Persepolis 5th Part Summary

The next section is called "Kim Wilde" who was a popular British singer in the 1980's. This part takes place a year after her uncle died when the borders had finally been reopened. Marji's parents got passports and decided to go on a vacation to Turkey without Marji. They asked her what contraband items they could bring back for her. Marji requested, gym shoes, a jean jacket and posters of her favorite bands: Iron Maiden and Kim Wilde. Her parents were able to smuggle the items back for her. Her dad had to hide the posters in the lining of his jacket. Marji put on her new attire, which also included a Michael Jackson button, and she went to Ghandi Avenue to try to buy some cassettes of her favorite band. Her mother was very lenient in allowing her to go out on her own. On the street, men sold illegal items out of their jackets. Marji bought a Kim Wilde and Camel tape. On her way home, she was stopped by some women who considered themselves Guardians of the Revolution. They scolded Marji for her shoes, jacket, and button; then they told her that they were bringing her down to the committee, which was their headquarters. Marji knew that the committee could detain her for hours or even days, and she didn't want her mom to find out, so she started to cry. She promised to be good, and luckily the women let her go. Her mom wondered why she had been crying when she returned home, but she just said she was tired. She was pleased to have escaped with her new tapes.


"The Shabbat" explains how the Iraqis started dropping scud missiles on Tehran. Even if they hid in the basement, they would not be protected if one hit them. Many people fled the country, but Marji's family stayed. Their neighbors, the Baba-Levys, began staying in the basement of a nearby Hilton Hotel because the basement was said to be bombproof. One day Marji asked her mom for some money to go buy jeans. The prices of everything had fluctuated greatly due to the war. While she was out with her friend Shadi they heard an explosion. They heard on the radio that it had landed in Marji's neighborhood, so she grabbed a cab home and approached the crowd on her street. She pushed her way through and found her mother, who said it had hit the Baba-Levy's house. Her mom insisted that they were likely at the hotel when it hit, but then Marji saw the turquoise bracelet that her friend Neda always wore with a body part still attached to it, and she screamed out in anger.


In the final section called "The Dowry," Marji begins talking back to her teachers at school, and then during an argument she hits the principal and gets expelled. Luckily, her aunt knew someone who got her into another school, but she spoke out against the teacher, and once again she had to leave. Her mother worried what would happen if Marji got arrested. She told Marji how the law prohibits men to execute a virgin, so what they do is send a dowry to the girl's family to show that they have been married, then they can rape and kill them. Marji had no idea such things went on. A week later her parents told Marji that they decided to send her to Austria. It was easier to get an Austrian Visa, and they had a friend in Vienna with whom she could stay. They would be staying in Iran. Marji didn't want to leave her family. She gave away her possessions, such as her posters, to her friends. Then she spent her last night with her grandmother. At the airport she saw how upset her parents were to let her go, and she knew she would not be living with them again. The book ends with her watching them cry as they leave the airport.




Related Links:

Persepolis 5th Part Quiz
Persepolis 1st Part Summary
Persepolis 2nd Part Summary
Persepolis Summary
Persepolis Quotes
Persepolis Important Characters
Persepolis Quiz
Literature
Literature Summaries


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