Indledning
Being lonely and feeling different is something that almost everyone can relate to. It happens sometimes. No one goes through life without at least having these feelings once or twice.
And in these situations, it’s good to have someone to talk to. But a few people are so unfortunate that they have no one to turn to, to get help.
In David Small’s graphic novel “Stiches”, an autobiography from 2009, we learn about these feelings, from someone who has experienced them firsthand.
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Uddrag
Here are two strips that clearly shows the authors variation in detail on the characters faces.
If the characters are drawn realistic and detailed, as in the first strip, it is easier to interpret the facial expression, and therefore easier to read and understand the emotions that appear.
This is also because he uses zoom to get closer to the face, and really see the emotions. Opposite strip one, strip two is where there are no obvious details on the faces.
Here the focus is more on the body language and the words. The body language helps define how he feels, for example his shoulders are hanging, which indicates that he is sad.
Sometimes less is more because eliminating details creates focus and emphasis on something else. If a face is less detailed, it allows identification more easily.
In strip two, the author wants us to identify with the situation where you might feel stupid or looked down upon. In this strip we also learn a lot about the brother’s relationship, who’s in charge, and who’s not.
The use of symbols is also adding to our understanding of David’s relationship with his family. He seems like he is the lowest in the hierarchy in the family.
On page 80 we can clearly see that the mother is superior towards the boys. A graphic device that helps us see this is perspective.
She appears larger and more powerful than the boys. He compares her silent fury with a black tidal wave. A tidal wave is unpredictable and can destroy anything when it comes.
This means that her silent anger, is really scary and you don’t know what is going to happen. The graphic novel is also drawn in black and white. It’s one of the first things you notice when you start reading a graphic novel.
The lack of color creates a very different mood, than when you use color. It creates a more serious mood, because we associate black and white, with sad and serious.
The author might also have chosen black and white, because we, as readers, should focus more on the atmosphere and mood of the story.
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