Persepolis Summary
Chapter 1: The Veil (Page 3-9).
Setting: Tehran, Iran during pre-revolution (1979), and post-revolution (1980-).
Characters: Marjane (Marji), Friends (Golnaz, Mahshid, Narine, Minna), Grandmother,
Prophets, God.
Summary:
The chapter starts with the author, Marjane, who is 10 years old in the year 1980.
She shows a class photo with her four friends but leaves her picture out. A revolution took
place in Iran in 1979, which was later called an “Islamic Revolution,” even though it was a
“People’s Revolution” against the Shah. The author talks about veils being mandatory to
wear at school. She disliked wearing it, as she didn’t understand why she had to wear it.
Marji was in a French non-religious school in 1979, where it was co-education, with
both boys and girls being in the same class. But in 1980, all bilingual schools had to close
down, as they were seen as symbols of “capitalism” and “decadence,” which was later called
a “cultural revolution” by Khomeini. Girls were veiled and separated, and “that was that…”
as the author nonchalantly said.
We see that there were demonstrations in the street for and against the veil, which
shows that not everyone was in favor of it. At one of the demonstrations, Marji’s mother,
Taji, was photographed by a German journalist. Marji is proud of her mother, as she is
ubiquitous in the European newspapers, and is even displayed in an Iranian magazine. Taji
does not share the same sentiments as Marji, and is afraid to see herself displayed in an
Iranian magazine. She dyes her hair in fear of being persecuted, and wears dark glasses for
a long time, so no one would recognize her.
Marji is a bit ambivalent about wearing the veil: on one hand she is extremely
religious, but on the other hand, her family is extremely avant-garde, modern, and
communistic. Marji goes on to say that she was “born with religion.” By the age of six, she
was convinced that she was the last prophet. But when Marji declares herself as the last
prophet, in one of the panels, we can see the past prophets stating in disbelief, a woman?, in
Marji’s imagination, which shows the perverse sexism that was prevalent at the time. Marji
wants to be a prophet because (i) “their maid didn’t with them”, (ii) “her dad had a cadillac,”
(iii) and above all her grandmother’s knee always ached.
, Like her predecessors, she had her own version of a holy book. The first three rules
came from Zarathustra who was the first Iranian prophet before the Arab invasion. His
three rules were: Behave well, Speak Well, and Act Well. She also celebrated traditional
Zarathustrian holidays like fire ceremony and Norouz before the Persian new year on
March 21st which is the first day of spring. Only Marji’s grandmother knew about this book.
More rules included, (rule 6) everyone should have a car, (rule 7) all maids should eat at the
table, and (rule 8) no old person should have to suffer. She gets her first disciple: her
grandmother.
Every night, the author had a discussion with God. God calls her “celestial light,” and
his best choice. God is depicted as this bearded old wise man who is covered in white cloth.
Except her grandmother and her, everyone in her school mocked her, when Marji said she
wanted to be a prophet. She was thought to be crazy and her parents were called, as the
teacher said, “your child is disturbed.” Her parents seemed unfazed about this issue.
Her parents were puzzled, and she lied to them by saying that she wants to be a
doctor. She felt guilty towards God during bedtime, and said that she lied to her parents that
she wanted to be a doctor to keep it a secret. She wanted to be “justice, love, and wrath” of
God all at the same time.
, Chapter 2: The Bicycle (Page 10-17).
Setting: Tehran, Iran during pre-revolution (1979).
Characters: Marjane (Marji), God, Taji (Marji’s mom), Ebi (Marji’s dad), Shah.
Summary:
Marji admits in the beginning of the chapter that her faith was not unshakable, so it
was shaky. The year of the revolution, she had to keep her prophetic destiny aside for a
while, and imagined herself to be the revolutionary leader “Che Guevera,” while her friends
were Fidel and Trotsky. They demonstrated in the garden of their house, and she cleverly
said, “The revolution is like a bicycle. When the wheels don’t turn, it falls.” After 2500 years,
the revolution had finally awakened in their country, as Marji’s father, Ebi. First by their
emperors, then by the Arab invasion from the west, the Mongol invasion from the east, and
then modern imperialism.
To enlighten Marji, the family brought her books. She knew about the children of
Palestine, Fidel Castro, the Vietnam War, and the revolutionaries of her own country, which
is quite advanced reading in terms of maturity for someone her age. Her favorite book was
“Dialectic Materialism” in which we saw Descartes and Marx arguing. She thought it was
funny that Marx and God looked similar, but Marx had curlier hair. It could insinuate that
Marx could be related to God as in Communism, he is seen as God. She mentions that God
came to see her from time to time, and had conversations with her.
While conversing with God, Marji hears her parents talking about the Rex Cinema
being burned. The doors had been locked from the outside a few minutes before the fire,
and the police forbade people to rescue those locked inside. Then they started attacking the
people. The firemen didn’t arrive until 40 minutes later the fire started. The BBC stated that
there were 400 victims.
The Shah claimed that the religious fanatics perpetrated the massacre, but the
people knew that it was Shah’s fault. The parents were talking about there being another
demonstration. While she asks God if she looks like Guevera, he seems to disappear and
Marji comes back to her reality. She barges into her parents bedroom, stating that she
wants to come with them tomorrow. She says that she is tired of demonstrating in the
garden, and she thinks it's time that she actually demonstrated in the streets.
Her father warns her that it is very dangerous. Marji is adamant and declares that
“for a revolution to succeed, the entire population must support it.” Her dad carries her
over to her bed, as they think Marji is acting beyond her domain of comprehension of the
matter at hand. She cries to sleep as she can’t help God, but God does not visit her that
night. The pillow seems to be her only comfort.
Chapter 1: The Veil (Page 3-9).
Setting: Tehran, Iran during pre-revolution (1979), and post-revolution (1980-).
Characters: Marjane (Marji), Friends (Golnaz, Mahshid, Narine, Minna), Grandmother,
Prophets, God.
Summary:
The chapter starts with the author, Marjane, who is 10 years old in the year 1980.
She shows a class photo with her four friends but leaves her picture out. A revolution took
place in Iran in 1979, which was later called an “Islamic Revolution,” even though it was a
“People’s Revolution” against the Shah. The author talks about veils being mandatory to
wear at school. She disliked wearing it, as she didn’t understand why she had to wear it.
Marji was in a French non-religious school in 1979, where it was co-education, with
both boys and girls being in the same class. But in 1980, all bilingual schools had to close
down, as they were seen as symbols of “capitalism” and “decadence,” which was later called
a “cultural revolution” by Khomeini. Girls were veiled and separated, and “that was that…”
as the author nonchalantly said.
We see that there were demonstrations in the street for and against the veil, which
shows that not everyone was in favor of it. At one of the demonstrations, Marji’s mother,
Taji, was photographed by a German journalist. Marji is proud of her mother, as she is
ubiquitous in the European newspapers, and is even displayed in an Iranian magazine. Taji
does not share the same sentiments as Marji, and is afraid to see herself displayed in an
Iranian magazine. She dyes her hair in fear of being persecuted, and wears dark glasses for
a long time, so no one would recognize her.
Marji is a bit ambivalent about wearing the veil: on one hand she is extremely
religious, but on the other hand, her family is extremely avant-garde, modern, and
communistic. Marji goes on to say that she was “born with religion.” By the age of six, she
was convinced that she was the last prophet. But when Marji declares herself as the last
prophet, in one of the panels, we can see the past prophets stating in disbelief, a woman?, in
Marji’s imagination, which shows the perverse sexism that was prevalent at the time. Marji
wants to be a prophet because (i) “their maid didn’t with them”, (ii) “her dad had a cadillac,”
(iii) and above all her grandmother’s knee always ached.
, Like her predecessors, she had her own version of a holy book. The first three rules
came from Zarathustra who was the first Iranian prophet before the Arab invasion. His
three rules were: Behave well, Speak Well, and Act Well. She also celebrated traditional
Zarathustrian holidays like fire ceremony and Norouz before the Persian new year on
March 21st which is the first day of spring. Only Marji’s grandmother knew about this book.
More rules included, (rule 6) everyone should have a car, (rule 7) all maids should eat at the
table, and (rule 8) no old person should have to suffer. She gets her first disciple: her
grandmother.
Every night, the author had a discussion with God. God calls her “celestial light,” and
his best choice. God is depicted as this bearded old wise man who is covered in white cloth.
Except her grandmother and her, everyone in her school mocked her, when Marji said she
wanted to be a prophet. She was thought to be crazy and her parents were called, as the
teacher said, “your child is disturbed.” Her parents seemed unfazed about this issue.
Her parents were puzzled, and she lied to them by saying that she wants to be a
doctor. She felt guilty towards God during bedtime, and said that she lied to her parents that
she wanted to be a doctor to keep it a secret. She wanted to be “justice, love, and wrath” of
God all at the same time.
, Chapter 2: The Bicycle (Page 10-17).
Setting: Tehran, Iran during pre-revolution (1979).
Characters: Marjane (Marji), God, Taji (Marji’s mom), Ebi (Marji’s dad), Shah.
Summary:
Marji admits in the beginning of the chapter that her faith was not unshakable, so it
was shaky. The year of the revolution, she had to keep her prophetic destiny aside for a
while, and imagined herself to be the revolutionary leader “Che Guevera,” while her friends
were Fidel and Trotsky. They demonstrated in the garden of their house, and she cleverly
said, “The revolution is like a bicycle. When the wheels don’t turn, it falls.” After 2500 years,
the revolution had finally awakened in their country, as Marji’s father, Ebi. First by their
emperors, then by the Arab invasion from the west, the Mongol invasion from the east, and
then modern imperialism.
To enlighten Marji, the family brought her books. She knew about the children of
Palestine, Fidel Castro, the Vietnam War, and the revolutionaries of her own country, which
is quite advanced reading in terms of maturity for someone her age. Her favorite book was
“Dialectic Materialism” in which we saw Descartes and Marx arguing. She thought it was
funny that Marx and God looked similar, but Marx had curlier hair. It could insinuate that
Marx could be related to God as in Communism, he is seen as God. She mentions that God
came to see her from time to time, and had conversations with her.
While conversing with God, Marji hears her parents talking about the Rex Cinema
being burned. The doors had been locked from the outside a few minutes before the fire,
and the police forbade people to rescue those locked inside. Then they started attacking the
people. The firemen didn’t arrive until 40 minutes later the fire started. The BBC stated that
there were 400 victims.
The Shah claimed that the religious fanatics perpetrated the massacre, but the
people knew that it was Shah’s fault. The parents were talking about there being another
demonstration. While she asks God if she looks like Guevera, he seems to disappear and
Marji comes back to her reality. She barges into her parents bedroom, stating that she
wants to come with them tomorrow. She says that she is tired of demonstrating in the
garden, and she thinks it's time that she actually demonstrated in the streets.
Her father warns her that it is very dangerous. Marji is adamant and declares that
“for a revolution to succeed, the entire population must support it.” Her dad carries her
over to her bed, as they think Marji is acting beyond her domain of comprehension of the
matter at hand. She cries to sleep as she can’t help God, but God does not visit her that
night. The pillow seems to be her only comfort.
