preview

Golem By David Wisniewski: Literary Analysis

Decent Essays

David Wisniewski creates his illustrations in Golem by “paper cutting” - cutting the image he wants on paper and then layering the paper on a larger paper. After he is done layering, and the picture is complete, he photographs the image in lighting that will make it the most intense. The use of rich, captivating cut-paper illustrations adds drama to the artwork and allows for play between dark and light, which directly conveys the tone of the story. The detail on each page will grab the reader’s attention and make him linger on each page in order to absorb the supernatural quality of each illustration.
The lines of the images are very precise because they are cut paper. There is no blending of color; instead there is a distinct line between each color. This reflects the distinct boundaries in the book. The story states that the people of Prague were “. . . Czech against German, Protestant against Catholic, Christian against Jew” (Wisniewski, 1996, p.1). The division of the people is reflected in the sharp division of color and lines in the illustrations. …show more content…

With a lack of white space the reader is able to be a part of the story. In Golem there is no white space, the illustration takes up the entire page. This makes the reader feel close to the action of the story. For instance, lightning hitting the clay and turning the clay into Golem (Wisniewski, 1996, p. 6-7) is particularly close to the action. The lack of white space allows the illustrations to be large and emphasize certain characteristics of each character. On nearly every page, Golem’s height takes up the whole height of a page. Golem is meant to be a powerful force and his height emphasizes his strength and

Get Access