payment page
Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.
Class
The issue of class is everywhere in Persepolis. Right from the start, a six-year-old Marji perceives the unfairness inherent in the strict class structure of Iranian society. Marji claims to want to be a prophet because her father owns a Cadillac and the maid eats in the other room. Indeed, the Iranian Revolution begins as a leftist movement, and activists like Uncle Anoush identify the class divide as the country’s greatest problem. Mehri’s story illustrates just how deeply ingrained and uncrossable class lines are in Iran. It is also partly Ebi’s desire to remain in a privileged class that keeps the family in Iran. The losers in the various regime changes that Iran undergoes in the 20th century experience extreme class shifts, and it is often perceived as a humiliating experience. Marji’s grandfather goes from royalty to poverty, and her grandmother does her best to pretend they are not destitute. Meanwhile, Uncle Taher’s wife is outraged that the Revolution has turned her former window washer into an inept hospital director overseeing her husband’s life-or-death treatment. The issue of class thus influences and provides much of the context for nearly all the events in the book, large and small.
Fundamentalism vs. Modernism
Once the Iranian Revolution becomes an Islamic and cultural revolution, cultural issues come to define and divide Iranians. The Iranian regime clearly sees their revolution as a war with the modern values of secularism, liberalism, and materialism. Likewise, secular Iranians feel that their values and way of life are under siege. Marji lays out the divide explicitly by explaining each camp’s attire. The fundamentalists express their values through strict adherence to the veil requirement for women and beards for men. Modernist women signal their disapproval of the regime by showing a little hair, and modernist men shave their beards. Once Marji explains how to identify fundamentalist and modernists, the divide is easy to see in the book’s illustrations. It provides important context in understanding various characters’ motivations and actions, just as it provides context for people in Iran. Iranians know who they need to be careful around, who they can trust, and who is a member of their camp.
Lies
Lies, dishonesty, secrecy, and distrust play a major role in Marji’s story. The most innocuous of these are the many white lies that people tell their children in order to protect them. Laly’s mother tells her that her father is “on a trip” to protect her from the terrible truth that he is suffering in prison. Similarly, Marji’s parents at first tell Marji that Uncle Anoush went back to Moscow when he has actually been captured by the regime. When Iran’s Islamic Republic is established, lies, dishonesty, and secrecy become a constant fact of life. Marji is encouraged to lie about how much she actually prays and to hide her liberal views. Indeed, Marji learns to lie to anyone who looks like they might be a fundamentalist. Taji blacks out the windows of the Satrapis’ home in order to avoid being spied on by the neighbors. Marji’s parents go through elaborate machinations to sneak innocuous contraband into the country from Turkey, and Marji must buy her music in utter secrecy. In a way, Iranians like the Satrapis are in a war of lies with the regime. The regime is constantly lying to the people. Ebi knows he cannot trust Iranian news reports and gets his news from the BBC. The regime lies to the poor and uneducated to entice them to enlist in the military and lies about the people they execute. In order to survive the onslaught of deception and oppression, Iranians like the Satrapis must learn to lie in order to survive.
