Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis

Obsolete and restrictive traditions and customs have damaging and devastating effects on the development of societies. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is an autobiographical tale that recounts her life as a young woman growing up in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution. Although Marji’s family has always been secular, Marji must wear a veil and attend a religious, girls-only school as a result Iran’s fundamentalist regime. This is the first step that the Iranian regime takes towards limiting women. Marji is optimistic and intelligent, but does not understand the condition of her country and its changes in the first few chapters. She provides a child-like perspective of history, politics, and her own life. However, as the novel evolves, Marji develops a greater understanding for the implications of her country’s political …show more content…
Luckily, Marji’s family is Westernized and sensible, valuing education and human rights. Although Marji is cloistered by her Westernized family, this is not the reality for so many other young women in Iran during this time period. Not only do the outdated customs and traditions of fundamentalism in Iran hinder the freedoms and rights of citizens, they also have negative effects the development in Iran. Persepolis demonstrates the inhibition of artistic, educational, political, and social progression of Iran and its people through Marji’s perspective and her genuine anecdotes. Unfortunately, Iran is not the only context where archaic customs stunt progression. All over the world, examples as large as countries and as small as families experience limiting conditions as a result of tradition. The enduring significance given to invalid customs and traditions in conservative societies heavily stunt global progression in girls’ rights and education, economy, government,