The most important lesson Marji from ‘Persepolis’ by Marjane Satrapi learns is heroism, which guides her in decision-making and her life.
Marji adores family members that have shown heroism throughout their life and uses their inspiration to try to bring change. She often compares herself and her father to the heroic deeds of her other family members. Marji often lies to her friends about her father being a hero, demonstrating her childish passion for a hero in her family. When her friend, Laly, boasts about her father’s heroism, Marji sadly realizes that “[her] father was not a hero” and that “[her] mother wanted to kill people…” (Satrapi, 52). Marji walks down the dark street with her head down, displaying her disappointment that she has no idol to look up to in her family. Since there is no one in her family to look up to, Marji strives to become a hero herself and uses that motivation to push her own beliefs. When Marji meets her Uncle Anoosh, she immediately adored him because she finally had a hero to look up to. When he told her the story of his journey into the U.S.S.R., Marji immediately thinks of Anoosh being superior because “Laly’s dad hasn’t ever been to the U.S.S.R.” (Satrapi, 57). Marji had always compared people to one another, and now she finally felt a sense of superiority over Laly’s dad. With this newfound sense of superiority, she made her own definition of heroism. Marji went on to use this definition to bring change through protests and demonstrations as she tried to prove her beliefs.
Marji becomes willing to sacrifice herself if it means to abide by her beliefs. Marji’s beliefs include equality, kindness, and freedom, and she is ready to do anything it requires to abide by them. Marji risks herself when she protests, demonstrating that she is ready to sacrifice her life for a better society that follows with her beliefs and values. So, when Mehri’s affair is stopped due to their social class, Marji decides that she cannot sit on the sidelines any longer. That night, she explains that once she “finally understood the reasons for the revolution [she] made [a] decision” and told Mehri that “they [were] going to demonstrate” (Satrapi, 38).
The whole revolution began because of equality, a belief that Marji has valued ever since she was a child and a belief that she was ready to lay her life down for. Marji’s definition of heroism included fighting for a cause that you believe in, but sometimes that includes sacrifice, which is exactly what Marji does. But when Marji is faced with leaving her country, she realizes that she must sacrifice the comfort of her home to guarantee that she can live freely by her beliefs. As her parents waved goodbye one last time, Marji says that “nothing is worse than saying goodbye” and that “it’s a little like dying” (Satrapi, 153). Marji is hesitant to leave her old life, essentially ‘dying’ and being reborn into her new life. But she hesitantly follows through with her sacrifice this to live by her beliefs.
All the sacrifices that Marji made in her old life allowed her to become a part of a bigger picture, a picture that allowed her to grow and expand into who she is now. Ever since she was a child, her beliefs were pure with no violence involved, but heroism gave her the motivation to stand up for what she believes in and maintain her values that made her who she is.
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True Heroism of Marji in ‘Persepolis’.
(2023, September 19). Edubirdie. Retrieved December 22, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/true-heroism-of-the-main-character-marji-from-persepolis-by-marjane-satrapi-critical-essay/
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