Antigone And Persepolis Essay
Karis Price
Mrs. McMinn
Honors English I
8 March 2015
Bouncing Back Beats All
Anti-apartheid activist, philanthropist, and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela once said, “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” By this he meant that to achieve glory you must bounce back and overcome, or be resilient, when faced with adversity. This same theme of resilience is shown in the graphic novel Persepolis and the tragedy Antigone. In Marjane Satrapis’ Persepolis and Sophocles’ Antigone both protagonists are faced with insurmountable obstacles but various factors allow one to give up and the other to be resilient.
In both stories, the protagonists face issues: they are not able to do things that should be their unalienable right. For example, in Persepolis the protagonist Marji cannot wear certain things, and Antigone’s protagonist Antigone can’t bury her dead brother. This is shown in Persepolis when it says, “Lower your scarf you little whore! Aren’t you ashamed to wear tight jeans like these?...Go on get in the car. We’re taking you [Marji] down to the committee.” (Satrapi 133). Marji is harassed by the Guardians of the Revolution for wearing sneakers, a Michael Jackson pin, and tight jeans among other things. Marji and the women’s interpersonal conversation should not have taken place because Marji should be allowed to wear whatever she wants even if they don’t agree with her style of clothing. In Antigone it says, “but Polyneices [her brother], they say that Creon [the king and Antigone’s uncle] has sworn that no one shall bury him, no one mourn for him, but this body must lie in the fields.” (Sophocles Prologue.17, 19-21). Antigone is not allowed to bury her brother by order of Creon. In those days, it was believed that if you didn’t bury the dead they wouldn’t be able to enter the afterlife. All Antigone wanted was to give her brother the burial he deserved. Antigone probably gave up because in this case,
Mrs. McMinn
Honors English I
8 March 2015
Bouncing Back Beats All
Anti-apartheid activist, philanthropist, and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela once said, “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” By this he meant that to achieve glory you must bounce back and overcome, or be resilient, when faced with adversity. This same theme of resilience is shown in the graphic novel Persepolis and the tragedy Antigone. In Marjane Satrapis’ Persepolis and Sophocles’ Antigone both protagonists are faced with insurmountable obstacles but various factors allow one to give up and the other to be resilient.
In both stories, the protagonists face issues: they are not able to do things that should be their unalienable right. For example, in Persepolis the protagonist Marji cannot wear certain things, and Antigone’s protagonist Antigone can’t bury her dead brother. This is shown in Persepolis when it says, “Lower your scarf you little whore! Aren’t you ashamed to wear tight jeans like these?...Go on get in the car. We’re taking you [Marji] down to the committee.” (Satrapi 133). Marji is harassed by the Guardians of the Revolution for wearing sneakers, a Michael Jackson pin, and tight jeans among other things. Marji and the women’s interpersonal conversation should not have taken place because Marji should be allowed to wear whatever she wants even if they don’t agree with her style of clothing. In Antigone it says, “but Polyneices [her brother], they say that Creon [the king and Antigone’s uncle] has sworn that no one shall bury him, no one mourn for him, but this body must lie in the fields.” (Sophocles Prologue.17, 19-21). Antigone is not allowed to bury her brother by order of Creon. In those days, it was believed that if you didn’t bury the dead they wouldn’t be able to enter the afterlife. All Antigone wanted was to give her brother the burial he deserved. Antigone probably gave up because in this case,