Topic: How does Persepolis falsify and hide truths or bring truth to abstract concepts?
When I started reading Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis,” I enjoyed the book as the comic form was a relief from conventional university readings. However, I was not sure how to feel about the content as I could not find personal relations to the upbringing or culture of Marji, the story’s main protagonist. It was only until later in the memoir when I began to sympathize with the personal struggles and political oppression that the characters faced in the story. At times, these instances seemed rather exaggerated. It made me wonder how transparent the author really was when describing events throughout the book. I question this not to suggest that the author or book is dishonest, but to convey that some truths may be hidden beneath the plain text of the comic. Conversely, Satrapi also sheds light on prominent morals by disclosing their realities through her childhood experiences.
“Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi, page 77
The author may have dramatized some scenes in her comic for entertainment purposes, but at what extent of dramatization does a portion from a graphic memoir become pure fiction? As illustrated in a large panel on page 77, the Satrapis went on a vacation during a time of major governmental and societal change. While the audience may assume the family did not actually fly on a carpet, it is implied that the trip appeared, through Marji’s perspective, to be magical and practically unreal. Perhaps this was a facade to conceal greater, deeper issues which Marji’s family was dealing with at the time. In that case, it may have even helped the author, Satrapi, to forget and deny the harsh realities of her rocky childhood. This is comparable to the acknowledgements made by Kate J. Waites, American literary scholar, in her biography on Sarah Polley’s documemoir, “Stories We Tell.” Waites recognizes that Polley employed actors for re-enactment purposes, and supposedly to also favour her own perspective of her family’s story. In both “Persepolis” and “Stories We Tell,” these fictional supplements have ultimately misrepresented reality in their respective artforms. Furthermore, this falsification welcomes the audience to establish their own perspectives of the implicit truths.
“Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi, page 70
While bounded by the simplicity of a comic book, several realities and morals are depicted throughout Persepolis. To emphasize, Satrapi implicitly expresses how one’s heroes are closest to them. Though ironic, Marji viewed her Uncle Anoosh as a hero for being imprisoned. Moreover, the theme of coming-of-age is significant in this story, especially at times when Marji is struck by crude truths. For instance, on page 70, she learned that her Uncle Anoosh, whom she loved very much, was executed. In a way, this discovery changed her personality and forced her to mature. As a result, she let go of her “God” and even parts of her childhood. Like Marji, Polley’s relation to her family changed when she found that Michael was, in fact, not her biological father. Both have also selectively viewed members of her family as protagonists and others as not.
While Marjane Satrapi may hide some realities in her comic, she undoubtedly addresses powerful concepts throughout her book. Persepolis shows how melodramatic scenes can passively demonstrate an author’s intent to obscure truths from their audience. At the same time, this memoir’s latent realities allow both the author and their audience to reflect not only on the story but their own lives. Though the line between genuine and falsified truths is blurry in such literature, it is often left to the interpreter to determine where and how to establish it.
References
Polley, S. (2012). Stories We Tell. Mongrel Media
Satrapi, M. (2003). Persepolis. Pantheon Books, pp.70, 77
Waites, K. J. (2015). Sarah Polley’s Documemoir Stories We Tell: The Refracted Subject.
Biography,38(4), 543-555. doi:10.1353/bio.2016.0004