The protagonist, the main character in Persepolis is Marjane. Here I want to focus on how Marjane sees the heroes in this story. She is very much disappointed that her father is “not a hero” when she declares, “My father was not a hero, my mother wanted to kill people… so I went out to play in the street” (52). The picture here is of a little girl walking away very disillusioned that her father was not a hero. For her father to be a hero, she wanted him to have spent time in jail, be tortured or have his limbs cut off; anything less, disqualifies her father as a hero in Marjane’s eyes.
However, I see her father differently: he is a good husband and a good father. Her father is an engineer; he is providing for and taking care of his family. Her father is not a wimp (my word), he is going out to protest in the streets and he is taking pictures; by doing that, he was risking his life. Marjane laments about her father, “If only he had been in prison.” Then she just lies to some kids: “They cut my dad’s leg off, but he still didn’t confess!… so they cut off an arm as well” (54).
Marjane’s true heroes are: Siamak, Mohsen, Ahmadi, her uncle Anoosh (especially him) and her great-uncle Fereydoon. Siamak and Mohsen spent six and eight years in jail (47), respectively --sure they are heroes. And Ahmadi was horribly tortured before he was cut to pieces (51/52).
Now uncle Anoosh is Marjane’s great hero, and he is family. She declares, “And now I had a hero in my family… naturally I loved him immediately” (54). So Marjane slobbers all over him; then she goes to the kitchen and whips up hot chocolate for him and for her. She is seen carrying a tray with two cups, and the caption reads, "dialectic materialism?" They stay up late, so uncle Anoosh tells her his great story of how he swam across the Aras River and made it all the way to Moscow (if true, this is very interesting), where he was educated; he proudly tells her he got a doctorate in Marxism-Leninism (59). Interesting, he does not mention if in his studies he learned how many millions of people Lenin killed… but that’s another story.
Is there a scene in the book that I relate to personally? Well… everyone has been in love at one time or another, right? The story that Anoosh tells about uncle Fereydoon and his girlfriend is fascinating! It’s a love story, and the girl is the bigger hero here because, without her, nothing happens. The man she is in love with is in jail, and she knows that he will be executed the next day, so she goes to see him for the last time (58). They are hugging tightly and she is crying while she proposes, “My love… let’s make a child.” He seems surprised and asks, “Here? Right now?” --“Yes," she replies, "I paid the guard. He won’t bother us.” So they consummate their love, and voilà!… a son was born in due time.
Great post Jim! I agree that she seems overly critical of her father while at the same time she dotes on her Uncle. There seems to be some unspoken or unwritten tension between the two. Marjane definitely feels differently about class because she treats Mehri like a friend and her father doesn't show any such compassion, so perhaps this contributes to this tension between them. I also think she is quite critical of the car he drives although that doesn't stop her from riding in it, it does show that she is aware that his belief system is different than hers. I think your point about him being a supportive father is a good one and I think that Marjane underestimates the difficulty of this contribution given the situation that the country is in at the time. She seems much more caught up in the allure of the revolution. Perhaps her mother's family relation to nobility is something that impresses her more than her father's working background. Here again, I see some contradictions in her character. For example, if her mother's family was so interested in Marxism, then why do they relate to Mehri the way they do? Perhaps even the mother and the father have some disagreement over why they are fighting for the revolution. Sometimes what is left out of a narrative is the most telling detail. This is a thought provoking post, with excellent incorporation of evidence and explanation. Great work!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, Ms Knapp! Your comment it’s almost an essay. Your comments about how Marjane’s father “doesn't show any such compassion” when dealing with the maid and “how (Marjane) is quite critical of the car he drives although that doesn't stop her from riding in it” are very telling of Marjane and her father. When I started reading the book, I started reading it with an open mind. But soon I was seeing many interesting things about the characters in the story. I also wanted to learn more about the history of Iran, and I thought that the book would provide that; the book provides a glimpse or window, perhaps, into the history of Iran. I learn from reading the book -- but I also learn much from the posts of other students and their comments. Thanks!:)
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