A_Look_Into_a_Life

[edit] Persepolis: The Story of A Childhood Section 1 (the veil): The first section sets the tone for the rest of the book. Marjane is forced to wear a veil at school, and she doesn't know what to think about it. At the core of her being is religion. It was for this reason that she submits to the authority of her teachers, who have told her of the religious symbolism behind the veil. This first section introduces her conversations with God in which she is "told" many things, some of which are that she is the celestial light, God's "last and best choice" for a prophet. Section 2 (the bicycle): After a brief talk with her friends, in which she learns that revolutions are like bicycles (if they're not in motion, they will stop working) she starts to read about revolutionaries such as Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. Because of the constant misdeeds being committed by those who are in charge of the Iranian Police forces she decides that she wants to become a revolutionary like Che Guevara. Her parents, unwilling to allow their daughter to be put in danger, do not let her go to the protests. Section 3 (the water cell): Although her parents protested every day, Marjane decided that she supported the king because he was chosen by God Himself (which was told to her by her teacher). Her dad tells her a story about how the king was really chosen, and it had nothing to do with God. After the first king was chosen, it was simply passed down from father to son. She is, of course, very excited to hear this. Her grandfather became the king's prime minister because he was well educated, but he was mistreated to the point of becoming a communist. She then learned from her mother that her grandfather was sent to prison. It was there that he lived the rest of his life under pain of torture. Marjane felt awful after hearing this and attempted to reconstruct one of her grandfather's tortures, being partially submerged in water for hours at a time, by staying in the tub for several hours. Section 4 (Persepolis): Marjane's grandmother comes into town to visit and tells Marjane about the hardships and poverty of years past. She told of how she boiled water and pretended to be cooking to hide their poverty from the neighbors. They had no money because the Shah's father took everything they owned. Marjane then learned that although the father of the Shah was brutal, his son was ten times worse. It was because of this that her grandfather was forced to stay in prison. Marjane's father does not come home from taking pictures of the riot on time and after a few hours they start to get scared. Marjane is sure that her father has been shot, but just as she is losing hope her father walks through the door with a full report of the day's events. The crowd saw a man's body being carried out of the hospital, and moments later the protesters lifted him up on their shoulders and marched him through town as a martyr. It turns out that the man had died of cancer, but when the crowd hears this they continued to honor him and protest the king, although now they are joined by the man's widow.