Marjane Satrapi’s Challenging of Stereotypes in Persepolis...

In Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, Satrapi states that her goal in writing the book was to dispel many of the hasty generalizations made by the western world about Iran, a principal sentiment being that the country is little more than a nation founded by fundamentalists and home to terrorists and extremists. To combat the misconception, Satrapi enlists the assistance examples of barriers and dissent towards the new conservative regime in Iran from her adolescence. By employing events from her childhood in Iran Satrapi rattles the foundation of the myths and false beliefs assumed by the occident. Satrapi writes that the initial waves of conservative fundamentalism in Iran were met with unified national dissent. To support this†¦show more content†¦Even Alcohol, gallons of it† (Satrapi 106). Satrapi again shows the disregard her family held for the extremist laws; they held parties and drank alcohol, both illegal actions. Yet again in using her family as an example Satrapi aims to extend the dissent shown by her family to a larger populous, the majority of Iran. Many people would agree that the extension of a small sample size to a larger population is something done often in scientific experimentation and studies, and is therefore a relevant method of argument. However, some may argue that the extent to which Satrapi can challenge conventional beliefs about Iran is limited by her perspective. Satrapi writes from the first-person point-of-view and a child’s nonetheless. Those same people might argue that when Satrapi is challenging generalizations by using personal examples she is manipulating fact, confusing them with opinion, and asserting her bias in a persuasive manner. Historically writing of this kind is often discarded for more specific and omniscient information. However, Satrapi never hides from her bias and desire to introduce the West to her version of Iran. In any persuasive writing a bias is implied and one mi ght influence just as to which examples they choose include to support their argument, this essay for example. She may be employing a persuasive tone, but the extent to which she accomplishes her goal is not altered by such beliefs. That is not to say that there are not factorsShow MoreRelatedMarjane Satrapi’s Challenging of Stereotypes in Persepolis1059 Words   |  4 PagesMarjane Satrapi’s Challenging of Stereotypes in Persepolis In Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, Satrapi states that her goal in writing the book was to dispel many of the hasty generalizations made by the Western world about Iran, a principal sentiment being that the country is little more than a nation founded by fundamentalists and home to terrorists and extremists. To combat the misconception, Satrapi enlists the assistance of examples from her adolescence of barriers and dissent towards