Discussing several “Types of Narration” found in “Persepolis"

In Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis”, the story is told through the eyes of a young, intellectual girl living through the Islamic Revolution.  Throughout the various chapters, there are several of Wayne C. Booth’s “Types of Narration” present such as the ‘Self-Conscious Narrator’ and in ‘Person.’

Marji, the narrator of the story, fits well into Mr. Booth’s description of the ‘Self-Conscious Narrator.’ Booth describes this form of narration as being people who “[are] aware of themselves as writers” (Booth 155).  In Satrapi’s piece, Marji accounts the events of her life from a young age up throughout the revolution. She offers detailed explanations of what she believes to be happening in the world to the best of her ability. As Satrapi writes, she must take into account Marji’s childlike innocence and desire to know the events taking place around her. 

In addition to the ‘Self-Conscious Narrator’, aspects of the technique of ‘Person’ also appear in “Persepolis”.  The story is told in Marji’s perspective, the first person, but Booth says that unless “we become more precise and describe how the particular qualities of the narrators relate to specific effects” the point of view is unimportant (Booth 150).  This is relative because Satrapi is accounting the life of Marji in order to expose daily life during the Islamic Revolution from a child’s point of view.

Wayne C. Booth’s different techniques of narration found in Persepolis aid in the understanding the story being told.