"Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood" is the life story of the vivacious, spunky Marjane Satrapi as she experiences the struggles and conflict between Iran's political society and the displeasure of its people in the 1980's. Marjane position in this eternal struggle is both a curse as well a blessing. Marjane Satrapi grew mentally and physically through an intense and traumatic society and environment like a rose through concrete but there were still signs of damage and exploitable weaknesses which she would soon realize. I believe that Satrapi intentionally presents specific lessons that she learned through a series of events and relationships that fully transformed her into a woman of power. .
The title of the first section "The Veil" reflects a major influence of Marjane Satrapi's life, as she battles its oppression in her life and in school. Marjane begins her story by a brief summary of why the veil was made mandatory for all women, but presented it much like a joke. The first page shows all of the schoolgirls playing with the veils, and as the book continues, Marjane firmly remains against the institution of blindly following a ruling decided by the emperor of Iran. Like most kids, Marjane learns a lot of her opinion towards the veil from her parents. Her opposition to the veil was greatly influenced by her parents actively protesting, her mother was actually featured on the cover of European and Iranian newspapers protesting, "I was really proud of her". This pride in her mother taking a stand against the veil was only a start in Marjane's empowerment. A year later, Marjane's mother insisted on letting Marjane attend a demonstration against the veil. This turned into a riot, showing violence to her innocent eyes for the first time. With rebellion in her blood and the world before her, she did not let this episode stop her. Marjane learned at an early age the importance of voicing her opinions and standing up for what she believed through the example of her parents.
