Persepolis Coming of Age Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Panel)

Quote #4

"Don't you know that when [parents] keep saying someone is on a trip it really means he is dead?" (7.7)

Marji is at an awkward social stage where she understands that her parents are kind of lying to her, but she still doesn't understand that it isn't socially acceptable to tell a friend that her dad is dead. Emily Post would not approve.

Quote #5

If I wanted to be friends with 14-year-olds, I had to do it. (15.7)

Marji has reached an age where she wants to have older friends. The problem is that she's not mature enough to pretend to act like a fourteen-year-old, and she ends up making a lot of mistakes. Though maybe that's what growing up is about.

Quote #6

"I will always be true to myself." (19.58)

Marji tells herself this in the mirror at age fourteen, and she grapples with this for the rest of the book… and probably for the rest of her life. We say this a lot, but maybe this is what growing up is about: learning who you are, and staying true to that. That's what it's like for Marjane, at least.