Re:Unwritten meets Pagemaster

I totally agree with ahart9’s claims that this novel is a lot like the Pagemaster.  When I was first reading this novel it reminded me of those comics they would pass out to third grader bemoaning the use of drugs.  It really took me back to my childhood in a weird way.  I really don’t like this graphic novel personally which is not say that it isn’t a good novel but it just don’t cut the mustard for me personally.  I also thought Tom was really obnoxious and angsty and I understand that it’s a set up for a character arc and what not but I think it’s always a daring move when an author makes their main character so unpalatable because no matter how the character may change a reader’s first impression is often their last or only impression.  For whatever reason I just could not get over the way these pages where set up and the way the characters were developed.  I just found it irksome, but I still am glad that I’ve had a chance to read it because it is interesting to look back at all the novels we’ve read so far and notice the different styles of storytelling and artistic interpretation.

Creatively Crazy?

When I was reading Swallow Me Whole it just reminded me of the connotation or stereotype of those suffering from mental illnesses as having some sort of transient power to converse with this bigger than life artistic inspiration or talent.  Personally I think great art comes from the overcoming of great struggles, but who knows?  Here are two different articles with two viewpoints on the matter:

 

http://www.findingoptimism.com/blog/reviews/art-by-the-famous-mentally-ill/

 

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-healing-arts/200901/art-and-mental-illness-stop-the-insanity

Exit Wounds

I though that it was really interesting in class on Thursday how so many people had different views on the ending of this novel.  Many of the students had strong opinions on how they viewed the ending to be ambiguous or not fitting to the rest of the storyline and how that made them dislike the book.  Others argued that they thought it was a fitting ending and that it was a nice way to finish this book since Koby and Nuni were on this journey together were both characters knew little to nothing about what path might take them where.  Personally I wonder if the ending of this book just strikes a nerve because there is no finality to the ending.  I think that since this book was a little opaque during certain moments the ending just further layers on the uncertainty of the journey these two characters are on, I liked it.

Maus II

I really enjoyed the way that the second book of Maus started with a depiction of Art sitting at his table and unable to draw.  I think it was an interesting insight on how writing this story is effecting the artist both personally and commercially.  You can sense how much guilt and pressure Art is feeling about telling this story visually by seeing his character shrinking panel by panel into a minuscule man.  It is a heavy task to maneuver all of the business aspects of his work in a way that is respectful to his and his father’s story.  I feel that part of the reason why Art is incorporating more and more of his life and perspective on his father is partially due to the fact that he wants a well rounded impression of his father and how his father interpreted his time during the Holocaust.  I feel that this book is just as much a father son story as it is a memoir of a Holocaust survivor.  I personally enjoy the metaphysical touch of this book as much as I enjoyed the oral tradition vibe of the first book.  It adds variety to the narration and shows a transition from just a father’s story with interjections from his son, to a son’s story about his life with his father and how they live with his father’s ghosts.

Pathemata Mathemata

I found it incredibly interesting that during our class discussion today most people who spoke were interpreting the animal imagery of this piece as being an artistic means to segregate different groups of people.  I personally looked at the imagery more as a means to mask individuality in order to give this story more of a potent influence.  The way that these characters were drawn, with animal heads and human bodies, made it seem to me as if everyone was wearing a mask.  It has a permeable effect that allows the reader to feel as if he could have been part of the Holocaust.  It personally left me feeling as if this could be the story of my Grandfather, Father, or even my own.

I want to expound further on nberry1’s post specifically focusing on how surviving trauma has influenced both Vladek and Art Spiegelman.  I disagree with nberry1’s opinion that “[Vladek] pessimistically mocks the bond [of friendship]” during the first scene of this book.  I feel as if Vladek is actually doing his best to teach his son how to survive and what friendship truly means.  By saying, “Your friends? You lock them together in a room with no food for a week…THEN you could see what it is, friends!” I interpreted Vladek’s words as a lesson that a horrific instance can bond people together in the strongest way possible; by revealing a person’s true character.  In no way am I saying that there were no instances of betrayal, desperation, or selfish panic during the Holocaust but different people survive horrible traumas in diverse ways, including committing some acts of altruism.  This is a lesson of a father to his son, a survivor to one who struggles to overcome, that while you must take care of yourself in order to survive, one cannot simply survive on his own.

“Then I slowly realized that your greatest art is the art of survival.” -Line from Death and the King’s Horseman.