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February 22, 2014

Adults and Societal Events Downgrade Childhood Innocence

The development of children depends on a social matrix that is mainly formed by the interactions they have with their peers. Cultural interactions, adults and daily life encounters form major part of the cognition of children. Marjane Satrapi, in her comic novel Persepolis, uses panels with black and white images to demonstrate the innocence of children and how it is affected experiences and people. In this novel, children are portrayed as innocent and susceptible people whose perception and character development are easily influenced by the events and people around them. As the Islamic revolution of 1979 surges on, Marjane undergoes a series of experiences that redefine her character and innocence. This period is associated with cases of extreme activities that directly influence her wellbeing. Needless to say, childhood innocence as portrayed in Persepolis, rather than relying on the quality of childhood experiences, is constructed by adults and activities that form part of an interactive environment. This implies that childhood innocence is directly influenced by the experiences and interaction that a child has with people who form part of her world. Marjane undergoes a lot of stress when she takes part in revolutionary activities like demonstrating, having to put on veil and experiencing consequences of social classes division. For instance, she eventually becomes rebellious. These experiences problematize her innocence thereby disregarding its existence. The novel Persepolis explains how Marjane’s innocence is stripped off by an environment full of revolutionary activities and human cruelty. 

Various activities that Marjane Satrapi encounters during her childhood life in Iran at the time of the Islamic revolution significantly affect her innocence. The activities she engage in and the words she say, as demonstrated by the images, motion lines and words, disregard her innocence as a child. Marjane demonstrates clear awareness of social injustices, abnormalities and inequalities that come along accepted class divisions in her society. This is portrayed by a panel on the novel (33). According to Ali Ashraf’s, a Kurdish author, whose book she had earlier read, a boy named Reza became a porter  at the age of ten, Leila wove carpets at the age of five and Hassan cleaned car windows at a meager age of three. These explained to her the difference between social classes, the same reason why she felt ashamed sitting in her father’s car. While in her father’s car, Marjane’s face is shown as being sad using black and white shaded. The entire panel has also been shaded with black and white colors only to represent the inequalities of difference in social classes and hardships that come alongside it. She relates this to the revolution which was taking place at the time. Innocence prevents children from such knowledge. Therefore when Marjane recognizes the division, it signifies that her general innocence was no more.

In the novel, children’s attitude and character are developed from the experiences they undergo especially at their younger age. In her book, the various people and experiences that Marjane encounters dilutes her innocence. According to a panel in the book, the young woman, together with her classmates, develop rebellious character at school (98). This is seen in the context that they revoke various school rules and engage in activities that are not accepted in school but do not feel sorry for their actions. For instance, collectively, they use rolls of tissue to decorate their classroom for the annual anniversary of revolution. When asked about their actions by their teacher, they do not feel remorseful. Instead, they become sarcastic through their words. This is a character trait that they have developed due to the harsh environment and of unnecessary perceptions from people they interact with. Firstly, the children were previously attending secular schools which had limited restrictions. For instance, the schools did not require them to put on veils. For this reason, they had previously gotten used to limitless life at school and therefore tended to oppose the regulations imposed on them by the new system. Their rebelliousness can also be explained by the fact that they lived during the great Islamic revolution. This is a period that was characterized by various cases of rebellious demonstrations and activities by the general public. During this time, people were required to oppose every law laid by the then king Reza Shah in an attempt to force him out of power. These activities and encounters corrupt Marjane’s innocence since they do not encourage its continuity.

The Iran’s Islamic revolution of 1979 had significant impact on people. It influenced people’s perception of things, changed their attitude and contributed to the development of character traits that influenced their lifestyle. Cultural practices, events and social interactions of a young woman in the upheaval environment transform her personality, give her a sense of attitude and change her perception towards certain happenings. These factors have significant adverse effect on the innocence of a child. Due to the sudden change of regulations at school like the new requirement of girls to wear veils without proper explanation, she becomes rebellious and does not acknowledge the new requirement. She sticks to her previous non-restricted behavior, an act which is considered rebellious by her teacher. This negatively impacts her innocence. The regulations and expectations that negatively affect her innocence are laid by adults, therefore it can be concluded that adults also contribute to the development of a child’s innocence. Her perception and attitude towards social classes is influenced by the people around her and the revolutionary and cultural experiences. She turns against it and disregards practices like maids being forbidden to eat with other family members at the table. This problematizes the general belief of childhood innocence and disregards its existence. Marjane Satrapi uses several panels in her comic novel, Persepolis, to show the innocence of children and how societal occurrences downgrade it. The division in social classes and development of a rebellious character due to the regulations and norms laid down by people around her greatly contribute also contribute to this.

Works Cited

 Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. New York, NY: Pantheon Books, 2003. 33, 98. Print.