Page 3 of Persepolis shows that Marjane and her family are clearly opposed to many aspects of the regime, Marjane demonstrating this through small rebellions and protests. In the first four panels, Marjane says I put my posters up in my room, I put my 993 bikes on
and my denim jacket with the Michael Jackson button
. This shows that not only is Marjane opposed to the regime (as posters, denim jackets, and western objects are banned) but she is proud of it, and the consecutive panel transitions and use of ellipsis convey that she has rebelled in more ways than one. In the first panel, Marjane can be seen as headbanging conveyed through emanate, which is a common move in contemporary rock, punk, and heavy metal music, something the regime is also strictly opposed to. In the second panel, she is drawn posing alongside western icon Kim Wilde, which also contrasts the way Iranian women are expected to cover up. She is wearing her Michael Jackson pin in the fourth panel, showing her support of western culture despite the regimes hostility.
However, on page 33 Marjane is confronted by two Guardians of the revolution, a group of people whose job it was to protect the revolution from counter-revolutionaries. In contrast to Marjane, the two gua
rdians are dressed in full black chadors, as well as being drawn as tall and overpowering, making Marjane seem small and vulnerable. The two guardians have furrowed brows, and when they are introduced, one of them has a shadow cast over her face, making it apparent to the reader that these women are a threat. In their speech bubbles, they accuse her of dressing punk, belittling her about her denim jacket, tight jeans, and her Michael Jackson button calling him the symbol of decadence, meaning corruption and self-indulgence, further enhancing the readers negative impression of them. They also treat Marjane extremely roughly as shown through emanate, tugging on her headscarf and calling her a whore. Throughout this interaction, Marjane had no choice other than to lie in order to avoid arrest, so she makes excuses such as im on my schools basketball team and her jeans shrank. The use of two exclamation and question marks in some of the panels (including the shrank one) emphasizes how aggressive the guardians of the revolution are, as well as the increasing tension as the conversation goes on. She is eventually taken to the committee. It can be seen in these pages that Marjane faces much injustice because of her resistance to the regime.