The Loss of a Childhood: Analysis of Persepolis

Marji raises her hand and says with a stern glare, "With this first cigarette, I kissed childhood goodbye" (117). Although the reader would feel that Marji has already lost her childhood, Marjane Satrapi chose to place it in an ironic part of the book. We still feel a sense of sadness for the character Marji when she states her personal loss. What makes one loose their innocence? Can it be exposure to horrific events, a realization of the world around you, or can it be as simple as smoking a cigarette? One fact can be for certain however, Marji lost her innocence way before her first puff of the cigarette.

Marji tries to make sense of the revolution from the beginning. Being a ten-year-old girl, understanding the world around you does not come right away. She doesn't start becoming interested in the truth until after she couldn't make sense of things anymore, "Cadaver, cancer, death, murderer, laughter?" (32). Marji begins her first true loss of innocence with one realization, "I realized then that I didn't know anything. I read all the books that i could" (32). Marji exposes herself to the hardships of her history, country, and its people. "My favorite author was Ali Ashraf Darvishian... He told sad but true stories" (33). Marji beings to understand the laws of social classes in her country and becomes emotionally affected by it, "But is it her fault that she was born where she was born???" (37).

After Marji gains some insight on the struggles of her country she is educated even further on their government. Marji intently listens as her parents' Friend Moshen exposes Marji to the cruel punishments he faced in prison. "My parents were so shocked... that they forgot to spare me this experience..." (51). After Marji hears Moshen's story a small part of her innocence is lost from being exposed to such surreal events. "I never imagined that you could use that appliance for torture" (51), Marji says with a scared look on her face. The happy-go-lucky mentality of a child is no longer present in Marji. She has lost a part of her innocence by not knowing the horrors of the world.

As Marji continues to grow up she naturally beings to come to realizations about herself and her country. As she enters her last years of childhood and beings to make the transition into adolescence, she enters into a rebellious phase. With her courage to stand up to authority and speak what she believes in her last bit of childlike conformity escapes her, "You say that we don't have political prisoners any More...How dare you lie to us like that?" (144). Marji goes from being an uninformed child to an educated young adult with a thirst for justice.

Throughout the course of the Islamic revolution, Satrapi tells the story of her childhood. Although her childhood experiences are unlike my own i still find her experiences to be somewhat relate able. As you grow older and out of childhood, you remember the experiences that got you there; the milestones to adulthood. Satrapi's novel is a story about her loss of innocence and the absence of a normal childhood.