Making the transformation from being a kid to being an adult is something that helps define us as the people we are today. When you first realize the responsibilities of being "all grown up" it doesn't seem to be as great as it is portrayed to be. Handling to responsibilities and chores of being an adult are what really open your eyes to life and what it really is. In Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, Marjane's becoming of age was forced upon her at an early age. She was being brought up in a location of war, by parents who were very involved in the war. This had a great affect on her. Marjane was proud of her family and Iran. She was also very involved for a girl her age. Due to her seemingly early introduction to adulthood, her coming of age experience lasted a lot longer then it should of.
Being in an environment where you could be bombed and killed would have an affect on anyone and everyone. Having been a young girl in this type of environment would have a life long affect. Marjane was forced to grow up and face the facts as a young girl because she needed to be ready to be attacked at any moment in time. Sudden changes where being forced on her that used to be an option. One example is the veil. She had to go along with it in fear of being hurt if she refused. Her family was often involved in the revolution because her mother would demonstrate against the government and her father would photograph the demonstrations(which, at the time, was illegal). The positive affect that the war had on Marjane was that it made her very smart and logical. At first she believed whatever the media told her, but soon learned to form her own opinions by her father, mother and her uncle Anoosh. Her intelligence helped her prove points to stubborn teachers and leave them speechless. It also managed to get her expelled and kicked out of various places, which made her parents very proud. So, considering the circumstances, the war had a surprisingly positive affect on Marjane.
Marjane had some ups and downs with her homeland. When she was younger, she was very proud and open about Iran and the war.she had learned to embrace her life the way it was and not let anyone change her perspective about it. This soon changed when she left Iran for a better life. She was always proud of her home but was ashamed to pretend she wasn't from Iran to protect herself. She had to deal with a lot of problems that, at the time, adults were struggling to deal with. She relied on her faith in god but, with all that was going on in her life, she lost faith for a while. If you thing about it, she had every right to. Her world was literately falling apart around her. After this faze passed, her parents sent her away to get a full education and get away from the war. She didn't like being so far away from her loved ones, but she knew it was for the best.
Marjane wouldn't have been able to understand and deal with the war by herself. Her mother showed her what it was really like to protest the governments actions. Her father educated her on the war. Her maid took her to her first demonstration. But the one person who i think she was most proud of in her family was her uncle Anoosh. He had been through the real hardships of the war. Anoosh had been in disowned by his father for his beliefs, walked for miles to his parents house to show up half dead, and because of these stories, He became an idol in Marjane's life. She bragged about him to her friends and she felt, by telling his stories, a sense of power. She wanted to be apart of the war so badly, that she used his stories to impress and be idolized by other kids. It worked.
The coming of age experience is different for everyone. Marjane's coming of age experience lasted from when she was ten, to when she was eighteen. For everyone, its different. if you live in a war zone, you can expect to become an adult early. For an average person, it can happen at random are it can be triggered b a realization. For someone who always gets what the want when the want it, its a given that they might come of age when they are older, and for those lucky few that never have to come of age, well we can always look at them and know that they are missing out on life because to truly be happy you have to work for it and deal with sadness. Life may seem tough at this moment in time, but at least you know your really living life and not faking your way through it.
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