Persepolis: the Complexity of Simplification

If a person were to hastily flip through the pages of Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel Persepolis, using only eyes to judge, the book could easily be put off as just another piece of literary fluff. Their inner literary critic might utter a perplexed gasp and their mind might reel with the wonder at how they happened upon something that was surely intended for the children's comic book section. With any further examination of the book's literary content and the power of its simplified artwork, however, such an easy to assume accusation shows through as fatally incorrect. Persepolis is the memoir of a young woman growing up in the decimating national conflicts of 1970s Iran depicted alongside an unexpectedly, simplified artwork style. At first it may appear that this is done only for the sake of unique marketability or because it is merely Satrapi's natural drawing style. A deeper examination, however, will reveal that " …a form of amplification through simplification " (McCloud, 30) is achieved and visual support is given to the text in a manner that realistic or more " serious " art could not accomplish.