Persepolis free essay sample

Plot The Trip After a year, the fundamentalist student occupied the U. S embassy. And few days later, the minister of education has decreed that universities will be close for two years because the new regime. They also force women to wear the veil because they said womens hair makes men exciting. It wasnt only the government that changed, ordinary people changed too. Things getting worse, Marjis family had decided to go to Italy and Spain for three weeks. After they back, their country is at war. The Iranian fundamentalists tried to stir up their Iraqi Shiite Allies against Saddam and Arab use this as pretext to invasion Iran. Vocabulary Republic (Noun): A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them. Proletariat (Noun): A social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages. We will write a custom essay sample on Persepolis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Nationalism (Noun): Love of country and willingness to sacrifice for it. Ideological (Adj): Concerned with or suggestive of ideas. Embassy (Noun): A diplomatic building where ambassadors live or work. Background Information The Iran–Iraq War, this war also known as the Imposed War and Holy Defense in Iran. This war came at a great cost in living and economic damage, it cost half a million Iraqi and Iranian soldiers and civilians die in the war and with many of people injured. The objectives of Iraqs invasion of Iran were: -Control of the Shatt al-Arab waterway by Iraqis -Acquisition of the three islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, on behalf of the UAE. -Annexation of Khuzestan to Iraq Prevent the spread of the Islamic Revolution in the region Literary Element The title of The Sheep works on metaphorical level. In a literal sense on the novel, sheep is the transportation that Siamak and his family use to cross the Iranian border, but it is also represent the general population of Iran, as well as Marjis family who leave for the United States. Like sheep that simply follow each other with no notion of decision and sheep is also a very peacefully animal, that have no ambition, in other word they too soft and I think it is major issue of Iran. Graphic Element When Anoosh get executed, God come to talk with Marji, but Marji said to the God that she doesn’t want to see the God any more she wants the God get out of her life. Before Anoosh get executed, Marji was one that used to believe in and love God, she thought the God should be the represent love, justice and holy wrath for evil, but Anoosh’s death makes her realize that she is wrong. Anoosh’s death breaks Marji’s childish conception of God. She thinks that God is no longer the symbol for justice. She fined herself so lost like the people at Iran because right now she can not find any one that can listen to her true heart. One Theme These two chapters is the turning point of the novel. The beginning of the war is one of the novel’s themes. During the war people are living difficult, not enough food and most of population had move out with no notion of decision because they just want to be safe. If a country that with out population that won’t longer be a country for the people who stays at Iran because they still believe that one day this country will be better. Three Questions Q1. Why Anoosh say that one day the proletariat will rule? What does it means? (pg 69) Q2. Do you think to becoming a sheep is good or not? Q3. Persepolis free essay sample Persepolis was a very insightful movie about the lives of Iranian people at a very important time in the country’s history. Two topics that stuck out to me the most were the effects of the war on the everyday lives of the citizens of Iran and secondly the not-so-patriarchal lifestyle of people at the household level. Once the revolution to bring down the Shah began, which was followed by the Iran-Iraq war, the lives of Iranians were never the same again. Before these events, Iran appeared to be what we can easily call ‘a modern society’. Women were treated equally, men and women openly socialized together without any restrictions and westernization was apparent with the dressing styles of women, parties and the children indulging in pop culture. All of this drastically changed after the elections and once the war began. Under the new repressive government, religious extremists in power imposed several laws that undermined the freedom of all citizens of Iran. We will write a custom essay sample on Persepolis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Everybody was told how to dress whereby women were required to veil in public, parties and consumption of alcohol became illegal, children were taught in school that the new government was very good, young boys were influenced into joining the army and fighting in the war. In addition to all these social impacts there were economic downturns as well. The stores are shown to have empty shelves, the country’s infrastructure destroyed, healthcare deteriorated, the excessive restrictions on almost everything pushed for the need for black-markets and illegal operations. Even with all the restrictions from the people in power and the policing of everybody, there were still a large number of people who were very modern, even men. One example would be Marjane’s father telling her and Reza to be more careful about meeting in public. Another example would be when Marjane’s uncle Anoush is released from prison and visits them, everybody ate dinner at the same table, both men and women. One of the topics that relate to our class readings is war and bereavement. The war that lasted so long did not occur without expensing lives of millions of innocent people. During the war period, countless lives were lost and most of these were men. Men fought in wars and died and the women were left to deal with the loss. When a missile lands in Marjane’s neighborhood, the fear of losing her family takes over her and she is still a little girl at the time. The same incident cost the lives of her friends in the neighborhood. Of all the characters in the movie, to me, Marjane’s grandmother was the most compelling character. She was a wise old woman who was inspirational, understanding and very realistic. She was a symbol of independence and a great role model for Marjane. Most importantly, she practiced what she preached. She placed a great emphasis on protecting the innocent as this was an issue close to her since her husband and family members had been victims. When Marjane tells her that in order to save herself from the police, she lied and got an innocent man in trouble, Grandmother reacts in a way that I didn’t expect. She believed in being true to your own self and certainly did not tolerate any unfaithfulness, even from her beloved Marjane. The character that had the most impact on Marjane would have to be her uncle Anoush. He came into Marjane’s life when she was still very young and definitely made an enormous impression on her. As if his life story wasn’t enough, uncle Anoush’s death left an even bigger impact on Marjane’s life. She wouldn’t tolerate people talking about war and death lightly after his death. Several times in her life when she was feeling confused, the words of her uncle Anoush helped her get through.