When the Iran-Iraq War begins, she vehemently defends it as a just cause and relates it to a 1400-year conflict that has been waged between the Arabs and the Persians. She imagines herself as a symbol of love and tolerance. In the novel's opening chapters, she identifies herself with the great prophets of the past dating back to Zarathustra. Throughout the novel, Marjane feels a tension between the great and glorious past of the Persian Empire and the violence and problems of modern Iran. The novel is, thus, a form of protest as well as art. The medium of the graphic novel is also important here because iconic representations of Islam are forbidden by the Islamic regime. The black and white symbolizes both the past and how the Islamic revolution left Iran devoid of its rich colorful cultural history. This style is meant to represent a childlike understanding of the world since the novel follows Satrapi's own childhood. Satrapi draws in a minimalist style: black and white, often only six to eight panels on a page. Persepolis brings a particular graphic style to the autobiographical narrative. Artistic style becomes as important as text for relaying narrative to the reader. A reader must read the captions of the frames and interpret this text within the context of the paneled art. By using frames of drawing with minimal text, the graphic novel calls on the reader to enter into a different kind of textual interpretation. The medium of storytelling is as important as the story itself in a graphic novel.
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