Satrapi, Marjane, Persepolis

Analysis and Interpretation of Persepolis

Hello, and welcome to the first blog post about the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. In this post I will attempt to prove to you that this novel is in fact a serious literary novel and not a “comic book” or a book made for children. To do this I will focus on the concept of “show and tell” and how this encourages the reader to connect with the characters of the novel, either by plot or character development.

Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi

Before I begin I would like give you a short plot synopsis of Persepolis. This novel is an autobiographical tale of Marjane Satrapi and her family, and their lives living in Iran during the Islamic Revolution which lasted from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. Marjane, or Marji is very intelligent and rebellious, and throughout the novel she discusses her relationship with God and how it changes throughout her life. Though this is very much a personal story we still learn a lot about the Islamic Revolution and how it affected those who were not traditional Muslims.

In the book Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art author and artist Scott McCloud explains the concept of  “show and tell” in graphic novels: “As children we “show and tell” interchangeably, words and images combining to transmit a connected series of ideas.”  (pg 152). He used an example of a child showing a toy airplane to his classmates, supplementing his words with actions (“And… and then you can do this and it goes up and you flip this.” The italicized words are when the child shows the actions. pg 139) Scott goes on to define the 7 different types of “show and tell” that comic book and graphic novel writers use in their works. I will quickly define each of these because I believe that Satrapi uses all 7 of these methods to convey different meanings in her novel.

The first type of “show and tell” is called word specific combinations of text and images. In this case, the pictures illustrate the text, but they do not add to the text. If you picture your favorite children’s book most likely they follow this type of “show and tell”.

The second type is called picture specific combinations. Here the images are main focal point and the text only adds a soundtrack. These images are not abstract and tend to show a linear timeline of events.

Duo-specific panels, the third type, uses both text and images in the same way. The text may say “he raised his hand” and the image will illustrate that exactly. The text and images tell the same story.

Additive combinations use words to amplify the images or vice versa. The text may say “I redecorated my room”, and the image will show a newly redecorated room.

Parallel combinations are very interesting because the text will tell one story, while the images tell another story. They do not seem to be related at all. This type of show and tell is popularly used in flashback scenes.

In a montage the text is used as a part of the image, as in it is illustrated into the image. This is a very abstract way to use text.

The last type, and as McCloud claims as the most common type, is the interdependent combination. Here the images and text work together to depict an idea. They build off one another.

Satrapi’s novel is divided into chapters, so I will focus on two chapters, as well as a few outside examples. The first chapter is called “The Party”. This chapter takes place when Marji is still a child living in Iran, following the events after “Black Friday”, a large massacre (on September 8, 1978) perpetrated by the Iranian government which killed 88 individuals.

The very first first panel of the chapter (page 40) is an example of additive show and tell. The text says “After Black Friday, there was one massacre after another. Many people were killed.” Without the image the reader can get a sense of what the author is saying. It is factual, but the image of many identical young men with eyes and mouths open lying on their sides amplifies the text. We see the horrors in a way, because we see that many men have died. The image is striking because all the men are identical. The image is almost pattern-like, and it seems like it goes on past the panel lines. 

Persepolis, pg 40

Persepolis, pg 42

The full spread a few pages later (on page 42) accomplishes this same effect, though this time the images add to the joy people felt after the Shah left.

On page 43 there is an example of an interdependent combination. The text says “Let’s talk about something else. Let’s enjoy our new freedom” (Father)! “Now that the devil has left” (Mother)! The image shows the father and mother saying this to a frowning Mari while what appears to be a devil like creature frames the panel. This image brings foreshadowing to the text; the parents think the evil has gone but in reality it has just begun.

Persepolis, pg 43

Page 45 has numerous examples of word specific combinations. Here just the words would suffice to conjure an image, but the added images illustrate what is happening. The panel on the top right says “My idea was to put nails between our fingers line american brass knuckles and to attack Ramin.” The image then shows a few kids on a street chasing after a small worried boy with nails between their fingers. Again, the image serves only as an illustration.

Persepolis, pg 45

The second chapter I will focus on is called “The Socks”. This takes place much later in the book, when Marji is an university art student in Iran.

On page 304 there are three panels in the center of the page. These three panels work together to provide an example of picture specific combinations. Without the images the words would mean nothing. The images provide the story, and the text serves as a way to show time passing.

Persepolis, pg 304

A montage example is shown earlier in the novel, on page five. The top panel does use text in multiple ways, but interestingly it is one of the few times Satrapi uses montage. The image shows two groups of women, one full of traditional Muslims and the other of more modern Muslims. The traditional women are chanting “the veil!” while the other women are chanting “freedom”. This text is written in bold cursive. It contrasts the typical capitalized “comic book” print Satrapi normally uses.

Persepolis, pg 5

On page 157 we see our final example of “show and tell”, the duo-specific panels. The central right hand panel describes a man before and after moving to Austria. The panel is divided into two, and the first half describes him as a CEO with the image showing that, and the second describes him as “nothing” showing him walking in darkness. The image directly shows what the text says.

Persepolis, pg 157

If you notice, I have not included an example of parallel image and text combinations. I believe Satrapi does not use this because she prefers that her text and images can tell the same story, and no matter if you just follow the images or if you just follow the text you will be able to understand the meaning of the text as a whole.

To connect these examples to my claim that these combinations allow the reader to fully understand the intensity of the text as a whole, I will state that Satrapi uses these different types of show and tell to draw the reader in. Sometimes the images serve as a way to emotionally intensify the text, as in my first and second additive example, or they serve as a direct way to show the horrors of the Islamic Revolution, as in my word-specific and duo-specific examples.

Satrapi tells a very adult and intense story of her childhood and uses text and image “show and tell”  together to emotionally and intellectually engage the reader.