Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

AoE: Time & Space

IB English HL 1

The purpose of this assignment is to increase your schema in order to help you
understand the nuances of the historical and cultural allusions and context within the
graphic novel. Your goal is to explore each topic through online articles and videos as a
form of investigative research.

Dispelling your racist, preconceived notions...

Explain four current beliefs and/or conceptual understandings

that you currently have about the Middle Eastern & Muslim
culture (and it’s ok if they sound a bit ignorant--that’s the point
of this exercise!):

1. Muslims have to wear a hijab for religious reasons. Also

because they are supposed to be modest

2. They follow the Quran which is a religious text

3. They worship the god Allah and when they pray they
have to face Mecca which is a religious site

4. Only females can see other female’s hair. Males can never
see it

Now, either watch the short clip or read the short article and
explain TWO reasons that Marjane Satrapi chose to create
Persepolis:
1. Her purpose was to show her point of view of what Iran is
like rather than people going to get the wrong image of it
being fundamentalists and a terrorist country
2. Another one of her purposes was to show her
perspective about what Iran was really like and how she
felt being Iranian. She wanted people to know what Iran
was really like and its group of terrorists that were
destroying the country
 Iran’s Historical Background

For each of these topics, use credible, online sites, articles, and
videos to research the information required (hence, not
Wikipedia or similar sites…). You may bullet-point your
responses, but also include a hyperlink of each source that you
used directly following the information.

1. What is a Shah in Iran and who was the Shah leading up to

the 1979 Iranian Revolution? What was he trying to accomplish
for Iran and what was his relationship like with Western
countries, such as the US and the UK?
What is a Shah in Iran?
- The title for the former hereditary monarch of Iran
Who was the Shah?
- Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Accomplishments? Relationship?
- Maintained a pro-western foreign policy
- Fostered economic development in Iran
- Nationalization of the oil industry was nominally
maintained
- Carried out the national development program called the
white revolution
- It included construction of expanded road, rail, and air
network, a number of dam and irrigation projects, the
erradication of diseases, and the encouragement and
support of industrial growth
2. Research the main parties behind the 1979 Iranian Revolution
(aka The Islamic Revolution), as well as the political and social
reasons for the revolution. What were the social and religious
outcomes for the country and its citizens? What were the
resulting political relationships with Western countries?
Main Parties/Political & Social Reasons
- Main Parties: Clergy, landowners, intellectuals, merchants
- Reeemerging social tensions as well as foreign
intervention from Russia, United Kingdom, and US
helped Reza Shah to establish a monarchy
- Shah dismissed the parliament and announced the
White Revolution (upended the wealth and influence of
landowners and clerics
- Prompted concerns over democracy and human rights
- Economic difficulties
- Sociopolitical repression by the shah’s regime
 - Outlets for political participation were minimal
religious/social outcomes/resulting relationships
- They returned to many of their traditional customs
- They set up a traditional government and society that
was based off of the Quran
- They ended the westernization and the modernization of
Iran
- They went back to the old ways.
3. Discuss the main issues surrounding the Iran-Iraq War
(1980-1988), including instigating factors, why it takes place
merely a year after the Iranian Revolution, and its effects on
Iran, primarily the capital city of Tehran (which is where our
novel takes place).
Iran-Iraq War
- Reasons: terretorrial political disputes between Iraq and
Iran, Itaq wanted to seize control of the rich oil-producing
Iranian Border which was a territory inhabited largely by
ethnic arabs over which Iraq sought to extend some form
of suzerainty, Iraq took advantage of the apparent
disorder and isolation of Iran’s new government
- Take place: it took place merely a year after because Iraq
was tryong to take advantage of the post-revolutionary
chaos. They thought that they would have an advantaged
if they attacked while the country was still in disarray
- Effects: war-exhaustion, economic devastation, low
morale. Weapons were used against Iranian civilians,
many were killed, accepted a ceasefire
- There was a bomb dropped in Tehran during the war. It
caused a lot of destruction and death. Caused fear to
grown in many people

Some other stuff to know...

Conduct a little more research to discover how the city of

Persepolis got its name, as well as how the empire lost its
power (it’s the title of our graphic novel, so we know it’s clearly
important…). Bullet-point your research below:
How did Persepolis get its name?
- It comes from the Greek word for Persian City which is
Persepolis, however, the Persians knew it as Parsa.
How did Persepolis lose its power?
- Darius III was defeated
 - Alexander marched to the Persian capital and looted its
treasures
- He then proceeds to burn the great palace and
surrounding city to the ground destroying hundreds of
years of religious writings and art along with the
magnificent palaces and audience halls which had made
it the Jewel of the empire.

Next, quickly explore the Investopedia article and take notes on

the fundamentals of Marxism, particularly in contrast to
Capitalism. *If you have the time and ambition, you may want to
research how Marxist ideals fit into the Iranian Revolution.
- Examines the effect of capitalism on labor, productivity,
and economic development and argues for a worker
revolution to overturn capitalism in favor of communism
- The relationships between capitalists and workers were
inherently exploitative and would inevitably create class
conflict which would lead to a revolution
- Beleived increasing competition, rather than producing
better goods for consumers, would lead to bankruptcy
among capitalists
- Marx thought capitalist systems contained the seed to
their own demise
- The inherent inequalities and exploitative economic
relations between these two classes will lead to a
revolution in which the working class rebel against the
bourgeosie and abolished capitalism
- Alienation and exploitation of the prletariat, who
understood the class structure of society and who would
unite the working class by raising awareness and class
conciusness

Vocabulary Preparation

Please research each of the following terms so that you are

aware of their meaning before encountering them in the text:

1. Avant-garde: new and unusual or experimental ideas,

especially in the arts, or the people introducing them

2. Shah: a title of the former monarch of Iran

3. Imperialism: a policy of extending a country’s power and
influence through diplomacy or military force, ruled by an
emperor

4. Radicalism: the beliefs or actions of people who advocate

thorough or complete political or social reform

5. Fanaticism: the quality of being fanatical

6. Fundamentalism: a form of a religion, especially Islam or

Protestant Christianity, that upholds belief in the strict,
literal interpretation of scripture, Strict adherence to the
basic principles of any subject or discipline

7. Terrorism: the unlawful use of violence and intimidation,

especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims

8. Coup: a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from

a government

9. Covert: openly acknowledged or displayed

10. Insurgency: an active revolt or uprising

11. Counterinsurgency: military or political action taken

against the activities of guerillas or revolutionaries

12. Emigration: the act of leaving ones own country to settle

permanently in another, moving abroad

13. Regime: government, especially an authoritarian one; a

system or planned way of doing things, especially one
imposed from above

14. Subversive: seeking or intended to subvert an

established system or institution

15. Proletariat: workers or working-class people, regarded

collectively, the lowest class citizens

16. Cyanide: a salt or ester of hydrocyanic acid, containing

the anion CN^- or the group -CN. The salts are generally
extremely toxic
 17. Nihilist: a person who believes that life is meaningless
and rejects all religious and moral principles

What’s up with the Burqa (aka Hijab, Chador, or the “Veil”)?

Quickly skim through this article on the Burqa, which is a pretty

important religious and social symbol in our novel. Then,
answer the following questions:

1. According to your own preconceived notions, as well as the

article, how do most Western nations perceive the Burqa? Use
a direct quote from the article to support your response.
- They believe that “women do not wear the veil by choice”
and that “they are forced to cover their heads and bodies”
(). Western nations believe that the Burqa is used as a
way to control and take away the choices of women.
They feel that it is a way to silence and to treat women
inferiorly.

2. However, despite those notions, how do most Muslim

women view the Veil? Again, use a direct quote to support your
response.
- Despite these notions most muslim women view the veil
as a symbol of “devotion and piety” as well as a “question
of religious identity and self-expression” (). Muslim
women view the veiling as a choice. They do not feel
forced to wear it and rather choose to wear it as a way to
display their religious identity.

3. Of the many types of Burqas described in the article, which

do the women of Iran wear?
- Of the many types of veils, the women in Iran wear a
Chador which is a full-body-length shawl that is held
close to the neck by a pin and covers the head and body
but leaves the face visible. They are usually black.

Last, watch both of these really short videos and summarize

two important ideas that you gleaned from each:

Why did Reza Shah order an end to veiling?

1. It was a symbol of backwardness. A symbol of keeping
 women secluded, separated, isolated, inactive, and
possibly repressed
2. Thought it was a way of modernizing the country,
symbolically and physically getting the barrier removed.
It also allowed women to come to the public domain to
go to school, have professions, and be more of a citizen
of the country

Why do women in Iran wear the veil?

3. It is mandatory in Iran for women to cover their hair and
wear something modest and covering
4. Some wear it because they are very pious and they
believe in it. They believe that it is a proper thing to do for
women
5. Some families are very conservative and they want to
wear them or because they are poor.