Persepolis is a graphic memoir by Marjane Satrapi. The book has received numerous awards and citations for its realistic and well-written screenplay, as well as for its commitment against totalitarianism. Satrapi writes (and draws) about her life during the Iran-Iraq war. It has both literal and symbolic meanings hidden among the drawings, as it also shows the difficulties he faced in other countries and even, at times, in his home country of Iran. It helps show the past and somewhat present opinions of Iranians and others about Iran, its leaders, the war, and the corruption of the Iranian government. Satrapi uses symbolism, anecdotes and a strong theme of the unjust treatment and view of Iranians to help create a deep, true, emotional and captivating story. Satrapi uses symbolism to give deeper meaning to her stories and make them more emotional. Many memoir drawings have a deeper meaning that is not immediately apparent, but which gives more meaning to the current situation. A good example of a drawing like this is found on page 71. The words accompanying the image are "and so I was lost, without any orientation... What could be worse?" In the center of the page is Marji, floating in space, and a loud speech bubble (probably her mother or father) saying "Marji, run to the basement! They're bombing us!" The bottom returns to Marji's point of view, where she simply states, "It was the beginning of the war." What can the reader take away from this? This is the point in the book where Marji's life begins to lose its goodness she says she's lost, meaning she doesn't know what to believe. She just abandoned God (who, predictably, doesn't show up for the rest of the book) and has lost her one and only Unc... half the paper.. . to understand more about the situation and background and difficulties Iranians face before, during and after the war. Marjane Satrapi used symbolism, anecdotes and motifs to advance the plot of her graphic memoir Persepolis book is on some banned book lists, Persepolis contains many real-world themes and morals. The many awards the book has received can be partly attributed to Satrapi's use of literary devices. It is a book commonly taught in classes high school English because it is often one of the students' first encounters with Middle Eastern literature. Additionally, it can be used to showcase the many freedoms, rights, and privileges that we take for granted here in the United States. Through happy and sad drawings, Persepolis is a graphic memoir deserving of its recognition that will captivate the reader to the core..