Heroes

(40-61)
Reading this part of the story has made me really frustrated with both Marjane and her family and people in general. The Shah was finally taken down and the revolutionaries appeared to have "won" the struggle in Iran (Satrapi 42). Sure, they might have achieved another goal and taken one step closer to complete success. But, they didn't seem to have a clear, strong plan for after defeating the Shah, which later obviously lead them down a rocky road.

It's easily recognizable that the society children grow up in have such effects on their perceptions. I found an interesting contrast between Marji's childhood and those of American kids. While Americans are enjoying bedtime stories consisting of princesses and castles, Marji sleeps peacefully after joyfully listening to horrible stories of torture and prison (Satrapi 61). Anoosh, the ex-prisoner uncle that Marjane instantly connects with, soothes Marji's disappointment in having no "heroes" in her family. The ingenue she is, Marjane believes only prisoners can be heroes and is angry for not being related to any. In Marjane's mind, her own father, though he is an active revolutionary, is not a hero because he hasn't been locked up in prison (Satrapi 54). Marjane and her friends even spent playtime scheming games involving "torturing prisoners," though of course, in their young minds, playing the prisoner would be honorable (Satrapi 53).