Persepolis 2: The New Beginning
What
does Marjane learn from her experiences with drugs, homelessness, depression,
and a suicide attempt? How did she slip into those periods? What external and
internal forces brought her to take to living on the streets? How does she
overcome these obstacles and transform herself into a stronger woman?
Typically, when people hit rock bottom (as
she did with her suicide attempt and her trip to her doctor) it may cause an
extreme change in the character as it did with Marjane deciding to take her
life into her own hands. She slips in to these periods of self destruction
by dealing with her sense of not belonging and difficulty being alone in a
different country by herself. She faces discrimination and loneliness.
She dealt with the loss of her boyfriend who really wasn't worth it in the
first place and she feels guilt for being somewhere else while all her friends
and family still deal with the war. She has a problem with tolerating people
and continuously snaps at people. She has to conform to so many different
standards and I think that she kind of loses herself in there somewhere while
she's being passed back and forth through different cultures. She wants to be a
rebel when she's younger, she tries to dress different and listens to punk
music and then when she moves she tries to stay the same and wants to fit in
with her friends but then her friends change again and she decides that
she wants to be someone else but she then changes her mind again and wants
to wear her veil. It's very difficult for her to try and live up to other
peoples standards which change multiple times throughout the book. She just
keeps getting thrown back and oath and is lacking a sense of belonging.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI28BgUD1bXuj1KKTTcDp9nDNmp5jWS2aLl3VGJE6cfkJOlGFZlOWaCrGblEXBIwr2CNUZU-Wu_uxCQ_TYenVuB0qaRJzDCOyT-_JvxrQsKWOZkQdXexVF0dN1wEhLOS0sSOqH4q0_hQ/s1600/fhd011THP_Viola_Davis_002.jpg
Everything you mention in this post- her dwindling depression, failed relationships, and her inability to conform- all work towards making her a more relatable character. Since the book takes place during the Iranian revolution, a lot of audience demographics would be much less interested if that was what it was all about, but it is not. It is more about Marjane trying to grow into her own person in a foreign country full of strangers, which is just a direct result of the revolution. With a lot of the issues she experiences, she would not have gone through them if she were in her home country. It would be much easier for her to conform to her society because Iran is much less diverse of a country during this time period than Austria is and she would have fewer opportunities for her to rebel. Her easier conformation would also help her with her romances since she would have more similarities with the men living in Iran, and she would have her mother to guide her through everything instead of trying to figure it out on her own. If both of these issues were resolved, that would, most likely, resolve her depression and suicide attempts as well because she would actually feel like she fits in and has a purpose. That is her issue-finding a purpose. After being thrown into a country where she doesn't fit in and doesn't know anyone, she is having a hard time finding a purpose and that is making her feel like her life is in shambles.
ReplyDeleteOther than a few grammar issues and a lack of outside information, this post brought up a lot of important points about the quality of Marjane's life at this point.