Torture Within Persepolis

Torture is one of the themes in Persepolis. It shows up several times in the novel.

It showed up when Marjane's mother was telling her about her grandfather. She tells her how her grandfather was sent to prison because he was a communist. In prison, he was tortured. Marjane's mother says "Sometimes they put him in a cell filled with water for hours". Due to the water cell and other kinds of torture, Marjane's grandpa got rheumatism. Throughout his whole life he was in pain. Prison had ruined his health. After hearing that story, Marjane had felt terrible for her grandpa, so she took a very long bath as an act of solidarity for him. 

Another example of torture is shown through Siamak Jari, again, and Mohsen Shakiba. Mohsen Shakiba was also a political prisoner who was liberated. Shakiba was also invited to Marjane's family's home. One of the first things Shakiba mentions to Siamak is that his fingernails had grew back. He says "You remember the day they pulled out my nails? They have grown back since. Not in a normal way... but at least I have them." He also mentions how much they whipped him on his feet. He says "They whipped me so much with thick electric cables so much that this looks like anything but a foot." That sounds pretty horrible. And it tells that his feet had never got better, unlike his nails. Also, Marjane's father asks Siamak about a man named Ahmadi. He tells him that he was assassinated. But before that, he tells how he was burned with an iron, and was extorted for information.