Before reading this reflection, take a look at this article: America’s Real Criminal Element: Lead

Click the image below to view “The Life I Lead”

In the process of creating “The Life I Lead,” I took on the task of developing and expanding the storyline. The bulk of our story revolved around a real situation and a real setting–Pitcher, Oklahoma. As a native Oklahoman, I was the only person in my group who had even heard of Pitcher, so I had to participate in the development of the storyline. My main job was taking a reality and turning it into a fictional representation of an argument. Expanding and altering a dark storyline into somewhat of a political argument wasn’t easy, but my group’s geographical detachment from Pitcher made my job easier. My group’s unique perspectives provided somewhat of a “foreign” view of Pitcher and its situation, which allowed me to change details galore and differentiate our comic from the past of Pitcher, Oklahoma.

This project was unassumingly challenging. I originally thought that creating a comic would be simple, but incorporating an unknown argument was extremely difficult. Regardless of the difficulty, this assignment combined several “take-aways” from this class, and turned them into a cohesive assignment. I found myself repeating processes I used in both the Maus project and in the Fun Home project. My group and I discussed color, texture, shading, panel organization, and text placement. We took aspects from each graphic novel we read and incorporated them into our project. We built a simple storyline, intertwined with depth and meaning. This assignment was indeed difficult, but by utilizing the practices we used in the past, my group and I managed to turn it in to an enjoyable, creative experience. The small nuggets of knowledge I found while working on this project only serve to underline the knowledge I gained by taking this class as a whole. I learned the importance that illustration can have in a novel, and the depth in which it forms. I learned that words can’t tell the whole story and that a picture is sometimes worth 1000 words.

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“The Safety Delusion” was a well thought-out, well illustrated comic. However, the reason I enjoyed it was because it sparked a quality discussion in the classroom. To me, the whole purpose of this project was to ignite a conversation–to reveal an argument. In addition to revealing a solid argument, “The Safety Delusion” also revealed the impact an illustration can have on the reader, and the depth a simple choice in color can add to a graphic novel. Through their attention to panel-detail and color, “The Safety Delusion” successfully sparked a conversation about children’s safety and parental risk.

“Should we let children assume risk?”

“Should parents protect their children from the risk of harm?”

These two questions sat in the back of my mind as this comic was presented, and I still can’t tell you the answers. “The Safety Delusion” captured the heart of a purposeful argument, and left a lasting impact on the reader. It successfully combined the strategies we used throughout the year, and highlighted what I want to take away from this course as a whole.

Click the image below to view “The Safety Delusion”

What did you find yourself leaving out of the tracing?

Obviously, the words… but with the words, sometimes the meaning left too. The tracing itself took time… I feel like for one of my pages, I left out the “backbone” of the page—the text somehow held it together. Without the text, page 31 is just a page of unexciting drawings. It shows an equality shared by all the mice—an equality of disdain and simplicity. However, page 95 doesn’t lose any of its impact when you remove the text. It is almost just as powerful as the illustrations alone. The pain and suffering in the drawings themselves affects the reader.

What did you find yourself striving to include in the tracing?

I wanted to include textural details—lines, different layers of shadings, patterns, etc. I wanted to capture every distinctive characteristic ranging from the deepness of the shading, to the detail in in the walls.

Why?

The smallest detail could make a difference. In page 95, for example, leaving out a single detail in the eyes of the dead takes away a significant amount of impact the illustrations have on the reader.

What did the act of tracing reveal about the page?

It revealed different things for both pages: For page 31, the act of tracing revealed similarities between all the characters—both important and unimportant. Instead of focusing on Vladek, I was searching for him in a crowd of mice. It almost took away more from the page than it revealed. On page 95, the act of tracing showed me the detail that Spiegelman put into the dead. The drawings were meant to affect you as you looked at them—not just scare you. Drawing the eyes of the dead was probably the most impactful moment of this assignment.

What did the product of your tracing reveal?

The products of this assignment were unusual. Page 95 didn’t change to me at all—it was still impactful and noticeably important to the novel. Page 31 lost its luster. Without the words, it just didn’t tell a story. That may be my fault for choosing the page, but I think it shows the importance of mixing words with pictures. It’s an art that Spiegelman mastered in Maus.

How closely does your tracing capture the dominant narrative or visual themes of the overall work?

I think Page 95 shows the importance of the illustrations to Maus as a whole—it exhibits the effects of a dark time. It instills within readers feelings of fear, sadness, and grief. Page 31, on the other hand, reveals the importance of the text to a graphic novel. Sure, pictures can tell a story. But, you lose the meaning behind the pictures if the wrong words are removed.

Before our in-class endeavor, I had never worked on a collaborative document. I have worked on papers in groups, but actually working and writing with other people at the same time was a unique experience. At first, I was a little too excited about the animal icons, the anonymous typing, and the small amount of “lag” that accompanied everyone’s ideas. I feel like I didn’t contribute as much as some of the other participants, but I threw in my 2 cents! It was extremely obvious during this whole process that some students were really engaged and enthralled, while others were withdrawn and distracted. Since we were working simultaneously, I feel that this didn’t take away much from the progression of our ideas. It made the process a little less stressful. I feel like there were times of frustration for every person–I, for example, eventually got annoyed with people deleting words and just stopped working and left the document for a time. However, by the end of the 45 minute adventure (after I rejoined the document), I felt like my entire class had written page after page of ideas and knowledgeable statements. Ultimately, I enjoyed the experience–I would happily do it again!

My Badge is definitely a reflection of my personality. I am always smiling, always happy, and always excited about life. The picture I used for the background was actually taken at Wonderful Wednesday–my favorite weekly program! I chose the picture to show my love for Emory and all of its unique programs!