Persepolis Chapter 35

The Socks

• Art class isn't going well—it's hard to do figure drawing when your figure is in a head-to-toe burka. Where are Bob Ross and his happy trees when you need them?
• They eventually get to draw men, whose limbs are at least distinguishable.
• However, Marjane gets in trouble for looking at a male model. She asks, "Should I draw this man while looking at the door?" (35.12), and the person reprimanding her actually says yes.
• This absurdity just makes Marjane more and more rebellious. Eventually her attitude alienates half of her class.
• "There was still the other half" (35.33), she says, and this other half starts meeting outside of school to draw each other without robes.
• They also start throwing secret parties, much like Marjane's parents used to go to when she was was a girl.
• One night, they are raided and a friend named Farzad flees. He tries to jump from one building's roof to another, and he falls to his death.
• The friends are shaken, and many stop partying altogether. But Marjane knows that this is what the regime wants—to end partying—so she just parties harder, like Andrew W.K.