Post #4

Persepolis there are many themes that are present, but the one that sticks out the most to me is the theme of religion. Religion is the belief and worshipping of a superhuman controlling power. In the beginning of the book Marjane sees herself as a prophet in the line of Zarathustra, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed. She wants to be a prophet so very badly to help the people around her. Another aspect that illustrates the theme of religion in this graphic novel is the fact that Marjane is convinced that she wants to become a prophet when she grows up. She continuously says "I want to be a prophet"(pg 6), "I will be a prophet but they mustn't know" and "I want to be justice, love and the wrath of God all in one" (pg 9). The main reason for this is because she wants her grandmother to stop hurting and her dad to stop driving a cadillac. Marjane feels as if she can make a change to the Iranian political situation and help her family by becoming a prophet. Her imaginary friend is her vision of God as an old man with a long flowing white beard. God encourages her to become a prophet and stand up for love, justice, and peace. As Marjane begins to confront the political and social realities of her world, the reader sees her slowly detaching from her faith. As she hears stories of political imprisonment and torture, she finds that God no longer gives her comfort. As the Islamic regime comes into power, she feels that she cannot defend a faith represented by such fundamentalism. The imprisonment and execution of her Uncle Anoosh causes a break in her faith and she describes herself as lost and alone in the universe. Marjane was born with religion, it was instilled in her since birth. In the end, it is clear that theme of religion arises several times in Persepolis through different contexts. The first key fact that illustrates this theme is that Marjane's family comes from a religious background then there is Marjane's inevitable desire to become and prophet and lastly the fact that it is not a coincidence that the narrators imaginary friend happens to be a figure that resembles God and has God-like