Heroism In Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis

A hero is someone who, in the opinion of others, has special abilities or personal qualities and is regarded as a role model or idea. In Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel, Persepolis, Marji’s view of heroism changes when faced with loss and death. Her view of a hero shifts from an insurgent to a prisoner to a fighter and finally to someone who just stands up for himself without vengeance. At first, Marji based her view of heroism on rebellion and mostly because of her lack of experiences with death. As a child, Marjane did not know much about death or loss, nevertheless, she became aware of the loss of justice in her country and the violence. At the beginning of the novel is rare to see Marjane directly experiencing death, she only heard about it in the news and at home. Marjane watched and followed the rest of her country and saw the rebellious leaders as the heroes. Her desire for revolution showed her admiration for them “For a revolution to succeed, the entire population must support it”(Marjane Satrapi 17). Marjane did not experience any direct loss, but she saw others angry with her government. She also saw how people were …show more content…
After the death of her beloved uncle Anoosh who was a prisoner, her view of heroism became more violent. Because of the war, she saw the fighters of her country as the heroes. She had a desire to believe that what the war they were fighting was for a good reason and that thanks to those people they will gain freedom. Her anger made her less innocent and the experience of violence made her convinced that violence was the only way. When she and her father express their happiness when Iranians attack back, it shows how much she admired the army at that moment. She no longer seemed to remember those less powerful people who revealed and suffer torture as the heroes. Her mind changes and for her being a hero implied to kill the