Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

AoE: Time & Space

IB English HL 1

The purpose of this assignment is to increase your schema in order to help you
understand the nuances of the historical and cultural allusions and context within the
graphic novel. Your goal is to explore each topic through online articles and videos as a
form of investigative research.

Dispelling your racist, preconceived notions...

Explain four current beliefs and/or conceptual understandings

that you currently have about the Middle Eastern & Muslim
culture (and it’s ok if they sound a bit ignorant--that’s the point
of this exercise!):

1. Muslims are people who follow a religion (Islam)

2. They also, mostly, only believe in ONE God

3. Women wear a head covering aka a hijab

4. Mosques are places where Muslims worship

Now, either watch the short clip or read the short article and
explain TWO reasons that Marjane Satrapi chose to create
Persepolis:
1. One reason she wrote Persepolis is to reveal her point of
view and the misconceptions of Iran
2. Marjane created Persepolis to get across her humanistic
message, which is that any human from anywhere is the
same.

Iran’s Historical Background

For each of these topics, use credible, online sites, articles, and
videos to research the information required (hence, not
Wikipedia or similar sites…). You may bullet-point your
responses, but also include a hyperlink of each source that you
used directly following the information.
1. What is a Shah in Iran and who was the Shah leading up to
the 1979 Iranian Revolution? What was he trying to accomplish
for Iran and what was his relationship like with Western
countries, such as the US and the UK?
● A Shah in Iran is the title given to a king or emperor.
● The shah leading up to the 1979 Iranian Revolution was
Mohammad Reza Shah.
● He was trying to accomplish economic development in
Iran, but didn’t have a good relationship with Western
countries. They felt as if his reforms weren’t sufficient
enough to move fast or even far enough into their areas.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/shah

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mohammad-Reza-Shah
-Pahlavi

2. Research the main parties behind the 1979 Iranian Revolution

(aka The Islamic Revolution), as well as the political and social
reasons for the revolution. What were the social and religious
outcomes for the country and its citizens? What were the
resulting political relationships with Western countries?

● The main parties were Russia, the United Kingdom, and

the United States; they united for a constitutional reform.
● The reasons for the revolution were because of the
aggressive modernization which brought issues to the
economy/wealth
● The outcome(s) was that social and political protest were
censored
● The resulting political relationships were positive because
they similarly began attempting to modernize

https://www.britannica.com/event/Iranian-Revolution

3. Discuss the main issues surrounding the Iran-Iraq War

(1980-1988), including instigating factors, why it takes place
merely a year after the Iranian Revolution, and its effects on
Iran, primarily the capital city of Tehran (which is where our
novel takes place).
The prolonged conflict was due to:
● Iraq having a greater advantage
● The numerous amount of casualties
● Political protests
● Terrorist attacks
● Iraq wanting seize control of oil

https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/iran-iraq-war

https://www.britannica.com/event/Iran-Iraq-War

Some other stuff to know...

Conduct a little more research to discover how the city of

Persepolis got its name, as well as how the empire lost its
power (it’s the title of our graphic novel, so we know it’s clearly
important…). Bullet-point your research below:

● The city of Persepolis came from the greek meaning “city

of persians”
● The empire lost its power after it was looted, while also
burned, under Alexander the Great of Macedon in 330
B.C.E
● The ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Persian
empire

Next, quickly explore the Investopedia article and take notes on

the fundamentals of Marxism, particularly in contrast to
Capitalism. *If you have the time and ambition, you may want to
research how Marxist ideals fit into the Iranian Revolution.

Marxism is a social, political, and economic philosophy which

posits that the struggle between social classes defines
economic relations. It also expresses that it would/would lead
to revolutionary communism. Marxism was formulated by Karl
Marx, a German philosopher, socialist, political theorist, etc
 Vocabulary Preparation

Please research each of the following terms so that you are

aware of their meaning before encountering them in the text:

1. Avant-garde: Radicaal new or original

2. Shah: The title for the former hereditary monarch of Iran

3. Imperialism: A type of government that seeks to increase

its size, by forcing/influencing other countries to submit
to their rule (through politics/wars)

4. Radicalism: The beliefs or action of people who advocate

thorough ot complete political or social reform

5. Fanaticism: The quality of being fantical

6. Fundamentalism: Strict adherence to the basic principles

of any subjects or discipline

7. Terrorism: The unlawful use of violence and intimidation

especially against civilians in the pursuit of political aims

8. Coup: A sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from

a government

9. Covert: Not openly acknowledged or displayed

10. Insurgency: An active revolt or uprising

11. Counterinsurgency: military or political action taken

against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionaries

12. Emigration: The act of leaving one’s own country to

settle permanently in another

13. Regime: A government, especially an authoritarian one

14. Subversive: Seeking or intending to subvert an

established system or institution

15. Proletariat: Workers or working class people, regarded

 collectively

16. Cyanide: A rapidly acting, potentially deadly chemical

17. Nihilist: A person that believes that life is meaningless

and rejects all religious and moral principles

What’s up with the Burqa (aka Hijab, Chador, or the “Veil”)?

Quickly skim through this article on the Burqa, which is a pretty

important religious and social symbol in our novel. Then,
answer the following questions:

1. According to your own preconceived notions, as well as the

article, how do most Western nations perceive the Burqa? Use
a direct quote from the article to support your response.

Most Western nations perceive it as being forced upon women,

critics of the muslim “vieling tradion argure that women do not
wear the viel by choice”.

2. However, despite those notions, how do most Muslim

women view the Veil? Again, use a direct quote to support your
response.
Muslim women and many “daughters of Muslim immigrants in
the West argue that the viel symbolizes devotion and piety,
and that the veiling is thei own choice”.

3. Of the many types of Burqas described in the article, which

do the women of Iran wear?
The women of Iran wear the chador which is a scarf/covering
that covers the full body and is held closed at the neck by a
hand or pin. It covers the whole body, gbut leaves the face
visible.

Last, watch both of these really short videos and summarize

two important ideas that you gleaned from each:

Why did Reza Shah order an end to veiling?

1. Reza Shah felt the need to modernize the country by
including women in more activities, ideas, etc
2. The vieling was known as an act to keep women
 secluded

Why do women in Iran wear the veil?

3. Women in Iran wear the veil because the hijab is an
inclusive term whereas chador is specifically for iranians
4. They also wear the veil because wearing a hijab is
mandatory in Iran