Plot Summary
Persepolis opens right after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which results in
the downfall of the American-backed dictator known as the Shah of
Iran and leads to the rise of the religious hardliners who establish the
oppressive Islamic Republic. Marjane Satrapi describes how she used
to attend a French co-educational and non-religious school, but how
this is outlawed because the Islamic Republic distrusts and rallies
against all Western influences. Further, the regime forces all women
and girls to wear veils. Marjane’s parents, however, are modern and
secular in outlook; though they supported the Revolution against the
Shah, who was a despotic ruler, they are alarmed and dismayed at the
fundamentalist turn of the new Islamic Republic. Forced to grow up
quickly, Marjane begins to learn about the history of Iran and the
many invaders and rulers it has had over its centuries’ long history. Her
own grandfather was a Persian Prince who was often imprisoned and
tortured under the rules of the Shah. She also begins to understand
, that different social classes exist, and that this is one root of much
tension and suffering in the country.
After the Revolution comes to an end and the Shah is ousted, many
political prisoners find themselves released from prison, including
Siamak and Mohsen, both Revolutionaries who have been in prison for
years. They speak of the tortures they experienced and the deaths
they witnessed. Thinking of these two men as heroes, Marjane remains
disappointed that her own father is not a hero, and that no one in her
family is one, either. However, she is enthralled when she meets her
uncle Anoosh, who fled Iran to the USSR so that he would not be
arrested for his activities against the Shah. However, when he came
back to Iran, his disguise was not good enough to keep him out of jail,
and there he experienced much degradation. Marjane considers him a
hero, and he hands her a bread swan he made while in prison.
Unfortunately, soon afterwards, with the new radicalization of the
country under the hardline government, the former political prisoners
that were released become targets again, and Mohsen gets
assassinated, though Siamak manages to sneak out of the country.
Anoosh gets arrested, and Marjane is allowed to see him just once
before his execution. This is the point at which Marjane rejects God.
Many of Marjane’s family and friends leave the country, but the
Satrapis decide to stay in Iran for economic reasons. Soon after,
Marjane’s mother gets harassed by men for not wearing her veil, and
Marjane and her family go out on their last demonstration against the
veil, which turns extremely violent. Soon after that, the Iraq-Iran War
breaks out. This is a moment of great nationalism for Marjane, as she
desperately wants Iran to defeat its enemy, but as the war goes on she
begins to realize the cost of war, heroism, and of so-called martyrdom
– something the government regime valorizes – when her friend
Paradisse’s father, a fighter pilot, dies while bombing Baghdad. The
new war brings many refugees from southern Iran up north to Tehran
and many young boys are enlisted into the army. They are given
plastic keys painted gold as a symbol of the easy entry one enjoys into
paradise after dying for the nation. Marjane and her family see this as
a despicable lie, particularly because it is only told to poor people.
Persepolis opens right after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which results in
the downfall of the American-backed dictator known as the Shah of
Iran and leads to the rise of the religious hardliners who establish the
oppressive Islamic Republic. Marjane Satrapi describes how she used
to attend a French co-educational and non-religious school, but how
this is outlawed because the Islamic Republic distrusts and rallies
against all Western influences. Further, the regime forces all women
and girls to wear veils. Marjane’s parents, however, are modern and
secular in outlook; though they supported the Revolution against the
Shah, who was a despotic ruler, they are alarmed and dismayed at the
fundamentalist turn of the new Islamic Republic. Forced to grow up
quickly, Marjane begins to learn about the history of Iran and the
many invaders and rulers it has had over its centuries’ long history. Her
own grandfather was a Persian Prince who was often imprisoned and
tortured under the rules of the Shah. She also begins to understand
, that different social classes exist, and that this is one root of much
tension and suffering in the country.
After the Revolution comes to an end and the Shah is ousted, many
political prisoners find themselves released from prison, including
Siamak and Mohsen, both Revolutionaries who have been in prison for
years. They speak of the tortures they experienced and the deaths
they witnessed. Thinking of these two men as heroes, Marjane remains
disappointed that her own father is not a hero, and that no one in her
family is one, either. However, she is enthralled when she meets her
uncle Anoosh, who fled Iran to the USSR so that he would not be
arrested for his activities against the Shah. However, when he came
back to Iran, his disguise was not good enough to keep him out of jail,
and there he experienced much degradation. Marjane considers him a
hero, and he hands her a bread swan he made while in prison.
Unfortunately, soon afterwards, with the new radicalization of the
country under the hardline government, the former political prisoners
that were released become targets again, and Mohsen gets
assassinated, though Siamak manages to sneak out of the country.
Anoosh gets arrested, and Marjane is allowed to see him just once
before his execution. This is the point at which Marjane rejects God.
Many of Marjane’s family and friends leave the country, but the
Satrapis decide to stay in Iran for economic reasons. Soon after,
Marjane’s mother gets harassed by men for not wearing her veil, and
Marjane and her family go out on their last demonstration against the
veil, which turns extremely violent. Soon after that, the Iraq-Iran War
breaks out. This is a moment of great nationalism for Marjane, as she
desperately wants Iran to defeat its enemy, but as the war goes on she
begins to realize the cost of war, heroism, and of so-called martyrdom
– something the government regime valorizes – when her friend
Paradisse’s father, a fighter pilot, dies while bombing Baghdad. The
new war brings many refugees from southern Iran up north to Tehran
and many young boys are enlisted into the army. They are given
plastic keys painted gold as a symbol of the easy entry one enjoys into
paradise after dying for the nation. Marjane and her family see this as
a despicable lie, particularly because it is only told to poor people.
