In our CAP English course we have been reading the graphic narrative Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. While reading the comic my mind went to the concepts of identity we have learned from our other CAP courses. In our Political Science class we discussed how often a sense of identity is often derived from the presence of an other. To paraphrase Dr Erickson; It is easier to tell what you are not than what you are. On a sociological level we witness this in how a nations are constructed, “No nation imagines itself as coterminous with mankind” (Anderson 7),  this is because the function of the nation is in part to differentiate itself from other such groups. When  applying this concept of identity to Persepolis I look at the way the protagonist Marji constructs her own personal sense of identity by creating a sense of an other.

One of Marji’s strongest aspects of her identity throughout the book is that of being Iranian.  Marjis sense of nationalism stems for Iran’s relationship with other nations throughout history. Page 11 in the book shows an image of the many different conquests and subjections  which took place in Iran which made it what it is today. First starting the their own emperors, then the Arabs invasion, the Mongol invasion, and finally the modern imperialists. To Marji this history is what makes her Iranian. She feels as though she must defend her nation from being subjected by another again. When Iraq begins to attack Iran (79), Marji immediately has a strong urge to protect her nation and showing the strength of her identity as Iranian.

Previous to the death of her heroic uncle Anoosh, Marji had thought of herself as being divided between her religious spirtuality and her Western education (6), however after the new religious post-revolution government had executed Anoosh, Marji casts away her religious side, as shown through the scene on page 70 where she tells god (a representation of religion) to leave her life and never come back. After this scene Marji begins to identify as modern, she sees the religious fundamentalists as the other. For the first time she differentiates between fundamentalists and modernists (75),  with the latter description matching that of her family and herself. In this way Marji’s creation of a new other (religious fundamentalists) further shapes her sense of identity. She becomes increasingly secular and throughout the rest of the book she no longer speaks to god.

Part of Marji’s identity formed by the formation of “others” is that of a rebel. As Marji enters her teenage years she begins to increasingly question authority. Marji and her classmates perceive their teacher as the other when they refuse to properly celebrate the anniversary of the revolution(97), the class remains in silent solidarity against the teacher who intends to punish one student resulting in the whole class getting punished. Marji also begins to see the way her parents treat her as dictatorial (113). In this way making them an other. The family which had always been her center for comfort and protection was now also considered a place where she lacked freedom. Marji now begins to identify as an individua. Marji rebels by smoking a stolen cigarette and declaring herself an adult. In this case her identity shifts from being a child to an adult who can think independently and critically, and who deserves to be free from her parents’ oppression.

Devon Tremain