In the graphic novel Persepolis, Marjane struggles with larger Iranian values and beliefs. On her part, Iran is a difficult place to be, not because of the environmental or weather conditions, but because of the cultural establishments that have been set for the people. At a tender age of eight, she is no longer playing with dolls, but thinking of how to become a prophet. She says, “ I was born with religion .” She is discriminated for conversing with God. She tells her parents that she wants to be a doctor but feels that she has betrayed God and suffers some form of identity crisis only because of the Iranian culture and beliefs. Therefore, the plot suggests a rough lifestyle that Marjane goes through right from childhood to adulthood.
The Iranian culture does not give her freedom free expression. The western culture here is demonized. Iran has its media, and nothing else can be seen. She sees nothing like music, theater, and films. Nonetheless, she can use American rock music to express herself secretly. She broadens her worldview by reading in secret and values imprisonment than death. Moreover, she sees all those who have been imprisoned for fighting for social justice as heroes but loves anarchy. Her identity crisis leads her to have a challenge in keeping friends. She has become an extremist because of Iran’s hard treatment and objectification of women.
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Her identity is at conflict. She has not defined who she is. She begins to be something of a self-destructing woman. She says, "I preferred to put myself in serious danger rather than confront my shame " (29.79). She is afraid that she must have disappointed her parents. She is depressed but cannot access equitable medical attention simply because she is a woman. Moreover, she contemplates suicide but fails. While seeking to control her identity, she offers to teach aerobics because she just needed to overcome everything. She says, " Every situation offered an opportunity for laughs " (13.20). The horror in her life gets better treatment with humor. From the conversations, it is clear that she is a woman of her intentions and limitations.
In the graphic novel, Iran is a country with extremist cultures and beliefs. Women are treated as unequal to men. They are not accessible to education and everything that develops them. They are subjected to torture whenever they act contrary to the intrinsic traditions. They are not allowed to study and have careers because freedom is unheard off in the society.
