Persepolis

A few days after they return home, Satrapi visits her father at work, and they see fighter jets flying low over the city. Satrapi’s father, an engineer, remarks that the jets do not look like Iranian F-14s. When they turn on the radio, they learn Iraq bombed Tehran. They rush home to find Satrapi’s mother, and on the way, Satrapi asks if her father will go and fight, especially since this is the second Arab invasion of Iran in the last 1,400 years. He tells her that “the real Islamic invasion has come from [their] own government” (81). When they arrive home, Satrapi’s mother is in the shower, unaware the city has been bombed.

Using boldface lettering, Satrapi yells that Iran should bomb Baghdad in retaliation, but her father tells her all Iranian fighter pilots were either executed or imprisoned after the failed coup d’etat. Satrapi remembers that her friend Pardisse’s father is a fighter pilot and learns he has also been imprisoned. The family cries as the news program plays the Iranian national anthem, but when the news claims Iran has bombed Baghdad, Satrapi’s father is skeptical. He finds a radio to listen to the BBC and confirm that this is true, which it is.

Though Satrapi is relieved that her father is truly as patriotic as she is, they learn Tehran sustained heavy damage: The imprisoned fighter pilots agreed to fly if the government agreed to play the Iranian national anthem. Two weeks later, Satrapi, noticing Pardisse has not come to school, realizes Pardisse’s father was one of these fighter pilots and that he died in the bombing of Baghdad.

In school, Satrapi is told to write a paper about the war, and she eagerly composes an essay focusing on the historical context of the Arab conquest and invasion. Pardisse, back at school, uses the essay as an opportunity to write a letter to her father. When Satrapi tells Pardisse her father is a hero, Pardisse says she wishes he were alive and in jail rather than dead and a hero.

The war begins to affect supermarkets, and Satrapi and her mother witness women screaming at one another over the sparse food left on the shelves. They also struggle to find gas. When Satrapi’s father asks a man at the gas station what is going on, he learns Iraq has bombed an oil refinery. Satrapi’s mother panics because one of her childhood friends, Mali, lives near the bombed area. Iraq targets border towns, and the people living in these towns begin to flee the country. Mali arrives late at night with her family; their house was destroyed, and they have nowhere else to go.

The family stays at the Satrapis’ for a week, but one day at the grocery store they all overhear two women gossiping about the “refugees” in Tehran who are taking all the food. One even goes as far as to accuse refugee women of selling sex. Satrapi’s mother stands up for Mali and says being attacked is hard enough; attacking fellow Iranian citizens is despicable. Satrapi feels guilty for looking down on Mali and her family.

Satrapi reads about the fall of Khorramshahr, where many Iranian soldiers died as “martyrs” and were given a burial meant for virgins. When Satrapi asks her mother why she does not seem to care about this news, her mother replies, “Our country has always known war and martyrs. So, like my father said, when a big wave comes, lower your head and let it pass” (94). Satrapi thinks, “That’s very Persian, the philosophy of resignation” (94).

Satrapi tries to take her mother’s advice and not focus on the casualties of war. However, she and her classmates must participate in funeral marches twice a day where they have to beat their breasts. In an accompanying illustration, Satrapi blends in with her classmates, who appear sad, scared, and lost under their mandated veils.

Despite the war, Satrapi and her classmates still find ways to goof off and pull pranks. Because Satrapi and her peers initially attended secular schools, they struggle to adjust to religious education. When Satrapi’s maid tells the family that her son received a gold key at school that was meant to ensure that if he was killed in battle, he’d get into heaven, Satrapi realizes he is being told to sacrifice himself.

Satrapi’s mother sits the maid’s son down to tell him that what he has been told at school is wrong. When Satrapi’s cousin Shahab, who just started military service, comes to visit, he explains that children keep arriving at the barracks. Many are from impoverished towns. The keys are meant to convince poor people to send their children off to war in exchange for a place in paradise.

This statement, juxtaposed with an image of young boys in silhouette being blown apart while wearing keys around their necks, is directly above an illustration of Satrapi dancing at a party with her well-to-do peers. She is wearing chains and nails around her neck as part of her punk rock phase.

Tehran becomes a target for Iraqi bombs, meaning Satrapi and her parents are often forced to run to the basement to hide. Satrapi’s mother begins to put up masking tape to reinforce the windows and blackout curtains to hide from nosy neighbors who might report them to the regime.

Despite restrictions on alcohol and music, family members still throw secret parties to keep joy alive. One time, the power goes out during the party, and when Satrapi’s family tries to return home, soldiers stop them. They accuse Satrapi’s father of drinking, and he gets in trouble for wearing a necktie. The soldiers follow the family home so that they can inspect their house. Grandma and Satrapi sneakily dump the alcohol down the toilet in fear of the soldiers finding it, but Satrapi’s father bribes the men to leave.