Ruby's Project Proposal
Marji’s journey begins in her hometown Tehran, Iran during the revolution. As tensions run high, her parents begin to fear for her safety she migrates alone to Vienna, Austria. Marji again returns to Iran as the war concludes but ultimately obeys her parents wish to immigrate to Europe. Whilst mapping out Marji’s personal story I will also be researching and plotting Iran-Iraq relations and Iran’s change to a repressing Islamic Fundamentalist sate. A potential plot point on the map could also be the USSR – the state begins violently rejecting communist and socialist ideals or anyone preaching them, imprisoning multiple members of Marji’s friends and family. I believe it is important to illuminate the history of the conflict and the changing status of Iran alongside Marji’s narrative as they undeniably interweave and become vital in comprehending her journey.
The map will intersect through various topics we have discussed in class – the most obvious of them being Marji’s changing experience as a citizen in a transforming country and her migrant status in Vienna. Other ways in which I believe my map will intersect with the content from out class discussions are the themes of political asylum, revolution, freedom of speech and isolation within the migrant status through religion and gender. I hope that the map will present to the class a history of Iran during the revolution and the Iran-Iraq conflict through a biographical journey. Persepolis offers a chance for us to see a story of psychological and moral growth into adulthood amongst political warfare, something that continues to resonate to young people across the Arab World facing ongoing refugee crisis’s.
Works Cited:
Satrapi, Marjane. The Complete Persepolis. New York: Pantheon Books, 2007.