The Use of Imagery in Persepolis

Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis uses both words and images to tell the story of a young girl battling with her own identity and how she and society portray her to be. The beliefs, traditions and overall culture of the society she lives in have an influence on her. The thing most important to take away from how the overall novel is presented is the use of images. It is important to understand that images help tell the story in a way that plain text can’t. They help the reader get a variation of views on the dialogue and narration presented in each scene. The fact that the reader is able to see a characters reaction, gesture, or emotion is what brings life to the story and helps the reader understand what is going on. Without images, we are left with a single idea or impression of what a character has said or done. This way, there is no doubt in the attitude or tone that Satrapi wants to convey to the reader. Although the text alone could still convey the same story, the pictures are what make this novel come to life. They trigger emotion through vivid depictions of events that are happening and emotions that the narrator is feeling. For example, on page 15 it talks about the fire at the Rex Cinema. By having the picture of all the people burning and trapped, even through the eyes of a juvenile, it creates a level of sympathy that the reader may have gotten without the visual, but it would not be as strong as with it. The reader also understands how the main character feels and thinks in the way she views what happened at the massacre. Overall, the images aid the story and help the reader follow along.