Character Description

The character I want to focus on for this post is the main protagonist, Marjane. I chose her because I found it really easy to connect with her. On page 6, she says she "was born with religion." I took this as she was born into a religious family. I was also born into a religious family. I was also born into a religious family. She also has an identity crisis of sorts right after the Islamic Revolution of 1979 when it becomes mandatory for all women and girls to wear the veil. She says she "really didn't know what to think about the veil. Deep down I was very religious but as a family we were very avant-garde." At first she saw herself as the Last Prophet. She had a code by which she lived by. During and after the Revolution, she found herself becoming a revolutionary. She saw herself as Ernesto Guevara. Her family gives her a lot of books, which she reads. She learns about the "children of Palestine. About Fidel Castro. About the young Vietnamese killed by the Americans. About the Revolutionaries of (her) country" (page 12). Her favorite book, however, was "Dialectic Materialism." She loved being able to visualize Karl Marx (he looked a lot like God) and the great Descartes. She wants to go demonstrate for the Revolution. She says (which I wholeheartedly agree with) "For a Revolution to succeed, the entire population must succeed." It is the reason the American Revolution succeeded. It is the reason the Nazis came to power. it is the reason the Cuban Revolution succeeded. It is the will of the people. What the Revolutionaries do with that will is what determines whether it is right or wrong. After this, she learns of the ordeals her grandfather suffers. First he was a Prince (his father was the Emperor who was overthrown by Reza Shah). Marjane's Grandfather then became Prime Minister for Reza. After that, he became a Communist after studying and talking to intellectuals in Europe. Because he became a Communist, he was often thrown into prison. On some occasions, they put him in a cell filled with water. She did an experiment by taking a bath for a really long time to try and experiment what her grandfather experienced. The event that really influenced her was the family's maid (Mehri) and how she was treated. Mehri had fallen in love with the neighbors son. However, because she was illiterate (since she was the maid/servant), Marjane wrote all her love letters for her. Marjane's father eventually found out and went to tell the boy that he was corresponding with the maid, not a daughter of his. The boy, of course, said that he didn't want to be with her anymore. When Marjane asked why they couldn't be together, her father said that people must stay within their own social classes. Because of this, she and Mehri decided to sneak out and go protest.