Bria Jourdain                                                                                                   11/6/14

Essay                                                                                                              812

            In places like the Middle East, children and adults are faced with war. In the memoir Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi is faced with violence and war. Violence and war allowed Marjane to find a deeper meaning in her life. Marjane learned to take her experiences with violence and war and use them to her advantage.

            One lesson she learned about the war was that the citizens need to be able to stand up for themselves. Uncle Anoosh was able to help her understand what the war really meant. He was able to inspire her to become someone who wanted her opinions to be heard. Later in the book Marjane wanted to go to a protest with her parents, however they believed it wouldn’t be a safe environment. She then stated, “For a revolution to succeed, the entire population must support it.” She learned from uncle Anoosh’s experience being in prison and understood that there wasn’t justice for him. She understands if one person can’t stand up for all, like uncle Anoosh tried, then everyone has to come together. As young as she was, she developed thoughts of her own and wanted her opinions to be acknowledged. She allowed her connection with Anoosh live strong with her.

            Marjane also realized that war will always endanger her no matter how safe she thought she was. One day Marjane decided to buy clothes. Suddenly her neighborhood was bombed. She rushed home and found her home safe. However her neighbors’ homes weren’t.  She then stated, “No scream in the world could have relieved my suffering and anger.” Marjane was grief-stricken with her neighbors but also with if that was her situation. She was anger about how the bombings were becoming part of her life and suffered from constant anxiety. Marjane realized the value of her life even more.

Living through war Marjane saw that there were many sacrifices she and her family had to make. Like many families at that time the children were the top priority to be taken care of. Marjane saw the burden of being sent away was also a gift that was given to her. Before she left, she invited her friends over. She stated, “I never realized how much they loved me. And I understood how important they were too me.” The burden in this was she now had to leave her friends. However, what she took from this was a new understanding of her life. She can leave feeling that she made a big impression. She was loved and cherished. Marjane was able to see why sacrifices were important.

            Marjane’s experiences and lessons not only helped her but helped me as well. I learned now to go out into the world with more of a focus on life. To be independent, strong, and more thankful. Marjane was able to not be afraid of her surroundings. She was able to use it to find herself.