SAVAK

Marjane Satrapi’s book Persepolis is a true story about Marjane growing up in Iran during times of war and revolution. In her book she portrays countless events she experienced while growing up during those harrowing times. However, her perspective on certain issues like gender roles, social class, and religion affected how Marjane portrayed certain events in Persepolis. This political cartoon depicts a bunk bed of the upper class at the top, the middle class in the middle, and the lower class on the bottom of the bunk bed. It also shows some people trying to climb the ladder to a different social class, however some people have fallen off the ladder in the drawing which symbolizes them falling into poverty. In Marjane Satrapi’s story, Persepolis she recalls how her maid, Mehri, was in love with a boy of a different social class, Hossein, and at the end it doesn’t work out because Marjane’s father tells Hossein that Mehri was his maid and he breaks up with Mehri (Satrapi 37). However, Marjane’s personal perspective on social classes could’ve altered that scene. In reality Marjane’s father could’ve done it not because of social classes, but because eventually Hossein would’ve learned that Mehri was a maid and he still would’ve broken up with her. Marjane thought that he was enforcing the rule about social class, but in reality he was just protecting Mehri from later heartbreak which shows how Marjane’s perspective affected how she portrayed that specific scene and other…

dynasty, under Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi, and its eventual reinstatement of Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution that introduced Muslim fundamentalism. Political repression by the regime of Mohammed Reza Shah, particularly the SAVAK (secret police) and the concept of authoritarianism were the political features of the revolution. The opposing fundamentalists of Westernisation and Secularisation movements were a constant and eminent aspect of the socio-cultural…

In the novel Rooftops of Tehran, by Mahbod Seraji, Zari is a two dimensional character, because her most significant moments in the story are plot twists. In the story, Pasha, an Iranian teenager, is deeply in love with Zari, his neighbor who is already engaged to another man, Doctor. Doctor is a political activist who gets into trouble with the SAVAK, or the secret police. When the SAVAK kills Doctor, Zari sets herself on fire. When Pasha realizes what she is doing, Zari turns to him and…

The social and political climate in Iran during the years just before the revolution erupted included the Shah’s secret police, SAVAK becoming expanded, to the point where in 1975 the organization Amnesty International released a statement declaring Iran’s government to be “one of the world’s worst” human rights violator; no doubt true as evidence of torture in the Shah’s “repressive and hardened” nation became publicly known. Another factor in the growing resentment among the Iranian populace,…

Throughout the 1970s, as Iran realized tremendous profits from oil production, a gap developed and expanded between the wealthy and the poor. A recession, which began in 1975, increased tensions between the classes in Iran. Secular protests in the form of marches, organizations, and political poetry readings sprouted up and spread all across the country. Then, late in October of 1977, the Ayatollah Khomeini's 47-year-old son Mostafa died suddenly of a heart attack, and rumors did spread that he…

in the United States. The author published his article on the website “The New American” which focuses on foreign and local conflicts, where news are written by a bunch of different authors across the United States. According to the article “Iran and the Shah: What Really Happened” by James Perloff it states “Two major events propelled the revolution in Iran. On the afternoon of August 19, 1978, a deliberate fire gutted the Rex Cinema in Abadan, killing 477 people, including many children with…

on Iran would become the second largest economy in the Middle East (Iran in the World Today). During this time the United States became allies with them. By using the U.S. military Iran was able to create the strongest army in the European area (The Pahlavi Monarch Falls). Iran 's police were well trained and had power but the Shah created multiple unnecessary policies that gave reasons for Iran 's citizens to repel him. In 1976, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi upset clerics by changing the old Islamic…

delayed by another movie filming, Chambers just makes it in time to answer the Iranian call and convinces the guard the crew is legitimate. Mendez and the six Americans board a plane for Switzerland and hold their breath as the officers and Revolutionary Guard chased the plane down the runway. Upon clearing Iranian airspace, the group celebrate their successful escape. Argo (both the film and CIA cover) is a testament of two countries (America and Canada) working in cooperation together to do…

many oppressive polices that everyone hated. He was selling out to foreign interests with no concern to the people of Iran. Even though my grandfather was very poor, he tried to keep up with what was happening politically around him. My grandfather once said, “ If you don't keep up with what is going on around you, the rich could get away with too many things.” He did not allow any political views to be expressed against him, only for him. This did not stop my family from protesting in the…

confession of faith (shahada), alms tax (zakat), fasting (sawm), and a pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj). Muslim women also wear Hijabs, which is a religious clothing item, worn to cover most of the skin to show respect and privacy. The dish was traditionally prepared like this for years, however the new chef, Reza Shah, had westernized the dish. People could now wear western clothing, listen to western music, combine the sexes, and live a religious free life. Boys and girl were able to go to the same…