Persepolis 2: The Story of Return is anchored around how Marji is affected by the social injustice that occurred during the Islamic Revolution. Growing up as “a westerner in Iran and an Iranian in the West,” (Satrapi 274) changes and molds her into the young woman she is at the end of her journey. In this second chapter of Satrapis life she moves away from the comfort of Iran and finds a life in Vienna. Marji desires to find her purpose and identity during her brief time here and faces many battles with language barriers, people and herself. Marjis past from Iran haunts her and instills the idea that she needs to make something of herself while in Austria.
Finding that Austria took her down a darker path where the light was scarcer and the guilt from abandoning her culture became overwhelming she returns to her hometown. Adjusting back into the social norms of Iran is hard for her because of the freedom she experiences in Austria. Marji finds her passion within art and makes friends as well as a lover at the University in Iran that challenges her morals and forces her to think about her future. Marjane Satrapi reflectively illustrates the journey of finding her identity throughout adolescence during the Iranian revolution and her perception of Iran within the West. Marji began to get fed up with the strict Iranian ways, causing her to travel to Vienna, Austria to avoid social pressure and violence. During the Islamic Revolution often times woman were unsafe walking around the streets.
They were told to not speak of their views and their education was not a priority for the government. The anti-feministic environment challenged her in many ways by making her fight for her voice to be heard. Marji is a strong, sassy, opinionated y. .ons do not incorporate much detail so this allows readers to fill in the story with their imagination. The cartooning in Persepolis 2 is simplistic and to the point.
There is little distraction on the page and her layout of the panels is neat and read left to right. When looking at her work it is made clear that it is the reader’s job to fill in the illustration. Why would Satrapi do this? She presents her illustrations like this because doing so allows the reader to believe the characters more and get encompassed by the story. Moving forward, looking closely at the veils in the panel above, one can see that it is so much more than just an accessory appearing on the page. The veil attracts the audience to her features and expression allowing one to access her internal traits. The power of illustration and what you allow to show or keep to yourself is magnificent.
