Topic > The family in 1984 and Persepolis

In the two texts, the notion of family is strongly influenced by an external factor, namely the political party that controls the population. In Persepolis, this would be the Iranian government in power during the period following the Cultural Revolution, while in 1984 it is the totalitarian party, referred to as "Ingsoc" or simply "the party". In Orwell's novel, the party's concept of family is defined as the people with whom one shares a home, where each member is deprived of affection and comfort and limited from every possible aspect of freedom. Orwell describes this through the melancholic relationship between Winston and Catherine, in which Catherine called sexual relations "their duty to the party." During copulation, Winston describes his wife as "cold and stiff" to his touch, reflecting his inability to express pleasure or any emotional response. The report reflects the extreme control the party has exercised over people, who are ultimately reduced to detached machines. Furthermore, it appears that the party is "breeding" the lower class together, which dehumanizes them, making them comparable to caged animals being experimented on. It is therefore seen that Orwell manipulates the theme of family in such a way that the reader is forced to feel disgust and horror towards the conditions to which the population of Oceania is subjected, which reinforces his message of warning and prevention of totalitarian societies . plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. Similarly in Persepolis, Iranian families are divided and sabotaged by political changes in the 1970s. Satrapi uses the theme of conflict to demonstrate to the reader how relevant this is. The conflict raises many concerns in the autobiographical comic, such as war, death, and corruption, leading to the loss of family and close friends. Marjane's uncle Anoosh is a perfect example here, as he is involved in all these themes. In Marjane's perspective Anoosh was seen as a "hero" and she had great admiration for him, this is also reflected in the fact that Anoosh's hair is drawn white, while everyone else has black hair, which suggests purity, peace or even an angel. -as figure. However, this created a source of conflict within the family, because as a child the writer resented the fact that her parents were different from her beloved uncle. This is because Marjane's uncle became a political prisoner who she associated with a national hero. He blamed his parents for not contributing enough or as much as Anoosh, in the fight against the Iranian Cultural Revolution. The situation only got worse after Anoosh's death, as Marjane almost blamed her parents for it. In Persepolis, family conflict arose due to political changes in Iran; it was done indirectly, as children were suddenly led to believe that sacrificing for the nation was a noble act. However there is a difference between the parties of 1984 and Persepolis, as the goal of the political party in Iran revolved around beliefs such as religion and culture and would actually change Iran for the better. In 1984, however, the party wanted to create its own utopia, based on the obstruction of freedom and complete control of the masses. Marjane was also in conflict with herself, during her youth, in the sense that she was confused about what was right and wrong. This was due to the clash between the education provided by her parents and the filtered information that she was spoon fed at school. For example, her school told her that going to war for Iran was a heroic act, while her parents convinced her thatit was, on the contrary, a suicide mission, conducted by the government. These externally formed conflicts created family tension and confusion in Marjane's mindset, which contributed to the wall between Marjane and her parents. Fortunately, the boldness of Marjane's character and the closeness of family ties kept the family unit firmly together and the political party could only exert its influence up to a certain point. Therefore the use of family in Satrapi's Persepolis is not as extreme as in 1984, and is there primarily to create drama and tension within the comic. It should be considered that the text was written to create awareness, but as it is an autobiographical book, the story cannot be distorted in certain ways, which would lead to a further exploration of the theme of family by the author. In Orwell's novel, in On the contrary, no family resists the oppression of the party, since the external influence is acute, to the point that not having a family strengthens one's intellectual and emotional state. It can therefore be justified that the party has greater control over the individuals who are part of a family, as internal members act similarly to telescreens, limiting a person's freedom even further. As he demonstrated with Winston in front of the television screen in his apartment, he is extremely cautious with his actions and facial expressions, however he does not need to be careful about what he says, while in the family, while communicating, one must be careful not to let escape anything irregular. Therefore families can be seen as an additional security measure employed by the party to preserve control. In this way Orwell makes the reader understand that Winston and Julia are exceptions to the rule, which produces a distinction between them and the other characters. As a matter of fact, this is the only common point they share; Orwell juxtaposes their two characters with their descriptions. For example, Julia appears to be an avid supporter of the party on the outside, as she took part in the "Anti-Sex League", while Winston quickly revealed himself to be against the party when he wrote "Down with Big Brother" in his diary. . There is also a clear age difference between the two, as Julia is "young and lively", while Winston is depicted as "old, thin and with a varicose ulcer". Winston and Julia are therefore comparable to an error in the party's demographic programming code. Orwell uses the two characters to address the representation of a family in dystopia and also to leave a trace of hope in the novel, reflecting that totalitarian societies are preventable, urging the reader to contribute to prevention. On the other hand Satrapi also uses her comic gives credit to families in a positive way, as it shows that her family allowed her to grow as an individual through the progression in books 1 and 2. Marji's grandmother played an important role in shaping her character, as she acts as Marjane's grandmother. moral mentor and dispenser of advice. This can be seen when her grandmother says "always maintain your dignity and be true to yourself", which influences many of Marjane's decisions in Europe, such as leaving the religious home she resided in. As a result, Marjane's grandmother is portrayed as a wise and resourceful person. of experience in life, which shows Satrapi's affection and love for her. Male members of the family, her father or Anoosh, also took part in Marjane's education, forming her political consciousness and teaching her a lot about ethics. The most important aspect that the author learns through her family is the fact that memory and history are extremely precious as they can.