Analysis of Persopolis

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A veil is seen as a controversial symbol all around the world. In Satrapi’s graphic novel, Persepolis, the author is forced to wear a veil to school by those that called for a cultural revolution in Iran when she is 10 years old. Her French non-religious school is abolished and boys and girls are separated for education. Her mother protests against the changes and her picture appears in newspapers across Europe. Marjane grows up to become a "rebel" and, after a confrontation with one of her teachers, she is kicked out of school. Fearing that the country is no longer safe for their daughter, the Satrapis decide to send Marjane to Austria to attend a French school there. Marjane spends one last night in the arms of her grandmother who advises her not to carry resentment or hatred towards anyone. The next day, her parents take her to the airport. In her text, the author’s symbolic treatment of the veil can be examined on the basis of its suppression of woman’s’ freedom, religious control, and a forced adherence to Islamic law. First of all, the veil stands for a symbol of the suppression of woman’s freedom because there are numerous points in the book where woman directly and indirectly lose their freedom because of the veil. The use and wearing of the veil directly affected the woman of Iran because they were no longer able to wear their hair how they chose. This is often a common way of self expression for woman especially at a young age. On page three, you can see that all of the young girls are not wearing their veils and not using them properly. This is showing that nobody, especially young girls like to wear the veil. The woman of Iran were indirectly affected by the implement of the veil because when the veil was forced on them, they also lost a lot of other freedom. An example of this is when the bilingual schools where shut down. This is shown on page
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