Persepolis: The Key Summary & Analysis

In the morning newspapers, Marjane sees the pictures and names of “today’s martyrs.” Marjane is a bit surprised at her mother’s seeming indifference at the pictures; when Marjane mentions the photos, her mother changes the subject by asks Marjane to help her style her hair. Marjane’s mother explains that though affected by the war dead, “our country has always known war and martyrs, so, like my father said: ‘When a big wave comes, lower your head and let it pass!’” Marjane, too, tries to “think only of life,” however, at school twice a day Marjane and her classmates must line up to mourn the dead and beat their breasts, a ritual with religious roots usually performed by men, who sometimes would hit themselves vigorously, even sometimes with chains. She describes the beatings as a “macho thing.”

Marjane and her classmates begin making fun of the beating ritual, exaggerating their suffering and pain during these sessions, or poking fun at the winter fleece hoods they have to knit for the soldiers. The teacher zealously chastises the girls for their impudence. She also punishes them with a week’s suspension, since not one of them would tattle on a girl who shouted “poopoo” at the teacher’s objections to their disobedience. As Marjane describes herself and the other girls, “we were completely united.” Marjane points at the fact that the girls had once attended secular schools, where such religious rituals were nonexistent, as the reason for their rebelliousness.

Back at home, Mrs. Nasrine, the family’s maid, tearfully explains that at school (a different school from the one Marjane attends) the teachers gave Mrs. Nasrine’s son a “plastic key painted gold.” The key is supposed to represent the idea “that if they went to war and were lucky enough to die, this key would get them into heaven.” Essentially, this means that the teachers are teaching the boys that dying for the state, or martyrdom, would give them entrance to heaven. Mrs. Nasrine has five kids and tearfully expresses her devastation that the government “want[s] to trade this key for my oldest son.” Moreover, she feels terrible, for though she has been “faithful to the religion” all her life, she’s not sure she can “believe in anything anymore.” The teachers also tell the boys that in heaven there will be “plenty of food, women and houses made of gold and diamonds,” which excites the boys. After all, the boys are only fourteen.

When Mrs. Nasrine’s son comes over after school, Marjane’s mother tries to convince him that the stories about paradise that the teachers tell him are just made-up. She also tries to tell him about the bright future he could have if he goes to college and gets married. Nonetheless, he does not really listen. He does not take these warnings seriously and playfully says that he will marry Marjane one day.

Marjane’s cousin Shahab shows up in the house—he is on leave from the army—and he tells how in the army he sees groups of young boys from the poorer regions who have been convinced “that the afterlife is even better than Disneyland.” He expresses how the army leaders “hypnotize them and just toss them into battle.” It also turns out that the keys that Mrs. Nasrine described are only given to poorer boys. Marjane’s male friend, Peyman, for example does not receive one at school. Marjane turns to the future in her narration for a moment, and reveals that though Mrs. Nasrine’s son does not die at the front, “thousands of young kids, promised a better life, exploded on the minefields with their keys around their necks.” Meanwhile, Marjane has her first party ever at Peyman’s house; she says, “punk rock was in…I was looking sharp.”