Homework 1- "The Arrival"

Through the medium of wordless graphic narrative, an experience is meticulously created for an audience with the combination of stark, visually intriguing imagery and a compelling narrative that centers around a universal emotion or experience. Unique to this type of art, wordless narrative imagery encourages its reader to engage in each panel as if they were experiencing the situation themselves while potentially providing an experience that could never be achieved in reality.

Shaun Tan’s “The Arrival” captures the familiarity and comfort of family and juxtaposes this with the terrifying and ultimately potentially dangerous reality of straying from comfort for the sake of opportunity. Family and comfort are conveyed through structure and order throughout the piece, shown through the square picture frame, plain black suitcase, carefully folded origami, and neat clean apartments. In contrast to the safe symbols of comfort, the new land is chaotic and bizarre with creatures, letters, and machines that although appear otherworldly and magical, yet still appear as a threat to the main character. Animals scream and lunge, engines spew fire, and even the glowing lights whisk away his hat. The surrealist imagery littered throughout the new country invokes a sense of confusion and displacement universal to any person from any culture; an emotion that speaks to any reader in a new or unfamiliar place.

However, a new sense of comfort is found by this man in this new location; through the compassion and experiences that are given to him by other people. The powerful imagery clearly and effectively communicates the past struggles that these new people describe and help the man adjust to his new lifestyle knowing that he is not alone. By the end of the story comparatively to the beginning, the man’s living space is no longer structured and ordered, but now blended with his new experiences shown through the same items yet slightly altered; a more organically shaped origami, strangely shaped machines, and new food. “The Arrival” is a powerful and effective story that utilizes its medium to full extent, communicating a story that resonates with audiences through time and cultures.