were there any other effects the occasional bright backgrounds had on the reader? i think that it added the carnival motif that persists throughout the story. when his face is stationed on sheet of bright blue or red, it looks like poster, like it doesn't belong with the rest of the story. it isolates him even more from the people he is around; he becomes more of a spectacle.
i also just wanted to address the fact that this book had symbols. this is the first time i felt myself trying to figure out what certain symbols meant while i was reading, symbols in the literary sense. the ones that really stood out to me were peaches, the red bird, and the robot. off the top of my head, i think that in some cultures peaches symbolize longevity. if that is what ware intending, i find it quite appropriate. it fits the concept that the corrigans go on and on doing what they are doing and being a straight-up dismal bunch. any other ideas on the peaches? i could be totally off base. the red bird seemed to express jimmy's desire to escape his life, to "fly" away. the robot, much more obvious than the other too, obviously identifies his inability to express his emotion. any other thoughts on symbolism in "jimmy corrigan," fellow students and/or teacher?
I was not really drawn to peaches as a symbol, but I did notice the red bird and the robot. I agree with your interpretation of the bird, especially in the scene at the medical clinic. But the bird is also exhibited in frames that are used to show the passage of time (6). How would this affect Jimmy's relationship with the bird later in the novel and as a symbol over all? The Robot is indicative of his emotional challenges, but it is also a physical manifestation of his awkwardness on many levels. It is interesting, though, that the robot form arguably returns again near the end of the story when Jimmy is wearing his Dad's winter clothes. It almost looks as if he is wearing armor, and stiffens his movement like a robot. This instance is sort of half-way between Jimmy and the Robot visually. Does this complicate the earlier occurence of the robot as a symbol? If so, how?
ReplyDeletei always took the robot as evidence of jimmy's disconnect between his mental and physical self. he projects his identity into the form of the robot, which is a manifestation of both his emotional and physical awkwardness, but also has a sense of the fantastic about it. It makes his awkwardness "OK".
ReplyDeletei agree with the bird being used to indicate the passage of time. ware uses the telephone/electric wires in the same way, showing a progression of panels with slight changes. i really thought those panels did a lot of work setting the mood, like quiet introductory shots to give a sense of place at the beginning of a film.
i, too, am clueless on the peaches.
The synethesia in the novel I think is really important. I like that you chose to make sense of this....I had forgotten about this part of McCloud, and it makes so much sense for me as I read your blog. I had wondered how certain emotions were evoked in places, and I like your breakdown of why this is happening. I think that he also utilizes the emotion that we feel but don't act on to create tension and emotional depth within the novel. (My favorite example is when he beats and kills his father with the water pitcher.)
ReplyDelete