Persepolis Chapter 17 Summary

Kim Wilde

  • A year later, the borders are reopened and Marji's parents get their passports.
  • They go to Turkey. Marji doesn't want to go, but she gives them a list of things she wants them to bring back.
  • They get everything on her list, including the rock music posters, but they don't know how to get the posters past customs.
  • Then mom has a great idea: sew them into the lining of dad's coat.
  • He looks like he's rocking some serious shoulder pads, but that's the style, so they pass through without issue.
  • Later, Marji heads out on her own to buy some rock music tapes from a guy in a trench coat on the street.
  • On the way back, an adult stops her and shames her for the clothes she's wearing. The adult threatens to take her to the committee, "the HQ of the guardians of the revolution" (17.53).
  • Marji lies, saying that her stepmother will burn her with an iron if she gets in trouble, and the woman lets her go.
  • Marji goes home and rocks out to get her mind off things.