Une semaine de bonté - A Commentary

Page 1:
There is a lady taken aback by a chicken. Maybe she's afraid of them. (or maybe it's Maybelline) There's not much of a direction or composition in this panel so it's actually hard to tell whether or not the chicken is within her view.

Page 2:
Same lady is going through sleep paralysis and usually lucid dreaming can turn into nightmares. She cannot move or speak. Only to helplessly try to wake up as she sees a giant chicken looming over her body.

Page 3:
She goes back into dreaming though she dreams that she's died and gone to hell. Hell is where the chicken men are and she must live her life amongst these beings. Below she sees herself in a coffin.

Page 4:
The chicken men speak amongst themselves over the body. Pitying for it's lifeless soul.

Page 5:
Plot twist she actually did die in real life and chicken men aren't just something of a dream rather they replace human men.... I guess... The chicken man is devastated to see her dead, but also fear what others might think if he was caught in the same room as her lifeless body.

Page 6:
Afraid, the chicken man hangs her body and hides so no one witnesses him on the scene.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan - A Commentary

In this time it shouldn't be a surprise that things that are wordless and speechless, yet understandable exist. Silent movies were introduced during the 1890's and the first animated silent film was invented in 1906 (Humorous Phases of Funny Faces by J. Stuart Blackton). The way Shaun Tan illustrated his graphic novel was in a way a sequential of a movie. Like pre-productions of a storyboard. Though the world he created around The Arrival was most all imaginary. It exaggerated the feeling of when someone sees something foreign and almost unexplainable through his art. Ergo the dragon tails that loomed over the main characters hometown (most like corruption or oppression) or the strange fruit,machines, and environment he had seen in the new area.

A successful wordless graphic novel like The Arrival must rely on mime like expressions where they must exaggerate common actions to get the point through. An example would be, when the main character was most often seen confused and in need of assistance. Readers would see him point in confusion, see a grateful expression when someone helps him, and walk around with wonderment as he examines the new things around him. A recurring focal point in most panels were the characters faces.

When people see something they cannot read they look for the hidden details. Symbolism, scenery, emotions, and actions without words; these are things that made The Arrival a universal/ timeless comic. Immigrants around the world can mentally "read" and sort of relate with the book. Giving them a sense of ease knowing that this must be how most immigrants feel. It doesn't matter what year this book is read, nor does it matter where someone lives in this world, or what their language is because lucky for them there are no words to be read in this piece or art comic.