Graphic memoirists use visual cues to signal readers of their intention to be frank about their own memories, emotions, and experience. These distinctive visual strategies can include, but are not limited to, photographic images. Alison Bechdel, the author of Fun Home, utilizes this in her memoir to realistically show her journey to understand the depth of her father’s life. Incorporating visuals that resemble real-life photographs diverges from the stylistic conventions of the typical comic book genre. Photographs are one strategy, but it is not always the case that authenticity correlates with stylistic realism. Authors like Art Spiegelman choose to depict humans as animals to enhance the genuineness of his account. This visual cue may come
Distinctively visual images have the ability to convey complex ideas and concepts about environments and people’s connection to places. The use of distinct images can cause individuals to reinforce their own perceptions or confront their value systems to perceive the world in a different way. In the postmodern Australian novella ‘Vertigo’ by Amanda Lohrey, distinctively visual images are used to convey the schism between urban and rural environments and how it impacts the Luke and Anna’s relationship. Additionally, Lohrey uses unique images to highlight Luke and Anna’s grief over their loss son also demonstrating the how the rural environment allows them to deal with their grief. Similarly I have used distinctively visual images in my collage
In comparing and contrasting the book, The Most Dangerous Game and the movie “High Noon”, I found that even though they were different mediums, the had many similar story elements. My supporting paragraphs in my essay are based on character, plot, and setting. In the paragraphs I’m going to show how they are alike and different. After reading these two articles I’ve learned you have to be brave.
In Chester Brown’s “Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography” and in Sarah Ovcjak’s “The Facebook Profile of Louis Riel,” the authors attempt to criticize historical representations by presenting the history of Louis Riel in conflicting lights. Both authors allow Louis Riel to have a voice in their respective works; however, Ovcjak’s Facebook profile allows Riel’s character to speak in the first person perspective narrating his own life, while the story within Brown’s graphic novel unfolds through a third person frame narrative. Ovcjak’s first person narrator uses emotional dialogue and images to clarify Louis Riel’s character. Brown’s frame narrative uses flat dialogue, imagery and extensive notes to present a more impartial understanding of Louis Riel that is rooted in a subjective framing viewpoint. These techniques help shape each author’s arguments about the subject they are describing. Despite these differences, the works reveal the significance of perspective and objectivity, alluding to their importance for historical veracity. Reading Ovcjak's “The Facebook Profile of Louis Riel” against Chester Brown's “Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography” articulates Brown’s argument of presenting Louis Riel in the graphic novel context as a means to demonstrate the importance of looking at history from different perspectives. The implication of reading these creative works as historical documents identifies a need for an authoritative and objective historical lens that is often
In “How to Write a Memoir” William Zinsser gives very detailed and important advice to writers interested in writing a memoir. He gives the specific advice of “Be yourself,” “Speak Freely,” and “Think Small” (Zinsser, 2, 4, 6). These tips advise writers to not only think about what they want to say in their story but also how they want to tell their story. Many memoir authors choose to follow this advice and write their story using these points, but many do not. In the memoir “A Summer Life”, Gary Soto follows Zinsser’s writing advice through his use of writing from the point of view of a young child, speaking freely about his early life events, and writing about his life in small structure chapters.
Examples that demonstrate style: Certain passages of the memoir depict events of emotional and grueling intensity, in such a vivid way that they convey the surreal manner of life which the prisoners had become forced to endure, and the scenes into which they had been thrown, dreamlike in their fortified connections with the impossible. For instance, during a night of the death march, the prisoners all vied for a place under the meager roof of a hut. They fought for this place, crushing and suffocating others. “I wanted to get up and disengage myself to allow him to breathe. But I myself was crushed under the weight of other bodies…I dug my nails into unknown faces. I was biting my way through…I couldn’t breathe through my mouth or my nose…This was it; the end of the
Alison Bechdel uses her graphic memoir, Fun home, to explore her relationship with her father. She uses the book as a tool to reflect on her life and the affect her father had on her. She discovers how her fathers closeted sexuality affected her childhood and her transition into adulthood. His death left a powerful mark and left her searching for answers. She clearly states this when she says, “it’s true that he didn’t kill himself until I was nearly twenty. But his absence resonated retroactively, echoing back through all the time I knew him.” (23). This feeling drove her to look back on their relationship and find what binds her so strongly to a man she never understood. She discovered how her fathers closeted sexuality affected her childhood, her sexuality, and her relationship with literature.
Many individuals have things they like to hide. I think we can all agree that we sometimes put on airs to conceal some unpleasant truths about ourselves. In short, we sometimes pretend to be something we're not because we find it hard to accept. Well, after reading Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, nothing in my opinion is more accurate. Bechdel’s graphic novel, is a riveting memoir that recounts the relationship between father and daughter.
Recently the class and I read a short story called Blue Against White, which focuses on the importance of memories during childhood and how it affects one's life. Jeannette C. Armstrong the author, uses writing techniques like symbolism through common motifs to aid the reader to have a better understanding of the the hidden morals within the story. Literary elements that were applied in the story includes plot and character which also had immense connections towards the author itself. This can be shown through the word choice and the placement of the setting, which displayed a large significance in assisting the reader through imagery. The fact that Jeannette C. Armstrong developed such a self-discovery story helps bring attention
In Maus, Spiegelman’s characters are icons; he utilizes everyday, commonplace animals to represent the humans in
“Biology in one personality traits that come out in some humans, the geography location is where some of them live, and the facts about one person and how they express it?” This explain the interpretation of having animals in comics and explains how humans act more like animals.
Imagery is used flawlessly in this short story. O’Connor uses descriptive adjectives fairly often to paint a picture in the reader’s mind and to add spice to her
There are humans in the world that strive to become more animal like. Whether they just act like ones, or have surgical operations to look more like one, they try to become more like an animal. In her essay, "Dr. Daedalus," Lauren Slater suggests that by altering our physical selves to emulate something more animal, our brains, and possibly even our souls, we become somehow more animal as well. She feels that we transform, and become more animal like every time we alter our body into the form of an animal. Slater is correct to point out that when we change our self to look more like animals we might have more in physical features in common with them, but she fails to look at how our identities do not change. We look
It is within the human nature to be interested in other people’s experiences. Whether it be with reality shows or blog posts, people like to hear different incidents through diverse perspectives. Writers take advantage of this curiosity and try to tie experiences into their works. Many times writers will include experiences of their own in order to convince their audience of their perspective on a subject. These personal experiences are done in order to make an impact on the audience and it is written in a certain way to make it the most efficient for the readers. The use of personal anecdotes is effective when details are described to the point where readers can create their own opinions, when they are used as the main topic against an argument as opposed to being an unimportant detail, and when it has the ability to appeal to the audience’s emotion.
In Conrad's Heart of Darkness Marlow, the main character, symbolizes the positiveness of Imperialism. Marlow, as a character realizes the evil that negative Imperialism has caused and decides it is truly unnecessary. When Marlow says, "I had got a heavenly mission to civilize you," he is expressing his intentions to assist the Africans in their development and advancement. Marlow recognizes the fact that he is an invader into an unfamiliar land when he says, "I was an impostor," yet he sticks to his moral values.
“They are mistaken in supposing that I have any specific purpose. I only create art,” Odilon Redon stated when asked about his artistic process. His only desire was to paint not only what he sees, but what he feels, and so his work consistently defied being defined. He preferred to attempt the representation of things that haunted him. His fantastical world that combines nature with expression is clearly depicted in his Noirs and his color paintings, such as The Sleep of Caliban. Odilon Redon's vivid imagination and ability to stay true to his inner vision throughout his life, combined with his rejection of academic painting and artistic trends, led him to become a true visionary of his time.