Persepolis Analysis Questions

Chapter 4: “Persepolis”

Directions: After reading and annotating the chapter, please answer each of the following
questions in at least 3-4 sentences.

1. Explain how the panel at the bottom of page 27 is both symbolic and ironic:
- The panel at the bottom of 27 is ironic because the Shah is elevating himself to the sky
and acting as a God when all he has done is bring death and suffering since the day he
had been crowned. It is also ironic because he is claiming to be the “light of the Aryans”
yet he is shrouded in darkness and the only light that is displayed around him is from the
scarce amount of stars(27). It is also iron when he states that his people will “regain their
splendor” (27). This is ironic because he acts as if he is improving society. Instead of
making it better, he has caused society to head in a backward direction. He is bringing
them away from their splendor.
- The panel also has a lot of os symbolism. One icon that is symbolic is the little figure on
the front of the table. The little icon symbolizes an Iranian prophet whose ideals the
society was built off of. Since one of the wings is gone it shows how the ideas the society
was built on have started to crumble and disappear. Another symbol is the crown. The
crown has a similar look to the lion of Iran. It is symbolic because a shah never would
actually wear a crown. But since the shah in the image is wearing a crown it symbolizes
his want to have power and be seen as greater than others. It symbolizes his ruling style
and the way that he wants to be the boss of everyone.

2. Analyze the bottom half of page 29 and its unusual illustrative technique. How is it different
from any illustrations we’ve been shown thus far and what is the author’s purpose in presenting
the graphic and correlating ideas in this way?
- It is different from the techniques that we have been shown before because instead of
being one panel, there are multiple different panels all clustered in one area. They are
overlapping and displaying multiple perspectives and points of view. It is extremely
different from what we have seen before because Satrapi utilizes an icon of her father
with a camera facing the clustered panels. Through this authorial choice, the readers are
able to understand that the clustered panels to the right of the father are the photos he had
taken while at the hospital. The author’s purpose in presenting this graphic is to display
the brutality and destruction that is occurring due to the revolution. Through the use of
the clustered panels, Satrapi displays the chaotic nature of the outside world. Her purpose
in using this graphic was to display a variety of situations all in one place. Rather than
creating numerous different panels, she clusters them all in one so that the reader sees it
all at once. This has a greater effect on the reader because they see all of the death and
destruction of one page. This allows them to have a better understanding of the situation.

3. Discuss the reaction of the widow towards the end of the chapter, examining the irony of the
situation and what it displays about the Persian citizens being shown.
 - Toward the end of the chapter, Satrapi’s father explains the situation at the hospital. He
brings up this widow that he had observed. Her husband had been carried out of the
hospital and the protesters yelled, “Here is another martyr” (31). They begin chanting for
him. But then the widow becomes angry and tells them to “stop it!” (31). She seems
extremely angry that they were calling her husband a martyr because he had died of
Cancer. She tries to explain to the Persian citizens, but they can not hear and reassure her
that “he’s a hero” (32). Instead of arguing back with them, she decides to join in on the
chanting. This is ironic because she is wearing a chador, so you would think that she
would be totally against the protestors. But since they view her husband as a hero, she
wants to keep that image of him and decides to join. Also, she seemed extremely angry at
first but seemed to change her mind when she realized that joining the demonstrations
would actually benefit her. Through this passage, many things are revealed about the
Persian citizens. One prominent aspect is that they will find anything and make it into a
reason to be against the king. For, example, they took a dead man who was killed by
cancer and turned him into a martyr for their cause. They will use anything to fuel their
revolution.

4. Analyze the author’s purpose in writing this chapter--what is she primarily displaying to the
reader? Use at least two quotes and/or graphic techniques for support.
- The author’s purpose in writing this chapter is to show how at the time children were
extremely uneducated about the situation. Satrapi is revealing how the unawareness of
the children leads them to be ignorant. This is displayed through the fact that when
Satrapi’s grandmother is explaining the whole revolution to her, she has virtually no
interest in it and interrupts exclaiming, “I’m Hungry!” (28). The fact that she has no
interest in learning about the revolution, but so greatly wants to be involved displays the
fact that she is extremely ignorant and naive and does not understand the importance of
the situation. She makes no effort to be educated and seems as if she doesn’t care. The
ignorance and naivety of the children have illustrated through Satrapi once again when
her father comes home and explains what he saw while at the hospital. In the panel on the
bottom left of page 32, we see the confusion Satrapi is facing. She questions why
everyone is laughing when it seems as if they were discussing the important matters of
“cadaver, cancer, death, and murderer[s]” (32). She is unable to comprehend the
happenings of the revolution and this frustrates her. Just as many of the other children she
only knows the surface of the revolution, what she sees and hears other people talking
about. She is unable to have an in-depth understanding due to her naivety. Overall,
Satrapi is displaying the fact that at the time children were extremely uneducated about
revolution and were unable to gain an in-depth understanding due to their naivety.

5. Discuss the significance of the chapter title using at least two quotes and/or graphic techniques
for support.
- The significance of the Chapter title is that it was the ancient Capital of Persia which is
where the graphic novel is set, but now it is in ruins. The significance of the title is to
illustrate the fact that although things may be destroyed, in order to understand the
present, you must first understand the past. This is displayed through the fact that
Satrapi’s grandmother begins telling her about the past so that she can understand what is
happening in th present. We know this because she starts the story by saying the words
“since the dawn of time” (27). This allows the readers to realize that she is going to start
from the very beginning so that Satrapi can understand the importance and gain a
thorough understanding of the situation. This idea is demonstrated once again when
Satrapi realized that she “didn’t understand anything” and decided to start reading all the
books about the revolution so that she could understand (32). Satrapi realizes that if she
ever wanted to understand the present she would have to read and learn about the past so
that she could understand why everything around her was happening. Overall, Satrapi
utilizes the chapter title to illustrate the idea that in order to understand the present and
future you must first understand the past.