Assignment Task:
This is an IB HL Essay. What should the three paragraphs be about when talking about oppression, cultural suppression, and rebellion?
Inquiry Question: How does Marjane Satrapi utilize the symbolism of the veil in the graphic novel Persepolis to illustrate the struggle for identity and freedom during the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s?
The fact that our freedom and surroundings influence our identity is indisputable. This is the case in the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, first published in 2000 and winner of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize. In the graphic novel, Satrapi introduces how in 1980, the veil became obligatory to wear at school. The author used the veil's symbolism to communicate her idea about the realities of Iranian women struggling for an identity and freedom under the Islamic revolution regime. The symbolism of the veil is utilized to illustrate the struggle for identity and freedom during the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s. Satrapi examines the negative impact of the revolution on individualism and release, particularly for Iranian women. As a symbol, the veil challenges the main protagonist, Marji, in her quest for personal autonomy within a society where political and legal structures fail to guarantee individual identity and freedom. By portraying the veil as an extension of a government decision that denies women the right to choose, Satrapi highlights the connections between the veil and oppression, cultural suppression, and rebellion, therefore effectively conveying the loss of cultural autonomy and freedom through symbolism experienced by Iranian women as a result of the Iranian Revolution.