Introduction
Rebellion is a common theme that occurs in many literary works. It refers to an act of resistance against an existing government or leadership. Rebellion is an unavoidable in the society. It has existed for centuries, and therefore, it is an important theme that cannot be missed in works of literature. There are several advantages of rebellion, just like there are also disadvantages and consequences that come with rebellion. In our societies today, rebellion happens in many ways, for example, when employees go to the streets to demand their rights. Another form of rebellion in modern society is through movements such as black lives matter. Rebellion is not just a theme in literary works but rather an aspect we find daily.
Thesis Statement
This paper gives an analysis of the Theme of rebellion in two texts. These texts are Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis and Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls. These two texts have both shown the Theme of rebellion in many aspects. However, they differ in the amount of rebellion depicted within these two works. One text describes rebellion significantly to the extent that it can be regarded as a central theme, while the other talks about it in a minor manner. Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis has depicted this Theme more deeply, cutting across religion and government leadership, while Joycelyn Bioh’s School Girls only talks of rebellion against school rules and peer relations among school girls.
Rebellion in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis
Persepolis is an autographical series about the author’s real life, Marjane Satrapi. It talks about her childhood up to her early adulthood as she encounters life in two countries, Iran and Australia. She experienced the Islamic revolution, and during this period, rebellion against the government and religious extremism were at their highest (Valint, 15). The title Persepolis is acquired from an ancient capital city in the Persian empire. This book has been published and translated into many languages since her life is an inspiration to many people as it talks about life in two varying countries and cultural backgrounds.
One of the reasons why rebellion is a significant factor within this book is the rebellion against the Iranian government. The protagonist in this book, Marjane, is involved in the demonstrations against the Shah’s political regime. According to the text, Marji was from an upper-class family and had access to educational materials such as books and radios (Satrapi, 8). Access to knowledge led her to curiosity about the political welfare of her country. Therefore, she joined in the demonstrations that required the Shah to exile and safeguard the rights of the people. The rebellion that results in exiling a country’s political leader is quite a major one, and having a child-like Marjane join these demonstrations makes the Theme major in this text.
Rebellion against religious extremism is another factor that makes this Theme central in this text. In eastern countries like Iran and others, religious extremism is a common thing even to the present. After the Shah was exiled, Marji started noticing the rise of religious extremism (Valint, 15). Her interactions with her uncle Anoosh enlightened her more, and she started yawing for equality. According to the Islamic religion, she participated in things that could have been seen as extreme rebellion. It is a significant thing for a woman in an Islam-dominated country to take action to rebel against religious extremism, such as having women cover themselves and being denied social freedom.
The consequences of the rebellion in this book are also significant. It gets to a point where Marji’s parents decide to take her to Australia because they are afraid for her safety. Her rebellion has grown too much. Her actions against the Iranian political system are becoming a risk to her safety. She had experienced her uncle Anoosh getting arrested again and being executed (Satrapi, 15). The war had added more bitterness to her life as she had witnessed her friends’ dead bodies after a missile bomb had hit her street. Her rebellion deepened, and her parents had to send her away to Australia because they were afraid that she was no longer safe within the country.
Rebellion is intensified in Persepolis 2 when she goes to Australia. Her rebellious nature makes it hard for her to cope well with the people she meets there. Her actions get her kicked out of the boarding house where she was staying after she rebels against a nun that was xenophobic against her (Satrapi, 11). Her rebelliousness once again results in significant actions and consequences where. She has lived on the streets as a homeless person for two months. She takes drugs and is involved in a reckless life that her strong Islamic roots could not condone. It is unexpected for someone like her with a strong religious faith to live that life.
Once Marji returns home after the war, she continues her rebellious way. This is a significant issue because, after the hardships she experienced in Australia, one would expect her to calm down and live by the rules (Valint, 15). Her relationship with Reza breaks the religious rules when she is caught by the religious police holding hands with him. She attends parties with alcohol and where women are uncovered (Satrapi 18). The religious police raid the party, and as they are running away, one of her friends falls badly and dies. The rebellion theme is central in this book because even towards the end, Marji continues to rebel and act against religious extremism in Iran.
Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls
The play School Girls by Jocelyn Bioh talks about beauty pageants and the unpleasant sides of these pageants. A group of school girls led by their queen bee, Paulina, is set to participate in the beauty pageant. The Theme of rebellion is mentioned in this book, although it is just a minor theme.
The team of girls begins by rebelling against their queen bee, Paulina. The head of this group takes charge of the group and dominates it. She takes advantage of bullying the other girls by taking advantage of their weaknesses. She expects them to do everything she wants, just like in the Mean Girl trailer (Cochran, 14). The other girls begin to resent her and rebel against her dominion of the group. Their rebellion escalates after a new student is admitted into the group. The new student, Erica, spikes envy and competition with Paulina (Bioh, 4). School girls’ rebellion against their queen bee’s dominion is just minor.
Paulina also rebels against the school rules. She bullies one of her friends, Nana, to go to the headmistress’s office and steal files about Erica from her office (Bioh, 6). Paulina also goes against the rules and buys skin-lightening creams. She uses these creams against the instructions of the headmistress. There have been cases of her using these creams, and the headmistress had used a lot of money to have her treated against their side effects. Using these creams is a sign of rebellion against the school and the admission of the new girl, Erica.
The consequences of rebellion in this play are not significant. The headmistress punishes the girls for misbehaving by putting them in detention. Detention is a simple and very minor punishment. Paulina faces the consequence of using face-whitening creams (Bioh, 7). She gets a severe breakout on her face, affecting her beauty and confidence. The girls also realize that the beauty pageant is unfair to African girls when Erica fails to reach the top 10 in Miss Universe. They know that fighting against themselves for the pageant was in vain.
Conclusion
Rebellion is a common theme in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis and Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls. However, Persepolis’s text depicts this more significantly than School Gils. The text talks about significant rebellion against the political regime and religious extremism, and the consequences of rebellion in Persepolis are profound, such as going into exile and being homeless. Schoolgirls depict the Theme, with schoolgirls rebelling against their queen bee and the school rules. The consequences of rebellion in this play are also tiny, such as detention in school, losing the pageant, and having a bad break in the face. Rebellion as a theme is a common theme in literary works.
Works Cited
Bioh, Jocelyn. School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023.
Cochran, Katherine. “Historical Background.” ENG 203: World Literature, Spring 2024, University of Southern Mississippi. Lecture.
Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. Pantheon, 2003.
Valint, Alexandra. “Introduction to Bioh’s School Girls.” ENG 203: World Literature, Spring 2024, University of Southern Mississippi. Lecture.
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