Title Significance

The title of this book is called, Persepolis. The literal meaning of the word , Persepolis is an ancient capital of Persia. It is the Greek name for the ancient city of Parsa. It was an Persian Empire founded by, Cyrus the Great. The city was known for it's wonderful soil, rivers, and riches. Persepolis was built on some of Persia's most beautiful mountain tops. Persepolis was very well-know for a beauteous place until Alexander the Great over through the empire and ruled the city as his own but with no mercy. He had taken away all their beautiful treasures and killed many of their people. Once Alexander had gotten tired of Persepolis, the city was mistreated by troops and a fire spread destroying all its beauty, resulting in the lost of it's popularity. The book is based on The Islamic Revolution that occurred in Iran(Persia).

Knowing the background of the title definitely gives me a clear understanding of why the book title is, Persepolis. During the time that Marjane grew up in Iran the Islamic Revolution took place. Before the war Marjane viewed her life as beautiful and free-spirited. Iran was a beautiful place where people loved to live and raise their families. The revolution turned Iran into a place that people feared and desperately tried to escape. The ancient empire of Persepolis has the exact same similarities as Iran during the revolution. I can see that Marjane Satrapi wanted to show the comparisons between the two places and show how a somewhat dictatorship destroyed a beautiful place that was once worshiped and praised by many people. She wanted to really show how Iranian lives were taken over just like what had happened to Persia. Her people had to suffer and go through life under extreme and harsh rules. The title is there to acknowledge and show how horrible people felt and how extreme their torture was. The title especially expresses Marjane's life and how she felt the Islamic Revolution was.

The significance of the title shows how deeply the revolution affected people's lives and how it would be taken lightly. Marjane chooses to shed light to their stories and to not let them be forgotten like Persia. It is shown through the title that living in the life of an Iranian during the revolution was not easy. The message this title sends is that life was reformed because of the events of the revolution. Marjane gives readers a loo through her own eyes of what she saw everyday and what her family went through.