Friday, December 4, 2015
The Complete Persepolis #3
In amidst of the strict rules, war, and the bombing of their street in Iran, Marjane’s parents decide what they feel is best for their daughter, is to send her to Austria where she can continue her education in safety. Although Iran and Austria are not very far away, the differences between the two countries are very drastic. A prime example of a major difference between the two countries is shown when Marjane goes to the super market for the first time by herself. In this super market, she is overwhelmed. She writes, “It had been four years since I’d seen such a well-stocked store”. (page 160) She spends a great amount of time smelling the laundry detergent because in Iran they were not allowed. This simple trip to the grocery store shows how drastic her move was from Iran to Austria, it also displays how strict the laws back home were, where scented detergent wasn’t even allowed. Another huge difference was of course, the language barrier. We notice this right away when Marjane meets her new roommate, Lucia, on page 161. They say hello to one another but it is only until Marjane learns German that they can finally have a full conversation, and later, become friends. As Marjane grows up in Austria she goes through a lot of physical changes from ages fourteen to nineteen. She now had a “punk” aesthetic, which she really admired when she lived back in Iran. With this new look it gives her the freedom to dress and style herself however she pleases, while before, she was chastised for even wearing basketball shoes out in public. The freedom Marjane now has is very obvious.
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I can't help but agree! Freedom is something Marjane truly values. As a child, Marjane finds loopholes in the law to continue the life she'd like (i.e buying illegal tapes and having her parents smuggle in posters). However, I believe that being sent to Austria by her parents severely helped her in figuring out that Iran was not, and has never been, her home. She does and tries everything under the sun while living in Europe and upon returning to Iran, her rights were snatched from her once more. She shows clear signs of struggling to adjust to Iranian law this time around because of the fact that she's tasted the freedom she wanted already, and that's why she leaves.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jocelyn, Freedom is a very big thing in Marjane's life. I say this because she would argue with teachers and even the "Gaurdian's of the Revolution" so she could have the right to wear, listen, and do what she wants. At first when Marjane was sent away she was very scared about it and didn't like it, but later on it helped her because it makes her relieve where she doesn't belong( Iran). This is why when she returned back to Iran she quickly leaves.
DeleteThat part with the well stocked store is actually really sad. They just comes to say her family didn't have a lot of things. It was bad to a point where they couldn't have laundry detergent. In today's world that would sound ridiculous. Comes to show freedom did not come easy for them.
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