Persepolis Chapter 3 Summary

The Water Cell

  • Marji's parents go to protest demonstrations against the king every day.
  • Young Marji has trouble rationalizing this because her schoolbook says that God chose the king. Who is the king of Iran? George W. Bush?
  • Her dad tells her how it the king actually came to power: the British put him there to try and take control of Iran's oil.
  • Also, the ruler that was deposed was Marji's grandfather, who was a prince. (Not the little one.)
  • Her grandpa briefly served as prime minister, but he opposed the new regime and was sent to prison.
  • Prison was painful, to say the least. One night, he was in a water-filled cell for hours.
  • That night, Marji stays in the bath a long time to try and understand what her grandfather went through. She probably didn't even use any Mr. Bubble that night.