One of the most interesting features of having a wordless graphic novel and narrative is that it is also noiseless. The way that Shaun Tan depicted noises was extremely well done in my opinion. For example, the father’s conversations during the ID-ing process at the beginning show him with an open mouth and grand gesticulations that perfectly convey how he is feeling. You can almost hear his exasperated voice intonations as he motions to the interviwer. Another example of noise depiction is once he arrives in the new place in chapter two. He is searching for something and is reading a book to try to figure something out. While he is reading, you see him turn around and look up, but you don’t know what drew his attention. The next panel has a man reaching out to him and apparently speaking to him. When reviewing this row of panels, the reader can now see that there was a noise or yell, or maybe even just a kind hello, that drew the father’s attention from the book. We the readers will never know what the noise is exactly, but Tan definitely articulates it without feeling that words are necessary.
3 thoughts on “Sound within The Arrival”
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I truly appreciate that sense of independence of the images from the sounds, especially in a comic-like style novel. I think this engages the viewers/readers even more in the process of interpreting the narrative, leaving a stronger impression on viewers. I think this is also a great way to make viewers more meticulous in their interpretation and, thus, learn to read visual narratives more carefully by considering every detail.
I used to overlook most of the scenes in a regular comic story or book and only read the text, but after having this experience I will take visual details in consideration.
I agree to both comments. I think the animation that I blogged about would be more meaningful after having read the book. Tan does a great job of evoking sounds through his images. I can hear the story, and because reading a book is a personal, intimate act, I can simultaneously reflect on and further imagine these sounds within my quietude.
Very insightful comment, this is something I hadn’t noticed before. I was thinking about the comparison between The Arrival and Asterios Polyp. In Asterious Polyp, Mazzucchelli does a fantastic job of integrating sound into his novel. The way we overlays music on multiple panels really defines the sound. In contrast, to your point, Shaun Tan makes his novel soundless. Something this also reminds me of is the association with technology at the time. Someone in class pointed out that the color scheme of the novel suggests that Tan drew it in a way that we would see it had we been watching a movie from that time (in black and white). Similarly, Tan could have purposefully made it soundless (text-less) to go along with this idea.