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Throughout Marjane's life Mehri had been raising her, "She was just 10 years old when I was born...she cared for me. She played with me" (Satrapi, 34), in both of their eyes they were brought up as sisters and equals. They don’t always get along but that’s to be expected, despite this they'll do whatever they can for each other. This is proved by Marjane writing letters on Mehri’s behalf to the neighbor boy, even though their relationship is considered impossible. In this way, she repays Mehri for caring for her since her birth. They know that they’ll always be able to rely on each other, especially when they can’t help themselves.

Picture: (Satrapi, 34)

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Their fight begins with the protest. They're not specifically protesting social classes  but they are doing everything they can to support what they believe in, “I finally understood the ideas for the revolution” (Satrapi, 38). Once they join the demonstration they put their entire being into it, protesting, and demanding to be heard. The girls are eventually caught and are both slapped, taking their punishment together. After this Marjane offers an interesting quote, “But in fact, it was really our own who had attacked us.” (Satrapi, 39). The emotions she is feeling are complex, especially after discovering the abundance of lives lost during demonstrations that day. This quote is a perfect way to end the chapter seeing as it demonstrates a double meaning. Marjane is blatantly referring to the Iranian soldiers taking the lives of their own, but while looking closer the reader can see that she is also referencing the attack her and Mehri endured from her mother. The slap they are given causes them to feel conflicted. Originally, they thought Marjane's mother would be on their side, but now they realize it is them against the world, and they will make this change together.

Pictures:
(Satrapi, 38)
(Satrapi, 39)

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Much like how Marjane has her mini-rebellion by smoking her first cigarette, Marjane and Mehri have their own rebellion. After being told that people must stay in their social class Marjane was outraged, "Is it her fault that she was born where she was?" (Satrapi, 37),  and decided that she would stay by Mehri’s side and keep supporting her through this hard time. “When I went to her room she was crying. We were not in the same social class but at least we were in the same bed”(Satrapi, 37). Their love for each other was the spark. In that sentence, Marjane showed that she would fight for the rights of Mehri. They were together now, and together they could make the change they wanted to see. Even though there will be people like her parents, “Dad, are you for or against social classes?” (Satrapi, 37), who are content with traditional ideas that have existed for as long as they can remember.

Pictures:
(Satrapi, 37)
(Satrapi, 37)

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History.com Editors. “French Revolution.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Nov. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/france/french-revolution.

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Rama "Fichier:Prise de la Bastille IMG 2250.jpg", wikipédia, Anonymous painter from France of Northern countries, https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Prise_de_la_Bastille_IMG_2250.jpg

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When a picture of Marjane’s mother is published in an Iranian paper she gets nervous, completely changes her appearance, and attempts to remain under the radar. Although her mother is afraid of what the government will do Marjane expresses her admiration for her, “I was really proud of her. Her photo was published in all the European newspapers.” (Satrapi, 5). Her mother’s willingness to go out and demonstrate for the change she believed in, inspired Marjane and caused her to want to take action too. This encouraging environment in their family is what caused her to want to rebel later on in her life, her parents were often supportive of her ideas to challenge others and authority.

Picture: (Satrapi, 5)

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In the area where the Satrapi family lived it was essential for their family to work as a team. Their country was plagued by revolutions and pending war making teamwork a necessity during this time. A couple examples of how their unity is demonstrated is through the protection of their family from the police by getting rid of the alcohol in their house and through the smuggling of posters into Iran for Marjane. To elaborate, together Marjane and her grandmother work together to save the family from an unjust arrest, by disposing of the alcohol in their house after a police officer threatens her father. They came up with the plan in the car, “Grandma! Marji! When we’re home, get out first. I’ll try to stall him. Flush all the alcohol down the toilet.” (Satrapi, 109), by carrying through with this plan they protest the laws they deem unfair and protect the family as well. Another way they prove their ability to work together is when mother and father, knowing it’s against the law, bring Marjane home two posters. Mother  comes up with an idea to hide it, and they eventually get it past customs. Their devotion to each other and Marjane in the novel is astounding, they risked going to jail  so their daughter could have a few goods, and to secretly rebel against the government they despise so much. In both these situations the change may not be known by many, but it still has an impact.

PIctures:
(Satrapi, 110)
(Satrapi, 128)

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “French Revolution.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 18 Nov. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/event/French-Revolution.

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Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. Paris, France. L'Association. 2000.

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Whether it be 2 or over 20,000 people, the concept of people coming together and fighting for the same end goal is what unity is.  As seen in the French Revolution, where people faced many problems including inexperienced leadership, unfair class systems, and the taxation of the third estate. All these problems called for a change, and the 3rd estate decided to step up, band together, and create change in their country. After the initial spark of the revolution, the tennis court oath and the storming of the bastille, the third estate  was rebelling and their numbers were growing in size. These people persevered through hard times, until eventually the revolution was over and they achieved what they had set out to. They had a constitution written and the 3rd estate was granted more rights, as a result of peasants uniting and struggling for a shared objective.

Picture: Prise de la Bastille

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Persepolis is written as a  graphic novel, which  helps the author display what she intended. The format allows Marjane to skip around in time with ease and it ensures that the main idea being portrayed is not being distracted from by an attempt to inform the reader on things such as setting and characters emotions. That information can easily be seen through illustrations and captions. Besides this, the format also helps Marjane to present what she wants to the reader, and only what she wants. Although the meaning of the novel can be up to interpretation, the way she  tells the story is purely her own. It is laid out quite simply allowing the reader to focus on the message and the stories being told.

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The structure of the text is clearly non-linear. The way Marjane skips from time to time during the text helps to show the change that is not only happening in her life at the time, but that is also being made in the revolution. One way she draws in the reader is by including many fun anecdotes and lessons towards the beginning of the book. As the book progresses however, more stories including complex ideas and sadness are told. Revealing the innocence lost as her story goes on. The non-linear format embodies the format of human memory, this could explain why the stories are so scattered, yet linked, and why the chapters are all based on their own singular idea.

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Unity and a sense of community are imperative to get through hard times and and to create change.

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Throughout the chapter The Letter, the reader can see the relationship between Marjane and Mehri be developed. Also developed in this chapter are the existing ideas of classism, or social classes as a concept.

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This chapter not only offered intense character development, but also introduced the concept of social classes to the book. Due to these reasons this chapter caught my attention and I wished to analyze the text deeper.

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Family is another idea that is repeatedly mentioned throughout the text. This family specifically represents the central idea perfectly, they’re always supporting and encouraging each other through hard times. This is not limited to her immediate family,

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This central idea can easily be applied to many situations from revolutions to a sports team. My example will be the french revolution.