A Change in Worlds

In 1984 the difference between Iran and Austria was colossal. The change in culture of moving from one to the other would be drastic for anyone, especially for a young girl like Marjane. However, Marjane did not seem to have as much of an issue adjusting as one would think. When she first moves to Austria, her main challenge is not adjusting to life outside of Iran, it is finding a place to stay, speaking a foreign language, and making friends, nothing unusual for someone moving to a new country (Satrapi, 155-205). She did not have any issues adjusting to life without a veil, nor was she unaware of Austrian culture. Most likely, the reason Marjane was able to almost seamlessly adjust was because she was not sheltered from the outside world while she was in Iran (Satrapi, 130). Her family was by no means fundamentalist and she had also been outside of Iran a couple of times (Satrapi, 77). Therefore she was able to switch from a culture with very strict ideals to one that was very westernized with ease.