Religion and Modernism: Reasons for Hope

Marjane's religiosity and her family's march towards modernism come into constant conflict in her early life especially. "I really didn't know what to think about the veil. Deep down I was very religious but as a family we were very modern and avant-garde," (6). Marjane has an inner struggle because despite her deep religious convictions, she wants to be a rebel like her parents and resist the establishment. Also on page six, Marjane reveals her desire to be a prophet. She believes that through religion she can end the social class divide that exists in her family as well as heal her grandmother. In this case, her understanding of the impact of religion evolves through the book. Whereas on page six she believes that religion is the answer to these problems, as she ages she turns to political leaders as the answer. This is why she dresses up with her friends as Communist leaders, because she thinks that Communism can solve these pressing issues in her life. Her evolution as a character in a religious respect is further exemplified on page 13. She has an epiphany that Karl Marx looks a lot like the god that she created in her head. It's Satrapi saying that Marxism is taking over as her prime philosophy. She is transitioning to believing that Marxism is the true solution to the problems that she is facing in the world. The author is inferring that religion is in the same vein as political beliefs and modernism, they both provide hope.