In last weeks blog post I made reference to the graphic novel “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi. In turn I do not feel I had the chance to shed light on this significant true story that I initially underestimated. When assigned the novel I was baffled, a comic book? On the Islamic Revolution? Not only did I consider the “comic book” a foreign genre, but the Islamic Revolution is a topic that originally, I was not well acquainted with. I found it challenging to try and related to young Marji. She was growing up in the midst of corruption and a war that was taking the lives of people in mass numbers; two situations that I am blessed to say I have not had to experience first hand. A girl at that age is already struggling to find herself and her place in the world, considering the fact that the representation of ones self was basically forbidden the chances for growth and personal discovery were slim to none. Thinking about life when I was that age I do not recall being given a criteria as to how I would have to dress, act, and speak. My mother allowed my siblings and I to determine how we would represent ourselves; to an extent. On pages 132 and 133 this type of repression is exemplified and enforced by women known as “Guardians of the Revolution”.Marji is harassed by these women in her community shouted at for being “[A] little whore!” because she was sporting her new denim jacket, Nike sneakers, and Michael Jackson pin. These pages struck me in particular because, 99% of girls I know would be wearing an outfit similar if not identical to Marjis at that age, and the fact that a mature woman would proclaim a young girl a “whore” for wearing such an outfit seemed to me to be outrageous. I have always believed that staying true to ones self is a crucial aspect of living life. Though I feel I can relate to Marji and the struggles she has to face in find herself, part of me cannot help but feel very dissimilar. A simple reason for this being that if I were to try and leave in something too revealing my father would have probably made me change, but if Marji is seen wearing anything other than the black veil she could very well be a dead woman. Processing and taking all of this in I felt extremely frightened by the fact that there are young women around the world who are still living under rules and regulations such as these with no choice. In a nutshell reading this graphic novel led me to realize that growing up in a home and community where I could be myself is a great privileged one that many girls don’t have. Consequently I would consider this to be a life-changing novel, one that I will recommend to people I meet in the future.