By: Michael Kolovos
EH Midterm
1/21/15
How the Iranian Revolution affected Marjane’s Family
The Iranian Revolution changed the way that Marjane’s family interacted and
communicated with each other that took form in a number of ways. The Iranian revolution
took place in the 1970’s, when the people of Iran finally had enough of the Shah and the
influence from the other countries and protested that the Shah leave his position as king in Iran.
But before he left, the Shah used many tools to try to squash the revolution. He used the SAVAK
to destroy the revolution. (Mossadegh to Khomeini, Handout). The Iranian military came in to
destroy the revolts and the United States was giving millions of dollars to the shah to help fund
his military’s efforts. (Mossadegh to Khomeini, Handout). The Shah even destroyed all other
political parties, except his, claiming that any one that was not part of his party was a
communist and arrested and tortured them using SAVAK. (Mossadegh to Khomeini, Handout).
But despite his efforts, the revolution continued. Once the revolution was finally over, the fear
for Marjane’s family was not gone. Many fundamentalists started roaming the streets and
killed anyone who opposed Khomeini’s regime. Even neighbors would tell on you if you had
opposed the regime. (Persepolis). This made many families worried, including Marjane’s family,
because they were not religious and were not fundamentalists. The stress that came with this
caused Marjane’s family to communicate differently towards each other, mainly in a negative
way.
One way that the revolution affected the way that Marjane’s family communicated with
each other was by making the family swear more. An example of this is when Marjane’s
mother was walking towards her house after her car broke down when two men told her that
she was trash and called her a slut. This affected her so much that she ran towards her
husband’s car and start crying this: “Two bearded guys: Two fundamentalist bastards…those
bastards…the bastards…they…they insulted me…they said that women like me should be
shoved up against a wall and fucked, and then thrown in the trash” (Satrapi, 74). The way that
Marjane’s mother said this was completely inappropriate for Marjane, whom was right next to
her at the time. Before, Marjane’s mom would not have said anything, or just called the guy a
jerk. But after not wearing a head scarf and already being stressed out by the outcomes of the
Iranian revolution, being called this by strangers was too much for Marjane’s mom and the only
way she could control herself was calling them bastards. This is how the Iranian revolution
caused the family to swear more, affecting their communication with each other.
Another way that the revolution affected Marjane’s family’s communication with each
other is by making them more violent and quickly angered towards someone’s behavior,
especially Marjane’s. After the revolution ended, Marji found out that one of her peers at
school’s father was in the SAVAK, the Shah’s secret police that killed many people. Marjane
and a couple of her friends acquired nails and were threatening to nail the boy up to the wall.
When Marjane’s mother found out, she said this: “What would you say if I nailed your ears up
to the wall?” (Satrapi, 44). Before the revolution, Marjane’s mom would have just sent Marji up
to her room, but after the revolution and fearing that Marjane would become a fundamentalist,
she threatened Marjane to scare her, which had never happened before in the book. She was
so afraid because fundamentalists neighbors would even tell on fellow neighbors, and they
were teaching Marjane different things that the regime had approved off when they reopened
the schools. Resorting to violence is something that a mother almost never does to her own
child, so threatening a child with something as bad as that, clearly shows that the revolution
changed the way that Marjane’s family communicated with each other by making them more
violent.
Another way that the Iranian revolution impacted Marjane’s family communications is
by making them snap or get angry quicker at each other. After the revolution, there was a
shortage of gas because Iraq was bombing Iran to prevent the revolution from spreading.
While at a convenience market, Marjane’s father quickly ran inside to ask if they had any Jerry
cans. Marjane’s mother’s reply was this: “Jerry cans, why? Why do you think! To make
strawberry soda?” (Satrapi, 88). Marjane quickly replied: “Don’t talk to my mother like that!”
(Satrapi, 88). The author does a great job showing the stress that the entire family had to
endure with the revolution and showing what a number that did on Marjane’s family. For
someone to snap that quickly at something so small is amazing. This would have never
happened without the revolution. Marjane’s father always respected his wife, he always
thought things through, and always did a good job keeping his temper under control. So for
such a man to snap like this, at something so little like Jerry cans, there is only one explanation,
the Iranian revolution was causing stress that made Marjane’s family snap at something like
this.
The Iranian revolution changed the way that Marjane’s family interacted and
communicated with each other in a number of ways. It made the family swear more, be more
violent, and even lash out at each other for small reasons because of the amount of stress they
had to undergo with the revolution. Marjane’s family was not the only family that had
communication changes between each other. Causing this kind of stress and change in
communication in families throughout a country negatively affects the way that families
communicate and the way that the country moves along. Having people so stressed out would
cause lack of progress and allowing a corrupt government in Iran. And a corrupt government in
Iran would bring them right back to where they started, with another revolution. This is how
the Iranian revolution changed the way that Marjane’s family communicated with each other.