ignorance - willing ignorance.

Page 9, Panel 6
Denotation: shows her mom hiding away from being surveilled
Technique: low angle; use of color; juxtaposition; visual set of islamic
fundamentalists
Connotation: low angle makes the woman look weaker and more vulnerable;
the representation of all the men looking at her creates a tone of paranoia; it
suggests that in many societies, there is more of an implied feeling of
oppression, rather than directly enforced ones

Page 9, Panel 3
Denotation: showing Marjane looking at her mom with pride
Technique: irony
Connotation: implies a sense of innocence and naivete; her mother fighting
against Islamic oppression has the potential for extremely dark consequences;
Marjane is too young to understand this; relates to a bildungsroman in how
Marjane will eventually come to terms the reality of how oppression actually
operates in Iran at the time

Page 10, Panel 6

Denotation: representing the maid being in a different room from the family
Technique: juxtaposition, proxemics, irony
Connotation: the proxemics of how the maid is meant to eat separately from
the family implies ideas of class superiority/inferiority (classism); relates to a
Marxist lens of showing the impacts of class differences; irony is created
through firstly how the family still holds conservative views even though
they’re more liberal compared to others in Iran; the fact that a child
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understands more about the moral implications of classism reflects ideas of

nature/nurture; it highlights how adults may have a warped view on morality
due to their exposure to social obligations/expectations

Page 12, Panels 6 and 7

Denotation: showing how Marjane wanted to be prophet when she was young
Technique: irony, facial expression, juxtaposition
Connotation: irony is created through how the teacher is a woman, yet she
criticizes Marjane for trying to be herself and believing in the concept that
women can achieve whatever they want; it implies that patriarchal societies
are not just perpetuated by men solely, but by other women as well who are
indoctrinated into supporting such beliefs; the mother’s body language and
facial expression show that she is directly in juxtaposition to the teacher, and
is offended by the fact that her daughter is limited from what she can/cannot
do

“The Letter” - page 37

Literal meaning:

The chapter is about Marjane’s maid who is attracted to the neighbor, and how
she tries to get into a relationship with him but is ultimately denied from doing
so because of her coming from a different class background.

Thesis:

From a Marxist/class-based literary lens, it shows injustices that people of the

lower class have to face due to the stereotypes and expectations that they face;
it shows how deeply embedded classism is within such a society, and how
difficult it is to move past such prejudices
BY: SAPHYRE#4892

Analysis

Page 37, Panel 6

Denotation: describing feelings of guilt that Marjane has from being in a
wealthy family
Technique: pathos, proxemics, facial expression, body language
Connotation: “felt ashamed” specifically suggests that she a level of
self-awareness and introspection that her father doesn’t; it shows how children
have insight into social injustices that adults may not even willingly be aware
about; her body language being turned away from her father indicates that she
doesn’t want to be associated with him due to feelings guilt for being part of a
class that looks down/alienates others; implies that Marjane has a strong
personal sense of justice that is going to be developed as the novel progresses

Page 41, Panel 6

Denotation: Marjane reacting to how the maid is treated unfairly
Technique: gesture, facial expression, use of color, irony
Connotation: she is clearly upset through her expression and gesture; her state
of confusion is that direct result of her inability to understand the world
around her because she’s a child and she maintains a naive and innocent view
on the world; the fact that she says “is it her fault” implies that she insight -
even more insight - than adults do
Page 41, Panel 7 (“We were not in the same social class but at least we were in the
same bed.”)
Denotation: Marjane talking about how she tries to make her maid feel better
Technique: irony
Connotation: implies that social class is more of an intangible, discriminatory
concept than something that exists objectively; it shows that Marjane is still
naive, but has a strong sense of justice and fairness because she treats her maid
as her sister even though they’re not of the same class; ironically, this is
undermined by the artistic elements of how Marjane is wearing a striped shirt,
BY: SAPHYRE#4892

while the maid is wearing a checkered one, showing a purely visual concept of
how different they are

Page 39, Panel 3

Denotation: Mehri getting a letter from Hossein
Technique: facial expression, irony, black background
Connotation: the happiness represented in the panel reflects how ironically she
finds contentment and peace and joy in perpetuating a lie of her being upper
class; it reflects the difficulty of finding joy as someone in the lower class
within a classist society; the fact that there’s a black background for most of
their interactions suggests an ominous tone that contradicts their happiness;
acts as a form of foreshadowing for the loss of her innocence later

Page 41, Panel 1

Denotation: showing Hossein wearing a Bee Gees shirt and considering
whether to dump the maid
Technique: irony, visual symbolism
Connotation: Bee Gees represents a more Westernized acceptance that the man
may have, which is undermined by how he still has very conservative
economic views on how people should only be accepted by their class, which
is inherently ironic

Panel 41, Panel 5

Denotation: her father telling her why their maid can’t be in a relationship
Technique: imperative, high modality
Connotation: suggests that if one does not conform to their social class, there
the potential for negative consequences; it shows how people in Iran were still
fixated on ideas of perception and reputation, and how even though Marjane’s
father is more liberal, he still holds some deep-rooted conservative views
BY: SAPHYRE#4892

“The Trip”, page 76

Literal meaning:
The chapter involves extremism getting out of control, and the government taking
power over the rest of society by eliminating and oppressing things that they see as
politically incorrect

Thesis:

The chapter acts as a social commentary about how societies can be extremely
oppressive towards people who disagree with the establishment, and how this is made
possible through direct political persecutions

Analysis

Page 77, Panel 2 (“Everything needs to be revised to ensure that our children are not
led astray from the true path of Islam.”)
Denotation: describing an education minister’s view on how the education
system needs to be changed
Technique: euphemism
Connotation: “everything needs to be revised” suggests ideas of how
education is used as a tool by political organizations as a way to gain power
over future generations; this is because children are gullible and accept
whatever they are told by an authority figure, which leads to cases of
indoctrination/brainwashing and a lack of free thought

Page 77, Panel 6 (“I wanted to be an educated, liberated woman.”)

Denotation: Marjane starting to accept more of her identity as she is maturing
into her teenage years
Technique: juxtaposition, lexical set of Westernized values
Connotations: “educated” and “liberated” are concepts that Islamic
fundamentalists do not want women to become, because these concepts cause
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people to value more Western ideas and therefore become more troublesome
against a government that simply desires control

Page 78 (“They insulted me. They said that women like me should be pushed up
against a wall and fucked. And then thrown in the garbage.”)
Denotation: Marjane’s mother talking about how she’s prejudiced against due
to her having more liberal views
Technique: use of expletives, hyperbole
Connotations: “pushed up against a wall and fucked” implies ideas of sexual
assault and objectification; implies that if people don’t conform to what
society tells them to do, then they are essentially seen as subhuman and
ultimately devalued; also highlights embedded sexual discrimination within
fundamentalist Islamic culture; the black ground indicates ideas of oppression
and fear

Page 78, panel 6

Denotation: representing her mother’s reaction to threats of sexual assault
Technique: facial expression
Connotation: eyes wide open and staring into the distance is an indication of
“the thousand-yard stare”; this indicates the extent of her trauma, showing that
oppression and suffering doesn’t even have to be direct, but it can be indirect
through paranoia and threats of potential violence

Page 79, panel 1 + 2 (“You showed your opposition to the regime by letting a few
strands of hair show.”)
Denotation: Marjane is talking about how people show resistance in different
ways
Technique: visual irony, irony
Connotation: “a few strands of hair show” indicates that rebellion/resistance
occurs in different ways depending on the context and cultural expectations of
a given country; the concept of showing ‘a few strands of hair’ has different
connotations in Iran, where the entire female figure is meant to be hidden
BY: SAPHYRE#4892

away; it highlights the extent of sexual oppression, as well as how feminism

cannot be universally executed in the same manner; double standards are also
shown in how the fundamentalist woman has to be fully covered up, while the
man is allowed to wear essentially whatever he wants, indicating how women
are especially discriminated against

Page 79, last panel

Denotation: Marjane lying about how many times she prays
Technique: irony, hyperbole
Connotation: “sometimes twelve” shows an exaggerated representation of how
religious she is; indicates how people have to conform to society by making
outright lies about themselves in order to find acceptance; her “learning to lie”
indicates ideas of her indoctrination; also subverts expectations of morality
that religion is meant to promote, showing the futility of fundamentalist values

Page 80, panel 3

Denotation: Marjane’s mother talking about how Marjane needs to value her
rights
Technique: visual juxtaposition, contrast, gesture, foreshadowing
Connotation: white and black halves represent ideas of mixed hope and grim
reality that indicates a loss of innocence that Marjane will go through
eventually; indicates how Marjane is slowly coming to terms with the reality
of the world that she’s in and how brutal it can be

Page 82, panel 2

Denotation: a news report about the outside world views Iran
Technique: metaphor
Connotation: “black cloud” indicates ideas of oppression that have been
caused by the change in the regime towards a more oppressive and
fundamentalist society that Marjane suffers under; these views can be related
to the context of production in the early 2000s, where George W. Bush
labelled Iran, Iraq and North Korea as part of an ‘axis of evil’
BY: SAPHYRE#4892

Page 81
Denotation: representing them on their trip to Europe
Technique: emanata (lines that emanate from something); visual symbolism
Connotation: the emanata create a dreamlike tone, something fantastical that is
also represented through the allusion to ‘Arabian Nights’ in the magic carpet;
a bittersweet tone is created here though how her happiness is only temporary

Page 79, second last panel

Denotation: her mother telling her what to do
Technique: ellipsis, imperative
Connotation: ellipsis indicates ideas of how she lacks assuredness but goes
along with social expectation; two question marks at the end; this at first
shows how her mother submits to social pressure to conform because of her
fear, indicates how even a character as strong as her mother can crack under
expectation

Page 80, panel 5

Denotation: fundamentalists attacking protestors
Technique: use of people and clothing
Connotation: the men all collectively look the same due to their identical
clothing and beards, showing a lack of identity that is a motif in the whole
novel; this ultimately implies that they’re indoctrinated and have lost their
ability to individually think for themselves; indicates that sexism and prejudice
is systematic and deeply embedded within the culture and government of Iran,
which contrasts how Western concepts of oppression are more based on subtle
prejudices that are implicit rather than directly explicit

Page 80, panel 2

Denotation: the father saying that Marjane can’t go to the protests + is
overridden by the mother
Technique: juxtaposition
BY: SAPHYRE#4892

Connotation: “she’s coming too” is given a declarative statement that shows

how strong the mother is authoritatively in the household; indicates that their
family is non-traditional in the sense that she has power and the father simply
submits to the demands that she makes; indicates culture conflicts between
their personal views and that of their broader societies

Page 130 - Kim Wilde

Literal meaning: Marjane’s parents smuggle in Western clothing and various posters
for their daughter, which she is excited about until she nearly gets arrested by the
Guardians of the Revolution; she is eventually let go, and then she dances to Western
music at home

Thesis: the novel relates to the concept of oppression by showing how widespread it
is, and the various ways that people struggle with finding their identities within a
society that restricts it; it also reflects how people can never fully be oppressed and
limited from having freedoms because they can still be rebellious in their own,
different, private ways.

Analysis:

Page 136, panel 3

Denotation: Marjane scoping the area at the black market
Technique: black background, expression, gesture
Connotation: illustrates paranoia she feels while purchasing Western media;
black background further creates an oppressive tone that emphasizes the
paranoia; shows how fundamentalist societies oppress those who accept or
enjoy the West, highlighting the restrictions of freedom that such xenophobic
societies have

Page 136, last panel

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Denotation: Marjane after going out to buy tapes is called out by the
Guardians of the Revolution
Technique: imperative; irony
Connotation: they’re shaming her for wearing Western clothes, directly
threatening her for doing so because it goes against their ideology; also ironic
as they’re women oppressing other women, showing that patriarchal societies
is also perpetuated by indoctrinated women as well; also missing identities
because of the full body veil, looking homogenous; the use of levels between
the women and Marjane shows the difference in power as well that they have
as well

Page 132, first three panels

Denotation: parents packing Marjane’s presents
Technique: moment-to-moment framing
Connotations: the fact she has go to such a complicated process to give her
daughter gifts represents the extent of oppression that was occurring in Iran at
the time; the fact that it’s her mother doing it as well subverts expectations of
women being obedient and submissive, especially in an Islamic context

Page 135, panel 3 and 4

Denotation: Marjane wearing Western clothing
Technique: irony
Connotation: she still proceeds to wear the veil and ignores what she’s been
told; also reflects her childish naivete and simplicity when going out, showing
that she doesn’t understand the true extent of how oppressive Iran is; she says
“of course, my headscarf” which shows that she still submits to specific forms
of oppression and expectation on her; visual juxtaposition in the symbolism of
what she’s wearing that shows her conflicted cultural identity

Page 138, last panel

Denotation: Marjane dancing and enjoying music by Kim Wilde
Technique: irony
BY: SAPHYRE#4892

Connotation: image is ironic as she gains freedom through breaking the law
and buying smuggled goods; also ironic because it shows her desire to be free
while being restricted indoors; the song itself that she’s dancing to is about
being able to be a kid in America and be free and be oneself, which is
symbolic of what she wants to do as well; her dancing uncontrollably at home
also shows how futile the regime’s desire to oppress people are; shows that the
more you rob people of something, the more they’re going to want it

Page 135, panel 1

Denotation: Marjane headbanging to Iron Maiden, a metal band
Technique: irony
Connotation: she’s doing it indoors, which shows limitation; it also shows the
extent of her imagination in the racket she’s holding, which shows that the
only way to be free in such a society is through imagination; Iron Maiden is
also stereotypically more of a masculine band, which shows she subverts
gender expectations; the right hand side also shows her trying to embrace her
sexuality and femininity, which is even more heavily oppressed in Iran

Page 137, Panel 7

Denotation: the Guardians of the Revolution are calling Marjane promiscuous
Technique: imperative
Connotation: shows that they have authority; calling her a “whore” indicates
the extent to which sexuality being oppressed causes people to overly
sexualize things that were previously not sexualized at all, showing how futile
and counterintuitive limiting people’s freedoms are

Panel 138, Panel 4

Denotation: Marjane making excuses for herself in front of the Guardians
Technique: bold typography, facial expression, anaphora
Connotation: distortion shows the extent to which Marjane emotionally
invested into lying to the Guardians, indicates how oppressive Islamic society
BY: SAPHYRE#4892

is towards those who don’t conform; bold typography and anaphora of

“maybe” shows desperation to get out of the situation

Page 136, Panel 1

Denotation: Marjane walking through the black market
Technique: idiolect
Connotation: the incorrect phrasing of the various names at the market shows
that the men are only there for financial gain, rather than an actual
understanding of the West and pop culture; it also shows how flawed the
system is, to where these people can actually exist; the fact that they catch
Marjane out for wearing these clothes shows that they are more concerned
with women obeying than men

Page 130, Panel 5

Denotation: Marjane talking about how she idolizes Europe and the States
Technique: juxtaposition of character
Connotation: the fact that she’s idolizing the West in the first place shows that
she’s ignorant to the issues that are present there as well, such as cultural
isolation, mistreatment of minorities, racism, prejudice; this also indicates how
naive she is, to where she thinks that the West is flawless and ‘cool’ which she
comes to realize is untrue when she goes to Vienna

Page 134, panel 7

Denotation: Marjane giving her father thanks for getting the gifts when it was
her mother
Technique: irony
Connotation: the fact that she hugs her father rather than her mother indicates
that she has preconceived notions about gender roles and how men have
confidence and the desire to break the rules/be rebellious when in reality
women can do the same thing; the fact that Marjane is a woman that is raised
in a feminist family indicates how people can be indoctrinated as well
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Page 137, panel 5

Denotation: the Guardians calling Micheal Jackson decadent
Technique: irony
Connotation: the fact that they know who MJ is indicates that they have
already been exposed to Western culture and are aware of pop culture that’s
present there; this shows how they have fundamentally failed at their own
duties because of how it implies that they watch him/have watched him,
showing that it’s almost impossible to limit oneself from exposure to other
cultures in a more globalized and multicultural world

The Pill (Page 183)

Literal meaning:
The chapter is about Marjane exposing herself more to the liberal and
Westernized that is Europe/Vienna; there are more liberal perspectives on the
concept of sex and sexuality, which makes Marjane uncomfortable; this
contributes to her growing self-awareness in terms of her femininity and
personal identity

Thesis:
This chapter is important because it acts as a pivotal moment for Marjane’s
development into adulthood; it is one of the key points of peripeteia in the
novel, as it is the first moment where she is exposed to sexual concepts that
dramatically change her view on the world

3 main ideas:
- Sexuality
- Bildungsroman (‘coming-of-age’ genre)
- The loss of innocence

Analysis:
BY: SAPHYRE#4892

Page 185; panel 3

Denotation: Julie talking to Marjane about the way that she views her as naive
Technique: listing; lexical set of purity/childishness
Connotation: pure/timid etc relates to later in the novel when Marjane
juxtaposes these values when she becomes more comfortable with her female
identity, even within Iran; Julie bragging about her sexual experiences
symbolizes different cultural perceptions on sex; in the West, people are open
about it, while in the East, it’s heavily repressed/oppressed

Page 185, panel 7

Denotation: Marjane almost hiding under the covers after hearing about how
sex works
Technique: visual juxtaposition, use of clothing, gestures, facial expression
Connotation: the two types of clothes shown in the panels reflects different
personality traits, where Marjane is wearing pyjamas that symbolizes youth
and childishness, while Julie wears more casual clothes, which reflects a more
casual attitude in life; the gesture and facial expression of Marjane also
reflects shock and a loss of innocence because of her growing awareness about
more mature concepts of love, romance, and sex; Marjane looking out into the
distance is a representation of the ‘thousand yard stare’ - a symptom of PTSD

Page 187, Panel 2

Denotation: Julie putting makeup on Marjane
Technique: juxtaposition in her characterization
Connotation: relates to ideas of sexuality because makeup is meant to be a
symbol of seduction, showing the contrasting cultures between Iran and
Vienna; also relates to the next panel where she says that she did this “from
then on”, showing the impact of this feminine awakening inside herself;
‘looked very beautiful’ also suggests that she was never able to embrace ideas
of beauty/female self-empowerment up until this point

Page 187, Panel 6/7

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Denotation: Marjane and Julie are laughing at sexual jokes

Technique: juxtaposition, sexual innuendo
Connotation: Marjane is starting to make sexual jokes that show her ability to
do so compared to Iran; also shows her sexual maturity because she’s getting
more comfortable discussing such topics; also contrasts directly earlier when
she was still in shock simply at hearing the word ‘vagina’

Page 187, panel 9

Denotation: flashback panel that shows Marjane thinking about her family
Technique: use of clothing
Connotation: reflects that her parents also have more liberal attitudes
represented through the clothing of what they wore when they could in Iran;
the flashback also indicates attachments that she still has to her home/parents

Page 188
Denotation: Marjane talking about parties in Iran and Vienna
Technique: short syntax (sentence structure); visual juxtaposition; emanata;
use of clothing and color; high angle
Connotation: the short syntax reflects her state of shock at what sees around
her; Marjane is clearly shown to be an outcast through the proxemics of her
being in the corner, hidden away; her facial expressions show her to be lost
and confused contrasted with the happier facial expressions the rest of the
people in the room; the use of the emanata represents the feelings of those who
are intoxicated in the rest of the room; also creates a surreal, dreamlike tone to
the panel; the color of her clothing could be seen as blending her into the
background; could be seen as a willing choice so she can hide away from this
new situation that she finds herself in; the high angle also creates a feeling of
inferiority in the subject of the panel - Marjane herself; the monotonous
clothing she wears also reflects her lack of unique identity at this point

Page 189, panel 2

Denotation: Marjane trying to wash makeup with water
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Technique: irony; facial expressions

Connotation: the concept of trying to wash off makeup, a symbol of
femininity, with water indicates that she still has a childlike mentality and
attitude towards more feminine and adult experiences; the last three panels
specifically indicate a slow loss of innocence, which is both positive and
negative - positive in terms of her development into adulthood, but negative
because she’s lost her naivete that she can no longer regain

Page 190, panel 1

Denotation: Marjane trying to escape reality through reading
Technique: personification; use of objects
Connotation: “my best friend, a book” suggests that Marjane has frequently
relied on literature as a means of escapism, which also suggests that she has
difficulty coping with the situations that she is put in reality; the positioning of
the book that hides her sight from the rest of the world is symbolic of this
concept of escapism

Page 191, panel 3

Denotation: Marjane’s father talking about balls to her daughter
Technique: juxtaposition/irony
Connotation: the father talking openly about male anatomy reflects a
non-conformist attitude to social and cultural taboos relating to sex
specifically

“The Vegetable” - page 192

Literal meaning: Marjane is in the process of understanding who she is as a woman as

well as who she is in terms of her national identity as Iranian; she fakes being from
Vienna to try and hide her insecurities, but eventually snaps and explicitly states that
she is proud of who she is
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Thesis: this chapter is important as it highlights aspects of the psychoanalytic lens of

how difficult it is to create a definable ego for oneself; it also highlights struggles with
maturity that relate to the concept of a bildungsroman

Analysis:

Page 195, third last panel

Denotation: Marjane faking smoking a joint
Technique: irony
Connotation: irony is created in how Marjane tried to escape social conformity
in Iran by going to Vienna, but here she also conforms, albeit to a different
social code instead

Page 198, panel 1

Denotation: Marjane trying to hide her national identity because how Iran was
seen as evil
Technique: irony
Connotation: implies that Marjane has low-self esteem because of how she
desires to change her entire sense of self in order to fit in; also shows how
powerful peer pressure is within this context; also represented through the
blank facial expression that Marjane has, showing the internal struggle she has

Page 200, last panel

Denotation: Marjane leaving the restaurant feeling pride in her nationality
Technique: juxtaposition, reference to the bildungsroman
Connotation: shows her character development where now she feels pride in
being Iran whereas earlier she felt shame in that association and desired to be
seen as Western; shows her rising maturity and slow acceptance of who she is;
facial expression of smiling creates a sense of contentment in who she is

Page 196, bottom panel

Denotation: Marjane talking on the phone with her parents
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Technique: visual imagery

Connotation: lack of direct eye contact between the panels implies ideas of her
lying and potentially feeling shame for having to do so; the fact that she feels
shame in the first place implies that she partially knows that what she is doing
is wrong; the juxtaposition between “happy” and “ashamed” shows internal
struggle with her character, reflecting a psychoanalytic struggle with her sense
of ego (identity); “they wouldn’t call me their dream child” is a form
psychological projection that indicates Marjane’s insecurities about who she
is, due to how liberal her parents have been throughout the novel

Page 192, panel 1

Denotation: showing Marjane as monstrous
Technique: emanata, hyperbole
Connotation: size, emanata, and the diction ‘metamorphosis’ implies that she
is fully animalistic, indicating how much she’s changed from being in Vienna;
relates back to to a bildungsroman concept of how she is also maturing into
adulthood

Page 193, panel 8 and earlier

Denotation: Marjane is dressed up
Technique: juxtaposition
Connotation: the representation of her clothing shows a direct contrast to the
more oppressive clothing she had to wear in Iran; the scarf also parallels the
similar headscarf she had to wear due to religious oppression; shows a
transition of culture between the East and the West; also highlights her
uniqueness that contrasts her conformity in the earlier sections of the novel;
earlier panels also reflect how she differentiates herself more and more,
experimenting with her visual representation that shows a greater level of
self-identification

Page 196, panel 1

Denotation: Marjane feeling distant from her family and heritage
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Technique: visual imagery/symbolism

Connotation: parents being black shadows suggests disconnection; the
exaggerated leap away from them symbolizes her distancing herself away
from her original culture as well

Page 199, panel 1 and 2

Denotation: Marjane is being mocked for the way that she looks and speaks
Technique: lexical set of identity
Connotation: the way one ‘talks’ is a representation of one’s culture and
personal identity; the fact that they mock her for this highlights a potentially
racist view on her; also highlights how some racial barriers and discriminatory
prejudices are difficult if not impossible to overcome

Page 200, panel 1

Denotation: Marjane affirming her national identity
Technique: declarative statement
Connotation: the fact that she gives this as a declarative clearly shows that
she’s trying to take more pride in who she is/who she’s born as; however, the
fact that she’s saying this only in response to being mocked reflects that this
may just be facade of strength that she puts on rather than something genuine
she actually believes in

“Hide and Seek” - page 210

Literal meaning: Marjane finds a boyfriend, she has a greater level of intimacy with
him, and she faces extreme racism and prejudice as a result of it

Thesis:

Analysis:

Page 224, panel 4

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Denotation: Marjane being accused of prostitution

Technique: facial expression
Connotation: Marjane is dissatisfied; the fact that she is labelled a prostitute
simply for having an Austrian boyfriend as a Iranian highlights prejudiced
views against those from the Middle-East as filthy, impure, immoral

Page 225, panel 3

Denotation: Marjane goes to buy cheap hash
Technique: emanata, juxtaposition
Connotation: the fear indicated in the body posture, facial expression, and
emanata all contrast how she does it ‘out of love’; shows that she’s peer
pressured to do things that she’s clearly uncomfortable doing

Page 215, panel 2

Denotation: Marjane and friends getting ready to go to sleep
Technique: juxtaposition
Connotation: “kissing in public was a sexual act” suggests how sexually
conservative Iran was compared to the West, and how she almost got arrested
for doing even more innocuous things in earlier chapters

Page 223, panel 5

Denotation: Marjane being told to leave
Technique: shape, size, color
Connotation: face being larger and color contrast implies that Markus’s mother
is superior; Marjane’s gesture putting her hands up is also like surrender
showing her lack of power in response, implying vulnerability

Page 223, panel 4

Denotation: Marjane still being told to leave
Technique: hyperbole
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Connotation: ‘witch’ relates to the concept of Othering and Orientalism (the

concept that people in the East have historically been as exotic and mystical),
showing racist stereotypes

Page 223, panel 1

Denotation: Marjane hanging out with her boyfriend
Technique: irony
Connotation: in Iran, it would be illegal to do this; her actions here directly
contrast social norms and expectations at the time, firstly by being in the same
room with a man that she is not married two, and her going out with someone
who is Caucasian implies that she also cares little for attitudes towards racial
distancing common in many cultures

Page 223, panel 6

Denotation: Markus’s mother kicking Marjane out of the house
Technique: use of negative space
Connotation: emphasizes the use of space in panel; mother’s size in the panel
further shows the power that she has over Marjane; Marjane’s size
comparatively shows her lack of power over the mother; the exclamatory
speech bubble also indicates aggression and anger; repetition of the diction
“raus” suggests how demanding she is Marjane to leave

“The Return” - page 249

Literal meaning:
- The chapter is about Marjane returning to Iran, whereby she feels extremely
out of place due to the clashing cultures of Vienna and Iran; this immediately
implies irony due to how she previously stated that she was proud of Iranian
but now feels dread at returning

Thesis:
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- The chapter is a commentary on how home is more complex than just a place
that one returns to or a pure sense of belonging, but rather a mix of positives
and negatives that contribute to a more true sense of identity and how
confused it may be, even for someone who has reached ‘adulthood’

Analysis:

Page 249, panel 1 (“I immediately felt the repressive air of my country.”)
Denotation: Marjane’s first reaction when returning to Iran
Technique: irony
Connotation: “repressive air” reflects ideas of how identity and expression
were limited in Iran; the fact that she only realizes this when she returns from
being Vienna highlights how difficult it is for one to truly see the flaws of
one’s country if they’ve never been elsewhere/gotten external cultural
understanding

Page 249, last panel (“He...was about the same size as me.”)
Denotation: Marjane describing her father
Technique: juxtaposition
Connotation: implies that Marjane’s journey into maturity and adulthood
according to the bildungsroman genre due to her seeing her parents more as
equals than as figures of authority; juxtaposes her more childish and
dependent representations earlier in the novel

Page 250, panel 2 (“I no longer asked these kinds of questions…”)

Denotation: Marjane describing the differing wealth that her parents have
undergone during her stay in Vienna
Technique: juxtaposition
Connotation: implies that Marjane has lost the previously naive and innocent,
childish view she had on the concept of wealth; when she was young she was
almost ashamed of it because she didn’t understand the value of wealth given
her lack of world experience; partially ironic because her maturity has caused
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her to change her values from being idealistic to more pragmatic, even
adopting a more materialistic view on the world

Page 250, panel 3, 6, 7

Denotation: Marjane describing her comfort at returning home
Technique: lexical set of home and pathos
Connotation: “most comforting words” shows that Marjane’s main issue was
her inability to find a place of safety and belonging; irony as her sense of
home was always in Iran, even though she still has conflicting feelings about
the country itself; reveals here that the concept of home and personal identity
is extremely complex, to where one can identify a country that is extremely
repressive and full of paranoia still as a place of ‘home’ and ‘safety’

Page 254, panel 6

Denotation: Marjane hurrying home after feeling overwhelmed
Technique: hyperbole
Connotation: “unbearable” implies that she has survivor’s guilt for leaving
Iran during a time of great conflict, and how she feels partially responsible for
not doing anything otherwise; the concept of her guilt is also shown through
the symbolism of being surrounded by ghosts

Page 253, last panel

Denotation: Marjane wandering around her town and feeling detached
Technique: low angle
Connotation: implies that she feels vulnerable; her making eye contact with
the martyr shows discomfort through her facial expression; the low angle also
makes the buildings seem as if they’re closing in on her; creates a feeling of
claustrophobia and further discomfort due to the cultural differences of two
countries; contrast between the ruins and the propaganda emphasizes how
symbolically martyrdom leads to potential destruction; the metaphor “the road
to readjustment” emphasizes the distance that Marjane feels to her own ‘home
country’
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Page 260, panel 6

Denotation: Marjane’s father explaining the aftereffects of the war
Technique: lexical set of destruction
Connotation: reflects the dystopian mood/tone of the society they’re in; black
background also shows a dark and oppressive mood; facial expression of the
‘thousand-yard-stare’ also implies PTSD that the father has undergone
specifically because of the horrors that he’s witnessed in the area; partially
ironic as it implies that Marjane still maintains elements of her innocence and
youth

Page 252, panel 4-5

Denotation: Marjane’s mother offers her a cigarette
Technique: juxtaposition
Connotation: the offer juxtaposes her relationship earlier; also shows that the
mother perceives Marjane as an adult; reflects a bildungsroman due to her
emotional/mental maturity; this is verified through how her mother treats her
directly like adult and how she allows her to do what she wants

Page 259
Denotation: showing the people who got executed in Iran
Technique: negative space, color, use of people
Connotation: their blindness, representation, and clothing all imply a lack of
identity, showing how they aren’t erven given human dignity leading up to
their deaths; black background creates an oppressive tone

Page 260, last panel

Denotation: Marjane is thinking about the past compared to now
Technique: irony
Connotation: irony is created in how earlier she was on the streets of Vienna
and struggling/had no-one to go to, but now that she compares it to Iran she
realizes how little her experiences meant compared to the horrors of what
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occurred in Iran; implies that suffering needs to be put into perspective, and
how people need to have a more holistic view on just how bad things can
become; shows how we need to be more humble in terms of the importance
we place on things that may be seemingly important

Page 251, panel 3 and 7

Denotation: Marjane dismissing previous elements of what she used to like
Technique: juxtaposition
Connotation: shows that fantasy in many cases does not corroborate with
reality, which is partially why Marjane was so tempted to go the West; she
buys more into the illusion of it than the actual reality of what it is; the
contrast here shows her greater awareness about the complexities of culture
and their nuances (their pros and cons); the fact that she still likes Kim Wilde
indicates that elements of our ego remain the same as we mature and age, and
these elements are core aspects of our personalities; shows us that elements of
our nature supercede our nurture

“The Convocation”

Literal meaning:
- Marjane returns to Iran and becomes a student who rebels against the
expectations forced on her within a patriarchal society; she questions core
gender expectations such as inequalities of rights between men and women

Thesis:
- The chapter reveals how hypocritical the rules in Iran are; it highlights how
they’re grounded more in superficiality than actual moral/religious values

Analysis:

Page 299
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Denotation: the administration is talking about how women should cover

themselves up
Technique: facial expression, repetition, high modality, imperative
Connotation: the girls are shocked/discontent which contrasts the lack of facial
expression that the man has in the bottom left hand corner, showing how the
rules apply differently for the genders; “to show us the right path” uses a
collective pronoun in an ironic sense because of how it only applies for
women, not everyone; “you should” creates irony in terms of how women are
being held responsible for the lusts of men, rather than men themselves; this is
a form of victim blaming

Page 296, last panel

Denotation: Marjane talks about the veil
Technique: juxtaposition
Connotation: shows how conversative Iran is as a country because of how they
were “winning an eight of an inch” per year; however the fact that more is
allowed to be shown in the first place indicates that progress and change is still
possible, but gradual; “winning” implies that feminism is existent in Iran,
except to a much more minor and subdued degree

Page 300, last panel

Denotation: Marjane confronts the school about what they have to undergo
Technique: catharsis
Connotations: Marjane is finally taking action against an issue that has been
bothering her for a long while; this indicates that she is developing in terms of
her maturity, which part of a bildungsroman, reflecting her emerging sense of
pride in self;

Page 295, panel 5

Denotation: shows how the boys and girls are flirting
Technique: irony
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Connotation: panel shows how they’re not meant to mix; however, in reality
this isn’t actually true in practice and Marjane herself is in a relationship with
another man; implies that even though the government dictates what they see
as socially appropriate or inappropriate, this does not necessarily reflect the
beliefs of the population itself; “these were human beings” shows how the
instincts/id of people can’t be fully controlled; further adds irony due to how
the boys flirt with the girls and find them attractive even though the veil is
meant to prevent exactly that from happening, showing how pointless the veil

Page 301, panel 5

Denotation: Marjane being told that wearing the veil is a form of freedom
Technique: sarcasm, irony
Connotation: the sarcasm implies that Marjane rejects what she’s been told by
the man; the body language indicates dissatisfaction through her folded arms
and her shoulders slouched; indicates her rebelliousness; irony here is created
in how women are being indoctrinated into believing that wearing the veil
‘frees’ them when in reality all it does is limit them - a form of ‘doublethink’

Page 301, panel 8

Denotation: showing Marjane’s new uniform
Technique: irony
Connotation: irony is created through how the uniform wouldn’t be typically
seen as something revolutionary/new, but the fact that it’s greatly accepted by
Marjane shows that feminist change occurs, though in more nuanced ways
than it is in the West

Page 300, panel 4

Denotation: Marjane criticizing religious values
Technique: rhetorical question, sarcasm
Connotation: “just opposed to fashion” creates satirical commentary on how
completely superficial and pointless a lot of Islamic fundamentalist views are;
she highlights that people are more concerned with making the appearance of
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actually having moral values rather than having genuine care/a desire to have
moral integrity

“The Socks” - page 302

Literal meaning:
- Describing Marjane’s experiences being at school and her getting more and
more used to the setting of Iran that she’s returned back to

Thesis:

Analysis:

Page 302, panel 3

Denotation: the girls drawing the woman in the middle
Technique: irony
Connotation: the woman herself represents the ideal form of a woman in the
Islamic regime; irony is created because of how the woman’s anatomy can’t be
seen at all given the clothes that she’s wearing, highlighting how pointless a
lot of the rules etc are within Islamic fundamentalism

Page 304, panel 7+8

Denotation: the guards explaining why she shouldn’t run
Technique: irony, exclamatory, facial expression
Connotation: the government has rules as to why women have to cover
themselves up in order to prevent men from having sexual desires towards
women; ironic given that the guards here are sexualizing things that shouldn’t
even be sexualized, like running - highlights how counterintuitive it is; her
shouting shows her frustration at being ‘victim-blamed’; shows that even after
wearing the veil, she is being sexualized; the facial expression of the guards
implies shock at being told, showing how little resistance they typically face
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Page 303, panel 5

Denotation: Marjane told to stop looking at a man
Technique: irony
Connotation: irony given that Marjane is only using the man as a model, but is
being interpreted as acting immorally; this highlights how it is the ones who
are in charge that have inappropriate thoughts; further ironic in how men
blame women, while vice versa, the woman is blamed even though she’s doing
something innocent/complete her work; the rhetorical question highlights her
frustration as well

“The End” - page 331

Literal meaning: it is the final chapter of the novel, where Marjane and her boyfriend Reza
are settling down in Iran; Marjane decides to leave Iran in order to go to France permanently,
concluding her character arc

Thesis: the chapter is important because it shows a semi-resolution to her character

development as a completion of the bildungsroman genre; however, given her lack of full
clarity as to who she is, this shows how maturity and self-development is a continuous
process

Analysis:

Page 333, panel 4

Denotation: Marjane describing how she wants Iran for what it actually is
Technique: juxtaposition
Connotation: “motifs are American” implies that things in Iran are rarely
culturally isolated, and that in many cases, they’re affected by Western values;
Marjane wants to have a purer sense of Iran through her artwork; reflects how
she still has a great deal of attachment to Iran

Page 334, panel 1 and 2

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Denotation: Marjane getting rejected from meeting the mayor and his deputy
Technique: lexical set
Connotation: “hooded head-scarf” shows how oppressed and limited Marjane
is typically because of the high expectations people have; also shows how Iran
was still quite backwards given how even makeup was seen as symbol of sin

Page 334, panel 6 and 7

Denotation: Marjane being told that her art project is not suitable because it’s
not conservative enough
Technique: symbolism
Connotation: “see their shapes and hair” implies sexuality which women are
forbidden from expressing; ‘what they want are religious symbols’ shows
manipulation through concepts of propaganda that the government was trying
to create at the time as a form of control; shows that even cultural symbols and
things from the past are elements that the government controls

Page 334, panel 4-8

Denotation: men attempting to flirt with Marjane’s friend’s sister
Technique: repetition, facial expression
Connotation: the various men are of different classes and jobs but share exact
behaviors reflected through the repetition of their gestures; reflects how this
concept of ‘toxic masculinity’ is widespread in Iranian society; her changing
expression reflects her frustration at behind objectified in such a demeaning
way

Page 338, panel 3

Denotation: talking about what happened in jail
Technique: irony
Connotations: the irony is that he gets beaten up due to his desire to obey the
law, but even after doing so people think he is mocking the Islamic regime;
shows the complete irrationality of a system that doesn’t allow freedom of
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speech; “bearded men are sissies” shows the extent to which people are
defensive over their masculinity

Page 335, last panel

Denotation: friend tells her the consequences of being divorced
Technique: juxtaposition
Connotation: highlights how women are forced to suffer constantly due to the
expectation they have to conform to their gender roles; there is no situation
whereby they are able to be free/feel happiness because of how not obeying
these rules results in direct prejudice by men within a patriarchal society

Page 337, panel 4

Denotation: people assume what happened to the illustrator
Technique: lexical set of suffering
Connotation: the lexical set highlights the oppression in Iran because of how it
creates a constant feeling of fear and oppression, leading them to be constantly
scared; also reflects that this oppression is counterintuitive because of how it
makes people distrust the government and disobey it more

Page 337, last panel

Denotation: he was arrested because the illustration included a bearded man
Technique: irony
Connotation: ironic even though he had good intentions, he was arrested
anyway, showing how the regime cares less about the safety of its people and
more about control within it

Page 337, panel 5

Denotation: describing the government controlling the media
Technique: juxtaposition
Connotation: the magnifying the class shows how specific and controlling the
government is compared to the west; the control of the media itself shows how
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they want complete control over the population; used all as a form of
propaganda and indoctrination

Page 336, panel 4

Denotation: the grandmother telling Marjane not wear the veil
Technique: rhetorical question
Connotation: shows how assertive her grandmother is, where she stays true to
herself; her negative tone reflects that she acknowledges how oppressed
women are, rather than be ignorant and comply; relates back to the concept of
family and how important it is for people to support one another to help their
personal development

Page 336, panel 5

Denotation: Marjane telling her grandmother she wants to separate
Technique: juxtaposition, facial expression
Connotation: contrasting facial expressions of sadness and annoyance shows
that her grandmother doesn’t care about judgement; also showing how her
grandmother is a non-conformist
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Essay
- Based on a global issue that is explored throughout the year
- Identity
- Societal oppression
- Xenophobia/racism
- Cultural loss and conflict
- Female rights/a lack thereof
- Class differences

Structure:

Introduction
- Contextualize your global issue
- State how your issue is global, national, and local, and why it is an ‘issue’ in
the first place
- Relate the global issue to your chosen chapter by discussing how it’s shown in it
- Give the thesis (what the text reveals about the global issue)
- State the main ideas
- Themes
- Techniques

Body paragraph
- Topic sentence relates the global issue to the main idea and the effect on the audience
- [Writer] firstly explores [global issue/thesis] through [main idea 1] in order to
[commentary on the global issue].
- Evidence must be based on embedding it if it is a quote into a denotation OR
contextualizing the image based on the panel and page number
- This is shown when Satrapi describes [denotation], in how “[quote]”.
- Explanation is based on mentioning the technique, the connotations of individual
words (or components of the image) and relating these connotations back to the global
issue
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- Through the use of [technique] in “[diction]”, Satrapi shows [connotations of

individual words]. This shows [relate back to the global issue].

Sample:

The global issue of how difficult it is to determine one’s personal identity in an increasingly
changing world is one that can be seen through constant cultural crises worldwide from
immigration and multiculturalism, to even local cultural issues in Hong Kong due to
postcolonialism. This issue is represented in Chapter 1 of Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis”,
wherein Marjane as a child struggles with finding a certain sense of self due to religious
changes that occurred from the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Overall, this chapter reveals the
extent to which people, and even children, can struggle with having a sense of individuality,
especially within strongly fundamentalist societies. This is primarily explored through ____,
____, and _____.

Satrapi firstly explores the global issue of one undergoing an identity crisis through the way
in which Marjane struggles between Eastern and Western influences in her life, in order to
reflect on how children can be greatly affected due them still being in the process of
maturing. This is visually represented on page 7, panel 1 and 2, where Marjane and her
classmates are shown sitting at a desk, arms folded, with neutral expressions on their faces
and wearing hijabs. Through the use of clothing...