The Arrival was a unique reading experience. Without any words, the reader has to rely on the images and their mind to fill in the gutter space between panels. The way the pages were drawn, in a familiar yet foreign style. The animals, buildings, and objects all have a feel of familiarity, but are unrecognizable. This style of drawing gives the reader a sense of the life an immigrant faces, and the challenges they are put through daily as they attempt to deal with the culture shock of entering a completely different world. The people remain a constant in the book as familiar and comforting, giving a sense of belonging of the characters and their ability to connect with one another. The color of the images gave the sense of a photograph and seeing the world through the immigrant’s eyes, while also giving a sense of darkness and foreboding because of the lack of color. This tied well to the theme of immigration and the need to acclimate to a new life, and the stories that the reader sees of the many immigrants and the struggles they went through. I found this book heartening because it shows the world from a different person’s perspective and shows why immigration was important to the people portrayed.
2 thoughts on “The Arrival”
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I totally agree. I didn’t think very seriously about the impact of color until we viewed the photographs on display in the Wellin after class on Monday. The sepia and black and white gives the illustrations in The Arrival a type of antiquity that would not be the same with color. I think this antiquity is also tied with a feeling of respect for the past and the struggles that these peoples endured.
I agree with the idea that the images are similar to photographs, and that the lack of color goes along with the story being told. I think that this idea of photographic drawings also speaks to the “documenting” of their immigration experience. I also agree with how many of the objects in the story seem familiar, but appear different, speaking to the ideal of a change in culture. The book definitely does a good job of documenting what it would be like ti immigrate to another country where the culture is so different and almost alien.