This website is a group project which will be analysing the work of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, as part of the module “Modern World Literature”. As a group, we have focused upon Satrapi’s graphic novel and how it fits into modernity.

Persepolis is an autobiographical graphic novel following Satrapi's life in turbulent Iran and later in Western Europe. Satrapi wrote Persepolis in 2000, and it was later adapted to film in 2007. In Persepolis, Satrapi endeavours to reverse the dehumanisation of the East. She gives a personal account of the Islamic revolution in Iran and displays the difficulties of being an Iranian living away from home in France.

Whilst its graphic novel form may be different to what is usually studied in a literature module, many modernist themes run through Persepolis. Persepolis presents the fragmented struggle of living in a modern society, and the instability of progress is depicted through Satrapi’s turbulent childhood and difficult teenage years.

Contents:

Close Reading

Feminist Critical Analysis

Geographical Context

Historical Context

Marjane Satrapi's Views on Modernity