In my English class, we read the graphic novel Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi. The French-Iranian author of children’s books, graphic novels, cartoons, illustrations, and films created Persepolis as a memoir of her childhood when she lived in Iran during the Iranian Revolution.

To put the Iranian Revolution in perspective, the Islamic Republic of Iran, a theocracy ruled by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, was founded in 1979 after a series of riots and demonstrations that overthrew the Shah of Iran. The Shah was overthrown for a number of reasons, including political repression, economic difficulties, and public dissatisfaction with his rule (such as unrest brought on by the Shah’s westernization of the nation).

At the age of 10, Marjane Satrapi was forced to transfer from a coeducational French school to a girls-only school during the revolution. She was also required to cover her hair because the new Islamic regime enacted a law that, for religious reasons of modesty and dignity, required women to wear veils in public. The veil is a powerful symbol in the story because it stands for feminism, identity, and the oppression of women in Iran. Other struggles her family endured, like the Iraq War and her uncle’s execution for opposing the Shah and holding communist beliefs, are also covered in the book.

In AP World History, I formally learned about the Iranian Revolution and the overthrowing of the Shah. Once I read the book, I realized that people actually lived through the revolution and had to undergo the harsh conditions and the changes the new Islamic Republic established. Some of my friends’ parents experienced the revolution and describe it as fearful and deadly, and its long lasting outcome as a royal disaster for the Iranian people.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

Happy reading!

– Sophia B