Since class on Monday, I’ve been thinking about the question that was raised regarding whether or not there are any books/poems/etc. that should not be illustrated. I’m somewhat caught in the middle with regards to my thoughts on the issue. In certain cases I feel as if artwork can fully capture the essence of a story or a scene within a piece of literature, and even add to it. Anyone who has reads pieces such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and seen the illustrations that accompany these novels would understand that the artwork serves not only to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the novel, but also to add meaningfulness to the story itself. I believe that the relationship between art and text is beneficial for both parties, but I remain skeptical as to whether or not this leads me to believe all novels or poems should be illustrated.
I was given a copy of one of my favorite books, A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, by my grandfather in high school. It was a plain, hardcover book with just the title and the authors name on the spine. There were no images in the book, no illustration on the cover, and I had never seen any images depicting scenes from it prior to my reading. It remains to this today one of my most enjoyable reading experiences, and I believe this can be at least partially attributed to the fact that I was able to craft for myself, with the help of Hemingway’s language, the images being played out in the text. I imagined for myself what Fredric Henry, the protagonist, saw and experienced during World War 1. I gave meaning to the words on the pages, and was able to do so without being guided by images of what others believed I should be seeing while reading.
I have had experiences where images have added to the literary experience for me, and others where the lack of imagery has made my experience more enjoyable. I’m still torn between the two sides, and as so I think I will have to remain agnostic when it comes to this issue. I’m curious to know what other people think regarding the question that was raised on Monday.
Hi Jack,
I agree with you; I always find myself caught between the question of to illustrate or not. Personally, I found myself drawn to the covers of Don Quixote that didn’t depict him in detail. I found when it was a silhouette or the back of his head, it gives the viewer agency to fill in the rest of the picture and image it how he/she would like. My issue with illustrations and even movies is that they define so much of the character right off the bat. I watched a Spanish movie of Don Quixote before ever reading the book and the image of an old bearded man in a rusted suit of armor on a hag of a horse has been since solidified in my mind. It wasn’t until doing the exercises in class and seeing all the other interpretations did I realize that I had this preconceived notion so set in my mind. For this reason, I always prefer to read the text first before looking at any illustrations and/or movie versions with one exception: when the author illustrates the book him/herself. For example, Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter is one of my all time favorite children’s books and I’m really looking forward to studying it in the weeks to come. I think there’s something really special about seeing both the textual and visual representation of a text from the author and seeing to what extent they come together in my mind.
Erica
Jack,
Since the beginning of this class I actually have been asking myself the same question you’re asking here. Whenever I put myself in the author’s shoes, I feel like no, there should not be illustrations to accompany novels because it is literally impossible for an outsider, someone who didn’t write the book, to capture the essence of what the author deems most important. In one way or another, the illustration will not fully illustrate what the author had in mind. I also like to create images in my head that originate completely from my imagination and not someone’s else. However, I think illustrations as covers belong to a different realm because I genuinely enjoy them and often times, they really influence my decision in which book to buy/read.