Perseplois

In Persepolis 2, The Story of A Return, the main character, Marjane Satrapi leaves her hometown of Iran to attend high school in Europe, for a chance at a better life there. As Marjane acclimates to the liberal lifestyles her peers live in Europe, the subject of westernization arises frequently. Marjane is no longer in Iran but is still Iranian in culture, blood, heart and mind. Persepolis 2 explores the issues of westernization in depth as Marjane’s years in Europe play out. Westernization comes into conflict with being true to herself. As the reader will derive from Marjane’s experiences, westernization brings along with it both positive and negative aspects upon ethnic minorities. Marjane became Westernized largely in her general lifestyle that she lived in Europe as opposed to how she had lived back home in Iran. Marjane had both friends who were boys, and girls and freely associated with them, speaking in public going out with them as she could not have done with boys back home. Marjane is taken aback at first when her friend announces that she has slept with her boyfriend and also many other men (Page 28). When Marjane is living with her friend Julie one night they have a stemming from Julie telling Marjane about how her mother thinks that Marjane is a good influence on her. Marjane is seen as a pure, timid, innocent virgin who does her homework. Julie says “I’ve been having sex for five years” and goes on to list the names of eighteen guys whom she has already slept with. At this point, Marjane is just being introduced to such topics of conversation. Julie and Marjane go on to talk about the use of condoms, birth control and how Julie feels she has large buttocks as a result of taking the pill. It is apparent that Julie is very Western. Marjane truly experiences the Western culture of Vienna when Julie has a party at her house while her mother is away. Julie puts makeup on Marjane which Marjane later learns to apply and wears herself every day. Julie play Pink Floyd music at the party. Marjane’s parents listened to the same music when travelling, and Marjane comments that it does not feel like party music. With the party in progress, Marjane is appalled at how couples make out with each other in public in the middle of the room. At parties in Iran, Marjane was used to people just dancing and eating food, while at this party people were lying around and smoking. Marjane goes to find Julie and discovers her in her room having sex with a man. She is shocked and the text on the last panel of page 32 shows her with sweat dripping off her brow. The text “My god, they were in the middle of…HAVING SEX!” She doesn’t know what to do and hides behind a book, but soon it becomes Marjane herself who is having her own sexual experiences with men. She also starts using drugs and smoking cigarettes. When Marjane goes to Europe she becomes so westernized to such a degree, that she denies her own culture. Marjane renounces her Iranian heritage during a party when a boy comes up and introduces himself to her. When Marc asks where she is from, Marjane replies with a fabrication that she is French. When Marjane later goes to a restaurant, she overhears people saying that she lied about her ethnicity. “You are going to shut up, or I am going to make you!,” replies Marjane. I am Iranian and proud of it.” The illustrations employed show the strength of Marjane’s reaction. The words are all in capitals and significantly bigger than the rest, no longer contained in a conversation bubble. Satrapi’s words break free of the prescribed form they are �supposed’ to be within. The illustration in this panel shows the two girls and boy off to left in their booth at the restaurant cowering, afraid and shocked at Satrapi’s loud reaction. Her face, illustrated much larger, and in side profile suggest she reacts in a booming voice. Her facial features suggest indignation, her brow is drawn down tightly at a slant. All of a sudden it occurs to Marjane that she should not be hiding who she is or pretending to be something else that she is not. After her outburst, Marjane runs out of the restaurant, embarrassed yet realizing she has finally redeemed herself. “For the first time in a year, I felt proud. I finally understood what my grandmother meant. If I wasn’t comfortable with myself, I would never be comfortable. (Last panel, page 42) It is at this point Marjane comes to recognize how she has been acting. Marjane has been trying so hard to fit in with everyone, to emulate them that she had simply gone too far. All the newfound freedom in Vienna had gotten to her, and as a girl formerly unaccustomed to having as much personal freedom as one could wish for, simply had to try out her judgment for herself. Marjane also desired to be recognized as a European as her peers were. Marjane did not