Persepolis Veil

Words: 609
Pages: 3

The Complete Persepolis by Maryjane Satrapi was a very interesting read. This book described in detail the experiences of Maryjane, a young Iranian girl, as throughout her journey into adulthood. In this story Maryjane not only has to deal with the common issues of becoming an adult such as falling in love and living on her own, but also with the drastic cultural changes taking place around her.
A strength I found in this story was the detail put on how people during major cultural shifts find ways to keep their own values alive. An example of this was how the women who did not agree with wearing a veil took great pride in wearing it incorrectly. They allowed for several strands of hair to be visible outside of the veil. They made sure that it if confronted by the fundamentalist authorities they could play it off as an accident. However, the women who did this knew that
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According to the textbook norms are “generally accepted standards of behavior for any cultural group” (26). At the beginning of the story the women did not appear to be wearing veils in any of the scenes and were treated with respect. However, when the fundamentalists took power, this changed. Wearing a veil was now an expected behavior for women. This change was shown when Maryjane’s mother was harassed by fundamentalists when they saw her not wearing her veil. On page 74 of The Complete Persepolis, Maryjane’s mother says, “They insulted me. They said that women like me should be pushed up against a wall and fucked, and then thrown in the garbage… and that if I didn’t want that to happen I should wear the veil.” The acceptable behavior of women during this time had shifted from them being independent members of society to being completely submissive under the new regime. Another norm that changed was how individuals discussed their religious habits. It was now the norm to pray five or more times a